
Leadership in today's rapidly changing world requires more than decisiveness—it requires perspective. International leadership expert Cornelia Choe shares how panoramic leadership helps leaders navigate uncertainty, overcome blind spots, and build the adaptability needed to lead through complexity.
Loading summary
Cornelia Cho
Morning decisions. How about a Creamy Mocha Frappuccino drink? Or Sweet Vanilla Smooth caramel maybe? Or White Chocolate Mocha? Whichever you choose, delicious coffee awaits. Find Starbucks Frappuccino drinks wherever you buy your groceries.
State Farm Announcer
This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Listening to this podcast instead of doom scrolling Smart Move Another smart move getting help from one of State Farm's 19,000 local agents when you choose to bundle home and auto bundling. Just another way to save with the personal price plan. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state.
Nicole Kahlil
If you love the show, the best way to keep it going is simple. Share it, rate it, and support the sponsors who support us. I am Nicole Kahlil and you're listening to the this Is Woman's Work podcast, where together we're redefining what it means, what it looks and feels like to be doing woman's work in the world today. And since around here, Woman's Work is doing whatever feels true and real and right for you, that means we must
Podcast Host
cover a wide variety of topics on this podcast. It also means that we have to
Nicole Kahlil
say no to a lot of amazing guests with important topics because there may be overlap or similarity to topics we've already covered. The two exceptions, though, the two topics that I have a borderline unhealthy obsession with are leadership and and confidence. Because when they're done well, they change everything for you individually and for us collectively. And when they're done badly, I mean, it's hard to not rage out a little, right? And listen, I'm not sure if leadership
Podcast Host
has ever been harder than it is today, or more desperately needed.
Nicole Kahlil
And yet, for something that matters this much, we're still talking about it in ways that feel outdated, insufficient, and frankly, overly simplistic, given the complexities that we are all navigating. And here's where I think we may
Podcast Host
have gotten it wrong.
Nicole Kahlil
We've been taught to think of leadership
Podcast Host
as decisiveness, certainty, having the answers, being
Nicole Kahlil
the one people look to when things get unclear. But what happens when everything is unclear, when the pace of change outpaces your own experience, when the playbook that you
Podcast Host
were handed doesn't work anymore. What I see over and over again
Nicole Kahlil
are smart, capable leaders defaulting to the
Podcast Host
way it's always been done.
Nicole Kahlil
Not because they're lazy or unqualified or
Podcast Host
that they don't care, but because it's efficient.
Nicole Kahlil
It's familiar. It's what has always worked until it doesn't. But what if the real problem isn't that leaders don't know what to do? It's that they're not seeing the full picture. Because leadership today isn't just about decisions. It's about perspective. It's about expanding your field of vision beyond your own experience, your own bias in your own corner of the world. It's about recognizing that your blind spots aren't a character flaw, they're a given. And the risk isn't having them, it's pretending that you don't. So if we're going to redefine what woman's work looks like in leadership, then we have to move beyond the idea
Podcast Host
that it's about having all the answers
Nicole Kahlil
and start actively seeking the perspective of others, especially those that challenge you, slow you down, or make you rethink what you may have initially thought was obvious. Which brings us to panoramic leadership and Cornelia Cho. Cornelia is an international leadership expert and CEO of the Leaders alliance, advising CEOs and C suite leaders across five continents, from governments to Fortune 500 companies, on navigating complex global change. She holds degrees from Georgetown and Harvard Kennedy School, has lived in seven countries, speaks three languages, and is currently based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Podcast Host
With a background in private equity at
Nicole Kahlil
Morgan Stanley and experience across Asia, Europe, and North America, she brings a truly global lens to leadership, and she's here to help us expand how we see, think and lead. So, Cornelia, welcome to the show and I'd love for you to set the
Podcast Host
stage for our conversation by explaining the what a panoramic leader is and what is it that they're doing differently than regular leaders or what makes them more effective?
Cornelia Cho
Absolutely. Nicole, it's such a pleasure to be here. Thank you so much for such a warm welcome. The biggest question I get today is how do I deal with so much change? And this change is. It's nonstop. It's different than it was before because change had a beginning, a middle, and an end. And today, before one change process can end, another begins. So it feels continuous, coming from all directions. We have wars, inflation, tariffs. Our daily lives are affected by AI. And so people don't know how to handle this new nature of change in leadership today. And we're having a real crisis in leadership. And we have an unprecedented level of CEO turnover. And it's not that leaders are lacking intelligence or good experience. They have this all. But in this new world of incessant change, we have to be able to understand all perspectives and to understand change in all of its realms. What's happening in the world will affect our teams in different ways, and we can't know how all the time. So we need to stay close to all of our stakeholders or our team members, people inside the company, people outside the company, so that we can bring their perspectives together into a 3D understanding of what's actually happening in the world. And I've worked with a lot of leaders who have found a lot more confidence and adaptability through this. And so this is helping us adapt to the new nature of the world. And the level of change is only going to get faster going forward.
Podcast Host
Yeah, I can't imagine that there is a leader listening in that wasn't nodding their head incessantly as you were talking, because that's exactly right. It is constant and continuous, this change. It often feels, as you said, like you haven't finished anything or almost accomplished anything before you're moving on to the next. And I couldn't agree more that there's a crisis in leadership from where I'm sitting, and I'd love your perspective on this and feel free to challenge me if I'm off base. The crisis, I think, is twofold. First, it's become harder for all of the reasons that you said, and also because it feels like there are so many more eyes on it, from social media to all media to the global connections that we have to. It just feels like you're under a
Nicole Kahlil
microscope a lot more and everything is
Podcast Host
being judged and critiqued and you almost feel like you can never get it right. And so then what? I think, my second thing that I think is happening is the good ones are like, this is too exhausting, it's
Nicole Kahlil
too draining, it's not working.
Podcast Host
And so they end up leaving and we're sort of left with the not so great ones that don't seem to care as much. What are your thoughts?
Cornelia Cho
I think it's hard to know going in if a leader is going to adapt well or not. But the nature of leadership today is no longer about whether we're right or not. As you said, it's about whether we're seeing the whole picture. And the good news is that we don't need to prove that we're right all the time. We need to make sure that we're constantly adapting to the world and constantly plugging in to our stakeholders to see if the way we see the world is on the mark. And this is something we call our mental map. And the way we see the world or our operating system, it's the story we tell ourselves about how the world works. It's our values that we've collected throughout our lives, what we've learned through successes and failures. And all of that together forms our mental map. And that's what we use to decide how to react to different change happening in the world. And this map needs to be updated. But the good news is that you don't have to be right all the time. The more just going through the process of updating this map is extremely helpful because the biggest danger isn't getting it wrong, it's stopping mapping. And a lot of times in our lives we're mapping as we're in our 20s and 30s, but oftentimes when we find success, we stop mapping and go on autopilot. And this is the biggest danger of all. So if you keep on mapping, it doesn't matter if you're 100% right. Keep on connecting with your stakeholders and that'll give you so much more insight, especially if you connect with people who think differently from you and who think opposite from you. Because when you're talking to someone who sees in the other direction, they're able to see behind you and they can see your blind spots, which can be extremely helpful if you have the right kind of relationship with them. So our maps never really feel complete and we are always on the quest to continue adapting to the world. But that's where we get our confidence, knowing that we are plugged into a lot of different stakeholders and that we do see a more realistic vision of what's happening around us.
Podcast Host
Okay, so for the leader listening in, who is like, great, I want to work on updating my mental map. I want to grow, become a better leader, what are the different skills that need to be prioritized and practiced? If, for example, back in the day, decisiveness was a leadership skill that people maybe honed in on, I think that sort of goes by the wayside a little bit today and maybe gets replaced by curiosity or something like that. My question is, what sort of skills should the panoramic leader be focused on developing on a regular basis?
Cornelia Cho
We have a very simple three step process to becoming more panoramic in our thinking and in our leadership. And it's called the gem process. The first step is get up close. The second step is establish meaningful bonds. And the third step is map your evolving perspective. So I'll break these down for you. The first is to get up close. And it takes a lot of courage and curiosity, as you mentioned, to get up close to people we don't know and who may even be hostile to something our company is doing, for example. But a study from the University of Chicago shows that they talk to Chicago commuters before they went on their commute, and they asked them to do one of three things. First, to connect with a stranger. And then a second group, they asked them to remain disconnected. And the third group, they asked them to commute as normal. And the results were astounding because the group that they asked to connect with a stranger had not just more positive results, but significantly more positive reactions. And we often think that, well, you know, we don't want to bother someone, or I'd rather just go through the commute alone and have some time for me. But we underestimate how productive and how much we enjoy connecting with other people, being seen and seeing other people, even if we don't know them yet. And so this first step, get up close, is it's perceived to be more difficult than it actually is. And it can be a joy to connect with a lot of different people. It's always fun to learn new things. So the wider of a group of people we can talk to, and the wider the group of perceptions and perspectives we can gather, the more interesting it becomes and for us personally, and the more helpful it is in establishing a wider, more panoramic view. Now, the second step is to establish meaningful bonds, because getting up close to people is a great first step, but developing these relationships and creating trust and more honesty, a relationship where we can really share our feelings and understand the true perspective of other people, is so much more rewarding.
Greenlight Kid
And.
Cornelia Cho
And especially if we're at the top of an organization, it's so hard to get honest feedback. We often hear what people think we want to hear, which is always interesting, but it's not always going to help us become a more panoramic leader in the true sense of understanding what's happening around us. So establish meaningful bonds is very helpful in deepening our relationships, because it's all about connection and understanding. And the third step is to map your evolving perspective, because what do you do with all these perspectives and opinions once you get them? How do they affect your mental map? And this really answers how you feel and how open you are about accepting new information. The question isn't, do they agree with me or not, or is this going to integrate into my map? The question is, am I learning something new, which could involve rewriting part of your map or expanding it through what you learn? And so that's how we maintain an open and evolving mental map. And that's really the basis of being a panoramic leader. The last step after that is to use your mental map to help the people around you through your leadership. And one key way we do this is through microtranslation, and we often think that the people around us think very similar to us. But having worked in women's leadership and then private equity, I wasn't able to even mention my previous work in women's leadership to my team in private equity. I would have been laughed out of the room. And so people's realities, as you know, can be so different. So honoring that and recognizing that and adapting to people's maps and presenting information in a way that they can actually register it easily. That's what we call microtranslation, and that's how we help share what's on our mental map with the outside world.
Nicole Kahlil
This message is sponsored by Greenlight and not only am I a fan, but our kids are too. Here's JJ's oldest friend, Ry, here to tell you all about it.
Greenlight Kid
I'm pretty good at remembering to do my chores. My mom not so good at remembering to pay me. And when I tell her how much she owes me, she never believes me. That's why we use Greenlight. The Greenlight app has a chores feature that lets you set up jobs, track what's been done, and even sends reminders so neither of us have any excuses anymore. It's also a debit card and money app for kids, teens, and really the whole family. I can earn, save, spend my own money and see where it's going. It's not red light, not yellow light. It's green light. And green means go. So go start building your money skills now and maybe even teach your parents a thing or two later.
Nicole Kahlil
And let me jump in to say that every day our kids are handling money without guidance is a missed opportunity. Start your risk free Greenlight trial today@greenlight.com tiww don't wait to teach your kids real world money skills. That's greenlight.com tiww to get started greenlight.com tiww you know when you buy something for one very specific purpose and then it sort of becomes part of your personality? That's what happened with this trench coat that I got from Quince for my Europe trip. I needed something lightweight but still polished, easy to layer, and versatile enough to go with basically everything because I refuse to over pack if I can help it. But here's the best part. I wore it a few times before the trip to, you know, break it in. And then three different strangers stopped me
Podcast Host
and asked me about this coat.
Nicole Kahlil
Three different people. And apparently Jay was paying attention too, because a few weeks later, two giant bags of Quint's clothes showed up at our house because obviously he needed Quince in his life too. Quint just does elevated essentials really well. Beautiful pieces made from high quality materials like European linen, organic cotton and washable silk, but without the luxury markup. Elevate your summer wardrobe. Go to quince.com tiww for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q U I n c e.com tiww for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com tiww I've become more convinced over the years that good health isn't about
Podcast Host
one dramatic decision or big change.
Nicole Kahlil
It's about the small choices you make
Podcast Host
over and over again.
Nicole Kahlil
Getting enough sleep, moving your body, eating reasonably well, and yes, drinking water tops the list. If water is something you're consuming every single day, and it should be, it makes sense to think about the quality quality of it. That's why we use Cove Pure. COVP Pure is a reverse osmosis water purifier that's lab certified to remove up to 99.9% of contaminants. Things like PFAS, heavy metals, fluoride, and even pharmaceuticals. What I love is that it's incredibly easy to use. It sits right on the countertop, requires no installation, and gives us fresh hot or cold water whenever we need it. It's one of those everyday products that makes life and your health a little better. Right now, Cove Pure is giving our listeners $250 off for a limited time. Go to covepeer.com tiww that's C-O-V-E-P-U-R-E.com T-I w w to get your COVP Pure now.
Podcast Host
Okay, I have two sort of logistical, potentially dumb questions, but I'm gonna ask em anyway.
Cornelia Cho
There are no dumb questions.
Nicole Kahlil
I don't agree with that, but I'm
Podcast Host
okay, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go with it anyway. When you say mental map, like are we actually mapping something? Like what do we. Is this a physical thing that we have or do? Is this more like how do we create a mental map and how do we update it?
Cornelia Cho
That's a great question. A mental map is like a internal gps. So when we have a new experience, we look through the catalog of our past experiences. And we say, okay, this is familiar to me. I've done something like this before. This is how I reacted before. Do I want to do the same thing or not? And each person has a different set of assumptions and reactions that we have. And that's really what we call our mental map. You could map this out if you wanted to, but the point is that we have something to guide us. And people are always so surprised when they see how different our, our mental maps are from each other.
Podcast Host
Okay, my next question is around making sure you're getting the, I'm going to put in air quotes, right perspectives and maybe even the right amount of perspectives, because there could be the potential to just be in perspective gathering all the time and not get into action or not get into decision. Is there any advice around how many different perspectives do we get and for how long before we begin to move toward action or decision or result or whatever the case may be?
Cornelia Cho
Yeah, absolutely. So when I was at the Harvard Kennedy School, one of my professors, Ron Heifetz, taught us about a really wonderful way of thinking about leadership. And it's the balcony. And a lot of people have heard about this, but it's being able, when you're in the heat of the moment, to step back and look at the overall picture and to say, ah, okay, I can imagine myself down there, that's what's going on and to get more context and perspective. And that is extremely helpful, except for in times of change when you can't really see what's happening on the dance floor from the balcony. And that's when we need to get down to the dance floor and kind of work the floor and talk to new people and get more perspective. And a good guideline to help us is if we come to a event, a change or a idea that we can't quite digest and something is hitting us wrong, then we need to get back down on the dance floor and canvas more opinions and get to know more people. And you know, there might be a party crasher on the floor, but we can't see that from the balcony. And so we need to get down on the floor and get more perspectives. If there's something that we can't understand now, if there is a perspective on the floor that we don't understand understand, then we need to get back up on the balcony and look at the overall picture and say, ah, this is really interesting. Does it fit on my map? Does it extend my map? Is it an opinion that is creating a completely new idea or am I going to replace something on my map. To give you an example, When I was 19, I was working as an intern in the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at the United nations in Geneva. And there was no more room in the intern's loft. And so the question was, where was I going to work? And my boss, who was the special assistant to the High Commissioner, agreed to have me in his office facing the wall in the corner at this table for a week. And during that week, I was able to listen to world leaders as they had conversations and negotiations and I learned how they talked to each other, how they negotiated, how they treated their team. And the most important thing, Nicole, is that I got a familiarity and a comfort with world leaders being by far the youngest person in the office. And on the first, my first day, I was so intimidated, I didn't say anything. But had I used my energy to try to impress them or be seen more, I might not have gotten that comfort and that real understanding and familiarity with leaders. It's not a black or white scenario. You don't need to throw out your entire map. When you're adapting to the world and updating your mental map, you just adapt incrementally as you learn new things from your stakeholders and new perspectives. So the point is, when you're able to get enough opinions that you're comfortable with your map and you see that things go smoothly, then you know that you have enough perspectives.
Podcast Host
I wonder your thoughts on. I'm going to say I believe it to be an outdated style of leadership that command, control, fear. I'm going to put in air quotes, respect, model. I feel it's outdated and yet we see it today in the upper echelons of many of the leaderships of this country and several others. How does the panoramic leader transform away from that? How do you update your map to understand that that leadership doesn't work for
Nicole Kahlil
you and for others, even though we
Podcast Host
see it in our faces on a regular basis today.
Cornelia Cho
That's a great question, Nicole. And it is actually opposed to panoramic leadership because when you have a command and control style of leadership, chances are you won't give your teams and the people around you the safety to share what they actually think. And so either you won't get a lot of perspectives or probably you're not looking for a lot of perspectives because you're just going forward with what you know and keeping your life very simple. It's hard to get a lot of perspectives and it's hard to keep on updating your map, it takes a lot of courage, curiosity and humility as well. So if you're not open to receiving feedback and your teams aren't feeling comfortable enough to share that with you, it's not going to be a very productive panoramic session with your teams. And so that's a problem that a lot of leaders are having today in that they're not able to understand and predict the changes that are happening in the world. And in order to be able to see around corners, you have to talk to a lot of stakeholders, especially the ones who aren't at your table. And so I often ask leaders to question themselves and say, who's not at my table? Whose opinion might change my perspective right now and do I understand their opinion? You don't have to agree with it and you don't have to integrate every single perspective, but you do need to be aware of them and to get a better understanding of how things are changing around you. And command and Control probably isn't interested in knowing about that. But the danger is that suddenly when the world changes and you realize that your assumptions no longer fit, that's the big surprise that can, you know, lie waiting for you.
Podcast Host
Yeah, it feels a little bit like a paradox, right, this idea. I think we sometimes see command, control, I have the answers as strength. In my experience, it takes far greater strength to be open, to be curious, to ask questions, to say, I don't have all the answers. Help me understand what you're seeing. Right, yeah. So I said this in my intro and I do think we have a lot of well intentioned leaders who are busy and overwhelmed and as you said, you know, so much change. And so there is this tendency to default to whatever got them to this point. What's worked for me before. I mean, autopilot, for lack of a better term. Any advice about how to override that or recognize it when it's happening so that we don't take these sort of leadership shortcuts of defaulting and stay in that more panoramic leadership space.
Cornelia Cho
Absolutely. The two dangers or the risks I see for leaders today that's contributing to a lot of turnover is either subscribing too much to the fear of the unknown and feeling completely overwhelmed by the unpredictability of change today, or on the other hand, autopilot and putting too much of your decision making on autopilot, which is what we often do when we don't want to change our maps. We have found some kind of success and we've told ourselves that we're done. We've made it now. And that works in a world where that's very stable and where we don't have a lot of change. And it actually can be helpful because if the world's not changing and you have understood it, then it makes sense to offload a lot of your thinking. And actually, the brain, science has shown us that the brain takes up about 2% of the weight of our bodies, but 20% of the oxygen and energy. And so, of course, we want to offload as much of it as we can. And, you know, I. I like to do this as much as everyone else, but in a world that's completely changing, we think we're driving on the highway, but our institutions are changing, and, you know, our, our lane markers are no longer there, so we're not on the highway anymore. We're on open road, and cars can any direction. In that case, we need to come more off of autopilot, especially when we're making decisions and be very aware of what's happening around us.
Podcast Host
Cornelia, I have 1 million more questions for you, but we're out of time. So I just want to remind you, the listener, that if you or any
Nicole Kahlil
other leader in your life want to continue to grow and evolve into the
Podcast Host
leaders that we need today, go get your hands on this book, the Panoramic Leader by Cornelia Cho and Marshalle Goldsmith. Or you can go to Cornelia's website at corneliacho. Com.
Nicole Kahlil
We're going to put the links, all
Podcast Host
the ways to find and follow her in show notes. Cornelia, thank you for doing this incredible
Nicole Kahlil
work, for helping us lead better and
Podcast Host
for being here today.
Cornelia Cho
Nicole, it's such a pleasure. Thank you very much.
Podcast Host
My pleasure. All right, friend.
Nicole Kahlil
I know a lot of what we're
Podcast Host
seeing right now across leadership and politics
Nicole Kahlil
and in the media flies in the face of everything we just talked about here. And I think part of the problem is that it keeps getting rewarded, that it keeps getting voted for, because too many people are still clinging to an
Podcast Host
outdated definition of leadership, one rooted in control, command.
Nicole Kahlil
And I have all the answers, but that's just noise. It's ego. It may be bold, but it isn't strength. And it may be loud, but it's incredibly limited. We've been sold this version of leadership that says if you speak loudly enough, decide quickly enough, and never admit uncertainty, you must know what you're doing. But I think it's pretty obvious that version isn't working. If this conversation made anything clear, it's that real leadership doesn't come from narrowing
Podcast Host
your view, it comes from expanding it.
Nicole Kahlil
Because the leaders who will shape what comes next aren't the ones clinging to certainty. They're the ones willing to widen the lens, challenge their assumptions and value perspectives beyond their own, to see more, to consider more, to include more. Because that kind of leadership doesn't just change outcomes. It changes people. It changes cultures. It changes what's possible for all of us. And that, my friend, is leadership. And it's also woman's work.
Ryan Reynolds
Your team just added its 67th AI tool and also your 67th security blind spot. The good news? The Vanta Agent works like a GRC engineer in the background, finding every app your team uses, scoring the risk and drafting fixes for you. Vanta is the platform used by over 16,000 fast moving companies like Ramp Cursor and Harvey who are shaping the future with AI and staying ahead of AI risk. Get started@vanta.com hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. Now I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited premium wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills. But it turns out that's very illegal, so there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a try@mintmobile.com switch upfront payment
State Farm Announcer
of $45 for three months, $90 for six months or $180 or 12 month plan required $15 per month equivalent to taxes and fees. Extra initial plan term only greater than 50gb. Me slow when network is busy. See terms.
This Is Woman’s Work with Nicole Kalil – Episode 422
Panoramic Leadership: How Great Leaders Expand Their Perspective in Times of Change with Cornelia Cho
Release Date: July 8, 2026
Host: Nicole Kalil
Guest: Cornelia Cho (CEO, The Leaders Alliance; International Leadership Expert, Author)
This episode dives deep into the evolving demands of leadership, focusing on the urgent need for what Cornelia Cho calls "panoramic leadership." As change becomes relentless and uncertainty the norm, Nicole and Cornelia challenge outdated models of leadership—those rooted in certainty, command, and answers—offering instead a vision of leadership grounded in curiosity, connection, and continual perspective expansion. Together, they explore practical tools and mindsets that equip leaders for a complex, fast-shifting world, making a case for why this panoramic approach is not just applicable, but essential.
[01:19–03:19] Nicole Kalil & Cornelia Cho
[04:18–06:13] Cornelia Cho
[07:37–09:54, 18:34–19:39] Cornelia Cho
[10:35–14:59] Cornelia Cho
Cornelia outlines a three-step method:
[20:15–23:30] Cornelia Cho
[23:30–26:08] Nicole Kalil & Cornelia Cho
[26:08–28:49] Cornelia Cho
This episode expertly unpacks why and how leaders must move past certainty, embrace continuous learning, and proactively broaden their field of vision. Through the "GEM" process, metaphors, and personal stories, Cornelia Cho offers a path to leading adaptively and inclusively—even when “the playbook doesn’t work anymore.” The consistent message: true strength in leadership comes not from decisiveness alone, but from the willingness to connect, update, and see beyond oneself.
For more: