Staying Motivated as a Leader with Cads Oakley (Episode 120)

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As an engineer you get constant dopamine hits by solving technical problems. As a leader you're often working toward long term goals that span months or years. How do you stay motivated in that context?

This week I'm joined by technology leader and fellow Aucklander Cads Oakley. We cover...

🐆 Don't chase the result, harvest the learning
🏆 The payoff for being a leader
🎁 Giving feedback and giving others permission to give it to you
💉 The role of dopamine
🤷 How much control do we really have in our work?

...and much more.

You can find Cads on...

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cadsoakley/
Website: https://aurelia.nz/

Content mentioned during the episode...

Cads' article on the role of dopamine: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/managing-dopamine-mind-cædman-cads-oakley/

"Happy" by Derren Brown https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30142270-happy

What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/1401301304

You can buy Slight Reliability merch here (Note: you cannot order the mugs outside of New Zealand):

https://slightreliability.digitees.co.nz/

You can find Stephen on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephentownshend/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slightreliability.bsky.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SlightReliability
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slight_reliability/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the_kiwi_sre