S4 08: Leading in Context: How Adaptive Leaders Think, Decide and Perform with Roderic Yapp

In this episode of The extra-Ordinary Leader, I sit down with my first-ever returning guest, Roderic Yapp, former Royal Marine Commando and founder of Leadership Capital. Rod brings a razor-sharp perspective to leadership in complex, fast-moving environments, and this conversation expands how we think about context, decision-making, and performance. We explore why context is the overlooked foundation of leadership, how to tell whether your world is simple, complicated or complex, and why you may need to develop an unexpected capability: a small measure of strategic callousness. We also unpack the practical tools leaders can use to stay effective - from drawing systems on paper to understanding the Cynefin framework, experimenting for growth, and knowing when to empower…and when to take control. If you lead people, lead change, or lead yourself, this is one to keep coming back to. Inside This Episode Why context shapes everything — and why most leaders miss it The multi-tool metaphor: choosing the right behaviour for the moment How the wrong leadership style destroys performance The Cynefin framework in clear, practical language Why experiments beat long-range plans in fast growth Three-year horizons and twelve sprints: a smarter way to plan Drawing your systems to reveal bottlenecks fast Where empathy helps — and where it holds leaders back Boundaries, accountability and the realities of performance The simplest tool for cutting overwhelm: write it down What to bin, what to put in: reflective habits for high-performing leaders Rod Yapp: LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/rodericyapp Leadership Capital: https://leadershipcapital.com/ If you’d like to deepen your own leadership journey, my book The extra-Ordinary Leader is available here: https://www.dollywaddell.com/store/p/the-extra-ordinary-leader