All Pride, No Ego with Jim Fielding

The Evolving Leader

In this episode of The Evolving Leader, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Emma Sinclair are in conversation with Jim Fielding. Jim is a seasoned executive having held several senior executive roles including time at DreamWorks, Disney and Claire’s. He is an active angel investor, startup advisor and philanthropist and is the President of Archer Gray Co-Lab Group. In 2023, Jim Fielding’s book ‘All Pride, No Ego: A Queer Executive’s Journey to Living and Leading Authentically.‘ was published, further expanding Jim’s services to his community, helping to build safe, inclusive and respectful work and community spaces.
Referenced during this episode:
All Pride, No Ego: A Queer Executive's Journey to Living and Leading Authentically
https://bit.ly/3VsjLSL

Other reading from Jean Gomes and Scott Allender:
Leading In A Non-Linear World (J Gomes, 2023)
The Enneagram of Emotional Intelligence (S Allender, 2023)
Social:

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YouTube @evolvingleader

The Evolving Leader is researched, written and presented by Jean Gomes and Scott Allender with production by Phil Kerby. It is an Outside production.

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Hoofdstukken

1. Introduction (00:00:00)

2. Can you give us a potted history of your career? (00:03:45)

3. Who is your book aimed at? (00:06:45)

4. Could you talk about the early years of your life and how they shaped your leadership? (00:09:34)

5. Could you share your journey as an executive and how did things change in terms of how you felt about yourself as a gay man in corporate America? (00:14:55)

6. How has corporate America changed in terms of attitudes towards LGBTQ+ employees? (00:20:16)

7. What does an organisation that is truly open really look like? (00:22:36)

8. What can leaders do to help everyone bring their full self to work? (00:26:55)

9. You use the word allyship. What does that look like, feel like, how to people experience that and how can you become a great ally? (00:32:08)

10. Being a good ally requires you to stay open and curious to new experiences. What have you learnt about how you do that, switch from the action mode to empathy mode? (00:35:44)

11. Do you have any go to questions that you use to open your mind? (00:38:45)

12. What was the advice that Bob Iger gave you when you left Disney? (00:41:57)

13. The transition to CEO is not an easy ride. What did you learn when you took over Claire’s? (00:44:43)

14. You mention that being a CEO is a lonely place, and the need to build family that you choose to embrace. What does that really mean and how does it transpire in your leadership? (00:48:49)

15. During your career you changed your relationship with what success looks like, when is enough enough? Can you talk to us about that? (00:52:43)

16. There is a lot of turmoil around diversity issues. What is your current assessment of this tensions, and how do we move forward from them? (00:55:31)

17. You do a lot of work as a philanthropist. Why does this matter to you, what are you doing and why does this matter to you as a leader? (00:59:21)

18. Why is Jiminy Cricket your favourite Disney character? (01:01:53)

19. What’s next for you? (01:05:51)