Love as a Change Strategy with Mohammad Anwar

What if the most effective strategy for leading change isn't fear-based urgency, but love? In this episode, Kevin sits down with Mohammad Anwar to explore a rethinking of how leaders can approach change by centering people, building trust, and creating psychological safety. Together, Kevin and Mohammad discuss why traditional change management approaches fail, how fear activates resistance, and why prioritizing emotional intelligence and human connection leads to sustainable transformation. They dive into six behavioral principles that underpin "love as a change strategy," including embracing discomfort, practicing empathetic curiosity, and wielding influence effectively. Mohammad also challenges conventional models like Maslow's hierarchy, advocating instead for love and belonging as the true foundation of human needs. Listen For 00:00 Why change requires leadership 00:35 Podcast welcome and purpose 01:39 Introducing Mohammad Anwar 03:35 The big idea Love as a Change Strategy 04:59 Defining love in a business context 07:38 The problem with fear based change 08:30 How love became the strategy 09:38 Personal crisis and leadership turning point 12:35 Football story and love as performance fuel 15:19 Why Maslow's hierarchy misses the mark 17:22 The six principles of leading change 22:55 Why empathetic curiosity matters 26:41 The hardest principle embrace discomfort 29:48 Choose your hard 32:34 Where to learn more and get the book 33:27 Final reflection now what Mohammad's Story: Mohammad Anwar is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Love as a Business Strategy: Resilience, Belonging & Success and his latest book, Love as a Change Strategy. He is the President and CEO of Softway and Culture+. A proud American Leadership Forum Senior Fellow (Class 59), Mohammad's story is as bold as his ideas. At just 20 years old, while still pursuing his B.S. in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics at the University of Houston, Mohammad launched Softway with his family. What began in 2003 as a small web development company for local merchants has since grown into a global, people-first consulting firm specializing in digital transformation, culture, communication, and AI integration—without sacrificing humanity. https://www.softway.com/ https://www.culture-plus.com/ https://www.loveasastrategy.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/manwarsoftway/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/teamsoftway/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/culture_plus/ https://loveasachangestrategy.com/ This Episode is brought to you by... Flexible Leadership is every leader's guide to greater success in a world of increasing complexity and chaos.  Book Recommendations Love as a Change Strategy: Innovation, Growth, and Transformation by Mohammad F. Anwar, Frank E. Danna, Jeffrey F. Ma, Christopher J. Pitre  Wisdom Takes Work: Learn. Apply. Repeat. (The Stoic Virtues Series) by Ryan Holiday  Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI by Karen Hao  Like this? Becoming a Change Maker with Alex Budak The Problem with Change with Ashley Goodall The Art of Change with Jeff DeGraff Join Our Community If you want to view our live podcast episodes, hear about new releases, or chat with others who enjoy this podcast join one of our communities below. Join the Facebook Group Join the LinkedIn Group   Leave a Review If you liked this conversation, we'd be thrilled if you'd let others know by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. Here's a quick guide for posting a review. Review on Apple: https://remarkablepodcast.com/itunes