Chad Thompson
Chief People Officer
LanzaTech
Episode 335
Why Discomfort is Your Secret Weapon for Global Career Potential
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleJanuary 23, 2025 · 14:35
Thesis
“Embracing discomfort, taking calculated risks, and maintaining an abundance mindset, particularly when faced with perceived failure, are crucial for personal growth and maximizing one's ultimate career potential in a diverse and ever-changing global environment.”
Show notes
Chad Thompson has worked in more than 70 countries. Born in the UK to Caribbean parents, he built a career in HR that took him from global multinationals to a biotech startup converting industrial waste into fuel — and every environment shaped his conviction that the loudest person in the room is almost never the one with the most to contribute. That realization, repeated across cultures and contexts, became the foundation of his approach to leadership, inclusion, and organizational design.
Chad's philosophy rests on a simple but countercultural premise: there is no universally consistent solution to people problems, because every workforce is shaped by cultural context that outsiders rarely see clearly. Global HR leaders who export their home-country frameworks wholesale tend to fail — not because the frameworks are wrong, but because they're built for a different set of assumptions. Adaptability, he argues, isn't a soft skill; it's the core competency of anyone trying to lead people across borders.
His most useful career insight may be about failure: when you reframe a bad outcome as a lesson rather than a verdict, you remove the fear that makes people risk-averse. His experience parachuting into an unfamiliar Indonesian business unit — and choosing to lean in rather than play it safe — shaped both his credibility and his mantra: you have to go to grow.
- Global leadership without a universal playbook — why cultural sensitivity must shape every people strategy in international environments
- The quiet voice in the room — how to surface insight from those who aren't the most vocal, and why it matters for outcomes
- Taking the hard opportunity — how uncomfortable assignments build credibility and competitive advantage
- Reframing failure as curriculum — the mindset shift that removes the fear of risk and accelerates long-term success
- Saying yes before you're ready — Chad's case for accepting opportunities that exceed your current confidence level
What you'll take away
- 1A multicultural background fosters adaptability, confidence, and innovative problem-solving in varied work environments.
- 2Effective global leadership requires sensitivity to diverse cultural approaches to problem-solving and valuing every voice, not just the loudest.
- 3Taking uncomfortable or challenging opportunities often provides competitive advantages, leading to significant personal and financial growth.
- 4Success is not a defined path; individuals must assess their risk tolerance, willingness to be uncomfortable, and aspirations to fulfill their ultimate potential.
- 5Reframing failure as a constant learning lesson, rather than a negative outcome, significantly increases the likelihood of long-term success.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Challenges the belief that hard work alone guarantees promotion and advancement, advocating for a strategic approach to opportunities as a competitive advantage.
- •Reframes failure not as a negative outcome, but as the most likely and valuable learning experience when trying something new, essential for ultimate success.
In Chad's words
“The loudest person in the room isn't always the smartest, and sometimes the quietest person in the room might have the more profound influence on outcomes.”
This highlights the importance of inclusive listening and valuing diverse contributions beyond superficial indicators, crucial for effective team dynamics.
“There's never going to be a universally consistent solution in anything because you always have to make accommodation for, you know, diversity and different cultural perspectives.”
This emphasizes the complexity of global culture management and the necessity of tailored approaches rather than one-size-fits-all solutions.
“I had to literally prove my capabilities working in a business unit that I didn't know... leaning into a concept of you have to go to grow, I kind of, that's one of my mantras.”
This illustrates a key principle of career development, advocating for embracing challenging, unfamiliar roles for significant personal and professional advancement.
“There is no defined path to success. What I found is that sometimes taking the hard opportunity or the one that was tougher gave me an advantage because it gave me the credibility to succeed, but it also helped in my development.”
This challenges conventional career thinking by promoting the strategic pursuit of difficult opportunities for unique developmental and competitive benefits.
“If we can reframe failure as that constant lesson that I'm learning about how to be better, I'll have a higher likelihood of success in anything that I do because I won't be overcome by a negative outcome initially.”
This offers a powerful mindset shift regarding failure, transforming it from a deterrent into a catalyst for continuous learning and ultimate achievement.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Companies struggle to build truly global cultures due to diverse cultural perspectives, requiring accommodations rather than universal solutions.
- •Organizations often miss valuable talent (especially 'quiet people') due to biases or relying solely on external business metrics, leading to underestimation of internal gifts and talents.
- •Individuals may limit career growth by fearing risk or believing in a passive, linear career progression model, missing out on opportunities for significant development and competitive advantage.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
Chad Thompson shares a little bit about his career journey
What's Your Career Journey?
Chad says his multicultural upbringing has shaped his approach to diversity in the workplace
How multicultural backgrounds have shaped the workplace
What were some of the other more significant lessons you learned from working around the world
What were some of the other more significant lessons you learned from working
Chad says stepping outside your comfort zone is key to growth and development
Step outside your comfort zone to grow
How has your philosophy of saying yes to opportunities shaped your career path
Said Yes to Opportunities My Career
Chad, what advice would you like to share with our audience
Built by People: Chad
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
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