In this episode, Marilyn Zakhour speaks with José Santos about what it means to lead and govern at the edge of uncertainty.

Challenging conventional thinking, José draws a clear distinction between risk and true uncertainty—and explains why treating one as the other leads to flawed decisions and fragile organizations.

The conversation shifts the focus from prediction to design: how boards create the boundaries within which leaders can act, and how managers can operate, innovate, and remain entrepreneurial without relying on forecasts.

From governance frameworks to leadership mindset shifts, this episode offers a deeper lens on how organizations can function—and thrive—when the future is unknowable.

This episode is part of the 2026 Cosmic Conference by Cosmic Centaurs, focused on helping leaders build organizations that can endure, adapt, and thrive. 

In this episode, Marilyn Zakhour speaks with Loïc Moutault about what it takes to build organizations that are both resilient and ready.

Drawing on decades of global leadership, Loïc reflects on how crises have evolved into a constant condition, what leaders often misunderstand about preparedness, and how organizations can build the structures, reflexes, and capabilities needed to navigate the unknown.

The conversation moves beyond response into transformation—exploring how moments of disruption can become sources of long-term strength, alignment, and renewed performance.

From leadership team dynamics to the personal demands of leading through uncertainty, this episode offers a grounded perspective on what leadership truly requires today.

This episode is part of the 2026 Cosmic Conference by Cosmic Centaurs, focused on helping leaders build organizations that can endure, adapt, and thrive.

In this episode, Peter Zemsky, Professor of Strategy & Innovation at INSEAD and CEO of Lexarius, shares insights from his research into what made that response effective.

The conversation explores how leaders navigated difficult trade-offs, integrated expertise into decision-making, and coordinated across systems in moments of uncertainty. It also looks at what organizations can learn from this experience today, from building crisis-ready capabilities to rethinking how leaders develop people in a world shaped by rapid change and AI.

This episode is part of the 2026 Cosmic Conference: Grounded & Limitless – Leading Organizations that Survive & Thrive, hosted by Cosmic Centaurs, an organizational and leadership development consultancy supporting leaders to build stronger, more adaptive organizations.

In this episode, Dr. Saleh Al-Tamimi reflects on leading one of Saudi Arabia’s largest healthcare systems through both COVID-19 and a broader national transformation.

This is a conversation about what pressure reveals, what it builds, and how leaders can turn short-term responses into long-term strength.

We explore how systems scale under constraint, why innovation and efficiency go hand in hand, and what it takes to build organizations that can sustain performance beyond the leader.

Along the way, Dr. Al-Tamimi shares practical leadership practices around presence, trust, and empowerment, as well as personal reflections on resilience, burnout, and staying grounded in high-stakes environments.

Topics covered:

•  Leading through crisis vs. leading through transformation 
•  Scaling capacity and capability under pressure 
•  Building agility that lasts beyond urgency 
•  Innovation as a driver of efficiency 
•  Leadership at scale: trust, visibility, and empowerment 
•  Staying grounded as a leader over time 

About the Organizer
Cosmic Centaurs helps leaders and organizations navigate complexity, build capability, and drive meaningful change across the GCC.

In this session from the 7th Cosmic Conference, Individual & Collective: The Power of Community, Tala Odeh is joined by Wafa Al Obaidat, Founder & CEO of Playbook, to explore how community influences how leaders think, decide, and move forward.

Drawing on her experience building a global community of over 800 members across 100+ countries, Wafa shares how intentional communities go beyond connection, becoming spaces where leaders find clarity, support, and opportunity.

Together, they unpack:

•  The difference between networks and true communities 
•  What leaders need from community when navigating complexity 
•  How strong communities are intentionally designed and sustained 
•  The rituals, norms, and behaviors that bring community to life 
•  How community compounds over time to shape decisions and outcomes 

The conversation also brings to life real stories from the Playbook ecosystem, where community has led to investments, partnerships, and career-defining opportunities.

This session is part of Week 3: Thrive, exploring how leaders can turn the lessons of crisis into a competitive advantage and emerge stronger, more connected, and better prepared for the future.

When uncertainty is prolonged, the rules of leadership change. There are no clear timelines, no reliable benchmarks, and often no precedent to guide decision-making. Leaders are required to act while the ground is still moving, balancing immediate pressures with the need to build for an unknown future.

In this episode, Claudia Zeisberger, Professor at INSEAD and expert in private capital and turnaround management, joins Marilyn Zakhour for a deep conversation on what it takes to lead when the crisis doesn’t end.

Together, they explore:

•  How prolonged crises fundamentally reshape decision-making and risk 
•  Why waiting for a “return to normal” can become a strategic trap 
•  How leaders can rethink core business assumptions under pressure 
•  The importance of scenario planning, cash awareness, and structural flexibility 
•  What enables organizations to adapt, innovate, and move forward in uncertainty 
•  The role of leadership, culture, and communication in navigating complexity 

This episode is part of the Cosmic Conference series, exploring how leaders can move beyond reacting to crisis and instead use it as a moment to reshape what comes next.

In this episode, Roland Daher, CEO of AstroLabs shares the behind-the-scenes reality of building a high-performing leadership team while scaling a company in uncertain conditions.

From redefining strategy and introducing operating cadence, to navigating identity shifts as a CEO, Roland walks through the small, often overlooked disciplines that compound into organizational performance. 

Together with Marilyn Zakhour, the conversation explores:

•  The difference between alignment and true shared ownership 
•  Why harmony can undermine trust in leadership teams 
•  How to build systems that enable people, not depend on individuals 
•  The hardest shift leaders face when stepping out of execution 
•  Why the “boring basics” are what actually drive transformation 

This is not a conversation about frameworks or silver bullets.
 It is a grounded look at what it takes to build teams, systems, and leaders that can endure and perform under pressure.

In this episode of Center Stage, Wissam Adib joins Marilyn Zakhour for a conversation on containment and ambition — and why the ability to hold complexity may be one of the most critical leadership capabilities today.

Drawing from his experience advising senior leaders and shaping large-scale transformation across the UAE, Wissam explores how leaders can move from control to containment — creating environments where teams can think, experiment, and perform under pressure.

Together, they unpack:

•  Why not all challenges are created equal — and how to distinguish complexity from complication 
•  The hidden impact of ambition on teams, and how anxiety shows up in systems 
•  The concept of negative capability — staying with uncertainty without rushing to act 
•  How leaders can contain pressure at the inner, relational, systemic, and symbolic levels 
•  What it takes to sustain both stability and momentum in uncertain environments 

This episode is part of Cosmic Conference 7 by Cosmic Centaurs — a leadership and organizational development consultancy working with leaders across the GCC to build more resilient, adaptive, and human-centered organizations. 

In this episode, Marilyn Zakhour speaks with Maya Ibrahimchah, Founder of Beit el Baraka and Beit Kanz, about what it takes to build systems that endure in the face of ongoing economic, social, and political instability.

The conversation begins with a single moment. An encounter that revealed a hidden crisis affecting hundreds of thousands of retirees living without support or visibility. What followed was not a traditional charitable response, but the creation of a multi-layered ecosystem designed to restore dignity, agency, and long-term sustainability.

Maya shares how her work evolved across overlapping crises, from the Lebanese revolution to COVID-19, the Beirut explosion, and continued instability. Together, they unpack what it means to rethink aid as an economic model, design for resilience, and lead when certainty is not an option.

This episode is part of the Cosmic Conference series by Cosmic Centaurs, exploring how leaders navigate complexity and build systems that last.

About the Speaker

Maya Ibrahimchah is the Founder of Beit el Baraka and Beit Kanz, organizations redefining social support in Lebanon through sustainable, system-driven approaches.

About the Host

Marilyn Zakhour is the CEO & Founder of Cosmic Centaurs, a leadership and organizational development consultancy supporting leaders across the GCC.

In this episode, Marilyn Zakhour speaks with Emad Odeh about what it takes to grow a business when the ground is less stable.

Rather than stepping back, the conversation explores how leaders can adapt the way they show up. From changing how they approach selling, to strengthening relationships, to recognizing opportunities that are less obvious but still very real.

Emad brings a grounded perspective shaped by decades of navigating cycles, crises, and complex markets.

This is a conversation about staying present, staying relevant, and continuing to build momentum when conditions are uncertain.

If you’re leading growth, business development, or client relationships right now, this episode offers a clear and practical lens on what to do differently.

Drawing on anonymized questions from managers across the GCC, the conversation focused on the tensions leaders are holding every day.

Balancing performance with people.
 Providing direction without full visibility.
 Knowing when to take control and when to empower.
 Navigating influence in systems where decisions sit elsewhere.

Rather than offering one-size-fits-all answers, this session unpacked how to navigate these tensions with more awareness, range, and intention.

It’s a practical, honest look at what it means to lead in the middle when the path forward is not always clear.

In this episode, Marilyn Zakhour is joined by Ghida Barakat to explore how leaders in the GCC are navigating layered and often conflicting realities.

From geopolitical tension to internal team dynamics, this conversation unpacks the complexity leaders are holding today, across both self and system.

They discuss how different experiences of the same moment can create invisible tension within teams, why leaders often default to reactive patterns under pressure, and what it takes to stay grounded while leading others through uncertainty.

This is a practical and reflective conversation for leaders working across diverse teams, where clarity is not always shared, but leadership is still required.

If you’re navigating complexity that doesn’t have a single narrative or clear answer, this episode offers a way to think about holding it, rather than resolving it too quickly.

In this episode, Aline Kamakian, Founder of Mayrig and Batchig, joins us to share her experience leading through decades of instability in Lebanon—where crises are layered, ongoing, and deeply human.

This is a conversation about:

•  Leading when there is no stability to rely on 
•  Making decisions grounded in values, not fear 
•  Acting fast while thinking long-term 
•  Holding teams, communities, and ecosystems together 

We also explore the creation of Sofra, a platform that channels donations directly to restaurants to produce and distribute meals—supporting both displaced individuals and the wider food ecosystem. 

At its core, this episode is a reminder that leadership, in moments like these, is not just about sustaining performance—but about sustaining people.

About the Series
This episode is part of the Cosmic Conference 2026: Grounded & Limitless — Leading Organizations that Survive & Thrive, a 3-week series exploring how leaders endure, adapt, and grow through uncertainty. 

In times of uncertainty, leaders are often forced to make decisions they never hoped to face.

Reduce costs. Restructure teams. Protect the business.
 All while recognizing that these choices impact people’s lives.

In this episode, Marilyn Zakhour speaks with Rabih Brair, Partner at Tandem, about what it truly means to lead through downsizing in today’s context.

Together, they unpack:

•  Why many organizations move too quickly — and the risks of doing so 
•  How to “go back to basics” and quantify your financial reality 
•  The spectrum of responses leaders are taking across the GCC 
•  Alternatives to layoffs that preserve both cash and capability 
•  How to balance short-term survival with long-term sustainability 
•  What compassionate leadership actually looks like in practice 

This is a conversation grounded in real decisions leaders are making today — and the trade-offs they must navigate.

Because in moments like these, leadership is not just about protecting the business.
 It is about doing so without losing what makes it worth protecting.

In this episode, Rama Chakaki joins Marilyn Zakhour to explore leadership through a regional lens, one that moves beyond imported frameworks and reconnects with the cultural foundations of the Middle East.

Together, they reflect on:
 • Where global leadership models fall short in local contexts
 • The role of indigenous wisdom in shaping grounded leadership
 • Why resilience is not just a skill, but a cultural capability
 • How uncertainty can unlock locally-driven innovation

This conversation is part of the Cosmic Conference 2026, where leaders come together to explore what it takes for organizations to endure, adapt, and thrive in complex environments.

A thoughtful episode for leaders looking to stay anchored while navigating change.

But what if one of the most critical levers is something less visible—human connection?

In this episode, Marie Nakhle, Psychological Safety Lead at Cosmic Centaurs, sits down with Dr. Connie Noonan Hadley, organizational psychologist and Research Associate Professor at Boston University, to explore how uncertainty, loneliness, and AI are reshaping the way we experience work—and what leaders can do about it. 

Drawing on her research on workplace loneliness and psychological safety, Connie shares why connection is not just a wellbeing concern, but a core driver of performance, trust, and even successful AI adoption.

We discuss:

•  What it means to be “present and connected” at work today 
•  Why psychological safety matters more in times of pressure and change 
•  The growing reality of loneliness at work—and its impact on performance 
•  How AI is influencing connection, trust, and collaboration 
•  The concept of social confidence—and why it’s becoming essential 
•  What leaders can do to design more connected, resilient teams 
•  Why connection should be treated as infrastructure—not a perk 

This conversation is part of the Cosmic Conference 2026: Grounded & Limitless, exploring how leaders can help organizations endure, adapt, and ultimately thrive through uncertainty.

If you’re leading a team, navigating change, or thinking about the future of work, this episode offers a powerful reframe on what truly drives performance.

Follow Cosmic Centaurs for more conversations on leadership and organizational growth.
Share this episode with someone who might need it.

In moments of uncertainty, communication carries a different weight. It’s no longer just about sharing information, it’s about steadying people, building trust, and creating direction in environments that are often unclear.

In this episode, Tala Odeh (Capability Development Lead at Cosmic Centaurs) sits down with Claire Furlong, Partner at FGS Global, to explore what effective leadership communication looks like in high-pressure, complex situations.

Drawing on experience across global organizations, governments, and crisis contexts, Claire shares how leaders can navigate the tension between empathy and direction, what often goes wrong in moments like these, and how to communicate in a way that actually lands.

Together, they explore:

•  Why communication becomes a critical leadership lever in uncertainty 
•  How communication shifts between “peacetime” and “crisis” 
•  The common pitfalls leaders fall into under pressure 
•  How to balance empathy with clarity and direction 
•  Communicating across different stakeholders and audiences 
•  The role of cadence, structure, and consistency in reducing noise 
•  Practical tools, from crisis playbooks to messaging frameworks 

This episode is part of the Cosmic Conference 2026:
 Grounded & Limitless: Leading Organizations that Survive & Thrive

About the Guest

Claire Furlong is a Partner at FGS Global, advising organizations on strategic communications in high-stakes and complex environments.

She previously served as General Manager of Marketing & Communications at the International Cricket Council (ICC), where she led communications across major global events and periods of intense scrutiny. Her career spans journalism, consultancy, and leadership roles across international organizations.

About the Host

Tala Odeh is the Capability Development Lead at Cosmic Centaurs, a leadership and organizational development consultancy based in the GCC. Her work focuses on helping leaders and teams navigate complexity, strengthen communication, and build high-performing organizations.

Show Notes / Key Moments 

•  Communication as a stabilizing force in uncertainty 
•  The gap between what leaders say and what employees hear 
•  Empathy vs direction: why it’s harder than it sounds 
•  Stakeholder alignment in moments of pressure 
•  Moving from reactive messaging to structured communication

In this episode, we explored how leaders navigated the emotional weight of uncertainty — balancing fear, responsibility, and constant change, often all at once. While strategy played a role, the conversation surfaced something deeper: how a leader’s internal state shapes not only their decisions, but the experience of everyone around them.

Sandra Salame, Founder of Siira, joined us to share what she and her team have been hearing directly from leaders through their dialogue circles — the patterns, pressures, and internal struggles that don’t always get named.

Together, we unpacked:

•  What leaders were truly experiencing during moments of uncertainty 
•  The emotional patterns that surfaced under pressure 
•  How different responses shaped leadership behavior and decision-making 
•  The hidden drivers — fear, denial, and shame — influencing leaders 
•  How leaders could recognize when their internal state was impacting their teams 
•  Practical ways to create stability, communicate clearly, and support teams without dismissing reality 

This episode offers a grounded and honest look at leadership in uncertain times — and what it took to remain calm, courageous, and intentional when it mattered most.

About the Series
This episode is part of the Cosmic Conference by Cosmic Centaurs — an open platform bringing together leaders, thinkers, and practitioners to explore what leadership demands today.

Cosmic Centaurs is an organizational and leadership development consultancy helping leaders and teams make better decisions and drive sustainable change.

Today’s leaders are navigating a level of uncertainty that is layered, prolonged, and constantly shifting. Decisions are being made faster, with less clarity, and under increasing pressure, while teams look to their leaders for stability and direction.

In this opening keynote, Marilyn Zakhour (Founder & CEO of Cosmic Centaurs) explores what it really takes to lead in these conditions.

This session sets the tone for the 7th annual Cosmic Conference, a three-week virtual experience focused on how organizations can navigate uncertainty, build resilience, and continue to grow.

In this keynote, you’ll explore:

•  How leaders make decisions under pressure and incomplete information 
•  What resilience actually looks like at an organizational level 
•  Why surviving uncertainty is not enough and how to build for what’s next 
•  The balance between staying grounded in reality and creating future possibilities 
•  Practical leadership perspectives drawn from real-world crises and research 

The conference is structured around three key themes:
Endure. Adapt. Thrive.
Each week explores the leadership practices that help organizations stay steady, move forward, and emerge stronger.

Join us:
https://www.cosmiccentaursconference.com/

In this episode, we turn the mic on Cosmic Centaurs’ founder and CEO, Marilyn Zakhour, in a candid conversation about why leaders in the GCC and wider MENA region must step into public presence with intention, and what it truly takes to do it well.

From cultural norms around humility and discretion, to structural gaps in media ecosystems and speaking circuits, we explore the real reasons many accomplished executives hesitate to share their voice publicly. Yet in a region shaping some of the world’s most ambitious economic transformations, silence is no longer neutral. It leaves the narrative to others.

Together, we unpack:

• The tension between humility and visibility, and how to reframe it
• Why public presence is a strategic asset, not a personal indulgence
• The role of leadership voice in building trust, attracting talent, and accelerating growth
• What narrative sovereignty means for the Arab world
• The research gap around leadership from the region, and why it is time to change that

Marilyn also shares her personal journey from declining media interviews to building a disciplined, purpose driven public presence, and introduces The Compelling Communicator, a program designed to help founders and senior leaders craft a voice that is authentic, strategic, and deeply rooted in service.

If you are a CEO, founder, or executive who knows you have something meaningful to say but are not sure how to begin, this episode is your invitation to step forward.

Because in this region, visibility is not ego. It is responsibility.

In this episode of Psychological Safety in Focus, we sit down with Mazuba Hainama, independent consultant with over 15 years of experience working across tech, government, corporates, and civil society, to explore what measuring psychological safety looks like in practice.

Together, we unpack why Mazuba chose to run a psychological safety scan with her team, what the data revealed beneath the surface, and how the conversations that followed reshaped trust, leadership behaviors, and team dynamics. From navigating vulnerability as a leader, to balancing compassion with execution, to creating shared accountability within a team, this conversation goes far beyond scores and surveys.

This episode is a candid, reflective look at:

• Why psychological safety doesn’t require something to be “broken” to be valuable
• How data can unlock conversations teams struggle to have otherwise
• The role of leadership intention, predictability, and consistency
• What leaders often miss—and what changes when they truly listen
• How teams can turn insight into rituals, commitments, and long-term impact

If you’re a leader curious about psychological safety, unsure where to start, or wondering what happens after the measurement, this episode offers a grounded, human perspective on what it takes to build teams where people feel safe to speak up, learn, and perform, together.

Professor José Santos, Affiliated Professor of Practice in Global Management at INSEAD, joins Marilyn Zakhour to challenge and deepen the conference’s central idea: Is the system really the strategy?

Together, they explore how leaders can move from managing parts to understanding the whole and why seeing organizations as living, interconnected systems may be the most strategic mindset of all.

They discuss:
 🔹 Why most leaders struggle to see systems and how to learn to see them
 🔹 The difference between simple, complicated, and complex systems
 🔹 How emergence and interaction shape performance over time
 🔹 Why resilience comes from managing relationships, not parts
 🔹 How imagination, observation, and time help leaders design better systems

This closing session is a reflection on the essence of systems thinking, a bridge between theory and practice, between how we lead and how we live.

In this lively conversation, Marilyn Zakhour and Tala Ode from Cosmic Centaurs unpack how culture shows up not in slogans or posters, but in the invisible systems that shape how organizations operate: how decisions are made, how meetings run, how feedback flows, and how people feel when they show up to work.

Using the Omnichannel Organization™ framework, they explore how leaders can design culture through structure, process, people, and controls, so that it’s not an HR initiative, but a way of working that delivers results.

Together, they discuss:
 🔹 Why culture isn’t a “project” but the operating system of an organization
 🔹 How strategy and culture reinforce (or destroy) each other
 🔹 The signals your org structure and workspace send about your values
 🔹 How to measure and reward cultural behaviors, not just performance
 🔹 What startups and fast-growing companies must know about scaling culture

This episode redefines culture as something built, measured, and lived. A system that connects purpose to practice.

In this energizing conversation, Diren Bhatia, entrepreneur, coach, and founder of Cloudscape Technologies, joins Tala Ode to explore how leaders and founders can redesign their relationship with time. From his own journey of moving from a 14-hour-day founder to a “part-time CEO,” Diren shares how systems, rituals, and mindset shifts can help leaders free themselves from firefighting and refocus on what really matters.

Together, they explore:
 🔹 Why working harder isn’t the answer — designing smarter systems is
 🔹 How to move from founder to CEO and build teams that thrive without you
 🔹 The art (and unlearning) of delegation and trust
 🔹 Simple rituals and rhythms that reclaim focus, energy, and white space
 🔹 Why every effective system must be agile, imperfect, and human

This conversation is a powerful reminder that time freedom isn’t about doing less — it’s about doing what matters most, by design.

In this powerful conversation, Ibraheem Sheerah, Chief Transformation Officer at Saudia Group, joins Marilyn Zakhour to share how he led one of the Kingdom’s most ambitious transformation journeys, reshaping not just an airline, but the ecosystem around it.

Through stories that span from listening to a security guard’s advice to engaging pilots, suppliers, and customers in change, Ibraheem reveals how transformation begins with humility, courage, and deep listening.

Together, they explore:
 🔹 How to turn resistance into ownership across large systems
 🔹 Why leaders must build connection before they build change
 🔹 How to balance structure, speed, and humanity in transformation
 🔹 What it means to lead through polarities: vision and detail, authority and service
 🔹 Why every sustainable system starts with gratitude and self-work

This conversation is a masterclass in leading with purpose, conviction, and care, a reminder that real transformation is not about control, but about trust.

In this conversation, Chun Feng “Breeze” Dong, Associate Director of Organizational Development at Roche, joins Marilyn Zakhour to share how she and her team applied systems thinking to enable large-scale learning, collaboration, and innovation across global teams.

Drawing from years of experimentation inside one of the world’s leading healthcare companies, Breeze shows how transformation becomes continuous, not episodic when leaders think like gardeners, creating the right conditions for people and ideas to grow.

Together, they explore:
 🔹 How systems thinking helped unlock collaboration across 140 countries
 🔹 The power of identifying “cultural carriers” to drive change from within
 🔹 How transparency, purpose, and learning can fuel self-organized innovation
 🔹 Why leaders must trust the wisdom of the system instead of controlling it
 🔹 How to stay grounded and human while navigating large-scale change

This is a story of what happens when leadership evolves from fixing parts to evolving the whole.

In this heartfelt conversation Faten Fathallah, Marie Nakhle, Marilyn Zakhour, Tala Odeh, and Zeinab Makke from the Cosmic Centaurs team join Hadeel Kabosh to explore how they design, adapt, and sustain systems that help them thrive as both professionals and parents.

Together, they reflect on:
 🔹 How motherhood reshapes priorities, time, and definitions of success
 🔹 Why community, communication, and boundaries are essential to balance
 🔹 The rituals, processes, and rules that keep their households (and sanity) in check
 🔹 What organizations can do to better support parents in the workplace

This conversation is a celebration of intention, imperfection, and the invisible systems that make it all work.

In this conversation, Dr. José-Rodrigo Córdoba-Pachón, Associate Professor at Royal Holloway, University of London, joins Marilyn Zakhour to explore the intersection of systems thinking, rituals, and the art of being. Together, they reflect on how leaders can find balance between doing and being, structure and spontaneity, efficiency and presence.

They discuss:
 🔹 How philosophy, poetry, and systems thinking can inform modern leadership
 🔹 The role of rituals in creating meaning, boundaries, and connection
 🔹 Why reflection and lightness are essential to navigate complexity
 🔹 How to design systems that leave space for silence, creativity, and humanity

This conversation invites leaders to slow down, question assumptions, and rediscover the simple, human truths at the heart of every system.

In this episode, Wissam Adib, Executive Coach and former Advisor at the UAE Prime Minister’s Office, joins Marilyn Zakhour to explore what it really takes to build systems that foster innovation at scale. Drawing on two decades of experience shaping national innovation frameworks in the UAE, Wissam shares lessons that apply to both governments and organizations everywhere.

Together, they explore:
 🔹 How to build a system that makes innovation repeatable and sustainable
 🔹 What it means to balance governance with experimentation
 🔹 Why ambidexterity is a core leadership muscle
 🔹 How leaders can separate themselves from the systems they shape
 🔹 What organizations can learn from the UAE’s journey of embedding innovation

This conversation blends systems thinking, leadership, and strategy with practical insights from one of the region’s most experienced innovation architects.

Together, they explore how leaders can:
 🔹 Design systems that balance productivity and people
 🔹 Turn clarity, planning, and focus into everyday habits
 🔹 Build cultures of ownership, communication, and resilience
 🔹 Transform crisis and pressure into catalysts for better systems

This episode is packed with practical frameworks, from purpose and planning to mental toughness, and a powerful reminder that great systems aren’t built overnight. They’re built through consistency.

🎥 Watch now to learn how to perform better, longer, and with heart.

Together, they dive into:
 🔹 How leaders can deliver impact by design strategies anchored in purpose
🔹 Why clarity and curiosity are the missing links in most measurement frameworks
🔹 How storytelling and listening help organizations communicate the “why” behind the numbers
🔹 What private sector leaders can learn from nonprofits about doing more with less

This dialogue goes beyond metrics, it’s a reflection on purpose, power, and the systems that sustain change.

🎥 Watch now to learn how to build systems that don’t just measure impact, but amplify it.

• What systems thinking is and why it’s an essential skill for leaders.
• The six practical moves that can improve your systems thinking ability by 550%.
• How to apply systems thinking across contexts, from leading teams to raising kids.
• Why understanding and aligning mental models can resolve most workplace (and personal) conflicts.

🌍 Whether you’re leading a team, building a company, or simply trying to make sense of complexity, this conversation offers a simple, science-backed framework for thinking smarter about the systems that shape our world.

🎙 About the Speakers:
Dr. Derek Cabrera is a systems and cognitive scientist, author of Systems Thinking Made Simple, and founder of the Cabrera Research Lab at Cornell University.

Dr. Laura Cabrera is CEO and co-founder of the Cabrera Research Lab and a leading voice in making systems science accessible and practical across sectors.

Host: Marilyn Zakhour, CEO of Cosmic Centaurs, organizational and leadership development consultancy.

🧭 The 2025 Cosmic Conference Theme:
The System is the Strategy: How the most effective leaders shift from Firefighting to Future Building.

In this powerful Cosmic Conference 2025 session, Sander Hoeken, Co-Founder of The Fearless Organization Scan and Founder of CellSpace, joins Marilyn Zakhour, CEO of Cosmic Centaurs and Harvard Business Review author, to explore how organizations can build systems that sustain psychological safety at scale.

Moderated by Marie Nakhle, Senior Consultant at Cosmic Centaurs, this conversation moves beyond theory to offer tangible, system-level practices leaders can implement to make psychological safety part of how their organizations operate every day.

💬 In this session, you’ll learn:

• How HR policies, incentives, and physical space shape psychological safety
• Systemic practices that embed psychological safety across teams and functions
• How to balance safety with accountability for higher performance
• Why leaders often overestimate how much they hear from their teams
• How to adapt psychological safety to multicultural and high-context workplaces

🎙️ About the Speakers:

• Sander Hoeken has been at the forefront of transforming Amy Edmondson’s research on psychological safety into actionable tools through The Fearless Organization Scan, used by companies like Microsoft, Adobe, Merck, and Accenture.
• Marilyn Zakhour is the Founder & CEO of Cosmic Centaurs, a leadership and organizational development consultancy that has impacted over 90,000 individuals across 92 countries. She is also a university lecturer and the host of Centaur Stage.
• Moderator: Marie Nakhle, Senior Consultant at Cosmic Centaurs and Certified Psychological Safety Practitioner.

Together, they unpack how leaders can:
 🔹 Redesign business models and infrastructures for an AI-driven world
 🔹 Create new loops of value instead of chasing incremental improvements
 🔹 Rethink the role of middle management for AI-native generations
 🔹 Stay grounded, authentic, and human amid accelerating change

This conversation invites leaders to move from being objects of the system to architects of new ones,  shifting from reacting to designing, from surviving disruption to shaping what comes next.

• The essentials of systems thinking for leaders
• How to apply systems mapping to uncover hidden interconnections
• Real-world case studies in organizational resilience and systems change
• Practical tools and mental models for navigating complexity and scale
  
  

Whether you’re leading a startup, steering a mature organization, or curious about complexity science, this conversation will help you shift from problem-solving to systems leadership—building organizations that scale with clarity, adaptability, and resilience.

🔗 Learn more about the Cosmic Conference: https://www.cosmiccentaursconference....

In this episode, Marilyn Zakhour, CEO & Founder of Cosmic Centaurs, introduces this year’s theme and makes the case for why systems thinking is an essential skill for leaders navigating complexity.

Over the past year, many leaders have shared how they feel stuck in firefighting mode, solving urgent problems only to see the same issues resurface. What these stories reveal isn’t a failure of leadership, but of the systems we rely on.

In her keynote, Marilyn explores how shifting from heroic problem-solver to systems architect can liberate leaders from recurring challenges and open the way for decisions that are not just effective, but also scalable and sustainable.

This episode also sets the stage for a six-week journey across Dubai, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Beirut, and online where the Cosmic Conference will dive deeper into how leaders can sense, influence, and redesign the systems they lead in.

📅 September 15 – November 4, 2025
 📍 Dubai • Riyadh • Abu Dhabi • Beirut • Online

In this special episode marking Cosmic Centaurs’ 5th anniversary, our founder Marilyn Zakhour is joined by two remarkable guests: Sandra Salame, founder of Siira, and Sander Hoeken, co-founder of the Fearless Organization Scan and collaborator of Prof. Amy Edmondson (Harvard Business School), the pioneer of psychological safety.

Together, they demystify psychological safety—not as a soft skill, but as the soil in which high-performing teams grow. Drawing from lived experience, regional insights, and global data, this episode covers:

• 🧠 The origin and evolution of psychological safety, from Amy Edmondson to Google’s Project Aristotle
• 📊 Why psych safety isn’t just a feel-good concept, but a measurable driver of performance (50% more revenue in some sales teams!)
• 🧩 How psychological safety is often misunderstood in hierarchical or fast-changing environments—and how to reframe it
• 🔧 Practical behaviors, team rituals, and leadership habits that build safety and trust, without sacrificing accountability
• 🌍 What makes psychological safety different in culturally diverse and rapidly transforming regions like the GCC

💬 Whether you're a seasoned leader or an individual contributor, this conversation offers tools, stories, and insights you can start applying tomorrow. Because building a better team starts with creating a space where people feel safe to speak up—and strong enough to challenge the status quo.

✨ Bonus: Hear how Cosmic Centaurs, Siira, and the Fearless Organization are partnering to bring a localized, evidence-based approach to psychological safety across the region.

🔗 Don’t forget to:

• Try the Fearless Organization Scan for your team (linked in the episode notes)
• Download the Cosmic Centaurs psych safety brochure

In this episode, Marilyn Zakhour and Dr. Constance Noonan Hadley take you behind the scenes of their three-year research journey on team rituals—work that led to their widely read Harvard Business Review article.

Together, they unpack the data that proves rituals boost team commitment, psychological safety, and job satisfaction—and they share personal stories from the research process, including what surprised them most along the way.

From childhood traditions to corporate rituals that actually work, this conversation is both insightful and deeply personal. Plus, don’t miss the rapid-fire round, where Marilyn and Connie challenge each other with unexpected questions about their collaboration.

Tune in to learn:
✔ What makes a team ritual truly meaningful
✔ How rituals shape human connection at work
✔ The hardest part of researching and implementing rituals
✔ What Marilyn and Connie really think about certain team traditions

If you’ve ever wondered how to build a culture of trust, engagement, and connection, this episode is for you.

Tune in to learn:

• Why mastering polarities like exploration vs. exploitation and innovation vs. efficiency is key for organizational resilience.
• How frameworks like Dave Snowden’s Cynefin Framework (link), McKinsey’s 3 Horizons of Growth (link), and Geoffrey Moore’s Zone to Win (link) can guide leaders toward sustainable growth.
• How Gary Pisano’s insights on Innovative Cultures (link) can help create a culture that balances risk-taking with high standards.
• The importance of ambidextrous organizational structures for navigating present demands while preparing for future opportunities.

🎧 Dive deeper into the stories of Fujifilm and Kodak on previous episodes of Centaur Stage:

• Fujifilm: Navigating the Tides of Change
• Kodak: When Innovation Goes Wrong

Join Marilyn as she explores the pivotal moments that defined Nokia's journey, from groundbreaking innovations to missed opportunities in the smartphone era. Discover how internal conflicts, poor strategic decisions, and a stifling culture of fear led to Nokia's downfall.

Learn valuable lessons from Nokia's story and gain insights into the deeper organizational issues that can make or break a company. Whether you're a tech enthusiast or a business professional, this episode offers a profound exploration of Nokia's legacy.

Tune in for an engaging narrative on the rise and fall of Nokia. Visit www.CosmicCentaurs.com for more content on leadership and organizational development, and subscribe to our newsletters for the latest updates.

• Explore More Episodes:
  • Episode 3: Innovation Gone Wrong at Kodak
  • Episode 5: The Turnaround of Best Buy
  • Episode 6: Reinventing Nissan
  • Leading Organizations through Restructuring
• Connect with Cosmic Centaurs:
  • Visit cosmiccentaurs.com for articles on leadership and organizational culture.
  • Subscribe to our newsletter here for the latest updates and insights.

Join us for this deep dive into Fujifilm’s inspiring journey from crisis to innovation, and learn how bold leadership can steer a company through turbulent times.

• Paul McKinlay is VP of Communications and Remote Working at Cimpress, parent company to e-commerce brands like Vistaprint. He’s been leading employee communications, change, engagement and L&D teams both in-house and in agency for over twenty years.
• Jose Santos, a returning debate guest, is an Affiliated Professor of Practice in Global Management. After spending 20 years in the managerial world, Joe moved from Italy to INSEAD and devoted himself to scholarly work, a dream from his youth. Joe’s research and teaching focuses on the management of multinational enterprise, particularly on the management of global integration and global innovation. 
• Liam Martin is a serial entrepreneur and avid remote work proponent who runs ​Time Doctor​, a popular time tracking and productivity software platform, and ​Staff.com, for hiring remote staff​. He is also a co-organizer of the world's largest remote work conference — ​Running Remote​.

Dr. Vinika Rao is the Executive Director of the INSEAD Gender Initiative & Emerging Markets Institute and Director of the Hoffman Global Institute for Business & Society, Asia. Prior to INSEAD, she was an Associate Professor of Strategy at the S.P. Jain Centre of Management, Singapore. Her research interests are gender diversity in corporate leadership, male allyship, and multigenerational influences in the workplace, and is a frequent speaker on related topics and published/quoted in leading business publications.

• Dr. Agustin (Gus) Chevez has been an Honorary Fellow of Management and Marketing at the University of Melbourne since 2019. He is an Architect and an Academic who dedicated his career to discover the notion of work and uncovering environments that best support our working lives. His work has been presented at various international forums and published in both academic and industry publications.
• Shayne Smart is a highly versatile change consultant, with over 5000 hours experience in workshop design, facilitation and delivery. With over ten years of experience in designing effective co-creation workshops,  and the facilitation of engaging audiences internally and externally, he has proven multi-national capability to engage teams, establish alignment to vision and get to their goals faster. Shayne also co-designed a workshop with Cosmic Centaurs around team rituals.

About the speakers:

• Noor Al Khatib is the  Internal Communications Senior Manager at Careem. She has been integral in building the company's internal communications function, supporting business leaders and colleagues across their markets.
• Isaac Banks is the Director for Corporate Communications at talabat. With experience spanning across New Zealand, Qatar and the UAE, Isaac has called the MENA region home for seven years, having implemented the internal communications strategy at both Al-Futtaim and Talabat.

About the speakers:

• Evelyn Tan is a PhD Researcher at the University of York, UK, under the Centre for Doctoral Training in Intelligent Games and Game Intelligence (IGGI). Her research focuses on team dynamics in virtual teams, specifically within online competitive team-based games.
• Madiha Naz, better known for her gamer name ‘Madi’, is the first Pakistani female to pursue Esports professionally as a career, and is also currently the team captain for the first all-female MENA League of Legends at UAE’s leading esports organization, Galaxy Racer Esports. 
• Sami Moutran is a team captain who played on his university basketball team, founded and played on a rugby team and even started a championship winning endurance racing team. He has also spent the last 18 years in marketing including numerous roles at Memac Ogilvy before moving to his current role as Senior Business Marketing & Communications Director at TikTok. 
• Tom Marsden, a team captain, is the CEO of Saberr, a software company with a mission of “transforming teamwork”. Saberr is a digital platform designed to nudge leaders and teams into routines and habits that help develop a great team. 

1. The future of work is somewhere between remote and in the office. It has to be hybrid.
2. Three conversations must occur when transitioning into a remote/hybrid working model. They are about effectiveness, staffing and social fabric.
3. We need to rethink job design and not who does what work.
4. We need to break work down to the level of the task and think about what people are actually doing. Common sense should be the guide. “It's not the thing, it's the experience of the thing.”
5. “The answers to the problems are in the history of our organizations.” It’s nothing that we have to invent.