Episode 200: Regenerative People with guests, Janet Harvey and Silvia Tassarotti

The world does not change because we agree with the idea of change. It changes when we show up differently on an ordinary Tuesday morning, in the meetings we dread, the choices we rush, and the habits we repeat. That is the heart of my conversation with master coaches and authors Janet Harvey and Silvia Tassarotti about their book, Regenerative People, and why regeneration is not a trend but a personal and leadership practice.

We draw a clear line between sustainability and regeneration. Sustainability aims to reduce harm through mitigation and adaptation. Regeneration asks something bolder: how do we build living systems, organizations, and cultures that restore and give back more than they take? We talk about the mindset shift many leaders skip, the step where we admit our role as causal agents in extractive norms, and how coaching is uniquely positioned to bridge the “personal versus business” divide. Along the way we explore seven-generation thinking, vision, and real examples of long-horizon decisions, from national policy choices to companies willing to reimagine success.

You will leave with practical tools, not just inspiration: a coaching-friendly way to see challenges as living systems, a four-dimension decision lens (inner state, system impact, purpose, and more), and an invitation to inventory the core attributes of being regenerative across self, family, team, and organization. If you have been looking for a grounded approach to regenerative leadership, sustainable growth, well-being at work, and culture change that actually sticks, this conversation is your next step. 

Watch the full interview by clicking here. 

Learn more about Janet here and reach out to Janet at janet.harvey@invitechange.com

Learn more about Silvia here and reach out to Silvia at tassarottis@gmail.com

Take the 5 question survey here: Go.invitechange.com/regen

Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introductions

Garry Schleifer 0:07

Welcome to Beyond the Page, the official podcast of choice, the magazine of professional coaching, where we bring you amazing insights and in-depth features that you won't find anywhere else. I'm your host, Garry Schleifer, and I'm excited to expand your learning as we dive into this book we're going to talk about today and have a chat chat with these brilliant authors who wrote it and uncover the learnings that they are professing in that book. When you get a chance, join our vibrant community of coaching professionals as you explore groundbreaking ideas, share expert tips and techniques, and make a real difference in our clients' lives. Let's get started.

Garry Schleifer 0:45

In today's episode, I'm speaking with authors Janet Harvey and Sylvia Tassarotti, who are the authors of their new book entitled Regenerative People.

Garry Schleifer 0:56

A little bit about Janet. She's a pioneering author, speaker, coach, and educator, and the CEO of Invite Change, a global leader in human development services, and my friend for over 18 years. With nearly 30 years of experience and more than 12,000 coaching hours, Janet was recognized by Coaches 50 as one of the world's most influential executive coaches. She's guided individuals, teams, and organizations to unlock their potential through the trademarked generative wholeness program. Under her leadership, InviteChange has partnered with global brands like Amazon, Microsoft, and Boeing, fostering authentic leadership and sustainable growth.

Garry Schleifer 1:39

Janet is an ICF Master Certified Coach, former ICF Global President, and thought leader, empowers leaders worldwide to invite to create workplaces where people thrive. For more information, you can go to invitechange.com.

Garry Schleifer 1:55

Now a little bit about Sylvia Tassarotti. She is an entrepreneur and Executive Coach at the forefront of regenerative change. As CEO and co-founder, sorry, CEO and founder of Coach for Planet Benefit Corporation, she partners with leaders and organizations to create cultures where performance, human development, and sustainability thrive together.

Garry Schleifer 2:20

Also an ICF master certified coach, with more than two decades of international corporate experience and work with thousands of clients, she created the first ICF accredited course in regenerative leadership coaching.

Garry Schleifer 2:34

A past president of ICF Italy and a founding member of For Good Leaders Cooperative and Climate Coaching Alliance Italy, Sylvia brings clarity, courage, and systemic vision to leaders navigating complexity and transformation.

Garry Schleifer 2:51

She is the author of several books and also an international speaker, and of course, co-author with Janet Harvey of the book Regenerative People, which offers a powerful framework for moving from extractive models to renewal, resilience, and long-term value creation.

Garry Schleifer 3:08

Oh my goodness. Well, there's no wonder the two of you are here today. Thank you so much for joining me. Wow. And coaching it, I didn't realize there was a coaching program as well. So I'm gonna look into that. Perhaps you can let us know about that a little bit later. I have to say to our listeners and viewers, I absolutely loved this book. I was hooked by the very first phrase in the world we are building. Just had me, and I couldn't stop reading it. I'm looking forward to, and I'm oh, to our listeners, I had a pre-read. I've had the good fortune of being honored to write a testimonial for the book. So I've pre-read it. So, you know, anticipation for everybody else. It didn't get to see it until later on, but we'll find out more about that.

How The Co-Authors Connected

Garry Schleifer 4:04

I get where you guys all came from, but how did you come together to work on this book?

Silvia Tassarotti 4:12

So our friendship actually started in the ICF Foundation. So Janet became the Chair and I was on the board. And so I think what really got us together that was 2010. It was really the impact, the social impact that coaching could have in the world. And we built it up to become the Gift of Coaching program or award, I think it's now called, and the Ignite program, which you know it was really supporting the SDGs and the organizations that were working towards that at the time, so uh impacted millions of people. So I think that our really friendship and partnership in bringing coaching to have a big impact started there. And then, of course, we carried on with the Full Leadership Institute with the ICF and the Climate Coaching Alliance and the Coach for Planet initiative that then developed into the organization that you can see now and the book. So I think it's been also a 16 journey, up to you, Gary, if we're getting close. And it's really driven by this dream that I really also got from Sir John Whitmore, that coaching really was scratching the surface of the impact that coaching can have in the world. That's really our strong belief. That's how we got into regenerative people. How could coaching really support this amazing transition and challenge that we're facing as human beings.

Janet Harvey 6:07

It's been such a joy to get to know Sylvia. And when we picked up the reins of the foundation, we had three of the global leaders in ICF who didn't want to do the foundation. And I went to Magda and said, Hey, can we break the bylaws a little bit here? I'm happy to do it early. Because I just felt so strongly about what Sylvia's speaking to is Sir John Whitmore. I had been on the stage with him in Turkey and he was railing because we had just come out of the financial crisis, and he said, Where were all of you coaches when there were people who knew better, who created such carnage in the world, and really worldwide. And we're not out of that yet. It's so interesting to me that here we are in 26, and we haven't learned our lesson. Not all the way, anyway. To me, this was part of the inspiration of the book is that there was a gap. There's a lot of conversation about regeneration, but it's missing that it begins here, begins with the individual shifting their mindset and then their choices, and then the decisions they make with others. And this is not a place that we're spending our investing our time, I guess I'll say it that way. And coaching is uniquely positioned, I think, to address that. And so we thought, let's write an inspiring book, but at the same time, it's paradigm shifting and it's all about empowering individuals' self-leadership and other leadership, and then ultimately society and ecology.

Garry Schleifer 7:46

Yeah.

Why Renewal Starts With You

Garry Schleifer 7:47

Well, no kidding. And thank you for that. Your leading right into what I wanted to ask you about. You were talking about how it starts with the individual. Why does personal renewal have to come first?

Silvia Tassarotti 8:02

It has to come first because that's where we need to meet people where they are at. And I think we all experience burnout and exhaustion to all different levels every day. And everybody is left to their own device to cope, really. Although sometimes organizations do take that, you know, charge in a way, or try to give some tools, but often without keeping, you know, lifting the pressure on people. Because you know, we all go into meetings where we come up exhausted. We all have conversations with it. We think, oh no, not again. Whereas we have meetings or conversations or relationships where we come up uplifted and energized and clearer. So it is a personal change, first of all. And that's why we needed to, and as we all know, you know, long journey starts with one, you know, one first you know, step. So it has to be an internal step before it can be an external change.

Janet Harvey 9:14

Much like you described, Garry. You read the introduction of the book and it was personal for you, the world we are building. And we have this phrase we say, like, what are you gonna do on Tuesday morning? Not just Monday when you're inspired, but Tuesday morning. When you're back to your daily grind, can you stay connected to even one small act of contribution instead of extraction? I mean, I was looking at the coffee machine in the hotel room this morning, and I thought to myself, I wonder if they've gotten recycle figured out here for these coffee pods. And there it was printed right on the label. I went right on. You know, but in the past, would I have thought twice about looking at the bloody thing to see if it was recyclable? And it's a small thing, many small things is how we made an ocean, right?

Sustainability Versus Regeneration

Garry Schleifer 10:11

Yeah, no kidding. Well, but deeper into the book, reading through it, you I realize you could have called this a sustainability book. Sustainability was mentioned a lot, but you didn't. What's the actual difference between sustainability and regeneration?

Silvia Tassarotti 10:30

So really, in a nutshell, and you know, people that are expert will bear with us because we're not expert, we're facilitators and catalyst. Sustainability is about doing less harm. So it's right, it is really about you know reducing the impact we're having in our individual life and in organizations and in society. And in fact, mitigation and adaptation are the two main fields that are around building sustainability. Regeneration is in a way is a leapfrog to sustainability. It really thinks in a different way. So, how could we build processes and organizations and people that are able to actually give back more than they're taking out? So it's a really paradigm shift. That's why you know we think starting with people is key.

Janet Harvey 11:32

If you look at the sustainability movement, which has been underway for at least three decades, maybe four, actually, if we go way back, it was a destination. We're trying to fundamentally say it's not infinite the quantity and quality of resources available to living on planet Earth. We must be more sustaining. And it missed the opportunity to say, what do we believe about our part? How are we part causer agent of what's going on in the world? That step gets skipped over because it's personal. And we've separated personal and business a lot. We we want it to be pragmatic, how people think about regeneration, but also to realize it's a way of living, it's a way of being. It's not a thing to do. There will be decisions about things to do, but to come from a place internally that says, I accept responsibility for seven generations from now, that I will never know. We've always talked about coaching as cathedral building, while we're a generation as well, to be able to consider the ripple effect of the decision we make right now, recognizing we're part of a very large ecosystem here on planet Earth.

Seven-Generation Vision In Practice

Garry Schleifer 12:53

Yeah. You touched on something earlier that matches with this part of the conversation, and that's seven generations. And help our listeners understand how to stay the course when the things that they're not gonna see today, the things that they're gonna do today, they're they're not necessarily going to be around to see.

Silvia Tassarotti 13:21

Well, that's where vision is comes into play. So you need to have you know some generosity also about you know building something which is not gonna be you or just for you. And it is where the friction with organizations comes stronger because people are bound to three, six you know, uh months and result. However, this really speaks to everybody's desire to build something that lasts you know beyond their lives a legacy or you know leaving something behind. So there's a deep need which I think could, you know, we could really nurture in order to be more generous in our decisions and not think so short term, but things at least middle, if not longer term. And also this has some interesting consequences also around innovation, around thinking differently, about you know, there's so much in it than just maybe being only generous, but also being in you know visionary. I think these are visionary questions.

Janet Harvey 14:49

Visionary, yeah. I was telling Sylvia yesterday a story about a client of mine in Japan, and she's a CHRO for a pretty large organization, and they have instituted through the government a program for new mothers. The new mothers center is available for free for four months, and there is a um another 16 months that is supported with all organizations for that mother to be working at whatever level she wants, not at all, right? So a job could be hold held for two years or progressively um moving from part-time to full-time. That's an example of seventh-generation thinking. Japan's aging population has meant that their commerce is at is hindered because they don't have a young workforce. And they're realizing that they need to encourage people to have families and to stay in Japan. The ability to anticipate that that means we have to start at the very beginning and and support that for the long term and that that's a good role of government, it's not a socialist thing. It's actually quite capitalistic. Recognizing that that's a way to give more than we're taking out, and it will live long before the decision makers and government that chose that policy.

Garry Schleifer 16:19

Yeah. You know,

Imagining Regenerative Cities And Business

Garry Schleifer 16:21

I'm gonna read something from the the book again, but it it reminds me of the conversation you have of moving from ego to echo or regenerative. But I want to read this and then give you my first thoughts, and then I'm gonna um never mind. In just like I said, in the world we are building, cities breathe, waste disappears, leaders prioritize renewal and stop extraction. Imagine a metropolis that breathes like a forest, buildings draped in vertical gardens that filter the air and cool the streets, rooftop functions as productive farms or solar canopies, actively sequestering carbon and circulating resources in closed loops. That just gave me such joy, that picture. And then the cynical part of me said, Yeah, right. What capitalist leader is gonna make the changes to make this happen? And then I'm reading through the book, and you gave case studies and examples of exactly those people who took that step, took that leap without knowing what they were, well, with by dreaming what they were jumping into, but not knowing how the impact would be. I could see this in seven generations, but boy, what a massive shift it's gonna take now. How do we help leaders not just see this but embody this?

Silvia Tassarotti 18:01

So there is a research uh of the World Economic Forum about the future of jobs. Um, and these competencies would be key between now and 2035. So the ability to really um you know it take into account also of natural resources, natural capital, uh and being able to steward people natural resources, you know, their own resources and their own sustainability and well-being. Because this would be the difference between you know failing and being successful also in the business of a future. Because that's you know, we are um not looking into the fact that resources are limited, and there is a cost to not looking into that. Uh so we have a technology, we have the resources, financial resources, we have innovation, AI could play a big role if used for the good.

Garry Schleifer 19:06

If the data centers could be used for good, not deplete from the world.

Silvia Tassarotti 19:12

We need leaders that are courageous, and I agree, I think it's very difficult to change the system where you are in the system, but there are loads of examples, loads of best practices, loads of, you know, um uh in this in society and in organizations like the ones that we mentioned, you know, the most known is Patagonia, but you know, there's so many others, um, where you are getting a lot of benefits and you're contributing to um um regeneration.

Garry Schleifer 19:44

Yeah. I loved the conversation of moving from extraction to eco. Did I have that right? Oh no, to contribution. Contribution. Right.

Janet Harvey 20:02

Which is eco. Right. In some ways, right? We're all part of the cycle and not to sound too much like Birkenstocks and granola. Julie, you're from the West Coast. Actually, my brother was at the very first Earth Day in 1970 on his campus at where we grew up in the Midwest, in St. Louis. And so I think I've come by this somewhat naturally. But I think the idea of contribution, many leaders are familiar with steward leadership or servant leadership. These are really good early seeds of what Sylvia and I are talking about in the book. When you begin to recognize that there's more than me, right? And the eye mindset or the eye orientation, it's a necessary part of moving, as Sylvia said earlier, the ability to meet people exactly where they are. Okay, so that's where you are. Ah, but there is so much more. And this is what coaches do, right? We we open up the landscape, um, wide angle lens of view on life. And is it to be inside of this living, breathing planet? And what's our part? These are these are big questions that coaching is really well suited to help people navigate and ultimately get very pragmatic very quickly to say, what will I do differently tomorrow? Just like I did with my coffee cap to ask questions.

Garry Schleifer 21:39

Exactly.

Tools Coaches And Leaders Can Use

Garry Schleifer 21:40

Exactly. Well, you bring up a good point, and you talked about this earlier starting Tuesday morning. So, two parts answer as you wish. Where does a coach start? What's their first practical step? And then where's does a leader start who's reading this book and listening to us?

Silvia Tassarotti 22:02

I'll answer for both. We are offering a few very interesting models for decision making, for you know, managing your energy. There's plenty of tools and more to come in the previous, you know, the you know, the books to come. But I'd like to highlight in particular the regenerative people for uh elements, dimensions that you can use in any conversation of meetings or decision, which is you know really looking at uh what you are facing as a living system, not like a mechanistic, you know, machine and metaphor, which is we normally look at. Um start from inside yourself, so you know, get to know more your energy, your you know, your um drive, your doubts, what you know, if you need to pose. Uh look at the systemic impact that you can have, or where to tap, and also look at an evolutionary purpose. Look at, you know, okay, so what? What am I building? Where you know, the long term. So these four dimensions are can be really help you navigate practically the coaching session, or also, you know, like a decision or um as a leader.

Janet Harvey 23:25

Well, one of the things that was so much fun to put together, and really Sylvia led the led the charge on this. There's 10 core attributes of being regenerative. And I think this is where coaches and leaders both begin. And to create your own bit of inventory. How am I being each of these qualities? And in all domains, you know, start with self, go to family, take a look at your work team, take a look at your company. How aligned am I with the mission of the organization? Are we actually living the mission of the organization, or is it just hanging on the wall? And what would be the regenerative way to live into the mission of the organization? So it becomes uh a different cadence of decision making, taking into account all that is. And this is the big shift from I to we, which is the system level, to all of us, which is the regenerative level. Yeah.

Garry Schleifer 24:27

Well, so there's three levels then now for me: me, the person, me the coach, and me the leader, because I can fit in all three of those, as can many of our listeners, and the two of you as well.

Janet Harvey 24:41

And four, me a part of the family. However, you think about the human family, right? It could be my nuclear family, it could be my ancestry. When you asked about seven generations, I think one of the one of the things we've forgotten is how rich our history is. Wherever you live on the planet, you've you are in you are living the inheritance of those who came before. So that's what you're seeding. Next generations will be inheriting how we're being. And you know, it's very common now today with all of the metacrisis going on. Where were you when? What did you when you stepped up? Okay, this is not a guilt trip. This is not saying that you're a bad leader if you've been extractive. It's how we chose to live. We can wake up and say, you know what? Pretty precious, these different forms of capital. Let me be a little more deliberate about the choices I'm making.

Silvia Tassarotti 25:40

And can I build on that? I think there is a dimension link to the family, which is a community, and it's critical for regeneration. I think it's critical for us in the um more time we're living, where you know, this digital transformation is taking us a bit away from you know our physical places and physical communities because we got the virtual communities. And regeneration is about you know becoming an active community member and help places in where you are becoming more regenerative and really rebuilding this connection with nature and with your the community you're part of, which I think is uh, and there's so many, you know, regeneration of places is one of the strongest fields where we have a lot of examples together with agriculture, regenerative agriculture.

Garry Schleifer 26:40

Wow.

Join The Regenerative People Community

Garry Schleifer 26:41

Well, I have to say I'm thankful that I was introduced to this book at this time in my life. I'm coming to realize that this isn't the first time this comment, you know, this isn't the beginning of this conversation, just happens to be the beginning of this conversation for me. So I want to thank you both for that. What should I do on Tuesday morning? Oh, it is Tuesday morning. Never mind. Help us get the word out, Gary. Well, to that point, Sylvia, Janet, what can people do to find out more about this book? Where do they go? He says laughingly because the two of them are ready to say it.

Silvia Tassarotti 27:22

Janet answer that one.

Janet Harvey 27:27

So this is a link that we set up this year to help us start to get the word out and build community. So you can all write this down. Go G-O.invitechange.com forward slash regen. R-E-G-E-N. Go.invitechange.com/ regen. Here you will have an opportunity to answer five quick questions. We're looking to put a thousand people through the survey by the end of the year, which means um you might get selected for an interview or to be part of a conversation to build book two that's coming. And we also have workbook coming and online course. Well, the book is officially going to be out on January 12th. We'll probably have a pre-sale link. It'll show up in that community. So go to go.invitechange.com forward slash regen. And once you you're in the system, you'll get an opportunity to read the introduction in chapter one right now.

Garry Schleifer 28:30

And I guarantee you it will be well worth it. Get yourself a coffee from a recyclable pod. And settle in. You know, when one of the words that came up for me after I read this book and was oh my gosh, I forgot the word a following. It's that's not the word either. Oh my gosh, it's been with me for weeks, and now I totally forgot the word. Uh a movement. There we go. It

Making Regeneration Mainstream

Garry Schleifer 29:07

feels like a movement, and again, I'll say I'm late to the conversation. I get that. Not no guilt whatsoever. It wasn't my time until now. What are your thoughts about this as a movement? Is that already started? Are we building?

Silvia Tassarotti 29:28

It has already started, it's been around for a while. There are people that dedicated to regeneration, a lot of studying and thinking, but it's still not mainstream. I think that that's the key. It's a bit maybe difficult, or that even sustainability is you know a bit set aside. It is not so so considered as critical. So I think one of the things that we really want to contribute is to make it simple, immediate, and accessible to everybody so that it can become a mainstream. We need it.

Garry Schleifer 30:09

Yeah. Well, thank you for everything you do to set this up. The book, the survey for your purposes for the next book, etc., the community. I had to quickly write it down so I didn't forget. But it will be in the show notes. We'll get it from there.

Janet Harvey 30:26

So well, we're very grateful, Garry. You caught the dream. And as Sylvia said, the ability to envision a different future and begin to build towards it. That's what it means to accept responsibility for being a wholehearted human.

Garry Schleifer 30:45

Oh, there's one to breathe into. Thank you. Thank you both for bringing this to my attention. Thank you for allowing me to contribute to your book with a testimonial. And please let me know what else I can do as an individual, a member of the family, a leader, and a coach going forward. Is there anything else you'd like our audience to do as a result of the book and this conversation? I mean, we've given them a lot already. I think they can start there, but any last thoughts?

Janet Harvey 31:18

Think about Tuesday morning.

Garry Schleifer 31:20

There we go. Brilliant. That's why you all are master coaches. I love it. The best way to reach you both is it through that page?

Janet Harvey 31:35

That would be a great way. We get those messages and you can put our email addresses in the chat or in the show notes, sorry. Yeah.

Garry Schleifer 31:46

Okay, that'd be great. Oh my gosh. I really have to say thank you. I've been so excited and nervous about today's call. I think because it's it really, really not just resonated but landed for me. And I want everybody to take something from this and think about Tuesday morning. So thank you both for joining me today. And uh let's make this a bestseller. Yeah, that's right. Happy 200th, Gary. Thank you.

Silvia Tassarotti 32:18

Yes, and thanks for inviting us.

Garry Schleifer 32:21

My m pleasure. That's it

Closing And How To Subscribe

Garry Schleifer 32:23

for this episode of Beyond the Page. For more episodes, subscribe via your favorite podcast app. If you're watching the video and you're not a subscriber to choice, you can sign up for your free digital issue by scanning the QR code in the top right hand corner of my screen. If you're driving or on a treadmill or on a bike, please stop, pull over, and go to choice- online.com and click the sign up now button. I'm Garry Schleifer. Enjoy the journey of mastery.