The Orange Twist - Shake up your thinking on leadership, culture, and change in 10 minutes.
The Orange Twist is a short-form weekly podcast for organizational leaders, HR professionals, and coaches navigating the complex terrain of leadership, culture, and change. Hosted by Giovanna D’Alessio, MBA MCC, a seasoned leadership advisor and executive coach, each under-10-minute episode offers fresh, thought-provoking reflections that blend professional insight with personal inquiry.
Rooted in the work of thinkers like Robert Kegan, Robert Anderson, Peter Senge, Byron Katie, and others, this podcast explores the hidden dynamics shaping teams, systems, and self. From unexpected tensions in the boardroom to the quiet signals of organizational stuckness, The Orange Twist reveals how expanding our inner awareness can transform how we lead and how we live.
Designed for busy professionals who want depth without fluff, The Orange Twist invites you to pause, reflect, and reconnect with what really matters in your work—and beyond.
The Orange Twist - Shake up your thinking on leadership, culture, and change in 10 minutes.
Episode 24 - When the Organization Pretends Nothing is Happening
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Some days, it flattens you. Other days, it hums in the background. But the ache of what’s happening in the world—violence, injustice, grief—doesn’t stay outside. It travels with you. Into meetings. Into deadlines. Into the quiet moments between messages.
And when your organization carries on like nothing’s happening, that ache can turn into numbness. Or self-doubt. Or quiet, aching detachment.
This episode is for the ones sitting in that space. The employees. The team members. The people trying to stay human in systems that often feel like they can’t hold what’s real.
Following on from Episode 23 (Leadership with Spine), which explored the leader’s role in staying emotionally present, this conversation turns the lens to those without the microphone.
What do you do when no one names what’s happening in the world—or in your chest?
You don’t need permission to feel.
You don’t need to disappear to belong.
You don’t need to fix the system to stay anchored in truth.
This is the quiet work. The invisible leadership of staying awake.
Even when everything around you asks you to pretend.
The Orange Twist is hosted by Giovanna D’Alessio, MCC — reflections on leadership, culture, and change for HR professionals and organizational leaders.
Connect with Giovanna on LinkedIn.
New episodes released regularly. Stay curious.
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