Cross-border Tax Talks

When Purpose Meets Tax: How Teams Can Transform

Doug McHoney (PwC’s International Tax Services Global Leader) is joined by Leo Johnson, lecturer at Oxford University’s Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. Leo is also co-founder of the advisory firm Sustainable Finance, where he chairs the Advisory Council, and previously worked at the World Bank. Known for presenting the BBC series on megatrends and innovation. Leo brings unique insight into organizational behavior, neuroscience, and purposeful leadership. 

Doug and Leo discuss organizational inertia, transformation resistance, and how neuroscience and behavioral science explain our resistance to change—even amid crises like climate change, geopolitical turmoil, and economic stress. They explore how professionals, including those in international tax, can overcome ‘learned helplessness’ and avoid burnout by embracing purpose, agency, and connectedness. Leo introduces the concept of behavioral personas within organizations—catalysts, silent rebels, workhorses, and sustaining innovators—and emphasizes the need for authentic engagement and collaboration to drive meaningful change. 

• 00:00 – Live from PwC’s EMEA Tax Academy in Prague; introducing Leo Johnson 
• 01:25 – How can we deal with global stress and systemic change and why do organizations resist change?  
• 03:40 – The biology of inertia: what separates us from Wisconsin prison psychopaths? 
• 05:00 – Why we stay calm in the face of global threats—good for sanity, bad for progress 
• 05:40 – “(Lovingly) hijacking the corporate robot”: the power and peril of imposing purpose 
• 10:20 – Oxford research: 169% increase in dedication when purpose is aligned 
• 11:10 – What brings bliss and fulfillment at work? 
• 14:10 – The answer: Agency, autonomy, and connectedness: the secret to thriving teams 
• 16:20 – The formula for high-performing teams and finding purpose in work (Pillar Two!) 
• 18:00 – Challenges to driving meaningful change; from a distraction to an attention mindset: how to spot what truly matters 
• 21:30 – How to become a true changemaker 
• 24:45 – Catalyst, silent rebel, workhorse, and sustaining innovator: which are you? 
• 29:30 – Everyday change: how junior staff can lead transformation 
• 33:00 – Burnout is your friend: how it signals misalignment and a call for purpose 

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