Building Better Leaders

In this bonus episode of Building Better Leaders Season 3 we speak to Suzanne Hayes Jones,  from the Laid Bare Company - an organisation focused on helping leaders have more impactful, purposeful conversations.     Suzanne has extensive experience in coaching, coach development, and organisational culture transformation. She also contributes to the leadership programmes at Henley Business School.     In this podcast conversation, we talk to Suzanne about: What coaching really is and what it is not?     The shift away from command and control leadership     Why leaders are struggling to apply coaching skills?     The importance of the art of conversation in leadership     Practical ways to start developing coaching skills     Barriers to implementing coaching skills     The role of followers in developing a coaching culture     Why clarity is essential for kindness?    The drama triangle     Suzanne's Leadership Essentials: Approach with curiosity over judgment     Bring your humanity, not your pedigree    Think about your presence as opposed to your performance as a leader.     If you'd like to find out more about Suzanne and her work, please check out: http://www.thelaidbarecompany.com Follow the Laid Bare Company on LinkedIn

In this bonus episode of Building Better Leaders Season 3 we speak to Jennifer Garvey Berger, CEO of Cultivating Leadership – a B Corp that supports leaders, teams, and whole organisations to rise to the challenge and opportunity in a complex, changing world. Jennifer has a masters and doctorate from the University of Harvard, where she was the student of professor Bob Keegan whose work on adult development theory formed the basis of Jennifers research. Jennifer is also the author of several books and the reason we've got her on the podcast is to talk about her latest book Changing on the Job which is in its second edition. In this podcast conversation we talk to Jennifer about her latest book, asking her about: What is adult development theory and why is it important in leadership? What are the four forms of mind? Which questions you can ask to uncover which form of mind you are probably operating in currently? What is complexity fitness? How to identify where your team might be operating from today? The role of the ego in adult development theory How do you move towards the self-transforming mindset? Which leaders Jennifer thinks operate from the self-transforming mindset today? Jennifers Leadership Essentials: Get curious about your own sense making. Ask what other possible perspectives can I take and consider in this situation? Actively listen in a more open and curious way. What is causing this person to say and think this way? Take care of your body. How can I get better quality sleep, choose my diet more carefully, and nourish my mind and body?  This conservation was a real privilege, and we are incredibly grateful to Jennifer for giving up her time to join us on the podcast. If you'd like to buy her book or find out more about her, please check out: https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/ Follow Jennifer on LinkedIn Buy the book here

In the fourth episode of Building Better Leaders Season 3 we look at how peak performance works at work. John and Rachael explore the concept of peak performance in a business context, discussing its cultivation, application, and sustainability within organisations.   The conversation starts by examining the psychological aspects of performance, including the Yerkes-Dobson law and the relationship between stress, motivation, and productivity. The conversation covers the importance of understanding individual performance curves and the four short terms zones performance can fall into - the recuperation zone, performance zone, stretch zone and overwhelm. Then they discuss how leaders can use this information to better manage energy levels to balance high performance with rest periods to avoid burnout and maintain productivity in themselves and their teams within the workplace.   The coaching questions posed in this podcast include: Asking leaders to understand that the performance curve is unique for everyone How you take personal responsibility for managing your own time, energy management and stress levels to ensure you achieve effective performance. Understanding that peak performance is not always achievable in the workplace, but it is a valuable goal to strive for.   Leadership Essentials: Get curious as to how you manage your energy levels by recognising the relationship between your arousal and stress levers What are the factors at play in your role and organisation that require peak performance, and restoration? What skill levels are required? What do you need to get better at? Is peak performance something you should be striving for in your role? Short term - Yes, Long term - No.

In the third episode of Building Better Leaders Season 3 we take a look at the often elusive subject of motivation. Why does our motivation wax and wane? What can we do to increase it? Starting with a discussion on the continuum of motivation we explore what we can learn by identifying the various stages of motivation to help you connect your behaviour and thoughts to create greater self direction and productivity. We also link motivation to Gretchen Rubin's 4 Tendency Types by referring back to previous podcast with some surprising discoveries as to how you might change the way you motivate others. Finally we introduce you the four main behavioural drivers: Belief, Rewards, our Ego's and take a look at our darker side when we discuss our drive to be coercive. Leadership Essentials: 1. Get curious about yourself , what motivates you? 2. Think about the 5 people you spend most of your time with 3. Listen out for language like: I should, I have to, I will. What are you saying really?

John and Rachael share their approach to improving teamwork and interpersonal tolerance, by offering insights into how to enhance self-awareness and understand personality differences.   We discuss both popular working preference tools: Myers Briggs Personality Types, and 16 Personalities offering insight, working examples and answer the following questions:  I - Introversion E - Extroversion - How do you direct and receive energy? (14:00) N - iNtuition S - Sensing/ObServant - How do you take in information? (28:50) T - Thinking J - Judging - How do you decide and come to conclusions? (35:50) F - Feeling P - Perceiving/Prospecting - How do you approach the outside world?(42:20)   We look at how these different working preferences come into play in workplace team dynamics, and how they show up in our personal lives. Understanding these types gives you an objective insight to enhance your professional and personal relationships, as well as personal choices.  If you want to take the 16 Personalities Quiz to understand your traits and working preferences you can click the link here. Our Leadership Essentials: There is no right or wrong; just appreciate the differences in people Everything that irritates us about others, can lead us to understanding ourselves better Have fun with this, there's much to learn and enjoy with greater understanding.

Inspired by Gretchen Rubin's "The Four Tendencies" John & Rachael take a deeper look into Tendency Types. Gretchen's work looks into how you respond to expectations. Whilst not absolute people tend to fall into one of the following tendency types: Obligers need accountability Upholders want to know what should be done Questioners want justifications Rebels need the freedom to do something in their own way We look at how these different tendency types present for children, and how it challenges us as Parents and Carers, helping you identify your families tendency type, and giving some tips on how to approach some difficult conversations. As we describe each type we also look at the sort of things to look out for in the world of work, what this means for you as a leader, and how you can identify team members and alter your approach. If you want to take Gretchens Tendency Quiz to understand your type you can click the link here. Our Leadership Essentials: How you can increase your own self-awareness of your response to expectations How you can check your own perspective, and consider how you approach others Take the opportunity to ask more questions, rather than make statements. For more information you can visit https://gretchenrubin.com/

In this month's episode of the podcast, we are joined by serial entrepreneur Lorri Haines. Lorri and his fiancé Fearne McCann (Public figure and star of ITVBe's My Family and Me) are co-founders of mental health and wellbeing app Shoorah. In this conversation we continue our theme of mental wellness and how mental health, and personal wellbeing can either improve or reduce the productivity of teams in the workplace. We explore new ways that leaders can prevent, and support employees improved wellbeing using new technology, and dare we say it – artificial intelligence! Which is a core component of the Shoorah's counselling offer – Shuru. If you're curious about how technology can be used to help not hinder our wellbeing, how we function in a world of ever-increasing stress, and how the NHS could be revolutionised by using technology and AI, then this conversation will spark your interest. Lorri's 3 leadership essentials are: Do what you say you are going to do People don't work for you, they work with you Don't work so hard because one day it's going to be over. Excitingly Lorri also shares some brand-new features coming later this year in the Shoorah app, and how HR and L&D managers in organisations can try the app for free. It's also worth noting that the cost for Shoorah business is significantly reduced per user. Find out more and request a free demo at: https://shoorah.io/shoorah-business/ You can contact Lorri at Lorrihaines@shoorah.io or follow him on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/lozzahaines/ or LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorri-haines-8a1336136/

Melissa Sookia, founder of Live, discusses menopause, its impact on women in leadership roles, and the need for affordable treatment. Menopause symptoms vary and can affect productivity at work. Perimenopause starts with subtle changes like irregular periods and mood swings. Awareness is key in supporting women experiencing symptoms. Menopause can last for a 15-year period, with some women sailing through, while others may have severe symptoms. Lack of awareness often leads to confusion and emotional distress for women experiencing symptoms. We ask Melissa what can women do for themselves, and where should they go for help and direction. What should considerate employers be thinking about when it comes to discussing this thorny subject? Leadership Essentials:  Melissa shares her main takeaways about what women should be thinking about: 1. Communication: whether its your home life, or in the workplace talk about your feelings, and symptoms because you need to be heard and understood 2. Delegate: shift some of your workload 3. Time Management: take time, and be kind to yourself. Melissa can be contacted through linkedin, or you can visit her website and book a consultation with her at LIVVE.UK

What does wellbeing in the workplace mean to you? There's a lot of talk about mental health, and mental wellbeing, yet when it comes to understanding the full breadth and depth of our wellness this nowhere near the full story. Are your people happy, healthy and comfortable? In this episode Rachael & John are in conversation with Claire Burns Health and Wellbeing Consultant - Mental Health First Aid Instructor and Founder of Wurkplace Wellbeing; uncovering the range and scope of employee help, that better leaders should be seeking within their organisations.  They uncover the four pillars of well-being and discover how each one can be affected by the other. Looking after your employees makes obvious sense, it should be the human thing to do; vital for the individual, their family and friends and the good of your organisation. Yet it is not so obvious to match peoples outward behaviour with their thinking, and understanding what's most important to them. Three Things for Leaders to be on the lookout for:- People have different starting points - The critical importance of showing affirmation and validation of someones situation Vulnerability to stress - Appreciating the different triggers, and our individual capacity that fill up our “stress tank" Hidden behaviours  - Asking why perfectionism is a real problem alert? Claire's Leadership Essentials: 1. Curiosity 2. Empathy 3. Role Modelling  The four pillars of wellbeing: social, financial, mental health, and physical health. You can contact Claire on LinkedIn, and access her website here at https://www.wurkplace-wellbeing.co.uk

In this podcast Rach & John talk to Former Counter Terrorism Covert Operations Leader and HUMINT specialist turned Entrepreneur and Solo Ocean Rower – Mike Bates.  Born and raised in Doncaster, Mike carved out a career that most boys would dream of. Spending years undercover as a human intelligence specialist, covert counter-terrorism operations leader and commando in the Royal Marines. Mike was the real-life James Bond. But all those years spent undercover, Mike didn't know who he really was. Until he undertook the biggest challenge of his life - becoming the fastest British person to complete the ‘The World's Toughest Row' solo in a little over 46 days.  Rooted in his personal experiences of fighting terrorists, tackling mother nature at her most powerful and attaining his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Mike shares his unique experiences to provide a powerful and credible perspective on resilience, leadership, humility and overcoming adversity.   Leadership Essentials Courage – to challenge the status quo, to do things differently, to admit you are wrong.  Clarity - of mission. The mission needs to be absolutely clear. Clarity of communication with no doubt in any communication what you are trying to do and say. Clarity about the achievement and praising staff. Clarity in the culture of the organisation you are trying to create. Credibility – this is different from experience. It's integrity, care and empathy. The ability of a leader to inspire others to follow you. Get in touch with Mike: Links to Mike Bates on: LinkedIn, Instagram Or email Mike at: mikebatesofficial@gmail.com

Everyone keeps talking about where they want to work, how they'd prefer to work, yet employers often have a different view; the media have dubbed it "The Great Return," so for those of you with Zoom fatigue, or perhaps people who are reluctant to be in the workplace John & Rachael thought it was worth talking about. With more questions and answers they look at the dilemma from both employer and employees points of view: How much do we trust our people to do the work? Is productivity now a problem? Should we keep our offices anymore? What about people's health and their ability to be social when working remotely? Should we cater for everyone's needs? What do our clients think we should be doing? Do they even care? What sort of leadership style is being dictated by hybrid working? How long can you put up with back to back virtual meetings? When do I actually get any work done?  Ledership Essentials: What kind of approach does the work require? What kind of leadership style do different people in your organisation need? What is the role of individuals in meetings, do people really know why they are there? 

In the second podcast on 2023 we chat with David Harper, Career Coach. David is an ex CIO for a major UK insurance company with extensive experience of leading people in a £4bn business. In 2015 David was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, initiating his own career move into coaching. David's true purpose is helping people achieve. We talk to him about how he enjoys helping younger people start their careers, the sort of questions he asks them, and how the value of truly listening to people is in very short supply. We discuss the sort of questions that employers should be asking themselves when it comes to employing people in their late forties and early fifties and beyond. The value of employing people based on outcomes and results, rather than just paying someone a salary based on a number of hours. David's Leadership Essentials Remembering it's always about people and to speak and listen to your team at an emotional level Leadership is about walking about, being available without agenda Getting into the work; visit and listen to the people who actually use your products and services   David can be contacted at https://harper360.com

In the first episode of 2023 John & Rachael are joined by Business Coach and entrepreneurJonathan Mills. Jonathan started this career as a footballer for Cambridge Untied but at age 18 fell into a franchise business model that would pave the way for him to own and lead not one but four businesses. Jonathan shares his habits on effective time management, task privatisation and journalling to increase self awareness. He shares his thoughts on the importance of trust in leadership and how any leaders first job is to set clear expectations and hold their team members to account. This is a fantastic conversation for anyone in a leadership role who finds themselves time poor, over worked and not being able to prioritise their own development.  If you loved this conversation and would like to get in touch with Jonathan you can find him on Instagram @Jonathan_ascend360 the Ascend360 website is https://www.ascend360.co.uk/ if business coaching groups are of interest. And his football coaching franchises are with https://www.premier-education.com/ Jonathan's Leadership Essentials: (58 minutes) 1. Self awareness - knowing your strengths and weakness and surrounding yourself with people who are better than you 2. Integrity is key  3. Seeing the bigger picture and being able to see opportunities disguised as challenges 4. Ultimately doing your best and knowing that, that is enough. Letting go and surrendering to what the outcome will be. This is especially important if you are a perfectionist. 

In this weeks episode John & Rachael are joined by Executive Coach, Sue Baker. Sue has been working as a coach working with leaders at board level in large corporations since the 1990's. Sue talks about how coaching has changed over the last couple of decades and how organisation and leaders requirements of coaching are changing as the challenges they face are change. Most importantly we talk about what is next in coaching. What new trends we are seeing in coaching? And what are some of the issues that senior leaders come to coaching looking to work on? This is a fantastic conversation for anyone thinking about getting an executive coach or wondering what very senior leaders in organisations do in coaching sessions.  Sue shares her personal story of what she's learned in her coaching journey and how she's leaned more about herself as she's gained more experience as a female coach working with incredibly senior leaders in large corporates. If you loved this conversation and would like to get in touch with Sue you can find her on LinkedIn or email her on: sue@suebakerconsulting.com  Sue's Leadership Essentials: (57:18) 1. Humility. Is an underrated leadership quality. Its time for the people with humility who ask for help can be the most powerful leaders 2. The ability connect. This is a mindset and a learned skill. When it's authentic it's really powerful to be in a great leaders sunshine. Being able to connect on a human level. 3. The courage to say we got this wrong. 

In this episode Rach & John visit the subject of Difficult Conversations, a topic which they cover in depth on their Building Better Leaders Programme. “Good intentions don't always result in good impact.” Often with the best of intentions things can go wrong, and the impact you intend is never the one you had in mind.  They tackle the subject from a “miscommunication” angle and take a look at three different areas of a conversation? We learn from our ability to catch ourselves and become more self-aware of what we are contributing in any conversation, so understanding the anatomy of conversation can help us when we consider: Who did what, Who said what, Who was right and wrong? How we tackle our feelings, and those of the other person? What does our behaviour in the heat of the moment say about us as a person? They discuss, various areas of a conversation and how we can better prepare and plan for a successful outcome. The books referenced in the podcast which inspired their approach are:  “Difficult Conversations.” Patton, Stone & Heen.   “Atlas of the Heart.” - Brene Brown For more information on the Building Better Leaders Programme

In this weeks episode Rachael & John are joined by Lee Warren to understand how using the Alexander Technique can help us communicate and perform better when under stress? The way that you think affects the way you perform, and vice-versa; the way you perform affects the way you think Remembering that stress is very uncreative, Lee take a little step back and asks us to think about focussing on our awareness. He asks: Do you sometimes make the mistake of focussing on yourself when presenting, when you should be focussing on what the audience are expecting from the presentation? Instead of thinking how am I doing? Turn your awareness to focussing on the audiences thinking: -What's in this for me? -What am I going to get out of this? -How will this help me? -Will I make any money? -Is this a good use of my time? What does the audience expect to hear? What des the audience need to hear? Lee also shares some really valuable tips on how we can network more effectively. You can contact Lee at: leewarrenspeaker.com

In this weeks podcast Rachael & John cover four different leadership styles.  How do you like to be led? Is it always the same for every aspect of your role? When you're leading you team do you always use the same approach? They differentiate between Directing, Coaching, Supporting and Delegating leadership styles explaining when and where you can effectively use each and how you might adapt your approach.

On the podcast this week, in Leadership 101 a bitesized approach to: what leadership is and what it isn't how leadership differs from management where best to use a directive or non-directive style In the Coaching approach we ask which leader(s) have influenced you, what kind of leader are you? and what other leadership possibilities might be open to you?  Our bite-sized sessions are brought to you using content from our Inter-Active Building Better Leaders Webinar programme.

In this weeks podcast we speak to Andrew Robshaw who after a life changing Parkinson's diagnosis decided to pursue a question that had plagued him most of his working life.  What is the true meaning of value? And how can businesses better measure value in real time by looking beyond traditional accounting and economic processes we currently use. Some of the questions we cover: What is value really? What is money? Is it the best measure of value? What paradigm shifts are required to make everyone in the world wealthier? What should Leaders be concentrating on in 2022? Thankonomics is the exploration of "Value" in terms of appreciation, and how we can look beyond economics and the law of diminishing marginal returns. To instead looking at how appreciation of products and services changes over time and the customers state of "need."   Andrew's Leadership Essentials 1. Appreciation 2. Passion 3. Remember your people are here to help you solve your problem, support them, rather than give orders. Andrew also shares his personal story on getting diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and the life changing treatment he has received to enable him to write this book and continue to live and work. Andrew's Book Thankonomics

We celebrate episode #52 by summarising the past year, sharing a little of our personal histories and reviewing the year spent with our wonderful guests. We chat about our school age experiences and what shaped us as youngsters, and how & when our careers started. What did we see and hear at work, reflecting on the great leaders, and the not so great leaders? We discuss what led us to work together, and what was so alluring about coaching? We each approach our guests Leadership Essentials in a different way; discussing what we have learnt about ourselves in the process. A big thank you goes to all our Guests in 2021.  Keith Madeley Kurt Lindley Drew Povey Jan Iceton Matt Lock Céline Williams Kevin Urrutia Philip Grant Dr. Josie McLean Dr. Pam Wells Katherine Whitton Ira Wolfe Tom Manning Andy Thomas Adrian Hawley Melanie Weller Simon Town Clare Pooley Jonathan Hemus Michael Lawrence Graham Keen Peter Pritchard Brian Bachand Colin Hunter Andy Copsey Gert Jan Hofstede

In this weeks episode we meet Gert Jan Hofstede Professor at Wageningen University and co-author of “Cultures & Organisations - Software of the Mind.” He is a speaker and trainer about cross-cultural issues, evolution of culture, organisational behaviour, trust and transparency, specialising in agent-based models of socio-technical systems. In understanding Cultures across the world, he make sense of understanding cultures in organisations and looks at how culture specifically influences leaders and leadership. We discuss peoples inert traits, and what tends to happen when people feel wronged.  By taking a look back over time we delve into how the dangers to people have changed from an outward perspective to a more inward threat. We ask Gert Jan why he describes “Culture as ripples on the ocean of shared human nature,” where he defines human nature as: “Status, power, and logic in reference groups.”  We all discuss how we've been affected by our experiences of leadership good and bad, and ask whether any individual is strong enough to coerce everyone? What traits must political leaders display, and how does this differ across the world? Gert brings the whole cultural discussion to life with a short story loaded with lots of useful questions and examples describing the six issues of social life. Gert Jan's Leadership Essentials: 1. Maintaining a stable good mood, but be vigilant (technically: non-neurotic) 2. Awareness that modesty counts when it comes to knowing that your followers make you 3. Being Culture-aware (know that one size does not fit all) Links for Gert Jan Hofstede:  http://www.gertjanhofstede.com/

In this weeks episode Rachael & John are joined by Andy Copsey Ex-Chief Operating Officer for Handelsbanken UK. Andy shares his early experiences of Leadership and how he contrasts the changes when moving to Handelsbanken in 2001.  He explains how they adopted a Devolved Leadership model from Jan Wallander and how its appeal intoxicated Andy, as he grew the start-up bank in the UK. Andy speaks very eloquently about the differences with established competitor banks, as he led a decentralised operation where his P&L, and his team decision making capabilities made them very accountable to their actions. A bank that employed people on their values and trustworthiness without a traditional bonus structure was an unusual business; yet it became very successful, and whilst quite unforeseen, managed to withstand the 2008 Banking crisis in a way that astounded people and organisations with a more purist approach and outlook. Andy shares his thoughts on a number of leadership principles; the importance of a true equality, diversity & inclusive approach. He remarks on how broad and deep people's range of skills and abilities are in the sector, making them fantastic all-rounders. We ask Andy what's next now that he moves onto the next chapter of his career, he says he will always work, so what exactly does someone do after a 38-year career, once they've been given 60 hours a week back; Andy shares his 6 things to do in 60 hours. Andy's Leadership Essentials: (1:15:00) 1. The start of any meaningful relationship: One of mutual trust and respect 2. Understanding peoples core values & principles: Recruit and develop people with these in mind. So that they may give the best of themselves 3. Leading from behind: Give your people space & time to create their own futures and ways of working. Your role as a leader is to help create an environment that helps them achieve their long-term career potential. Links:  www.andycopsey.co.uk https://mapcharity.org/  https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/pat-s-party1-landsend-john-o-groats https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/home-workers-are-less-inclined-to-retire- early-tt77wz5sh  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Decentralisation-why-how-make-work-Wallander/dp/ 9171509100 

In this weeks podcast John & Rachael are joined by CEO of Potential Squared, Colin Hunter. Colin is also the author of the new book: 'Be More Wrong.' In this episode we discuss with Colin how experiencing failure or not living up to his family ambitions allowed him to dance to his own tune, in his own life and rhythm. Colin discusses how he makes it his life work to help people use these 'screw ups' to turn things around in life and in business. It's a wonderful conversation to take a new look at leadership, how you lead a team by embracing micro failures. We talk about strengths, building resilience, how to have difficult conversations, asking yourself if it's worth having a difficult conversations or if you just want to get something off your chest? Colin gives his tips on role playing difficult conversations and the real value this drives for leaders. We talk about Andrew Websters design thinking, and how we can leave ego and expertise at the door, coming up with insights and ideas and test them using small experiments. Tips include how do you warm your team up daily? And how playground games like rock paper scissors can work really well in the workplace? Leadership Essentials: 1. Squirrel - to keep your radar open for new ideas or approaches  2. Mentoring - if you are not mentoring two or other people as a leader you're not doing the right thing 3. Use an advisory board - have a few people you recruit for difference that can spot when you are screwing up, but can also help you be more wrong, more frequently. Noses in fingers out or noses in fingers in. It's best to have mix of both! Website: https://www.potential2.com/en-gb/  Reading:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Be-More-Wrong-Failure-Outstanding/dp/177458039X https://ozanvarol.com/books/Think like a rocket scientist  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Coaching-Habit-Less-Change-Forever-ebook/dp/B01BUIBBZI

In this weeks podcast John & Rachael reflect on the leadership theory and traits discussed with their past three guests; psychologist Graham Keen, Pets at Home CEO Peter Pritchard, and former Catholic Priest turned Coach Brian Bachand.  They then turn the topic for this episodes discussion to the key differences between leadership and management. Exploring how and why many exceptional managers get promoted into senior leadership roles and find the skills that got them there, no longer work.  The discussion around Leadership & Management focuses on our three leadership essentials to distinguish between the two different skills.  Leadership Essentials: 1. Leaders focus on inputs. Managers focus on outputs. Where is your focus? 2. Where is non-directive, and directive leadership appropriate? 3. How aware are you of your leadership style in different situations, and in particular when the stakes are high?  In the Coaching Approach we re-visit our fictional organisation where with the best of intentions we discover how it becomes too easy to jump into micro-managing behaviours. Where the leadership team are not aligned in their approach we start to see a dysfunctional team causing mistrust throughout the organisation, as two leaders revert to type and start to manage rather than lead their teams. 

In this weeks episode John & Rachael are joined by fellow coach Brian Bachand, founder of evolution, evolution.  We discover what stands behind his mantra: “When you stand in your truth, embrace what is in your heart, then you are free to evolve.” A former Roman Catholic Priest, Brian talks openly about what he learnt from working in the Vatican, how he uses that knowledge in his coaching to help new CEO's develop their leadership style. We ask him about the types of challenges professional leaders and new CEO's face, and how he helps them navigate the boardroom, and the similarities that can be drawn from the playground. Some of the sound bites and useful insights for first time CEO's and those wanting to progress into senior leadership roles include:  - What to do when you have that inner feeling that “there's something else." - How to recognise that you are “Going Netflix.” Where you keep replaying scenarios over and over and unhelpful thoughts auto play into other parts of life  - The art of asking the question “What do you desire?” Again and again. Brian's Leadership Essentials: 1. Practice ‘inner work' everyday. Whatever form that is will help you create the clarity you need to develop the world you desire to have 2. Relationships, that help people feel joyfulness and challenge will help people succeed at a different level. 3. Follow the joy. When the joy is missing its more a reflection on yourself than what's happening around you. Brian kindly shares how he maintains his own leadership essentials on a daily basis - we get in the scope on his daily rituals and practices.

In this weeks episode John & Rachael are joined by Group CEO of Pets at Home, Peter Pritchard. It has been an extraordinary last 18 months for so many of us, typified by more people than ever becoming pet owners, so we had so many questions for Peter. As a first time CEO listen to how Peter approached the challenge of wanting to be an exceptional good leader, helped by experienced CEO's who were so generous with their time. We talk to Peter about leading pets at home through the global pandemic and how he and his senior leadership approached this challenge in a unique way that results in them thriving through a crisis. Drawing on Peter's considerable experience in retail, which he prefers to call “satisfying the customer” find out about what his leadership team considered to be their priorities, and how they devolved responsibility through the organisation.  He has some interesting things to say about how they supported their people through the Covid crisis, which provides a wonderful insight into pets at home's organisational and cultural ethos. He shares his very personal story of “coming out,” and how everyone can have that moment “to be themselves,” and the huge respect people get for their courage, and how he finds that people can associate with others, by being genuine and normal. Peter's Leadership Essentials: (01:08:40) 1. Bring the real you to work. It helps you form great relationships with people because they can see your imperfections, because they trust you. 2. Be supportive and realistic. It's important as a leader that you can use your judgement: when to back people, when to allow people to fail safely, helping them learn important lessons.  3. Be really kind. Allow people to have their crisis, support them by investing in their emotional back account.

In this weeks podcast John & Rachael are joined by the wonderfully engaging and effervescent business psychologist, a former CFO and corporate finance adviser Graham Keen. Author of Positive Leaders, Positive Change, Graham has studied with the father of positive psychology Dr. Martin Seligman, and through The Positive Profitability Company Graham offers game changing psychological insights into maximising profitability and wellbeing. If you've ever found yourself trapped by a combination of a lack of resources, impossible deadlines and an unreasonable shareholder / or Boss then this podcast will set you on your way to approaching business life and leadership differently. We discuss a variety of subjects whilst keeping our eye on the psychology elements that drive them: Shocking levels of disengaged employees Benefits of positivity -PIPO Go for “being kind,” being a hardass is easy  Positivity requires courage and toughness  How Graham works with organisations  The power of the unconscious mind  Creativity through relaxation techniques He introduces us to CREAMS where we discuss, creativity, resilience, emotional and analytical intelligence, motivations, and self-esteem. Leadership Essentials: 1. Don't fall into the trap of following your favourite leaders habits, because you are not them! By creating Positive Emotional Affect you create the right conditions that allow people to follow you! You cannot demand it! If you can get your people to give you discretionary effort, you are onto a winner! 2. Positivity trumps everything else. The maximum impact of effectiveness on one individual or a company cannot be better achieved with anything else other than positivity 3. Think about your Organisational Ethos - a combination of leadership values and behaviours, organisational culture, and the engagement climate; work on these things and keep them at the forefront of your mind, ensuring the fairness of distribution of rewards Graham has kindly offered to send anyone who emails him a copy of his book. You can contact Graham through LinkedIn, or pa@grahamkeen.com

In this episode John & Rachael pull together the leadership thoughts of their guests from the previous three shows, and start by taking a light-hearted look at comparing the England football team, and the team in #10.  Highlighting the sober curious movement when they were joined by Clare Pooley; they discuss what we can learn from a youthful leadership and why it might be a good idea, to be more aware about how much we drink.  Reflecting on their conversation with Crisis Management expert Jonathan Hemus; they consider where your organisations biggest crisis ‘blind spot' might be. When it comes to the benefits of ‘intricate goal setting' they remember their conversation with Huddersfield Giants Rugby League Captain - the inspirational Michael Lawrence. Leadership Essentials Be aware of your drinking levels and the culture it sets in your organisation What are your most likely crisis blind spots - could it be your leadership team and their behaviours? Setting intricate goals can be a great way to increase motivation, and maintain high performance In the Coaching Approach our fictional organisation has been enjoying new employee well-being benefits, but a decision made to change a key supplier has come back to bite our leaders, how will they react? Can they use any of our leadership essentials to help them respond? What does it say about this organisations culture when it comes dealing with a crisis? 

In this weeks episode we chat with Michael Lawrence - Club Captain and Loose Forward 14 years at Huddersfield Giants Rugby League and a Jamaican International looking forward to the upcoming RL World Cup.  Recently invited to the Rugby League Inclusion Board we begin by discussing inclusion and making rugby league more diversely appealing. We chat about Michael's experiences growing up into a sport where role models were thin on the ground, and how he's driven to changing it for youngster coming into the game. In this fascinating interview we draw parallels with leadership in sport and business, how it differs on and off the field; what the importance of “Next Job,” means to Michael in his playing strategy. Winning and consistent performances in professional sport are the difference between keeping your place in the side, resigning your contract and putting food on the table; Michael shares his work ethic and motivations, the crucial importance of multiple goal setting, how it differs from player to player and how do you cope with ‘pressure?' We discuss what lies ahead for Micheal, and look deeper into how his leadership experiences can help others in the future. We discuss Black Lives Matter; Michael shares his thoughts on some of the interviews he conducted back in 2020, his reflections about the confusion and lack of understanding leading to people acting defensively. Michael's Leadership Essentials: Integrity: Doing what I say, follow through otherwise you loose respect and your team Honesty: Good or bad news, being brave enough to confront the situation  Empathy: Getting to know people and their situation, understanding what are people's Why's always helps relationships Links: Rugby League I & D Board: https://www.rugby-league.com/governance/inclusion-&-diversity/inclusion-and-diversity-board

In this episode of the podcast John and Rachael talk to Jonathan Hemus - founder and managing director of crisis management consultancy Insignia. He is also the award winning author of ‘Crisis Proof' - ‘How to prepare for the worst day of your business life' written for executives who have responsibility for crisis management thrust upon them. We discuss a proactive approach to Crisis Management and the many benefits it can bring to an organisation - even if it never ends up facing a crisis. Jonathan shares examples of historical exceptional and poor handling or crisis, making this conversation super insightful for leaders and executives who are considering the need for crisis management interventions.  Jonathan talks through a summary of his twenty-five years' of crisis management experience so business leaders can successfully prepare for and handle their worst business nightmares. We discuss the relevant skills required when communicating during a crisis to journalists, stakeholders, and team members; skills which are also transferable into having difficult conversations in daily leadership life. Tips for leaders leading through a crisis: The importance of responding quickly Staying open to information from all levels of the organisation for crisis prevention Communication in a crisis is everything - it needs to come from a place of values  Getting all of the relevant information - seeing others perspectives  Rehearsing in advance, so people know what to do Looking after your team in a crisis, but also yourself as well. Jonathan's Leadership Essentials: 1. Be true to your values - both yours and the organisations. Those that suffer most in a crisis act contrary to their values 2. Be courageous in making decisions - if you don't make good early decisions the crisis will manage you, rather than you managing the crisis  3. Look after yourself and look after your people Links from the show: Website & Book: https://jonathanhemus.com/ Crisis Management Training: https://insigniacrisis.com/ 

Six years ago Clare Pooley was drinking about 90 units of alcohol a week. Fast forward to today and she's a successful author, fulfilling her life's dream. We talk to Clare about how alcohol works as a drug, and how our tolerance to it builds over time, bringing with it- issues of poor sleep, reduced creativity and anxiety. We talk about Clare's previous career as a senior leader in the booze advertising industry, and how her recklessness while drinking nearly cost her her job. We Discuss the idea of ‘sober curiosity,' and how people interested in having time without alcohol might reassess their relationship with it. This conversation provides thought provoking insight into a relationship many Brits have with alcohol that they're not aware of, and how taking a more mindful approach to consuming alcohol can make you a better leader, and provide many with the opportunity to uncover their full potential.  Tips for leaders about being more inclusive in the workplace about team bonding without the booze: Ask your team what they'd like to do - don't assume  Rethink networking and bonding opportunities that are richer in experience - running, walks, health club, theatre trips, afternoon teas, bakeoffs  Be mindful of what you role model. Boozy leaders tend to attract and hire boozy teams which can be an issue in itself for productivity and diversity of thought.  Clare's Leadership Essentials: 1. Take a break - Ideally take a 100 days break from all alcohol to give you and your body time to decide mindfully what relationship you want to have with alcohol, rather than the relationship you have fallen into 2. Set yourself rules - once you've decided the relationship you'd like to have with alcohol, set strict rules and stick to them 3.  Keep an eye on it - Be mindful about why and when you are drinking. If you can't stick to step one you might want to reconsider the benefits of quitting. Useful Links: You Tube: https://www.ted.com/talks/clare_pooley_making_sober_less_shameful Website & Book: https://clarepooley.com/

In this week’s podcast we reflect on what we learnt from our last 3 guests; Adrian Hawley, Melanie Weller, and Simon Town who are very in touch with the mind, body, and environment connection.  We reflect on the often elusive yet alluring life purpose, and chat about how to combat the detrimental effects of modern life and our ways of working. In particular we think about what leaders can do for their employees that can have dramatic results for the organisation and its people, and doesn’t cost the earth.  Our Leadership Essentials:  1. It can take years to find your life purpose – keep going, it’s really never too late  2. The power of storytelling and meaning making on mind and body. We’re all connected mind, body and environment and our bodies reflected the archetypal stories we tell ourselves 3. Don’t get comfortable being uncomfortable. If we make some minor adjustments to our daily lives, we can massively improve our personal future health and wellbeing.   In The Coaching Approach we catch up with our fictional organisation Safina has introduced George to fellow CEO Andrew Thomas at Better You and he’s keen to learn more about the benefits of offering his employees a free Vitamin D level test. John is pleased to be back in the office showing off with his new Postural exercise regime, and we find everyone in good spirits where employee wellbeing has never felt so good.

Our entire modern way of life adversely influences our postural position - where our bodies are out of balance and our muscles become both over active and under active.  In this weeks episode Rachael & John are joined by Simon Town. After a life threatening accident at 16 Simon has endured PTSD, depression, drug and alcohol addiction, yet his remarkable story has served to become many other peoples survival guide.His community interest company Roots of Yggdrasil helps people with their individual physical challenges and postural imbalances.Beginning with a postural assessment, based on how you sit, where your head position is, even how you talk, you learn what your potential list of injuries might be, and how to avoid them through a tailored exercise programme.Our whole kinetic chain is at risk of modern life, yet 10 minutes of proper corrective exercise personally tailored to the individual can prevent future injury. We make the comparison as to how coaching is very similar in helping people avoid unhelpful current and future behaviours. We discuss how leaders can help their teams by looking out for early warning signs and taking some positive action.Rach and John run through a few simple exercises with Simon starting with hands & fingers that help with rheumatoid arthritis and carpel tunnel. We really enjoyed one of Simon’s favourite exercises which corrects forward head posture reducing risk of tension headaches and tightness in the upper chest.Simon’s Leadership Essentials:1. Lead by example - let your barriers down show some vulnerability2. If someone has back issues send them for an assessment now 3. Take sometime out for yourself; get out a do something that means you are moving - even have a phone meeting in the park 

In this weeks episode we are in conversation with physical therapist and Vagus Nerve expert - Melanie Weller. If your super curious this will really resonate with you - perhaps providing more questions for you to reflect upon. Rachael & John take part in a couple of Melanie’s exercises as she explains the importance of the vagus nerve, how increasing our awareness of how it works can have a beneficial and dramatic impact on our physical and mental health.We talk about how many of us ‘over-breath into our upper neck,’ what that perpetuates, and where we should concentrate our breathing thus preventing tightness. We learn what’s happening with our gut instinct and reactions and even consider that our business/job and our body has a closer relationship than we think.Melanie Leadership Essentials: (1:05:00)1. Create Physical space for your vagus nerve / yourself. Keep your internal flow going2.  Leadership Influence - The vagus nerve is the biggest influencer of your body, and when you’re looking to amplify your influence, the better your vagus nerve functions, the more you are the thermostat, and not the thermometer. Your future has your back3. Seeing people as their Archetypes -  Which archetype are you? It can help you as a leader to get people in their sweet spot. Helping build trust and trust in your teams, and knowing your archetype helps in trusting yourself. A fully functioning vagus nerve is so important to good leadership. Melanie ends on the vagus nerve compression exercise.You can contact Melanie here: https://melanieweller.com/ Follow Melanie on Twitter @EmbodyYourStar

Ikigai is a Japanese concept the means “reason for being.” Similar to French term “raison d’etre.”  This episode will be of interest to people who often feel as if they’re in the wrong job, but suffer from the frustration of not knowing exactly what it is, they want to do.Free Scaffold Coaching Ikigai Planner In this weeks podcast Rachael and John are joined by the inspirational Adrian Hawley: Head of Court of Protection at Partners In Costs, Chairman of Headway Huddersfield and Open Water Swimmer.Adrian shares his wonderful story of how with Rachael’s coaching he has used Ikigai to organise his hectic work life balance. After working in vastly different jobs and roles, he talks about how he feels that he is living his true life purpose.There are some wonderful leadership lessons in here; despite all of Adrian’s commitments you are left thinking that he is someone who manages to create time for everyone, that there’s value in being curious and he exudes generosity.Adrian’s Leadership Essentials:1. Braindump - Get things out of your head and down on paper. It will help you think more clearly.2. Do something daring, do something different, something you’ve not done before.3. Share your niche learnings with other colleagues. Investment in sharing your knowledge pays dividends later.

In this weeks podcast John & Rachael discuss the contributions from their last three guests Ira Wolfe at Success Performance Solutions, Tom Manning at The Pathway Academy, and Andrew Thomas at BetterYou, in the context of how organisations evaluate performance in 2021 and beyond.How do transformational leaders approach performance management? Aimed at HR and Leaderships Teams keen to reflect on how they adapted their people function through COVID-19, and what might be next.Leadership Essentials: Be well to work well. People’s performance depends in part on their physical and mental health. How can you as leaders support and manage the well being of your most important asset? Building a strong pathway with clear signposting for your employees. This helps everyone evaluate their performance so much better, they can see what they need to do to achieve personal and organisational success. Adaption and transformation are not the same thing. Adaption is required in the short term. But it is largely reaction. True transformation is required in the long term taking a more holistic approach. We’ve had an age of digital transformation Are we moving into an era of people transformation?  In The Coaching approach we meet the new HR Director Safina, who has some interesting ideas that will transform performance management, reward and the day-to-day approach and roles of the Senior Leadership Team. 

This week we celebrate World Health Day with the wonderfully knowledgeable Andy Thomas CEO and Founder of BetterYou. We talk about needing to be well, to lead well.  Our dramatically changing modern western diet and lifestyles have led to us losing a growing number of key nutrients which are essential to maintaining a balanced, healthier and fitter body. Andy talks about how a chance meeting led to him finding his true purpose; the challenges he encountered, the people and organisations that helped him, and that he is forever learning, how to help people lead healthier lives. We chat about his passion, learning and commitment to developing new products, and the innovation required to meet the growing needs of customers’ nutritional requirements. This was a real education for us, learning how important crucial certain minerals and vitamins are, and how they are ingested can have a real impact on their effectiveness. Andy’s Leadership Essentials are:1. Try and make decisions you’re proud of, that you can substantiate; start by looking at yourself2. Be humble - Be the leader, yet have the confidence to move forward, back your own judgement3. Treat your people as fellow travellers; listen to what they think, its more fun, and they throw things in - you’d probably never thought ofYou can learn more about BetterYou products by visiting betteryou.com

In this weeks episode Rachael & John chat to Tom Manning founder of The Pathway Academy about how to create high performing, emotionally intelligent teams. They talk about how laying a clear career pathway for employees to follow, is the most effective approach to attracting like minded employees.What does it look like to be at a certain level in your organisation? Do you know what behaviours are required of you, what is the expected skill level; and how does this differ from what is required at the next level, and the level above that?If you have the answers to all these questions, it makes it easier for you to be accountable; you know what is expected of you, producing a performance win/win. Leadership Essentials: The most important relationship you have is the one you have with yourself - and it heavily influences all your other relationships. Be clear with people. We are often very unclear! Without consequences there is no accountability (and anger isn't an effective consequence). Tom's 7 step model for creating the pathway: Being aware - Developing emotional awareness and understanding. Being Clear - Being Clear about what is expected and what good looks like. Being Accountable - Creating consistently accountable teams without anger. Being Human - Giving people room to make mistakes while they learn - and to then develop a more authentic relationship with themselves. Being Active - Being active in the development of our people - developing human character as well as competence / experience. Being in the right place - Helping people to live their own purpose and be in the right role for them. High Standards - The setting and upholding of high standards. You can contact Tom here: https://thepathwayacademy.co.uk/the-pathway/

In this weeks episode Rachael & John are joined by author of ‘Recruiting in the Age of Googlization’ - Ira Wolfe. His company Success Performance Solutions, helps organisations hire smarter and faster, where people are valued for their attitude and not just their skills.Ira talks to us about his fascination with the speed of change, the challenge of living in perpetual uncertainty and how technology disrupts how we work. Describing himself as a millennial in a baby boomer body, his passion for the future of work is at the very core of this insightful, thought leading conversation. He shares his positive switch on VUCA from Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambitious to Vision, Understanding, Courage/Confidence and Adaptability.We talk about transformation and what is required for business leaders develop a transformational mindset. Ira shares his thoughts on how a transformational mindset is essential to adapting and leaders can achieve this by becoming more courageous and confident in their actions. While also developing their abilities with a sharp focus on his top five focuses for any leader, these being:  Grit Resilience Mental Flexibility - Dealing with Flexibility, and paradox Growth Mindset Unlearning In his area of expertise we lift the lid on recruitment today and what’s required in future.Leadership Essentials:1. Growing our ability to adapt: this should be perpetual, and used every day2. Greater level of authenticity and transparency: be more comfortable with yourself by asking the relevant questions3. Learn how to be more hopeful: have the courage to be more hopeful to truly feel optimistic, and share that hope with those you lead.Links: Eduard Spranger - Types of Men https://amzn.to/3s1QNZIPodcast https://geeksgeezersgooglization.comWebsite & Book https://www.successperformancesolutions.com

In this weeks podcast Rachael & John pull together their recent guests leadership essentials by taking a look at the Drama unfolding both sides of the water between Harry & Meghan and The Firm.Leadership Essentials:1. Never underestimate the power of a group and how much it can influence, however small in number 2. Test your assumptions and be constantly aware of the potential for employee burnout; particularly as people often feel the need to “rescue the organisation.” 3. Care in Leadership is about managing the difference between your intentions and their impact. We can often have the right intentions because we know what we intended, but that doesn’t stop them from having bad impact.In the Coaching Approach they visit their fictional organisation and catch up with them during their latest team coaching session. The numbers aren’t looking good, Jackson is feeling frustrated and pointing the finger at Kim. She is looking tired and exhausted, - Janet is concerned about her and is worried that she might be in danger of burnout? John jumps to her defence.Their Facilitator suggests they re-frame the situation by each giving their views on Harry & Meghan and The Firm as to where everyone is sitting on the Drama Triangle. On reflection everyone can start to see which seat they’ve been sitting on, and are surprised to find that they keep moving from Persecutor to Rescuer, and all feeling like they’re the Victim.

In celebration of International Women’s Day (8th March) Rachael & John are joined by Katherine Whitton the outgoing CMO of Specsavers to talk about inspirational women in leadership. This conversation is a little trip down memory lane for Rachael as she worked for Katherine back in 2008, when Katherine was Head of Global and UK Marketing Communications at British Airways. Rachael reflects on how Katherine was an inspirational leader who helped shape the course of Rachael’s own leadership journey years down the line. Some of the topics we discuss are: The importance of care in leadership. The traits that make a leader worthy of following The importance of followship in leadership How to inspire confidence in women - Katherine shares her 3 C’s to inspire women in the workplace.  How inspirational men like Jack Ma founder of Alibaba are changing how women are viewed in the workplace What is it that made the line ‘Should’ve gone to Specsavers so iconic’ and how it has made its way into popular culture.? The idea of stewardship in leadership and leaving a role better than you found it.  Inspirational leaders Katherine has worked for including the Doug and Mary the founders of Specsavers, leaders at Barclaycard and other leading brands.  Katherine’s Leadership Essentials (01:10:50) Any leader should ask themselves: “Why should someone follow me?” If you are lucky enough to lead: What is it, I have that makes them want to follow me? Wonderment - How do you build a compelling narrative around - possibilities and vision. You have the responsibility, if you lead others, to inspire them to come on the journey with you. Empowering people to bring their best selves to work; let individuals be their best selves and let them do it their way. It’s true that this creates friction; it’s the leaders responsibility to make sure that friction creates something sensational. Related Content:#22 In our podcast series: Inspirational Female Leader Jan Iceton Chair of Smart Works talks to us about her incredible career in SAAS and Tech https://bit.ly/2JFkEpW

Rachael & John are joined by Burnout Specialist & fellow Coach Dr. Pam Wells. So many people suffer from “burnout” this debilitating and worrying state; we ask why so many driven and successful people seem especially susceptible to it?  We ask is all about control? “Control is a myth, we don’t have control over anything, not even our next breath?” And “Who am I when I’m not at work?”  What is burnout? Pam describes burnout as the feeling when you’re not coping, you’re trying harder and harder, yet feeling less successful. When people say: “I’Il just do this one last thing” - we need to ask could this be a warning sign? With boundaries so blurred we also look forward to what might be coming along, and how people can avoid it.  We talk about the importance of sleep, the unconscious patterns of work that we drop into, and the culture of our teams. We discuss that idea that we might have to “Be comfortable with unknowing” that because unknowing is definitely not comfortable.  By framing the situation in the Drama Triangle (https://bit.ly/3bcWqyp) we consider how much time we might be spending rescuing our organisation, and how people can jump onto the Winners Triangle. Brene Brown (https://bit.ly/2Og3sta) gets a mention as we talk about - Switching from Victim to Vulnerability - “When I’m owning my fragility I’m stepping into my own power - is burnout a case of persecuting myself for being vulnerable?  Pam’s Leadership Essentials: (01:10:50)  Clarity - Around knowing what I know, what I don’t know, what’s expected of me, what 3 things should I do today?  Collaboration - we are all in it, you can achieve so much more, when you involve others  Compassion - I like to think that people are doing the best they can. “Everybody is doing the best they can with what they know. If they know better, they’ll do better.”  Pam is very happy to answer any questions, and can be contacted via us at: leaders@scaffoldcoaching.com Other related content: #7 What to do when you are taking work stress home?

In this weeks episode Rachael & John are joined by fellow Coach and future orientated Josie Mc Lean. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/josie-mclean/) They discuss just how we can all get involved in promoting the climate change initiative at an organisational level. It’s no secret that leaders are turning their attention and expanding their horizons towards a more sustainable future. For some this a paradigm shift, for others it’s a natural progression that can no longer be ignored. They discuss how coaches can be involved, spring-boarding off the Climate Coaching Alliance Org 24 hour world-wide event on 4th March 2021 (https://www.climatecoachingalliance.org/) which works on the Eco-Phase Cycle, which is based on Dr Peter Hawkins’ (https://www.renewalassociates.co.uk/) model from eco-curious to eco-active. To meet people where they are at - be it Curious, Informed, Aware, Engaged or Active. To embark on a more sustainable leadership approach Josie recommends: Pick your fights, there are some battles you cannot win Find friends to work with; you’ll be stronger together Don’t ever underestimate how much can be achieved with a small group of people, when you start taking action on what you really want to achieve Josie’s Leadership Essentials: (1:01:50) This is not an “add-on” we can no longer ignore human behaviour towards the planet. This is now part of the business environment we are in. Embrace the uncertainty - stay with your vision and get comfortable in moving towards safer uncertainty (https://bit.ly/2LO4bAy) Keep asking just “How adaptable can we be?” Not to adapt once, but to adapt over and over.

In this weeks episode Rachael & John tackle a key leadership challenge of dealing with unconscious bias within the team. Drawing on the leadership experience of their past three podcast guests: Kevin Urrutia (https://www.linkedin.com/in/urrutia/) , Philip Grant (https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-grant-52601831/) and Céline Williams (https://www.linkedin.com/in/celinewilliams/) they combine their leadership essentials which offer a strategy towards improving decision making, problem solving and team unity. Our ability to make intuitive, quick fire decisions is an essential part of navigating our everyday lives; yet the downside is that our brains often mis-read the clues leading to unconscious bias which frequently prevents team members from being truly open to the ideas and perspectives of others. It occurs when we make spontaneous judgments about people or situations based on our past experiences, culture, background or exposure to social and main stream media. Leadership Essentials:  Constantly Curious - What could be different if we maintained a state of mind that was constantly questioning? What if we allow our employees to work how they want to work, and what interests them? What opportunities might we discover? (Kevin Urrutia)  Considered - What about the impact of our behaviour on others? Everything starts from learning about yourself, and testing everything to destruction. What impact will your decisions have on the wider system? Taking some time to make and consider the impact of your decisions (Philip Grant) Critical Thinking - At times Teamwork should feel uncomfortable. If we decide to avoid conflict and challenge we settle for artificial harmony. As a Leader this presents a fantastic opportunity to create a safe space by having the courage to Role Model speaking with free-choice. (Céline Williams) In the Coaching Approach (0:20:00) we catch up with the Senior Leadership Team whose teams are feeling siloed and whose leaders are not really communicating or behaving as a galvanised team. The issue of “trust within the team” is still of concern. The common pro-nouns are “I” and “My,” where there is little focus on interests, or what is really important to the organisation as a whole, and not enough sharing of relevant information. Team Coaching leads the team to think about their inter-dependancies and an effective way for them to solve their problems; they begin by sharing their individual stories, in an attempt to agree to a set of interests for the group. 

In this weeks episode Rachael & John chat with Philip Grant. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-grant-52601831/)  His work has taken him from British Eventing and International Polo to Secondary, & Further Education. We loved listening to his stories including meeting royalty and leading a team of 50,000 in the Middle East for Sheikh Mohammed. We ask when does your career really start? Philip shares his story of learning to ride a horse when he was 14, something that shaped his entire life and leadership journey. We learn about the people who influenced him, what his fundamental view of leadership is, and why it’s important to test everything to destruction. Understanding who you are and knowing what frightens you can be invaluable helping you through your whole life. He talks about how he approaches communication, the processes he use in building relationships, and what kind of environment a leader should create in order to help their team to do what they do best. This is authentic leadership at its very best, leaving you with colourful images, memorable stories and a motivating legacy of what is possible. Philip’s Leadership Essentials (1:09:00): 1. Take a long hard look in the mirror and get to know yourself. Spend time evaluating your values, understand your own unconscious biases. They’ll be useful keeping you in check and on balance 2. Share how you respond to things, be transparent and don’t be frightened about sharing your cognitive processes. Modelling those processes can be so helpful for others 3. Don’t believe your own hype - the greatest challenge is to be the same person in and out of “the leadership chair” Authentic Leadership at its core.

In this weeks episode Rachael & John chat with Kevin Urrutia (https://www.linkedin.com/in/urrutia/) . Based in New York, he is a true entrepreneur, always looking to learn and grow.  Kevin shares his story, from how he started as a Developer in Silicon Valley to now building five different businesses from scratch at just 31 years of age. Today Kevin’s main focus is on his latest creation Voy Media which is #1 for Facebook ads, helping brands scale at record speed with paid social. John & Rachael talk to Kevin about where his entrepreneurial spirits comes from, how he continues to nurture it and his tips for budding entrepreneurs.  As a leader of a successful SME today, with his team based all over the world we talk about how he makes this work to the benefit of clients, business and team members. And how he’s tackling the issue communication in a team made up of both extroverts and introverts while working remotely.  For those of you curious about what is possible, entrepreneurship and building a business based on passion and people this conversation with Kevin has a thought provoking message for you. Kevin’s Leadership Essentials (42:14): Committing to weekly meetings, especially needed when your work is over different time zones Pre-meeting notes keep us on track and people know what we all want to talk about. Using Asana to keep records for us works really well Ensuring our team is aligned and that people agree and know what we all want for the company. Links from the show: https://maidsailors.com/ https://montemlife.com/ https://chestertravels.com/ https://voymedia.com/

We are joined by Céline Williams (https://www.linkedin.com/in/celinewilliams/) Executive & Team Coach, founder of Revisionary (http://revisionary.ca/) based in Toronto, Canada. We chat about Team Coaching, and remote working with some great tips for working in a hybrid future. What are leaders concentrating on in these challenging times? Who are the members in your 1st team?  Constantly talking to people about holding a few thoughts in our minds at the same time - we are living in the “Grey” Transparency - let’s share all the information and make better decisions Opposition - If we think of opposition is here to think critically they should be the most valuable part of they system because that’s how we get better. Yet we’ve created a system where the opposition is just “plain wrong” Team Coaching provides so much more context and provides helpful perspectives in moving people along individually and collectively as a team Feedback - People have to be ready to receive it Remote working - awareness of other peoples individual remote environments Role of re-motional intelligence - what can I can control in a remote world when our assumptions are a thousand fold Setting better expectations of people, using ground rules and shared understanding of one another Asking better questions that are leading people away from your own assumptions is so useful The vortex of introspection; whilst it’s key to see what is happening to us, its where your growth edge is - you should make time to step out of this pattern On-line meetings have become an information dump, we are missing nuance, and need to be far more strategic Céline's Leadership Essentials: (1:32)  1. Being more committed to my own growth than to my comfort; this is where we really see change 2. Critical thinking should be uncomfortable; if you’re constantly hearing what you want to hear, then that - is confirmation bias. What your hearing should not be reinforcing what you already think 3. Introspection is vital for leaders - they must understand their own patterns of behaviour. Importantly do not get stuck in introspection.

In this weeks episode we take a deeper look at why we often confuse safety with certainty. Following on from last weeks conversation with Matt Lock (https://bit.ly/2LO4bAy) we look at how we can help a team feel safer amid uncertain futures. Using Matt’s Leadership Essentials we discuss a leaders choices illustrated by a couple of business scenarios. The first two; humility and courage are underpinned by the third which is all about adopting a curious mindset. Matt’s Leadership Essentials: Humility - open enough to know as a leader I’m probably part of the problem Courage - to step into being vulnerable and that there are no clear answers Curiosity - very true or fixed things, lets ask lots of questions and get different perspectives In The Coaching Approach we return to our fictional organisation where we explore the concept of certainty from the perspectives of our characters George, John & Janet, and we also meet Jackson and Kim who are in a bind over forecasting the next 2 years when the future looks far from certain.

In today’s episode we are joined by Leadership Coach Developer Matt Lock, his work spans education, sport and business in the UK and New Zealand. We talk to Matt about an article he wrote in the Learning Scientist Magazine (http://bit.ly/3qltQQ0) on Towards Safer Uncertainty. A topic that has never been more relevant than the world we find ourselves in today in the third national lockdown.   This takes us into a domain of growth, exploration, learning and collaboration. A fascinating territory for leaders to thrive in. Discussion Points:  One of the best questions you can ask: “It depends?” How to grow, develop and life a meaningful life we must - Grow Up. Wake Up. Clean Up Vulnerability = Courage, if we think of vulnerability as some sort of weakness or uncertainty we cannot learn. Or show that it is ok not to be sure or know Acknowledge that things are going to shift and change.  How leaders can move towards safer uncertainty: Staying curiously awake Consciously creating safety Embracing uncertainty Letting life be life Connecting to the wider system Matt’s Leadership Essentials: Humility - open enough to know as a leader I’m probably part of the problem Courage - to step into being vulnerable and that there are no clear answers Curiosity - very true or fixed things, lets ask lots of questions and get different perspectives Links from the show:  Matt’s Blog on Towards Safer Uncertainty. http://mattlock.co/article29.html Matt Lock Associates: http://mattlock.co/ Matt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattlockconsultancy/ Can we work with complexication? Complicated and Complexed. Can we be curious enough to get into “complexication” even if it doesn’t give us convenient answers? Transformational Presence: https://alanseale.org/

In the final "Building Better Leaders" podcast of the year, Rachael and John and joined by Jan Iceton who shares her leadership journey and experiences.  Now Chair of Smart Works Greater Manchester, Jan has had a varied leadership career in positions in everything from FTSE50 global corporations to tech start-ups, working for corporate boards and for investors, and running her own consultancy business.  She talks about building teams that need to move quickly from A>B. With strong sales performance her Transformational Leadership style is suited to qualifying leads and delivering complexed, large value business outsourced process (BOP) contracts on-time. Jan’s Leadership Essentials: Create an inspiring vision of the future Motivate & Inspire people to engage with that vision Manage the delivery of the vision Smart Works  Smart Works (Great Manchester) (https://smartworks.org.uk/manchester-smart-works/) a national charity with 8 centres around the UK. They provide a unique service to unemployed, disadvantaged women by personally styling them in a high quality interview outfit followed by 121 coaching to prepare them to succeed at their upcoming interview, during lockdown all services were successfully and quickly adapted to be fully online. In the year ending March 2020, Smart Works Greater Manchester supported 420 women and 85% went on the "get the clothes, get the confidence, get the job".   Please show your support by joining their campaign to #givethegiftofchristmas and donate a small amount using the link below to help an unemployed woman gain the confidence and the skills she needs to succeed.  http://virginmoneygiving.com/fund/SWGMgiftofconfidence

In this week’s episode John & Rachael discuss the phenomenal event that is the Vendéeglobe 2020; what leaders can learn from the longest, loneliest, most demanding race in the world, and how it’s inspired John to take on a physical challenge of his own - to run 5km every day for 70 days.   They discuss the concept of finding inspiration in isolation. Of what it’s like to lead yourself and others in times when one might feel lonely or having your autonomy taken away in lockdown. How we all need to find new ways to challenge ourselves to increase our feelings of competence, autonomy and relatedness (Self-determination theory) to sustain positive well-being.   John’s Leadership Essentials:   Resist the temptation to make statements, ask questions instead Work with other people, go find and choose people who are different to you to keep growing When you’re wrong, just admit it. You’ve had your perspective altered - learn from it As part of John's Vendéesaxton, inspired by the Vendéglobe we’ve also got a competition for you our podcast listeners to win two free coaching sessions, including a personalised values & anti- values assessment with a qualified executive coach, for five lucky winners to help you get 2021 off to the best start. Enter here (https://bit.ly/ScaffoldCoachingComp)   You can follow John’s 70 day journey on Instagram here (https://www.instagram.com/scaffold_coaching/)     Check out John’s sport inspired Leadership Essentials here (http://www.scaffoldcoaching.com/sport-inspired-leadership-essentials/)