What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? This week our theme is 100% outdoors. And if we'd been geographically closer we absolutely would have recorded it outdoors too! Our guest in this episode is Sonya Dibbin, who calls herself The Nature Lady on LinkedIn and Nature Nerd in other areas :-) Like Raising the Baa, Sonya is passionate about bringing people into nature, hence her beautifully named business Adore Your Outdoors. From an extensive career in IT, you will hear how and ...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Today's guest is the hugely talented Emma Kirkham who wears two hats - a career as a glass artist as well as a wonderfully empathic HeartHealer. As with Vanessa our last guest, Emma rather fell into artistry with glass by experimenting at college with some broken glass she found! More of which Emma explains in our conversation. Find out also exactly what happens in one of Emma's glass workshops which we're delighted to know can tak...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? A business that was borne out of demand rather than the other way round. Just like Raising the Baa, today's guest Vanessa Hastings didn't set up her business and then approach potential clients. A company team asked Vanessa if she could run a craft-based team build session for them. Hear the whole story of Crafty Team Building in this episode of Sheep Dip. We also touch on service stations and cheese.... yes, really! -------------...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Former editor and art director of Country Living magazine Francine Lawrence is here to talk about her passion for rekindling people's natural, albeit buried, abilities to draw. A super talented teacher of art, Francine is also a wonderful story-teller as is evident from our conversation in this episode of SheepDip. We're delighted to include her company ArtSplash into the fold of our Pick Your Own collection of no-tech teambuilding activities....

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Who doesn't love the fragrance of a peachy rose on a Summer's evening, the zest of a freshly squeezed orange, a newly opened packet of coffee beans, walking past a bakery and so many more? Today's guest, Jane Helliwell must lead the most aromatic life of us all. As the founder of The Scent Styling Company, Jane specialises in elevating workplace wellbeing and productivity with the power of scent. Imagine if you could reach f...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? "Sewing Bee for companies. I help your teams break out of their shell and form threads of connection through our sewing & mending workshops". Why re-word something that is already so baa-rilliantly and succinctly put in the LinkedIn headline of today's guest Kavitha Soundararajan? A corporate IT background might not be the most obvious pathway to her creative business but our conversation reveals exactly why Kavitha is in the right place, ...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Re-use, recycle, re-purpose.... and create something you will use and be super proud of for years to come. One of the outcomes of a workshop led by my guest Emma Semper Hopkins. We love Emma for her intelligent, down-to-earth, no messing Yorkshire lass approach. And from visiting her premises we felt these vibes there too. Hence our invitation to Emma to be included in our bespoke Pick Your Own collection. Whilst hundreds of companies ha...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Welcome back to SheepDip, the podcast from Raising the Baa. Today our guest is Leila Moeeni who has a truly fascinating back story from immigrant to human rights lawyer to baker. We learn about her country of origin, the challenges she has faced (and continues to do so) and why she is so passionate about breaking bread with people. Whilst hundreds of companies have brought their teams to a farm to herd sheep, we know that the exercises ...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? In her own words Emma Hossack is "a recovering perfectionist" having burnt out not once but twice, after each of her children were born whilst juggling a high octane pharmaceutical sales career. Today she and her partners at GLOW and WeTalkWellbeing help organisations and most importantly their people to be their most authentic, happy and resilient selves. Not in a fluffy way however. As their website proclaims: "We take the stuffiness...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Lizzie Benton describes herself as a 'progressive culture coach'. Her business Liberty Mind helps its clients to adopt an alternative way of working that unleashes people to create their best work. In this episode Lizzie shares her thoughts on the world of wellbeing in the workplace - or not 'wellbeing' perhaps. For example: - it's NOT a separate entity, a label which can come across as patronising or condescending - it's NOT always ...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? In this first episode of our new season we're delighted to welcome not one but two guests. Both are consultants at Talogy, which combines psychology and technology to help organisations such as M&S and BBC to develop their talent. Business psychologists Sally Tanski and Shahani Jayesinghe have extensive experience of guiding companies and coaching their people for optimum performance and well-being. We discuss: * How in...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Good Mental Health is Good Business. So says the brochure of Aurora Wellness Group, co-founded by culture change strategist Ngozi Weller with psychologist and behavioural change specialist Obehi Alofoje. Ngozi had a truly compelling reason for launching Aurora and she opens up this episode by telling us her impactful and at times heart-wrenching story. We go on to discuss: - why looking after people is a win-win for ALL companies and...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Two big themes come through loud and clear to us in our interview with this week's guest: PURPOSE and ASKING Michelle Reid is Director of Performance Culture and Delivery at the Edinburgh-based Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM). Having progressed within her 7 years at IOM from HR Manager to a seat on the Board, Michelle is clearly an utterly authentic 'people person'. We loved the way she doesn't just talk theor...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Having left her corporate HRD career in 2020, Carolyn Hobdey is passionate about improving workplace culture - or community as she prefers to call it - through human-centred leadership. Carolyn is achieving this through her Midlife Mistress platform, making your (mid)life matter and more recently as co-founder of BEing HUMAN at the Farm Club, a rural leadership wellbeing space. In our conversation with Carolyn, learn about: - our personal mi...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Welcome back to this season of SheepDip - themed Workplace Wellness. With a different expert on each show, you will be inspired by their insights and walk away with practical advice on how to create a healthy, sustainable culture for teams to thrive. Our second guest is Flick Wileman, Global Wellbeing & Engagement Lead at Reckitt, which pursues a cleaner, healthier world through brands such as as Dettol, Vanish and Nurofen. Hear Flick's...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Welcome to the 7th season of SheepDip - themed Workplace Wellness. With a different expert on each show, you will be inspired by their insights and walk away with practical advice on how to create a healthy, sustainable culture for teams to thrive. Our first guest is Anastasia Vinnikova, Head of Workplace Wellbeing at MindForward Alliance UK about which you will learn in the show. With personal experience, as she openly shares, of ment...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? The final episode in our series, The A-Z of Team Building, covers topics beginning with X (ish), Y or Z - all rolled into one show as you might imagine. We've had a blast with this series which was inspired by the many lessons learned by our clients following their experience of Raising the Baa. And naturally the learnings have prompted analogies from the world of sheep and dogs, thanks to Head Shepherd & Founder of Raising the Baa,...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? The penultimate episode in our series, The A-Z of Team Building, covers topics beginning with W relating to the importance of: - all members of a team being supported - creating a judgement-free environment - including everyone in the fold (as it were) - personal growth and development essential to wider team success - enthusiasm sometimes needing to be managed This series was inspired by the many lessons learned by our clients followi...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Our series, The A-Z of Team Building, continues with topics beginning with V including: - one of THE greatest influencers on the development of a team and its journey to success - different perspectives being essential for so many reasons - the optimum use of talent and resources This series was inspired by the many lessons learned by our clients following their experience of Raising the Baa. And we punctuate it with a few insights of our own...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? In the shepherding world and at Raising the Baa we find U a perplexing letter to use, as its pronunciation describes a female sheep. And for those who are familiar with our communications it is apparent that we substitute EWE for U more often than not! And we love it when people start using it when conversing back since we reckon we've got a real fan 😊 Continuing our series, The A-Z of Team Building, the following topics are unpacked: -...