Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Andy and Frances are in conversation about all thing’s leadership with James Bosch, Environmental Educator.
James views his leadership persona to date as having been molded by his education (both pre-university and also academically with degrees in biology, education and more recently, his PhD looking into further education). He has also worked professionally at executive manager level and in environmental education.
Most recently, James has spent 25 years at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Colorado, specialising in natural, renewable energies. He has been a passionate representative for the Laboratory, helping build new industry from its work.
James recognises the qualities of awareness, presence and influence that he engages throughout his work as his form of leadership. Specifically, he defines leadership as presence, but also the process of evolving to enable responsivity at times of need; showing vulnerability but also resilience; engendering trust; and directness whilst still maintaining compassion.
James’s purpose is to make a difference, to provide a positive contribution. Each moment requires presence to do good, he believes. He is most proud of ‘helping people connect with nature’ and ‘understand the world around them.’ He sleeps well with the knowledge that he facilitates this at all levels, hopefully enhancing activity today, but also stewarding for the future.
To James, ‘aliveness’ is both personal and professional. He feels most ‘alive’ personally when family members are together, settled, happy. Professionally, his ‘aliveness’ is derived from his ability to care for this world, for nature and also therefore the future - ‘being a steward of the Earth.’ Additionally, he feels ‘aliveness’ ensuring the ‘psychological environment is safe’ for those around him to operate in as well - through listening, integrity and honesty. Overall, he summarises true ‘aliveness’ as ‘taking care of this wonderful gift that we have in our planet’ for current and future generations.
The ‘take home’ tips James leaves us with echo with his passion:
• Know thyself - quoting Lord Byron, “Adversity is the first path to truth.”
• Ask people how they like to be treated, rather than assume. Be sensitive, share ownership, listen, be inclusive.
• Practice - prepare, strategy, systems
• Get rid of the ego - teach & develop those around you
• Teach accountability and make lives better.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Frances and Andy are delighted to share the third episode of Season 3 of our podcast Unlocking Aliveness in Leadership.
In today’s episode we are in conversation with Gerry Corish, a branding, marketing and creative consultant, with a background of working in advertising agencies across Europe and Russia, before returning to his Scottish roots in 2010 taking up the position of Director of Marketing for Scottish Salmon and now working as a Marketing Consultant to a wide range of industries.
Gerry shared many stories with us that gave his responses to our questions real colour and context. He recalled the first time I was referred to as a leader was as a small boy in my primary school in Clydeside in Glasgow. But the term used was ringleader, and it wasn't meant as a compliment!
Whilst Gerry doesn’t consider himself to be any kind of Guru, but based on his experience, he defines leadership as providing a purpose, a culture and example for others to thrive. Vision was also a key part of leadership and a great insight from some years earlier, was people can't see inside your head, your ideas, your vision. Often people have great ideas but can’t articulate them or put context and structure around them. Gerry really enjoys helping people and organisations uncover their vision.
Gerry’s purpose is clear, working with people and organisations who want to make things better. When recalling his proudest moments, Gerry recalled a recent reunion with some friends who he met working in Russia and they had asked colleagues from that time to share a video of their memories. The pride of still being in connection with these people and to have played a part in their growth was evident in Gerry’s response.
When talking about regrets, Gerry shared what he might have done differently and that was controlling his ego and that was a big lesson learnt. He now focuses on the qualities of humility and service.
Gerry shared his top tips for leadership:-
· Always maintain your curiosity
· Have the optimism that things will get better
· Keep asking “am I of service to others”
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Frances and Andy are delighted to share the second episode of Season three of our podcast Unlocking Aliveness in Leadership.
In today’s episode we are in conversation with Helen Morphew an award-winning coach who helps women at career crossroads find clarity and confidence to shape their next chapter.
Helen by her own admission has quite a varied background, starting out her career in the world of financial services in the UK and New Zealand. She then went on to build and run her own canine massage business in New Zealand before applying all her learning and experience as a coach.
Helen describes leadership as “it’s about how you make people feel, showing up with consistency and integrity, creating a space with others feel safe to challenge and grow”. Helen also shares that you don’t need a title to be a leader, we all have different ways of leading and what differentiates the good and the bad is not about confidence or charisma, it more about self-awareness and accountability.
Helen describes her leadership purpose as helping people, especially women, feel that they can step into leadership on their own terms.
Helen remembered her Grandad’s saying from an early age “to take every opportunity and never have regrets”, and she has taken that with her through life. If there was something she could change, it would be getting support for her personal growth earlier in her career.
Helen feels most alive as a leader when someone who she is working with realises what they are capable of. As a naturally curious person, Helen loves understanding what makes people tick and when they have that breakthrough moment, feeling that she has some small part to play in that is just the best feeling.
Helen gave us some thoughtful top tips for leaders;
· Lead yourself first – know your own triggers, blind spots and values, enables you to lead with intention rather than reaction.
· Listen more and say less – its not all about having the answers, but asking better questions.
· Make expectations clear – no surprises leads to safety.
We hope you enjoy listening to this episode and our thanks to Helen for sharing her thoughts with such candour.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Andy and Frances are very pleased to be back for our 3rd season of Unlocking Aliveness in Leadership podcast.
In today’s episode we are in conversation with Rachel Jones, Director of Talent and Learning for Strategic Accounts and Continental Europe at Sodexo.
From the early age of 13, Rachel got the bug for talking and interacting with people, running from School to the work at the local newsagents.
Whilst working at Tesco alongside studying for her A Levels, Rachel was offered the opportunity to join their management leadership scheme and jumped at the chance. She loved the company and her work but after 7 years she joined Michael Page and still uses what she learned about people, clients, and candidates to this day.
Rachel has been working at Sodexo for the last 10 years in a variety of people related roles.
Rachel reflected that leadership has been many different things in her career, and she has in turn needed different forms of leadership to lead and guide her. For her leadership is reflective, ever meaningful, and brings purpose to people in very different ways. Rachel gave us a new angle on leadership and talked about what she expected from a leader, someone who trusts and believes in her, is a voice, a shoulder, an ear when needed. It’s fine to get to wrong if you learn from it.
When talking about her leadership purpose Rachel was crystal clear “to be authentic in all I say and all I do”, saying “sometimes it matters more, what you won’t stand for rather than what you will, this is how you define your authenticity.”
Rachel’s pride comes from the sustainable impact she has achieved and her two children, her proudest achievement. She knows she can be fast paced, demanding and challenging, but never for anything other than growing individuals, teams, functions, and the business.
As far as regrets go, her biggest was believing pace was power, often being likened to a Duracell battery. With experience and wisdom, she appreciates the value of slowing down and letting an answer form or situation play out.
Freedom and trust are what brings Rachel alive as a leader, rather than sleepwalking through work, getting caught up in what can’t be done. She thrives on enabling people to be human beings, listening, and discovering what gifts people have and creating an environment of enjoyment at work.
Rachel’s top tips for all leaders, are:-
Our thanks to Rachel for sharing her thoughts with such passion and clarity.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Season 2- Episode 10: The final episode of Season 2
In this episode, Frances and Andy are having a conversation by way of a summary of what we have gleaned in this whole season, as our takeaways and top tips our brilliant guests have shared around the topic of unlocking aliveness in Leadership.
In terms of defining leadership Jose-Luiz Moura says “leadership is all about bringing people together to achieve something, helping to empower and give clarity so that people can bring their best selves to work”, whereas Tony Underwood says, leadership is “providing an environment where we care for people as individuals enabling them to be at and deliver their best”
In asking our guests about what their purpose is, Raj Verma said, “For him it was all about “making a difference that sticks so that sustainable change happens,” He described himself as being a “culture carrier”. Nancy Choi uses the expression “Always be growing 🌴”, and that is her centrifugal force as she moves forward.
It’s so interesting to us that many of our guest talk about the ripple effect as something that drives them in their purpose as well as what they are most proud of with Sajna Rahman focusing her world on future leaders, and Rachel Evans talking about “enabling and contributing to the world that she lives in”. John Heritage spoke about “making things better for people, and that included everyone.
When asked, what makes you most alive as a leader? Vishal Oberoi spoke passionately about “Crisis, Complexity and Celebration”, saying that’s it’s the difficult crunchy things that make him come alive and then celebrating when things work out well. Giles Tromsett spoke about his passion in his work in the hospice movement saying, “Integral to our humanity is the care of those who are dying and the support of their families”.
Frances and I are very thankful to those guests who have shared their experiences and wisdom with us and to those who have listened to our podcast. We are taking a break for the summer and will be back in September with Season 3 of Unlocking Aliveness in Leadership.
We hope that you enjoy listening to this final episode of Season 2
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In today’s episode of Unlocking Aliveness in Leadership Podcast Frances Armes and Andy Rogers are in conversation with Rachel Evans, HR Director Sodexo Government, Co-Chair of Gold Award Association, Women Empowering Defence Board Member, and Fair Chance Business Alliance Advisory Board Member.
Having started her time in Retail and she has spent 18 years in various HR roles within Sodexo UK and Ireland. She says that she loves the energy and pace of both the retail and service sectors, this is a place where she feels at home.
Rachel says that through observing others she decided quite early on about the kind of leader that she didn’t want to be. She’s changed roles every 3 to 4 years and kept moving forward in shaping her leadership style as she’s developed. Whatever role that she’s been, authenticity has been at the heart of it.
Rachel describes leadership as “the ability to simplify things, and giving clear direction in difficult circumstances”, as well as “getting to know each individual, the skills sets that they bring and how they best work in relationship with me and others”. There are times when she leads from the front, middle and back. Leadership isn’t static, it needs to flex and change. Rachel describes herself as an “enabler”.
Rachel talks passionately about her purpose as being driven by her leadership commitment, “Enabling and contributing to the world that I live in”. She was able to come home to this purpose through coaching and taking time out for herself.
The things that she’s most proud of isn’t an individual achievement, it’s about the way that she has been able to open herself up, and challenge herself she has been able to be more deliberate about where she focusses her time, She’s become a board member for various organisations that are important to her, and on top of her day job, this is her measure of success.
Rachel talks about regretting spending too many years and too much time trying to be a perfectionist and wished that she’d started her personal growth story sooner and allowed herself to fail by trying different things at different times.
Rachel shares that she needs challenge, loves being curious and pushing herself as well as being an observer of the world around her. When these are all lined up, that’s when she comes alive in her role.
Rachel says that her top tips for leaders: -
1. Find out what works for you as a leader to keep your own balance, stay grounded and on purpose.
2. Remain curious and keep observing the world around you
3. Know you watch outs in situations of pressure and stress, be on to yourself.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In today’s episode of our Podcast Unlocking Aliveness in Leadership Frances and Andy are today in conversation with Sajna Rahman, Customer Experience & Service Leadership | Speaker & Workshop Facilitator | Helping Organizations Create Unforgettable Customer Journeys | Founder, One Team Training | Co-Founder, Tomorrow Meets Today.
Sajna started her corporate career when she was a young mother as a receptionist at Coca-Cola. She feels that her leadership journey began well before the ‘title’ of leader was established, however, citing her family responsibilities, communication skills and general happiness which enabled great, authentic “real” connections.
She moved into account managing and business development positions, expressing how her ‘brand’ allowed her to teach others to fast-track their own careers. Involved with her growing social enterprise, ‘Tomorrow meets Today’ as well, Sajna left corporate life and now focuses on developing people, stating that “It’s all about having the career and personal life that you love.”
Defining leadership, she offers the analogy of the Gandolf character in ‘Lord of the Rings.’ She notes how, although not the principal character, “his presence is always felt” - an example of ‘servant leadership.’ Her own definition is similar - the roll of ‘the guide.’
Sajna feels that her purpose is to develop and inspire future leaders with the traits to make “a difference in the World…. a better place.” She is as passionate about removing the barriers in the corporate world, stating, “If there’s no seat for you at the table, pull up a chair,” emphasising the need to update beliefs continuously.
Her proudest moment was being asked to present graduation awards at a time when she didn’t yet think of herself as a leader! Although keeping quiet then, Sajna is proud to have been a role model to many aspiring Asian girls there.
With reference to embarrassing moments, (of which there are many, she says), the greatest part is learning from them, together with the storytelling they provide. “Owning up” and even “laughing at” yourself saves you. Overall, Sajna derives her aliveness in leadership through balance in all parts of her life, stating that this has “improved with age!”
Sanja’s Top tips:
· Be visible – promote your personal branding, understanding your core values and embodying them
· Social Media visibility – LinkedIn is a powerful tool
· Market yourself – build your network; be articulate; mentor and sponsor.
· Build your personal boardroom.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Andy and Frances are in conversation this episode with Giles Tomsett, Chief Executive Officer of St Catherine’s Hospice– serving Mid Sussex and East Surrey.
Giles served with the Army in the early part of his career, had experience of the Healthcare Services arena, working as a manager in several areas and ‘leveraging technology in the digital space,’ before joining a colleague in a startup venture. For the last 12 years, Giles has been involved with supporting St. Catherine’s in the delivery of outstanding end-of-life and palliative care to all stakeholders.
He expresses his passion for this work born from personal experiences of losing loved ones to cancer, with his best friend expressing on his deathbed that - ‘it’s got to be better than this, Giles … It’s got to be better!’ Healthcare is so much more than the obvious or just the end result. He states how ‘you need to embrace the whole.’
Giles defines leadership by referring to the Sandhurst moto – ‘Serve to Lead”. He stresses how the values of humility and humour spring from this period and quotes McKinsey – ‘A set of behaviours and a mindset that aligns people to a collective direction enabling them to work effectively together to accomplish shared goals.’
Applying these principles to today’s environment, he illustrates how there is a need to help people navigate complexity and change, requiring agility, responsivity and adaptability. But most importantly, be able to assist them to also travel along the path of change. Giles once again draws on his early experience to emphasise how inspiring people to believe in the overall cause gets so much more from them. They are invested.
Although a small charity, St. Catherine’s has many ‘tentacles.’ Giles feels his leadership purpose is to ‘inspire and empower’ these people daily, enabling them to ‘do their best work’. He believes that his commitment and loyalty to the charity generates similarly in others.
‘We haven’t got much time to make a difference,’ Giles states passionately! As a leader, our responsibility lies in making relationships stronger. He passionately supports the NHS whilst recognising the current and impending pressures on it. He feels that it can meet those demands collectively, with government will, and successfully. For this, and many other reasons, he signs his emails – ‘Onwards …’
Giles believes that ‘everybody matters.’ From an excruciating experience, that burned deeply into his memory, he emphasises that leaders are not there to belittle their team members, but to strengthen and give them confidence. ‘Wellbeing matters!’
Delivering a service that he feels is integral to the people of his area (and responds to the words of his best friend on his deathbed), is the thing that brings Giles most alive.
Giles’ top tips:
1. Humility
2. Provide clear goals, with integrity, direction and, above all -
3. Authenticity
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this week’s episode, Andy and Frances are in conversation with John Heritage, Chief Executive of The David Lewis Centre, and investigate his unique take on all things ‘leadership’.
Bringing a different lens to our conversations, having spent his entire career within the public sector, John has undertaken a mixed bag of roles and experiences, both within the NHS and charities.
John defines leadership by asking, “How do we all try to engage and motivate people towards a common cause?” He discusses how we encourage others to achieve this so that, as a team, we can all build momentum towards where we want to go. He also expresses the need to ensure that there is room for people to be able to speak out when they are uncomfortable with the direction of travel.
“People are at the centre of everything,” that John does - this forms his purpose. At the centre of his compass, and in whichever direction he travels, there are people who work in the organisation, the service users, or those in the wider community that are impacted. In all these situations therefore, his central purpose asks, “How can I make things better for and with people?”
John talks with such energy and enthusiasm about his current role and it being the best job that he has ever had. He also reflects that he is most proud of the time when, whilst in the NHS, he embedded a policy to include within the workforce 1% of people with direct personal experience of mental health issues. The policy encountered much challenging opposition at the time, but the results paid dividends in so many ways. Overall, it brought a different dimension, changing dynamics and making positive contributions to the care that his teams provided.
Describing himself as a reflector, John often wonders whether he was curious enough about the decisions he has made. Did he ensure that he took all views into consideration? He says ‘curiosity and reflection’ are skills that he has learnt along the way and brings into his everyday practice as a leader now.
When discussing what brings him alive in his role as a leader, John says, “I love it when a plan comes together,” quoting the ‘A Team’. He also speaks about the energy and enthusiasm that he has when spending time with service users and families - driving his belief about how we can make things better for everybody.
John’s top tips for leaders are:
1. Be curious - seek to understand by making time with and for people
2. Be selfish - be clear about what you need (get the support and experiences that you need to help you succeed)
3. Be vulnerable - allow yourself not to know the answer and be comfortable in that vulnerability.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Frances and Andy are in conversation with Vishal Oberoi, Group Chief Compliance Officer at Nexi | Former Global Banking CCO/CRO focused on Financial Crime, Regulatory Compliance and Operational Risk across geographies (Asia, Americas, Middle East, EU/UK).
Vishal describes himself as an engineer who stumbled into the world of financial services and never left. He has global experience working in America, Asia and London within a mixture of banks and financial institutions, as well as bearing the battle scars from his work at the time of the financial crisis. He summarises his career path as “built by accident and serendipity.”
With respect to leadership, Vishal describes it as the “long game of paying it forward.” He expresses how it is the sum of many things, including our experience and cultural background. He feels it is often best viewed like the movie, Benjamin Button, as it makes more sense when looking back rather than at the specific time. He also remarks that leadership is an individual proposition, and you need to build it and nurture it - “It becomes who you are.”
He cites an example from General Stanley McChrystal’s book, “The team of teams” and tries to avoid the temptation to lead as a “chess master where you control,” of each move of the organisation. If you allow this approach to disperse, taking on that of leading as a “gardener, enabling rather than directing,” you create the eco-system where people can evolve.
Describing his leadership purpose as having three main objectives, Vishal pinpoints the following:
· Purpose - are we aligned as a team on purpose?
· Trust - do we trust each other?
· Impact - are we able to transform this into meaningful impact?
He is pleased with his resilience in difficult times, finding opportunity in a crisis, but he is most proud that he has never left a team or a leader. Even though his path has seen him leave companies, he has always been able to hold on to the relationships with others who have shared the way. It is “being in the middle of complexity and, at times, crisis,” that brings him alive. It would be a dull job if everything was simple.
Vishal shares his top tips as:
1: Build your leadership proposition
2: Be aware of your dinosaurs’ tail when making change (Be conscious of your impact)
3: Be human, making time for people at a human level.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Frances and I are delighted to be able to share the 4th Episode of Season Two of our Podcast, “Unlocking Aliveness in Leadership”.
In this episode we are in a wonderful conversation with Nancy Choi, e-Commerce General Manager at Nike & coach for modern leaders.
Nancy describes herself as a well-rounded generalist who has deeply explored leadership over the last decade and, after her vast range of and different experiences, gives her description of leadership as where “presence meets competence”.
“Presence” is what shows up when you enter the room. It is you, as a leader, embodying your values and those of the organisation at its best.
“Competence” is about your ability to drive results, stewarding resources and connecting with your team.
Nancy describes her purpose as to “Always be growing 🌳 ”. She says that there are real opportunities for growth both when you are on an upward trajectory as well as when the business is stagnant or declining.
It is the mindset of “service” that Nancy feels most proud of. She shares a great example of the work she and her team engaged in at Nike during the early stages of the pandemic. This aimed to change the way the public had access to sports and therefore be able to exercise more at home.
Nancy shares her regrets also. These occurred when she was “out of balance“- not tuned into the needs of her own body. She describes how these events have allowed learning - about putting her own ‘oxygen mask’ on first.
Overall, Nancy thrives on innovation and creativity. However, she is most alive when helping people and working with teams to solve the bigger issues of our times. She quotes the Dalai Lama, “We don’t need more smart people; we need more helpers.”
Nancy’s top tips for future leaders are below:
1: Understand how to be effective in the systems that you are in
2: Learn to manage your energy and internal state.
3: Always be growing 🌳 .
It has been a pleasure to spend time with Nancy. We hope that you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed the conversation.
Follow Nancy at @millennialexec on Instagram and visit her website to learn more about her coaching at http://www.themillennialexec.com/"
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode Frances and I are in the conversation with Raj Verma ChiefCulture, Diversity and Employee Experience Officer at Sanofi about all thing’s leadership. Raj brings with him into the conversation a wealth of experience he’s gleaned at the local, national and global stage of working with some very large corporations.
Raj describes leadership as simply about “getting stuff done”, and to do that you have to be a leader who can inspire and motivate. Raj believes in telling stories that allows the companies vision and purpose to come alive in everyone who works there.
Raj states that leadership must start with knowing yourself and practicing your everyday habits. This is the common thread that lays behind any good leader.
Making a difference that sticks is the thing that drives Raj forward. He uses the differential of “can I see myself as a consumer”, and in doing so asks the question of himself “how do I drive the culture forward by being a culture carrier”.
Raj says that he’s proud of embracing his vulnerability. He shares that he used to think that he needed to be right and know everything. He realises that it’s having the ability to ask
difficult questions, when you are coming from a place of curiosity that creates trust and openness.
Raj says that one of his regrets is not starting with the why rather than the what. He loves what he does but it took him a couple of jobs early on in his career to figure out why
he was doing it.
For Raj, it’s all about the impact that he can make and that’s the thing that make him come alive as a leader, as with his description of leadership, it’s all about getting things done.
Raj shared the following top tips for leaders: -
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tony has had a fantastic career. He has pivoted from the heights of playing international rugby for England as well as the British and Irish Lions, before pursuing a 20-year career as a Pilot, culminating as Captain on the Airbus A380. He now uses the knowledge gleaned along the way to act as a Chief Care Enforcer, working with organisations and teams. He assists them in driving towards elite performance, encompassing both internal and external factors.
Tony defines leadership as providing an environment in which others can be the best that they can possibly be. His guiding principle is to believe that great leaders achieve this status through the provision of a deep level of care to individuals. His philosophy opposes that of leaders who see individuals as widgets, present only to provide a resource in the achievement of the task.
His perspective, built uniquely from direct experience of elite performance both on the rugby field as well as in the cockpit, enables him to share his message. He observed that those leaders who achieved the best level of care were also those responsible for the best performance outcomes. With this in mind, Tony likes to change the word performance to flourish. After all, isn’t this what we want for our people, teams and organisations?
This approach does not mean care without challenge (a soft approach). He emphasises that via the provision of great levels of care, you can provide challenge. Such focus shifts the dial between a you verses me mentality to an us verses the challenge team perspective.
Purpose for Tony is now all about answering his need to develop what he sees as important in teams and organisations by bringing this message. He is extremely clear that the goal is not about striving for a destination, but being on the journey, being in flow. This is what allows him to feel fulfilled.
The aspect that Tony claims to be most proud of (throughout his career and the changes on this journey), is concerned with maintaining a sense of self. He feels that he did not lose his identity either as an international rugby player or as a pilot. He has stayed real to himself, remaining Tony Underwood throughout.
Sharing open vulnerability around his experiences of how difficult life can be, Tony speaks of being in environments where he was not the leader but still tried to offer a lone voice - to create a different kind of culture. He tells of how this position is expressly difficult when the same view is not shared by others. It is with this backdrop that Tony informs his work today as the Chief Care Officer. He feels that he felt alive in his work when he was able to create an environment for others to thrive. This is what drives him forward today.
Tony’s top tips for Leaders are:
1: Engage: on a very personal level of fierce care.
2: Empower: Create the sense of being part of something bigger than ourselves.
3: Elevate: Use the permission to challenge to elevate.
4: Embed: an environment that enables the best version of yourself.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Born and raised in Brazil, JL has had an extensive career as a professional in the world of finance and reporting. JL was always good with numbers and had a drive to explore the world, his number one goal was to be independent which drove him forward. He’s had a series of senior finance roles in Brazil, US, Europe and the UK. JL is now sees himself in the 3rd chapter of his career as his is currently working as a coach and board advisor,
JL has been driven by his motto of “If the doors keep opening keep going”.
What is your definition of leadership?
JL says that leadership is “all about bringing people together to achieve something, helping to empower and give clarity so that people can bring their best selves to work”.
How would you describe your leadership purpose?
JL is very clear about his purpose, “to awaken and inspire possibilities in others”. He says that his superpower is bringing people together for that.
A book that changed his life is The Second Mountain by David Brookes and he sees himself and his purpose on the second mountain, giving something back to the world and to individuals.
What are you most proud about in your career?
One of JL’s proudest moments in his career is when those people who he worked with have gone on to do bigger and better things. They have used him as a role model. JL also talks about overcoming his own fears and his inner stories in order to achieve things that he didn’t think were possible.
What is your biggest regret?
JL says that his biggest regret is holding back, he talks about his way of being of asking for permission rather than forgiveness. He feels that he should have been bolder in his earlier career.
What is your most embarrassing moment as a leader?
JL has many embarrassing moments such as forgetting people’s names and asking people where they are from. His biggest embarrassing moment was accidentally breaking all the glasses in the meeting room where he was being interviewed for his role in Salesforce (He still got the job ).
What makes you most alive as a leader?
JL loves to be connected with people and being in deep explorative conversations, loving the opportunity for inquiry that this offers. It’s in these spaces that brings him alive
What top tips do you have for other leaders?
JL’s take on tops tips for leaders are: -
1. You need to walk the talk because people are always observing. There needs to be congruence in your actions and words
2. Always lead from your values
3. Be the role model that you always wanted to have.
A motto that JL left for us was:
We are the ancestors for the future; by changing yourself you are changing the future.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In the final episode of Season 1 of our Podcast we turn tables again as Frances interviews Andy on all things leadership.
Having had an extensive career in engineering and the service sector, with experience in the Healthcare and Defence Operations along with a third of his career being in central service. Andy's career has spanned both Operational P and L roles and Human Resources, and now he works as a coach, consultant and facilitator in partnership with Frances arms at Unlocking Conversations LTD.
Andy’s describes his way of leading as an “enabler”, someone who “creates the conditions where others can thrive”. Andy talks about his leadership styles as having a "protective umbrella" where he tried to suck in all the issues to him, so that the team could continue to do their jobs. His take on leadership is “its not about you its about them” .
For Andy, its all about the people, and his proudest moments are formed from those people who have joined him on the journey and then gone on to do great things in their own specific worlds.
Andy’s also very proud that he is now doing the thing that he’s always wanted to do and is not ashamed to say “its been a bit of a journey” but he’s now in the world that he had envisioned for himself back in the nineties.
As a leader in Sodexo he saw that the leaders job was all about doing what he/they could do to make the lives better for those who provided a service to the clients and customers on our sites.
Andy describes his purpose as development and finding a place where he could do the grow which would enable him to reach his potential. And he has the same views as to his purpose as a leader, doing whatever he could so that others could find the opportunity to grow into their potential.
What makes Andy alive is when he is in the conditions that allow him to thrive , he says that “there’s a magic formula when he felt that he wasn’t having to look over his shoulder, that he was valued for being who he was, and he liberated himself to be himself, and he felt the value of others contribution, that’s when he felt most alive ”
Andy expressed a regret about holding himself back and not allowing himself to be fully himself in the early stages of his career.
Top tips for leaders:-
· Create space for yourself and others
· Stay relevant, get chances to development and find new ways of working
· Stay connected to all parts of the organisation
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This is something different for our podcast. One half of Unlocking Conversations is interviewing the other. In this episode Andy interviews Frances in all things leadership.
Having had an extensive career in education, consulting and coaching, Frances has always been interested in the world of leadership development. Frances spends her time working with leaders, helping them grow and develop. She sees development as opening “pandora’s box”, once it's open you can’t close it.
Frances sees leadership as being the holistic conductor of the very finest orchestra.
Leadership is about communication, engagement and inspiration. She says, “everything matters, but you can’t know everything, so leaders need to show up with openness, honesty, and humility all of the time”.
As a leader you need to honour uniqueness (both yours and everybody around you).
Frances is very proud of her approach to HR, she says she did it the Frances way, talking to people as human beings, with dignity and support even though the situation was very tough.
She says that her purpose as a leader wasn’t about herself, it was all about enabling people to flourish and unlock potential. This is the thing that makes Frances come alive as a leader. She describes her aliveness as congruent with her way of leading “from heart and kindness” and what’s important to know that’s she’s made a difference.
France’s top tips for future leaders are :-
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Andy and Frances are in conversation who's has has an extensive multi national career in the retail and banking sectors before becoming a full time coach.
Amanda describes leadership listening as the core skill at the heart of leadership. Her view is that listening and “really paying attention to what the challenge and issue at hand is”, and “taking the time to inquire into, and listen to what is not being said in the situation”. With that information being the person who takes the care and responsibility to address whatever that is.
Amanda describes her leadership identity as “Walking the talk” by demonstrating consistently her particular way of working. Sometimes this required her to take an unpopular stand.
She is most proud of the enduring meaningful relationships that she has formed with various people throughout her career that are still going strong today.
Amanda describes her purpose as “to make a difference to the people who she came into contact with or those who were going to be recipients of that decision”. She saw herself as the human face of HR even in the most difficult of circumstances.
The three things that she would advise others leaders on are: -
1: Learn to say no
2: The importance of standing up for yourself.
3: It’s important to have the feminine qualities in the workplace such as vulnerability, compassion and care.
Amanda describes her regrets that she didn’t recognise her own worth early enough in her career and she let her inner critic have its way with her far too often. Because of this she didn’t take risks when opportunities were offer to her.
Top tips for other leaders: -
1: Bring all of yourself to your position as a leader and don’t try to emulate anyone else.
2: Have listening upfront in your leadership arsenal
3: Keep living your whole life alongside that being a leader and ensure that you don’t lose sight of that.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Listen to Karolina’s take on leadership that’s she’s gathered through over 20 years experience in leadership roles across Telecommunications, Banking and Retail.
Katrinas take on leadership definitions is that they are dynamic based on insight, exposure, experience and reflection over time.
She says that “Leadership is a continuous mission to self discover because it always starts with you as a leader, to be able to create clarity, purpose, connection, and inspiration for people you are surrounded by”.
Karolina is most proud of the people that she’s worked with being promoted, feeling empowered, recognising their purpose and strength, and their ability to move forward rather than the achieving metrics or project deliverables.
On a note about herself she notes that “the other areas that I’m proud of is my own ability to move through the barriers that I had created in my mindset and be able to over come them by being comfortable with the uncomfortable to take myself out of the comfort zone”.
She describes her purpose as “mission of discovery where I can bring together my strengths, values, opportunities, beliefs and things that both challenge and inspire me” and her why is “ to empower others through curiosity, learning experiences and building connections so that they are enables to be better versions of themselves so that they can contribute more effectively”.
Karolina notes that she comes alive as a leader when “I am aligned with my values, things that I believe and integrity. It has to start there. Red flags are raised when I am away from these essentials. I also feel alive when I feel safe in my world as a leader. Also, when I on the edge of my comfort zone heading into big scary ideas, that’s when I feel very alive”.
When asked about regrets, Karolina expressed that she has a mental model that means that she doesn’t regret anything in her life. The things that happen to us gives us an opportunity to learn.
Karolina talks about a difficult situation where she had to make a stand for her values and beliefs in the face of a dominant different culture.
Top Tips for leaders are: -
· Establish a habit and routine that allows you to manage yourself well.
· Create self awareness practices that allow you to understand your purpose, strengths and areas that you want to work on in the future.
· Keep learning and being curious so that you can continue your growth mindset.
· See mistakes as a learning opportunity
· Lead with empathy and create inclusive space where people feel safe to say what they think.
· Listen to all viewpoints.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Having had an extensive career in hospitality, listen to the insights and golden nuggets from Suzy about her take on everything leadership.
Suzi describe’s leadership as "the alignment of the team around the vision and goals", "helping team members to create combined success by helping each team member understand the role that they play individually to support the whole".
Suzi says that it is the honour of her life to lead the team that she does, and her leadership motto as “work hard and be nice to people”
She describes her purpose as “Of course, we’re not curing cancer or solving world peace we are serving nice food and drinks in airport lounges, but it gives me great purpose to work everyday to make memories and great experiences for our guests. Our employees are called experience makers because we encourage them to take pride in the service that they provide."
My purpose is keeping those experience makers safe, a place where they can thrive and grow as individuals.
Being a leader is like being a parent, you need to have an amalgum of :-
Patience, listening and negotiation.
With the added ability to stay calm in all situation.
In lessons learnt she says that she wished that she'd been a little more intentional and had more confidence in my own abilities.
What would you say to Suzi 20 years ago, "believe that you can do it and let other people know that you can do it."
What is the thing that makes you most alive: The privilege, the opportunity to travel and meet interesting people, mix with different cultures and to appreciate what it means to lead a team in Honk Kong, New York and London, and appreciate the nuances of incredible human beings.
Suzi's top tips are:-
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Having worked for arts council, in finance, health service and service sector, Steve shares his unique experience and take on all things Leadership.
Steves says that its difficult to define Leadership better to look at areas of focus and they are:
1: Understanding purpose
2: Paying attention to everything and everyone: Being open to the contributions of others within the strategic environment
3: Valuing relationships
4: Make meaning and interpretation
Leadership is most useful if it is views as a relationship.
Steve describes his purpose as "helping people reach their potential"
If someone says "The work that we did together has really influence my career", then he feels he has done a good job.
Curiosity is an asset in leadership because you can get caught out if you have a need for certainty
Steves Top tips for leaders:
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.