Episode 5 – Being Worthy
What’s your money story and how does it shape your sense of worth, freedom, and belonging? In this conversation, Philip Gardner shares a rare dual lens: from senior commercial leadership in hospitality to sitting across the table from real people making real-life financial choices. We explore “enoughness,” the courage to ask for help, pricing your value, and why planning isn’t a spreadsheet, it’s a practice. Expect gentle provocation, practical nudges, and a fresh take on how money connects to community, contribution, and the way we show up for each other. If you’ve ever felt late to the game or shy about talking money, this one’s for you.
Joy isn’t frivolous. It’s fuel.
In this episode, Suffolk-based artist and creativity enabler Sam Barnes joins us to explore joy as the heartbeat of a balanced life, how creativity quiets the noise, grounds the body, and reconnects us with what’s real.
We talk about art as a form of mindfulness, the ways play and purpose intertwine, and how unlocking creativity often starts with something as simple as picking up a pen or painting withcoffee.
Whether you think you’re “creative” or not, this episode will remind you how to lift the lid, just a little, on the joy waiting beneath the surface.
“Joy isn’t something to postpone until the work is done. It’s fuel for the journey.”
Samantha Barnes - Artfully Minded Artist
10 Ways That ‘Doing Art’ Helps Us — Samantha Barnes
The Science of Beauty: Neuroaesthetics in Art and Design – ArtRKL
Being Connected explores what it means to feel part of something bigger than ourselves, whether that’s faith,nature, community, or the quiet we make on purpose. Bobby and Bridge’s guest, Alison Riley (minister, mentor, mountain-lover), reflects on awe, grief, ritual, and why connection is a team sport as much as a solo practice. We talk aboutprayer (in many forms), the medicine of green and blue spaces, words that shape our days, and simple ways to return when we wobble.
No dogma. Just curiosity, story, and practice. From the practices that keep us grounded to the impacts connection has on leading, relationship building, resilience, and creativity, this conversation offers practical ways to notice and nurture the threads that bind us.
“Take care of your body. It’s the only place youhave to live” – Jim Rohn
This week we start the Wheel of Life with a foundation that could be suggested as underpinning the rest: your body. Our guest, James Llewellyn, co-founder of The Evolution Project, shares his personal story behind 3,000+ client transformations and why movement, nutrition, and mindset can turn the lights back on. We talk panic to purpose, self-sabotage, “good enough” days, stress, hormones, and why clean, consistent basics beat heroic bursts.
If your Wheel feels wobbly, begin here. Small steps create momentum; energy, clarity, and the small shifts that change everything.
About the Evolution Project and Co-Founder James Llewelyn
The Power of Now | Eckhard Tolle | Books
The Untethered Soul | Michael Singer | Books
The Surrender Experiment | Michael Singer | Books
This season of More Than a Lumpy Jumper takes a journey around the Wheel of Life - a coaching tool that helps us notice the different parts of life that shape our sense of balance.
In this opening episode, Bobby and Bridge reflect on their own Wheels: where they’re thriving, where they’re stretched thin, and what they hope to learn from the guests joining them in the weeks ahead. It’s an honest, practical starting point for a season of conversations that explore health, money, work, love, spirituality, and more.
Join us as we sketch out the Wheel, ask what balance really looks like, and begin to notice where small shifts can make the biggest difference.
Wheel of Life | Evaluate Your Life Balance in 12 Key Areas
Join Bobby and Bridge as they unpack workplace emotions with their usual no-holds-barred frankness.
In this season-six finale, they question whether emotions belong in a locked box or if acknowledging them isessential to effective leadership. What happens when your emotional-self shows up at work, intentionally, vulnerably, fully human?
Expect a candid, juicy conversation about emotional agility, leadership limits, and the fine line between expressing feeling and being overwhelmed. If you’re curious about how emotions can be a superpower rather than a liability in leadership, this episode is for you.
Hit play and let the two Bs guide you through embracing what’s real … no filters, no pretending.
Susan David: The gift and power of emotional courage | TED Talk
No Hard Feelings | Liz Fosslien & Mollie West Duffy | Books
Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change and Thrive in Work and Life | Susan David | Books
Inside Out | Pixar | Accepting all Emotions including Sadness is part of your Mental Health
Urgent. Important. Overdue. All of it… NOW?!
If your to-do list is longer than your arm and every task feels like a fire, this episode is for you.
Bobby is joined by career and HR coach Faye Wallis, creator of the “Essential HR Planner”, for a conversation about how we untangle the noise and refocus with purpose. They dive into practical tools, productivity myths, people-pleasing traps, and the pressure to keep doing all the things.
Spoiler: you don’t have to.
This is your permission slip to stop glorifying busy and start leading with clarity instead.
Eat That Frog! | Brian Tracy | Books
Tranquillity By Tuesday | Laura Vanderkam | Books
How to gain control of your free time | Laura Vanderkam | TED - YouTube
The Four Tendencies | Gretchen Rubin | Books
The Four Styles of Self-Motivation with Gretchen Rubin | YouTube
What if your most powerful leadership tool wasn’t in your head, but in your rhythm?
In this episode, Bobby is joined by wellness educator and inclusion specialist, Samantha Garstin (aka the Period Princess!) to explore what it means to lead in sync with the natural cycles of energy, focus, and capacity, whether those are hormonal, seasonal, emotional, or simply human. The conversation is vast, including talking about the effects of hustle culture, burnout, and the boldness of listening to your body.
If you’ve ever found yourself running on empty and wondering what’s wrong with me, this conversation might just be your turning point. It really is a conversation for everyone.
Samantha Garstin🩸Period Princess 👸 | LinkedIn
4 ways to practise cyclical living when you're overwhelmed
Wild Power | Alexandra Pope, Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer | Books
Second Spring | Kate Codrington | Books
Moon Time: Living in Flow with your Cycle | Lucy Pearce | Books
Period Repair Manual | Lara Briden ND | Books
Hormone Repair Manual | Lara Briden ND | Books
July Full Moon: Spiritual Meaning for the Buck Moon | The Pagan Grimoire
From nappy changes to boardroom changes… what if parenting was the best leadership training you never knew you were in?
This week on More Than a Lumpy Jumper, Bobby is joined by Charlie Lyons - coach, HR pro, and mum of two, to explore what happens when the worlds of parenting and leadershipcollide. They will be talking about burnout, overwhelm, micro-moments of sanity, and how learning to lead well often starts at home.
If you’ve ever felt like you’re dropping balls in every part of life or wondering why the parenting manual and the leadership books both feel like a lie, this episode will meet you right where you are.
Big-hearted, deeply honest, and full of permission to stop pretending we’ve got it all figured out.
Parenting Without a Map: A Sto…–Made Possible by Parenthood – Apple Podcasts
Motherhood: Facing and Finding Yourself | Lisa Marchiano | Books
Time to Think: Listening to Ignite the Human Mind | Nancy Kline | Books
What if the most powerful thing a leader can say is: “I don’t know”?
In this episode, Bobby and Bridge dive into the discomfort, courage, and wisdom of not having all the answers. From military mess-ups to organisational mayhem, we explore what happens when leaders drop the act, make space for others, and lead with honest uncertainty, not panic, not performance.
Sometimes not knowing is the start of something braver.
Dare to Lead | Brene Brown | Books
The Power of Vulnerability | Brené Brown | TED Talk
Margaret Heffernan: Dare to disagree | TED Talk
Creativity, Inc | Ed Catmull | Books
“No More Pencil Skirts and Other Leadership Metaphors”
From soufflés to swans, corn beef to cognitive diversity, this episode is a deliciously metaphor-filled conversation with neurodiversity advocate Hayley Brackley.
Bobby and Hayley explore why real leadership means shedding the need to be perfect, embracing messiness, and daring to dance (or not) in your comfiest metaphorical harem pants.
A must-listen for anyone tired of the one-size-fits-all model of work and ready to design for the edges.
Links
What does it really take to feel safe enough to speak up at work?
In this powerful episode of More Than a Lumpy Jumper, we dive into psychological safety - what it is, why it matters, and what happens when it’s missing. Joining Bobby are two brilliant guests: Ali Spooner and Naomi Withers, who bring honesty, humour, and real-life insight from lived experience, psychology, leadership, and loss.
From people-pleasing to power dynamics, team trust to trauma triggers, this conversation doesn’t shy away from the messy stuff. If you've ever sat in a meeting biting your tongue, or wondered whether you’re the only one feeling unsafe, this one’s for you.
Naomi (Ordinary 🚫) Withers | LinkedIn
David Rock's SCARF Model: Social Threats in the World of Work - The World of Work Project
The Fearless Organization Summary - Amy Edmondson | 12min Blog
In this episode, Bobby and Bridge are pulling at the threads of what leadership really looks like. Not the glossy, top-floor kind, but the kind that happens in the messy middle.
Being in the Weave explores how leadership shows up without titles, how power flows in every direction, and why being quietly influential might just be your superpower.
Expect laughs, truths, and a bit of mayhem (including a lost spreadsheet and a quilt metaphor you didn’t know you needed).
If you’re a middle-sitter, an edge-walker, or someone who just gets stuff done, this one’s for you.
Give and Take | Adam Grant | BooksRebel Ideas | Matthew Syed | Books
You Don't Need a Title to Be a Leader | Mark Sanborn | Books
Six Ways To Lead Even When You Aren't In A Leadership Position
What if the voice in your head wasn’t running the show?
In this episode, award-winning coach and founder of Quiet the Hive, Jane Galloway, joins Bobby to explore the power of questions over should’s, statements, and stuckness. From NHS leadership to poetry and post-it notes, it’s a conversation full of honesty, humour, and permission tolive your one wild and precious life a little braver.
Links
Jane (Bellamy) Galloway | LinkedIn
Elizabeth Gilbert | Big Magic | Books
Tara Mohr | Playing Big | Books
23 Powerful Michael Jordan Quotes on Failure: Fuel for Success.
What does it really mean to lead from below the neck?
In this funny, thoughtful, and occasionally inappropriate episode (sorry, Richard Strozzi-Heckler), Bobby and Bridgetexplore what it actually takes to lead with the body, not just the brain.
From control habits and emotional spirals to guinea pig impressions and the rhythm of excitement (yes, that kind), this episode is a gently clumsy invitation to pause, breathe, and reconnect.
If you've ever felt like a walking head or a premature fixer, this one's for you.
Links
The Leadership Dojo | Richard Strozzi-Heckler | Books
Your body language shapes who you are | Amy Cuddy 2020 | TEDx
Strozzi Institute for Somatics
The Art Of Leading With Intuition: Why Gut Feeling Is Your Best Ally
Podcast - On Being with Krista Tippett – Interviews with Bessel van der Kolk, Resmaa Menakem
Podcast - Coaching for Leaders – Episodes on embodied leadership and presence
Podcast - Unlocking Us with Brené Brown – Episodes on vulnerability and grounded confidence
Maybe you’re not broken. Maybe you’re just shedding a little.
In one of our most delightfully random (yet sneakily profound) episodes, we explore what it means to outgrow old roles, identities, and expectations - in leadership and life. From liminal interludes to caterpillar wisdom, we talk transformation, coaching, and why sometimes, performance reviews need a total reboot.
Warning: contains butterflies, bureaucracy, and bread!
LinksAct Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader | Herminia Ibarra | Books
Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes | William Bridges | Books
Hagitude | Sharon Blackie | Books
Herminia Ibarra | The Authenticity Paradox | TEDtalk
The 5 Levels of Leadership | Maxwell LeadershipTop 5 Best John Maxwell Books for Leaders
What happens when everything’s shifting, and you’re still expected to lead? In this episode, Bobby and Bridge dive intothe beautiful chaos of change. From being called a chaos pixie to learning how to hold space without fixing, this is a raw, real, and occasionally sweary look at change from the inside out. Expect giggles, grounded wisdom, and the kind ofhonesty you won’t find in your average change handbook.
Bridges Transition Model - William Bridges Associates
Bridges' Transition Model for Change: A Simple Summary - The World of Work Project
The Change Curve: A Simple Summary - The World of Work Project
Your Boss Thrives on Chaos. Here’s How to Protect Your Energy.
What does it mean to be at your learning edge?
This throwback to Season 2 is full of wobbles, wisdom, and wonderfully weird metaphors (yes, there’s a goose, a javelin, and a cheeky nod to S&M). In this solo re-run, Bobby explores how learning is more than just knowledge - it's a messy, brave experiment in how we show up, stretch ourselves, and sometimes fall flat.
And yes, this is the second ball dropped. No guest. No noble excuse. Just Bobby, a mic, and a beautifully imperfect adventure in learning.
References:
Visual Facilitation with - Jon McNestrie | LinkedInFind a Visual Facilitation course - Northern Shore Consulting
So Bridge dropped the ball and didn't manage to record with a guest this week (and she didn't tell Bobby who is going to be mad!) so in an effort to mitigate the damage (you can tell she works in humanitarian security now ;-) ) she decided to share a past episode "Coping with Overwhelm" which she thought was apt. There are loads of gems in this episode from very early on in the MTALJ journey, most of which Bridge is putting to good use while bullets and bombs and peacocks are flying. Even if you're an avid fan there's still lots to revisit and if you're new then you get to hear some of the back catalogue that you may not have had a chance to catch up on
Links
How to Take Care of Yourself When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed - Mental Health FirstAid
Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science | Compassion-Based Resilience
TrainingKindness to Self | Compassion Based Meditation
About Dr Libby Weaver - Nutritional biochemist
Rushing Woman's Syndrome | Dr Libby Weaver
The Pace of Modern Life versus our Cavewoman Biochemistry: Dr Libby Weaver: TedX
Life is a Verb | 37 Days to Wake Up, be Mindful and Live Intentionally | Patti Digh
Unwind with the 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique (mondaycampaigns.org)
