Tony Langham is the Executive Chair and co-founder of Lansons, a reputation management and public relations firm based in London and New York. We discuss the importance of approaching reputation management as the way people perceive each other and companies. With an increased focus on ESG, Tony explains how companies need to change their behaviour to stay relevant. We also discuss anti-racism, balancing tension with comfort and much more! I loved Tony’s explanation of balancing adrenaline and tension with comfort in order to create change, and engage employees (including yourself!) without lea ..read more

Tara Rule is the Senior Director of Commercial Strategy Go to Market and Operations at Adobe, responsible for looking at how Adobe make smart commercial decisions. Tara manages to juggle her full-time role as a director in a fast-paced global business with launching a leadership programme, being a working mum as well as a professional coach. She talks about the importance of curiosity in leadership, the power of having a positive mindset without sugar-coating reality and how we need to look after our teams. And much more! Tara is so inspirational. Her energy appears to be boundless and she see ..read more

Dr Mersha Aftab is the co-host director for MA Design Management courses at Birmingham City University. She specialises in design leadership within large organisations, exploring how designers design and lead strategically in business. We discuss how designers have a voice and a platform to give them the agency to lead even though they don't have the position in an organisation. We cover emotional intelligence, designing the future and the skills needed to act as a bridge between user experience, technology and business. I like the idea that design management is the bridge between design and b ..read more

Phill Elston is Operations Director of Brompton Bicycle and is responsible for leading the manufacturing organisation in the production of the famous Brompton bicycles. Phill joined the company because his values were aligned, and he felt able to express himself. He talks about the importance of being driven not being at the expense of having joy and fun and seeing a team as an organism. He has a special way of bringing his team together called ‘Rum and Coke’ that has transformed the relationships and results. I enjoyed hearing about Phill’s leadership style and the way he encourages his team ..read more

Sarah Foster is the Managing Director of Comply Direct, an environmental consultancy and compliance business. She is also the author of Yabba Dabba Do It, a book on self-confidence. Sarah shares her three steps to self-confidence – Prepare, Do and Review. We also talk about the environment, of course, Sarah’s business is based on it but we also discuss relationships, emotional intelligence, boundaries and so much more! I love how Sarah brings everything back to confidence because, at our heart, we’re all ethical and responsible and want to do great work. We often know what we want to say and d ..read more

Rich Horth is Operations Director for Adecco, a large recruitment agency with 80 offices throughout the UK. Rich talks about the great resignation, how that creates a candidate led market and what that means for employers. With the highest number of vacancies ever seen, Rich talks about the importance for organisations to look after their employees and keep people engaged. He shares some of the things they do at Adecco to make work more fun. It's easy to think that people leave their job for more money but all the research shows that people leave because of their manager. Not every organisatio ..read more

Cathy Brown is the Chief Executive of i-SE, a social enterprise that provides business support services for social enterprises in the West Midlands. Cathy brings a wealth of experience from both the commercial sector as well as social enterprises and social movements. We discuss the importance of having a strong sense of purpose in an organisation and the importance of social value in business. Talking to Cathy, I’m struck by how everything comes down to connection and communication. If we build good relationships and we communicate effectively, we can do great work in the world that has a pos ..read more

Bella Lewis-Smith is the founder and MD of Salad, a design and digital agency based in Dorset in the UK. Bella talks about the process of selling her business to become a 100% employee owned business and the challenges she faced along the way. She explains how selling the business into an employee owned trust enabled her to be much more honest about what she wants personally. Even though Bella is still the MD, I can’t imagine how hard it was to let go of making all the decisions when the company was founded by her in the first place. That speaks volumes about her willingness to be bold and cou ..read more

Jane Huntington is the Head of Application Development for Guide Dogs. I’ve worked with Jane and her team and I have some understanding of the complexity and volume of technological change that they are leading. Jane talks about using an agile way of working to lead change, continually taking the next step forward, reviewing progress and adapting quickly where needed. And of course, she reminds us that accessibility is critical when using technology so we don’t leave people behind.  What Jane and the Guide Dogs team have done is enhance the way they communicate as a result of remote worki ..read more

Sope Agbelusi is a leadership consultant and coach and founder of the business Mindset Shift and the podcast host of Everyday Leadership. We discuss the need for courage and vulnerability in order to be authentic and have an inclusive workplace. Sope outlines the steps needed to create an inclusive workplace and is clear that the conversation is just beginning. I loved how Sope reminds us that creating an inclusive workplace and society doesn’t need to be a mountain to climb but to consider it a bridge to cross to create connection. That can fundamentally shift the way we approach it because w ..read more