Really Useful Conversations

Ex corporate girl Susie Sprigg believes that connection, communication and conversation are critical to all of us, and that we can build relationships with cheerleaders and people who will check in on us too, all through the power of networking. Networking is not just for people who run a business looking to sell their services to others, but also for people who work within an organisation who mig...

A favourite guest on the podcast Michelle Minnikin joins me again this week but to talk this time about her contribution at Actually, she can! There is no way we could have organised a day of personal growth and professional development for women, by women without including the powerhouse that is Ms Minnikin! A professional speaker, author of the fabulous "Good Girl Deprogramming" and workshop fac...

Kerry Lockyer joins me this week to talk about her contribution to Actually, she can! on 27th February in Runcorn and it is a really useful conversation well worth listening to! I managed to catch up with her before Christmas when she was busy running around the country facilitating sessions to help leaders build awesome teams. Her expertise lies in helping people understand themselves AND each ot...

Another excellent reason to attend Actually, she can! next February 27th is to hear Jane Kenyon's session as she helps us to understand why it is time to ditch the cape and badge and forget the notion of Superwoman! Jane will help us see how the male energy driven Superwoman model sabotages our right to an imperfect life, and how until we drop the cape and rip off the Little Miss Perfect badge we...

I am joined on this episode by the most wonderful person that is Helen Frewin of Totem Consulting. Helen is one of the most generous people I have had the good fortune to meet in the business world and am delighted that she is going to be sharing her expertise freely by delivering a session with us at Actually she can! on 27th February. Helen is a Business Psychologist, Executive Coach, Profession...

If you are curious to hear about "Actually, she can!" and to know exactly what is on the agenda that day, then this brief, basic and straightforward episode is for you! No music, no guests, nothing more than a simple description of the topics being covered and the value on offer - it'll take about 8 minutes but will give you a taste of what the whole event is all about and help you decide how many...

What can we learn from a woman who took a wrong turn and had a bloke pull a gun on her, but eventually sorted and paid for a taxi to take her back to her hotel? Well, she might be a black belt in 4 Martial Arts, but she only ever went because her mate did, and she still cannot catch a bullet in her teeth - even though both her sons are stuntmen in the movies! This can only be the wonderful (and hi...

Actually, she can! is all about encouraging and inspiring women to do, be and achieve whatever their heart so desires, but is it realistic to expect happiness every day in that life? This week's guest Jo Howarth says that indeed it is possible to make that choice, and in our conversation she explains more about what she means by that. Jo is another of the amazing speakers, authors and coaches that...

Kate Trafford is a Master Coach, author and TEDx speaker and am delighted to say is our opening speaker at Actually, she can! next February. With over 20 years of experience helping people drive for big results AND love the journey, Kate will be encouraging us to take a moment to pause and consider the road ahead, asking us some powerful questions and helping us think about our own authentic happi...

This week I am chatting to another one of the "Actually, she can!" line up - the wonderful Soulful Stylist Kate Harrison who will be running a workshop on the 27th February "Styling for confidence - inside and out". Kate started her career in the fashion industry, later moving into image consultancy and co-founded the first UK High Street Advice Studio, welcomging thousands of women over the years...

Barbara Nixon is one of the 13 professional speakers, authors and coaches who are giving their time and talent and expertise to help me raise funds for young women in Halton Borough, and in this episode we chat about the insights and opportunity for growth and development that Barbara will be bringing to the day. This woman is an absolute gem and has so much value to offer an audience, honestly, j...

And in this episode we will talk a little more about the Actually, she can! project - where the idea came from, who it will help and why it matters. It's a unique opportunity for women, by women, supporting future female talent and you really do not want to miss out if you can help it. If you are a supporter of equality of opportunity, promote and champion equity at work and are keen to see women...

Having had a break away for a few months, I want to update you on what I have been up to and where we are going with this next season of the podcast. If championing equality is your thing, and you are keen to support female talent in the workplace, then please tune in and I'll share a little more with you about a fantastic opportunity that is coming up for women, by women - which in turn is a fund...

This is my final guest interview wrapping up Season 3, and I'd encourage you to listen in as I chat with Tim Roberts, a Leadership Coach who takes a no BS approach! Author of 'Break the Mould' about which Tim says 'it's worth reading if you want to be a better leader or role model in the workplace' and in our conversation we explore the often quoted 'authentic leadership' phrase - and dig into wha...

Barbara Nixon is THE Success and Leadership Coach for ambitious Business Leaders. With a strong background in the commercial world, where she designed hundreds of senior leadership development programmes and was responsible for the Management Development for all 3000 Managers. She worked for all areas of the business which has given her the broad commercial knowledge that helps her to help her cli...

If you are a manager or leader, self-awareness and the impact that you have is critical to success. So if I asked you the question "Does the room light up when you enter or when you leave?" - what would YOU say and more importantly, what would your PEOPLE say? As a manager or leader your style and behaviour is the single biggest influence on the performance of your team and can affect levels of mo...

ACAS received over 200,000 enquiries about workplace bullying incidents in just one year. Many people worry about what to do, how to handle it, what their rights are and how to deal with it if the issue is from a manager or someone in authority. I know from my 30+ years of experience in industry that this is an issue organisations want to deal with quickly - no employer would want anyone in their...

What would you do if someone shouted you down in a meeting in front of colleagues? And then followed you out of the meeting room and leaned into your face? And what if a bunch of senior managers witnessed it and allowed it as "it us just who he is"? Sadly people often get away with bad behaviour, behaviour that is bullying and not acceptable, because they have technical expertise or knowledge that...

If you are looking for ways in which to make sure your business has long-term sustainable success and you recognise the importance of a diverse and inclusive workplace that allows your people to flourish and thrive, then you will want to tune into this week's podcast. My conversation with Toby Mildon, Diversity and Inclusion Architect, and author of "Inclusive Growth" is all about how he helps his...

Are you looking for a way to increase self-awareness, develop your leaders, improve your sales or simply develop a high performing team? I may have the answer for you! In this week's Really Useful Conversations podcast I get to chat with the wonderful award winning, professional speaker, Learning and Development professional, and all round good egg that is Kerry Lockyer. Kerry is a Licensed Insigh...

As a leader or manager you have the power to make such a difference to your team, their experience of the workplace, and the outcomes they achieve. Just in the way that you behave around them, the style of leadership that you choose and use, and the impact that you have. However, sometimes the effect we INTEND is not always the experience that people are having, and every now and then we have to s...

In this week's episode I thought it felt like a good time to talk about the power of human connection, there is so much going on in the world at the moment and in organisations that it feels like a good time to remind ourselves about the difference positive relationships and strong human connection can make. We will take a close look at why in the busy-ness of business it matters so much – surely...

You may have seen the noise that the recent headlines created, when the European Human Rights Commission confirmed that under the Equality Act (s.6) that menopause symptoms COULD be classed as a disability. In this week's episode I am going to talk through that noise and explain in really straightforward terms what this means, and what you as a business need to be doing about it. Whether you are a...

In this week's episode I get to chat with Alison Colley, an experienced Solicitor and HR specialist, who is passionate about supporting organisations and individuals with any work problems, and giving clear and unstuffy legal advice. This week we talk about the term reasonable adjustments, and ask when is reasonable actually reasonable enough? Following a recent UK EAT Tribunal Case where the pane...

You understand the importance of really useful conversations at work. You recognise the impact it has on employee engagement, retention and motivation, as well as forming part of your duty of care as am employer. You understand that conversations of this nature if not done well can have legal, financial and moral implications but how do you get others to buy in too? Whether you are addressing the...