About Time - with Chris Nichols

Michael Chaskalson has a new book out! When we did an earlier podcast in April 2025 Michael was busy writing - and now the book is here. It is such a vital topic - an exploration of moving from mindfulness to wakefulness, with all of the implication and applications that has to offer. I loved doing this episode with Michael - enjoy!

I worked with Karen Blincoe when she led Schumacher College at Dartington, Devon. Karen invited me to join her, and Programme Director Toni Spencer, in co-creating and facilitating the Schumacher Certificate in Sustainable Education.  We had a wonderful group from all over the world, and it was a joy to work with Karen on that programme. Karen has done so many rich and wonderful things, in the UK,...

Professor Patricia Riddell is a neuroscientist. She teaches and consults widely, and is a coach and author too. She spends a lot of her time dispelling the many airport management book myths and overclaims about brains and how they work.  Tricia brings science to centre stage, helping leaders to get clearer on what we do know, what we don’t know, and why each of these matters. She does all of this...

I have known Professor Barbara Banda for many years - since we worked together at Ashridge (we started around the same time and had many opportunities to work together). I’ve admired Barbara all that time, and was delighted when she wrote her book The Model Black, which is packed with stories and insights. I was delighted to feature Barbara and her book on a GameShift pop-up event back in December...

I first met Isabel when she came on a certificate programme at the legendary Schumacher College, where I was teaching with Chris Seeley and Toni Spencer. Isabel was already a highly accomplished leader and pioneer, particularly in the arts and education, and it was a delight to see her take her talents into a new field. Over the past ten years she’s co-created and led the South Devon Bioregional L...

I first met Charlie Calkin a few years back working on a project together, and I was simply bowled over by how good she is. Charlie is one of the leading UK practitioners in restorative justice, and restorative practice more generally. Her work is in demand more and more in organisational settings, and in social and political and policy circles, and I can’t think of much that’s more important than...

I came across Professor Sarah Williams through social media, when she posted a comment about her aspiration that the international strategy of BNU (Buckingham New University) would be a decolonial one, setting it apart from many traditional university international strategies.  This fascinated me, and I immediately asked Sarah to come on the podcast to say more about this. It was a fascinating top...

I only recently met Professor Laura Peters. We met when I heard about her move to West Dean, and knew I had to invite Laura onto the series because of the unique nature of West Dean and her role there. I fully confess my bias here - I think West Dean is terrific, does such amazing work in arts and conservation, and is a stunning beautiful place as well. So when I had the chance to talk to Laura I...

I worked with Dr Margaret Gearty on the wonderful MSc in Sustainability and Responsibility when it moved from Bath to Ashridge, and I have respected and loved her work on “learning histories” ever since.  This is a terrific episode, tracing Margaret’s personal journey from being one of the very few women designing micro-processors in Silicon Valley in the boom years, to becoming an action research...

I’ve known Miles Cherry for a long time. He’s the founder of React, Acting for Business, and I started working with Miles and his team of actors during my Ashridge time, as much as 25 years back. Working with these actors has been transformational for me - seeing the power of rehearsing conversations first hand, and also the visceral experience of people facing their fears and learning to overcome...

Derek Walker has a job he loves and a role that is as rare as it is vital and radical. He’s the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, with the role of holding to account the entirety of the Welsh government in its responsibilities to consider the interests of future generations.  I first met Derek at Anthropy 2025 at the Eden Project, and knew that he’d be a fascinating guest on About Time -...

I’ve know Beccy Speight since her time at the National Trust. Since then she’s been CEO of The Woodland Trust and now leads the RSPB - one of the largest nature focused charities in Europe. Beccy is a leader who lives and breathes her passion for the work she does. This episode explores how she came into the role, and how she leads this astonishing organisation, which has a far broader portfolio o...

I’ve rarely worked with Peter Reason, but his work has been hugely influential on me and my life.  As one of the pioneers of participatory methods of inquiry, in organisational life and elsewhere, Peter was a co-founder of the Bath MSc that I later co-led at Ashridge, and also of the doctoral action research centre there. Since retiring from Bath, Peter has focused on writing. He has made long and...

I first met Abbot Christopher during the pandemic when he asked me to facilitate a conversation for a group of monks. It turned out to be one of those wonderful and rich experiences that become woven into the fabric of our lives. I have since worked with several communities of monks, and have gained huge respect for the Brothers and their life and work.  Abbot Christopher is the inspiration behind...

I’m thrilled to release this episode of About Time with Narendra Laljani. Narendra was a continuous influence during my years at Ashridge. It’s fair to say I learned the practice of strategy on many places, but I learned the teaching of strategy from Narendra. He was also the first person I knew to take a professional doctorate - his work on developing strategic leaders remains a powerful contribu...

Dave Petley is VC of Hull, and alongside his leadership role he maintains an active academic life in the field of landslides. He’s about to move - towards the end of the year - to become VC of one of the UK’s largest universities, NTU.  I was delighted to get this chance to talk to Dave at this point in the year, as he prepares to leave his existing role well, to arrive well into the new organisat...

I’ve worked with Megan for years: we ran a brilliant simulation together and that experience was a period of growth and exploration for both of us.  Since then, Megan has written some of the most amazing research and books, with co-authors like Michael Chaskalson and John Higgins, who have both been guests in this series. She is sought after as a speaker, facilitator and consultant, and I admire h...

I love Steve’s work. He’s an artist, a workshop creator, a facilitator and so much more. I’ve known Steve for his constant exploring of new edges and new experiments. This is such a rich episode that I can’t give it a summary. I just want to say that this is one of my absolute favourites so far.  A rich life story, the power of finding people who support and develop you, the courage to stand on st...

Jon Alexander is author of the book Citizens (https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/citizens-jon-alexander/7315064?ean=9781912454884) - a book that has captured the imagination of people all around the world. I’ve known Jon for a long time, and I’ve been impressed by all he does. Which is why I am so excited about this podcast, which finds Jon right at the start of the next frontier … a new role at Harv...

Rob Sexton is CEO of Yeo Valley, the west country based organic food producer, a family business based on sites near to its roots on a Somerset farm.  Regenerative work is right at the heart of what this brand is about, and Rob is the real deal when it comes to pursuing the meaning of regenerative farming into the wider food system. He comes from a farming family and his links to the land runs thr...

I’ve been a follower of Buckingham New University’s VC Damian Page ever since I started to see his crystal clear and provocative posts about leadership on LinkedIn. He’s someone who talks very openly about how he leads and his aspirations for the kind of university he wants BNU to be. I’ve also taken part in Damian’s on-line group for working class leaders in the sector, and through that saw his c...

Sue Pritchard is a farmer in Monmouthshire, and she also Chairs the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission - which has moved from being a temporary commission of inquiry to becoming a permanent voice in the policy and practice space around the relationship between land, food and farming. Sue is a passionate advocate for better - better food, better treatment of farming, better ecological practic...

I’ve known Elizabeth for some years, ever since we met working as collaborators on a joint Oxford Group - GameShift project. Elizabeth is a superb developer of people, as a facilitator and coach. She brings to her work a massive depth of experience in contemplative practice, and a passionate gentle focus on the sheer wonder of the question “what is this?”. In this episode we talk about her work, a...

Andres was one of my students on the Ashridge MSc in Sustainability and Responsibility. He has since gone on to create the Bi-leadership Fellowship, which is a process to nurture deep connections and a shift in leadership around the world. It’s a fascinating story, and Andres tells it in his usual gentle way. But don’t be misled - this is pioneering and powerful stuff. A wonderful story, told by A...

Cedi Frederick is one of my inspirations. I first met Cedi on a Chief Executives programme run by ACEVO at Ashridge 20+ years ago. Since then Cedi has been CEO and board member of numerous bodies in health and social care. Most recently his focus has been on Chairing an Integrated Care Board, and on working on bodies addressing racial and other inequalities in health in London and beyond.   It’s a...