Beyond The Water Cooler

Is your organisation fuelling addiction?  Do you understand the causes and triggers that can lead to someone engaging with addictive behaviour? Do you know the behaviours that might constitute addiction, or that could manifest into addiction?  Richie Paxton  of the  EPIC Restart Foundation   has lived experience. He joins Amantha King and I to share a heap of insight...

A Chief Inspector is not necessarily the first person who springs to mind as the driving force for self-care, better mental health and launching a podcast!  But Stewart Codling  of  Thames Valley Police  is modelling exactly how leaders can embrace the challenge of changing expectations by doing things differently.  Stewart joins me on my podcast   to explain how he i...

Bad managers are causing one in three staff to walk*.  Luckily for  OceanWise ,  Sarah Cockcroft  isn't one of these managers. She is only two weeks into her role there, but she is going in with her eyes wide open to what is needed of her.  Sarah has the benefit of hindsight. She is not new to management and that is why I invited her to join me to discuss the very real pro...

What are you growing? 🪴 Is the PH level in your environment producing what you want? And what have you grown into? Are you in the right soil? Have you become what you WANT to be? What you NEED to be? I was inspired when I heard  Courtney Hobbs  share his experience during a session where we both presented for  macmillan cancer  earlier this year. Today he joins me to expand on...

Did you know that in Q3 of 2022-23, antidepressants were the most prescribed class of drug? More and more people are struggling with anxiety  and depression , yet we conveniently turn a blind eye. It's easier to assume that employers are not responsible. However, when we consider the significant role work plays in mental health, whether that's adding to problems, or in contrast creating the condit...

I love talking with people about exceptional employee experience, and  Mike Mair  is one of those people who knows a thing or two about it. He is passionate about helping people grow and develop.  This conversation is a step-by-step exploration of EX throughout the employee lifecycle. It follows a road map that includes: 📌Recruitment 📌Onboarding 📌Training 📌Work environment 📌Lea...

From being told he wouldn’t get anywhere in life, to becoming Operations Manager at Guernsey Mind ,  Chris Chamberlain  likes to challenge expectations! In this episode of the podcast, we delve into shaping yourself as an intentional leader, and the style of situational leadership.  We consider the balance between being authentic and changing our style to suit others. How do we get...

Allyship . Seb Randle  and I discuss what makes this an important topic... FOR MEN. Women are great at promoting women, but without men onboard, we hit a glass ceiling.  But it's not 'all about the women at the expense of men'.  We need to get beyond stereotypes and look at a more inclusive approach that benefits everyone.  We discuss the all important question for much of the...

Olivia Sharp , Partner in HR Practice at Eton Bridge Partners , has produced the Chief People Officer Pathway Report, a comprehensive set of findings based on research into the CPO role. She joined me on the podcast to discuss the outcomes and how we apply that to the world of HR and the future of work.  We discuss terminology and how HR titles can be a controversial subject.  We explore...

Do you have a 'JOB'?  According to Mike's dad, job stands for 'Just Over Broke'. Not very inspiring, energising or engaging if you want to live a meaningful, fulfilled life.  As an entrepreneur,  Michael Brennan  is anything but that.  In this honest and self-aware conversation, Mike shares his challenges, what he has learnt, and in his view, what leading a business is all...

Avoidable employee harm. What springs to mind when you hear that term?  I think it sums up brilliantly the damage that processes can have on organisations and individuals when they fail to focus enough on humans at the heart of them. And let's be honest, many processes have been shaped historically, or exist simply because that's what was put in place without much consideration of the big pic...

Kathy Heath  of the  Healthy Minds Club , a personalised health and wellbeing platform that connects users with experts, products and services to achieve better wellbeing and lifestyle goals, joins me today. As one of the 'experts' at the club, I was excited to be talking with Kathy about proactive approaches to wellbeing in this episode of the podcast.  We cover everything from HSE...

PRIME used to conjure up thoughts about the drink that appears to have become a fad (and that my son gets super excited about the prospect of seeing on a supermarket shelf) 🤦🏻‍♀️.  But then I met  Dr Karen Cripps , Senior Lecturer in Leadership at  Oxford Brookes University . Karen informed me about PRiME, an acronym for 'principles for responsible management education' and it's t...

Are you a popcorn fan?  You might rethink your love of it after hearing about Theran's experience. Role-modelling taking a sick day did not go as planned!  Aside from dealing with his popcorn damage,  Theran Knighton-Fitt of mygrow   is on a mission.  He is challenging the notion of culture as a means to an end when humans are turned into resources. Instead, Theran is redi...

The multi-award-winning, author and very awesome  Roy Magara  provides a legal perspective on putting the human factor back into business.  It was great being able to pick up the conversation from those that we had during the pandemic when we facilitated a number of webinars together.  Why is it that so many legal cases continue to be brought to Roy's attention? He outlines cas...

Being ready for the future of work requires action. Now. Research clearly identifies that Individual performance has a causal relationship with wellbeing. So it doesn't take a psychologist to tell you that companies need to invest in getting wellbeing right.  But just what makes the biggest difference? And where do we begin? Start simple is my approach. Human connection is the building block...

This is one of the most frank, honest podcast conversations I've had and I'm so grateful to Gail Cohen of the GCVA for being so open with me about her leadership style. We explore if she is a good leader (her words!). Gail's honesty and vulnerability is powerful as we unpick: How our experience shapes us Self awareness vs self evaluation Generational differences within the workforce Employee led c...

My podcast got hijacked!!! I loved this... the fabulous  David Greenaway  and  Gemma Ellison  did a takeover of Beyond the Water Cooler and put me in the hotseat to celebrate 50 episodes. Actually, to my relief, it was a great discussion involving all three of us, about what has changed in the world of work since my first episode. And importantly we get to grips with some of the challenges compani...

Forbes has put together  101 of the best customer experience quotes . Only 3 of them feature employees, despite the fact customer experience relies on your workforce.  Simon Sinek says:  👁️‍🗨️ “Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.”  And that's exactly what  Graham Hill , from  insight6 , and I talk about in this episode of the podcast...

Nick Jemetta , founder of Stories Matter , joins me to discuss anxiety. He is passionate about creating connection, conversation, curiosity and change. And he takes a holistic approach to mental health.  Stress, anxiety and depression are thought to be responsible for almost half of working days lost in Britain due to health issues.  According to the Workplace Health Report 2022, 58% of...

Placi Espejo is a MH Champion, Coach and Mentor supporting innovative businesses to help them grow.  She is also a TEDx speaker, having taken to the stage to share her ideas about embracing mental health and the benefits of workplace policies. Placi talks from her own experience of struggles with mental health, and from her role within companies that means she has a wealth of insight into how...

How confident are you that every member of your team feels empowered and safe enough to contribute? That they are fully engaged? That their ideas are encouraged to emerge and germinate? That their experience day to day matches how they want to feel?  In this episode of the podcast,  Sonali Kumarakulasinghe , People and Culture Consultant at SK Consulting outlines TWO PRACTICAL APPROACHES...

John Hibbs , Co-Founder of CoEfficient , joins me to explore organisational performance from the human perspective. We discuss: 🗣️ the Monergy Flow that links purpose with people, strategy, implementation and outcomes 🗣️ common factors in successful companies 🗣️ the disconnect between leadership perceptions and those of the wider workforce 🗣️ organisational measures and mental health; the vital li...

I was recently invited to guest on  Get Radio ‘s The Business Brunch with  Ben Thompson  &  Mike Foster . Each week, business leaders from across Oxfordshire join them for interviews and a round table discussion sharing their expertise, knowledge and experience. During the show, I had the opportunity to talk about my business, It’s Time for Change, and the topic of resilien...

Gemma Ellison , Senior Leadership & Talent Manager at  Macmillan Cancer Support , joins me in a productive 'rant' about some key issues in business, and most importantly, how to rethink them. I love the energy, inspiration and wisdom that comes from Gemma. She really knows her stuff. We get to grips with... 🗣️ The deliberate leader - an important distinction to a step up the career ladder 🗣️ C...