Courageous Leadership Podcast with Tania Ihlenfeld

In this episode, Caroline Harper shares her career journey from geography student to urban regeneration leader and managing director at Be First, the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham’s urban regeneration agency. Her dreams of building a city and her determination to end homelessness. Highlighting the importance of persistence, finding allies, strategic thinking, managing expectations, avoi...

In this conversation, Tania Ihlenfeld speaks with Abb-d Taiyo, a creative strategist and co-founder of DriftTime, about the complexities of progress, the importance of resilience, and the ethical responsibilities of design.  "Progress is messy. It's painful. It's difficult." We discuss Abb-d’s career twists and turns, from musician to founder of DriftTime, an impact-first design agency. We discuss...

Courage Shorts are designed to give you short, sharp courage and inspiration boosts. Because we all need a boat from time to time. Tania Ihlenfeld shares her journey from a shy background to leading large teams and now her own business, emphasising the importance of perspective and leadership evolution. You’ll also hear the mission behind the podcast and hopefully be inspired to engage with the in...

By hearing real stories and scenarios of how and when awe-inspiring leaders have applied courage. So we can see what’s possible for ourselves in our specific corner of the built environment. Be inspired to take bold action to move yourself and our industry forward.

In this conversation, Danna Walker, an award-winning electrician-turned-architect and founder of Built by Us, discusses the lack of leadership training in the construction industry and the imperative of diversity and inclusion in the built environment. She shares her experiences with microaggressions and the challenges faced by underrepresented groups. The conversation highlights the need for syst...

In this conversation, Amar Hanspal, co-founder and CEO of Motif, speaks about his leadership journey at Autodesk, where he rose to co-CEO, and about initiating the next generation of AEC startups. We discuss the challenges of transforming company culture, the importance of learning from failure, and the role of AI in the future of the built environment. Amar shares insights on driving change and t...

In this conversation, Chris Williamson, RIBA president, discusses the importance of curiosity and finding people who will help you get to the next level. We explore how curiosity drives personal and professional growth, the influence of early life experiences, and the challenges of running an architecture practice. Chris emphasises the need for collaboration, the relentless pursuit of success, and...