Culture Reset

‘Serve to lead’ is a guiding principle for our guest Gary Lasham, an engineer with decades of experience running national and international manufacturing companies. For Gary, getting the culture right is fundamental to the success of a business. People are the ‘blood and organs’ and need to be looked after for an organisation to thrive, he says. Gary is Chair of Barons Contract Furniture, having b...

Liverpool is a city which takes culture seriously – and that affects how it feels to live, work or holiday there.  There have been many highlights, such as Eurovision, the Giants, the Tall Ships and all the great sporting events which take place around the city region. How did it all begin – and why does the city invest so much in the arts?   The answers may surprise you, in this frank conversatio...

Organising Eurovision in Liverpool on behalf of the Ukraine presented challenges, to say the least!  We hear the inside story of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in the second part of our conversation with Claire McColgan CBE, Director of Culture and Major Events at Liverpool City Council and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. And we learn how the power of the arts in regenerating the city...

Do you work for a corporate psychopath – would you know if you did?  A lack of empathy, avoiding responsibility and superficially charming – these are some of the traits identified by our guest, business psychologist Andy Whitehead. Andy tells us how to spot the signs – and what to do if your boss fits the profile of a corporate psychopath.  And for anyone who matches the description of a toxic bo...

Hosts Juliette Kumar and Caroline Kenyon speak with coaching psychologist Dr Rachael Skews about psychological flexibility in leadership. Rachael explains how acceptance and commitment—skills that can be developed—are essential for achieving long-term goals. She shares practical insights on recognising difficulties, committing to what matters, and helping individuals and organisations perform at t...

In the NHS, improving workplace culture is vital to providing a safe environment for patients. If staff are too scared to speak up when something goes wrong, it can endanger the lives of people in their care. That's why culture is so important to the Health Services Safety Investigations Body, who are brought in when there are concerns about patient safety. Their interim Chief Executive Dr Ro...

When something goes badly wrong in an organisation, human factors are often identified as the cause.  When things work well it can be because human factors – or ergonomics as the science is also known – have been considered in the planning.  In this episode we hear how human factors are being applied in the NHS, from setting up a new service to planning a new hospital; and how a human factors appr...

Renowned culture expert and author Andrew Saffron helps organisations to tackle cultural barriers to success – and he says it can and should be done at speed.  He reveals some of the techniques he uses to help companies identify the attitudes and behaviours that are slowing down or blocking productivity – and how they can overcome them.  Andrew, of Innermost Consulting, has recently published ‘Bet...

The vision of one person led to a nation-wide business success which still reflects its founder’s values, 65 years later. Engineering consultancy Curtins started in the home of founder Bill Curtin and now has 14 offices around the UK and Ireland.  Curtins' Director of Engagement and Culture Rhiannon Carss explains how Bill’s socialist approach to supporting disadvantaged communities ultimatel...

Mastering clear communication about needs and boundaries in the bedroom builds transferrable skills for workplace conversations in the boardroom.   So says our Culture Reset guest Kanica Saphan, who joined the podcast from her home in Montreal, Canada. Kanica is an unusual executive coach, having trained as a sexologist before adapting her coaching skills to help business leaders to overcome barri...

A healthy workplace helps to create a healthy culture – and vice versa, according to our Culture Reset guest Jean-Jacques Sillito. Jean-Jacques, or JJ as he’s known, is Health Intervention Officer at Liverpool City Council where he is part of the authority’s organisation development team, focussed on support for individuals while building a healthy culture. The Council’s Chief Operator Officer Jac...

Sarah Clein helps knackered public sector women create enough midlife mojo to lead better - or leave well. From 30 years in the thick of public sector life to becoming a coach who truly gets it, Sarah shares her raw and honest journey. If you're frantically juggling meetings, family life, and an ever-growing inbox while wondering what fresh menopausal surprise awaits - this one's for you...

Evidence shows that where structural racism exists, there is a ripple effect of harm that spreads across social groups, patients, staff, communities, populations and organisations. In the words of our Culture Reset guest Taira Shaffi, tackling racism should be managed in the same way we manage any clinical incident, zero event or harm in healthcare – with the same rigour, attention and momentum. T...

It’s no secret that Liverpool City Council has been through turbulent times in the last few years, with criminal investigations and poorly managed services leading to Government intervention.  Things are now on the up and the last report from the commissioners sent in to support the Council, showed significant improvement.  Our guest Jacqui McKinlay joined as Chief Operating Officer in January 202...

When organisations are in the grip of budget pressures, good intentions can go out of the window.  In this first episode of Culture Reset podcast, we hear from award winning John Herring, Director of Organisational Development and Culture, NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care  He shares his insights into how to create a healthy workplace culture within an organisation and across a multi-sector s...