Influence & Impact for Leaders

Employee happiness is gaining traction as an essential element of the employee experience. A happy person is more engaged and productive, performs better and positively impacts clients and customers. This week, I speak to Aoife O’Brien, the founder of Happier at Work, a business with the mission to support organisations in retaining top talent. We discuss: The value of workplace happiness for both...

This week is another medley, showcasing the most impactful tips and insights from previous guests and episodes. Our topic is how to present to senior stakeholders and colleagues with confidence. In this episode Sandra Francis, Rupal Patel and myself cover: Speaking the language of senior stakeholders How to feel comfortable dealing with interruptions Owning your expertise and authority with senior...

This week I’m celebrating 100 episodes of the Influence & Impact for Female Leaders podcast! Thank you for listening and supporting the show. I was recently speaking at a conference and was asked a brilliant question by a woman in the audience. She asked: “How can I, as a female leader, support and champion the women in my team? How can I do my bit to overcome gender bias and give them the most op...

Mary Ann Sieghart has been on my dream guest list for a while so I’m very excited to share this interview with you. Mary Ann is the author of the best-selling book The Authority Gap: Why We Still Take Women Less Seriously Than Men, a BBC Radio 4 presenter, speaker and advocate for women’s equality in the workplace. We discuss: The impact of the book The Authority Gap and why it’s so important that...

In this week’s episode I speak to Rupal Patel, a CEO, business consultant, coach and former CIA Intelligence Analyst. Rupal’s high-octane career has taken her from jungles and war zones to corporate boardrooms and international stages. We discuss her inspirational career journey so far and Rupal shares how her experiences at the CIA translate to practical leadership tools, including profiling, tac...

Gender and ethnicity pay gaps are a very real issue in the UK and worldwide – so how do we change that?  This week’s episode is part two of my interview Michelle Gyimah, the Director of Equality Pays, a gender and ethnicity equality consultancy dedicated to closing workplace pay gaps. We discuss what organisations need to know about tackling the gender and ethnicity pay gaps and how they can take...

Ever wished you knew how to ask for a pay rise?  Or negotiate a higher salary when you start a new role?  We don’t talk about money enough and that’s exactly what I’m talking to Michelle Gyimah about in this episode.  Michelle Gyimah is the Director of Equality Pays, a gender and ethnicity equality consultancy dedicated to closing workplace pay gaps.  We’ve recorded two episodes together – this on...

 If you’re a parent, carer or someone with a busy life, you want to make sure you’re doing your best at work, while making the most of your time outside of it. In this week’s episode, I interview Rachel Vecht, founder of Educating Matters. Rachel works with organisations on inclusion and changing cultures to engage and support their employees, with a special focus on parents and carers. We discuss...

In this episode, I’m talking about some impactful things that I wish every woman knew. If I had known these a long time ago, my leadership journey would have been easier. As you listen, I encourage you to reflect on my words for your own life. I hope they make a transformational difference for you. To help, I’ve noted down the key points for you to come back to or write down for yourself. You are...

Are you a woman working in a technical or male-dominated environment (or both!)?  If so, this week’s episode is for you. I talk to Sandra Francis, an accredited coach who helps technical leaders to become confident and inspiring leaders. Sandra spent 25 years working in challenging technical environments and was often the solo female voice amongst the leadership. We discuss: Sandra’s career experi...

Confidence at work is something many women struggle with. I believe that a lack of confidence is having a very tangible impact on women and that their talent is being overlooked and underappreciated because of it. I also think gender bias causes many of our confidence issues. In this week’s episode, I share the personal insights of my Be Bolder clients on how confidence affects them at work and ho...

Grief can be felt for many reasons – death, loss of identity, the end of a relationship, a diagnosis or the loss of a job – and will affect everyone in their working life. However, it’s often still a taboo topic in the workplace. Lizzie Pickering is encouraging organisations to open the conversation and offer thoughtful grief support for their employees. Lizzie is a grief investigator, consultant...

How we currently approach managing time isn't serving us as individuals or organisations so let’s do it differently! In Helen Beedham’s new book, The Future of Time, she challenges leaders to think differently about our organisational working habits and practices, and focus on collective time management. Helen is a thought leader, speaker and adviser with over 25 years’ experience in corporate wor...

Does your work bring you joy? For many people, the words work and joy don’t fit together but Beth Stallwood is changing that. Beth is an executive coach, the founder of WorkJoy and wants the world to know that work doesn't have to be miserable. She helps people take small steps that make a big difference to improving how they feel about work. We discussed: Beth’s definitions of work joy and work g...

How we define success influences how we feel about ourselves. Are you working to an old version of success or even someone else’s version? In this week’s podcast episode, I share: Why you should regularly reflect on your definition of success How you can use your values to make decisions Ways to work towards success on your own terms A reminder to be happy in the moment and feel successful now I h...

We’re continuing our career month on the podcast! In this episode, I’m sharing my tips on how to speak to your line manager about your career progression within your organisation and asking for investment in your training and development. This is an important topic for women in leadership as research tells us that women do not get promoted as often or as quickly as men do and many of us avoid havi...

Whether you're happy in your role or thinking of moving on, it's a good idea to be thinking about what your next step will be and be working towards that. Gone are the days when we could rely on our line manager to recognise our potential and plan for our career development. In fact, I think that was always a bit of a myth! It’s up to you to prioritise your career and development. Your next step d...

Do you know that globally only 8% of people want to go into the office every day? The pandemic forced remote working onto the majority of employers but before that Molly Johnson-Jones, CEO and Co-Founder of Flexa, was advocating for flexible work, certifying companies and promoting them on the Flexa recruitment platform. In this episode, we discuss: What flexible working really is (hint: it’s not...

This episode is inspired by the International Women’s Day 2022 theme #BreaktheBias and I’m talking about how men can be really powerful allies for gender equality in the workplace.   I would love you to share this episode with your male colleagues and the men in your life as well as listen to it yourself. Men are so important to helping the women that they work with be recognised and valued at wor...

Have you discovered your purpose, passion and love for what you do? Do you feel connected to who you are and are you living aligned to your values? Nicola Buckley calls this your fire and today she’s sharing her On Fire Leadership model to help you find your own fire.  Nicola is a leadership coach and neuroscience expert. Over the last four years she has helped thousands of women globally to becom...

The struggle to be heard and taken seriously as a woman in the workplace is real, particularly when presenting to senior stakeholders.  In this episode I share how you can successfully speak the language of senior stakeholders. I share: The 4 questions people ask and how to use those to influence effectively A simple tool for communicating with impact Strategies for communicating to busy senior pe...

This week it’s a podcast takeover! Tahirih Mclaren-Brown takes over the mic to talk about ways that you can stress less at work. Having awareness of how you experience stress and strategies to ease those feelings can transform the way you approach work, help you to handle challenges and feel calmer each day. Tahirih shares:  What happens in our bodies and minds when we get stressed Your stress cyc...

“It is the responsibility of each one of us to learn and understand how people have different experiences in their lives” In this week’s episode, I interview Tala Hassoun - an international development and humanitarian expert, and gender, diversity and inclusion lead facilitator. We discuss: What intersectionality is and why it matters in the workplace Tala’s own experiences as a migrant to the UK...

If you want to develop your career, it’s important to be able to communicate your strengths and successes to others, and be visible to key stakeholders within your organisation. Does the thought of doing this make you feel uncomfortable? Many women feel the same. However, a lack of visibility could be holding you back from reaching your career goals and getting the recognition you deserve for the...

Are you getting in your own way when it comes to influencing? When we're trying to influence, we often make it about other people and believe that they’re the problem. However, the way we are showing up greatly impacts our ability to influence effectively. In this episode, I share the common ways you might trip yourself up and how to adjust your approach for a more positive result. Listen for: How...