Influence & Impact for Leaders

“There are two types of people. Those who are burnt out, and those who are in denial about being burnt out” - Greg McKeown Burnout is on the rise and I’ve noticed, particularly since the pandemic began, that more and more people are on the path to burnout. With increased responsibilities and stress coupled with often unrealistic expectations, and the boundaries between work and life having complet...

The way work is designed doesn’t work for so many of us for so many reasons. I believe that the value we place on productivity and ticking off the to do list is resulting in overwork, burnout and ineffective leaders. In this week’s episode, I’m sharing why I think it’s time that leaders take a step back, question the structure of their work and focus on what really makes an impact in their role. I...

In this week’s episode, I interview Professor Amanda Kirby about a fascinating topic – neurodiversity – and how we can create inclusive workplaces for everyone. Neurodiversity is an emerging subject especially in relation to adults and the workplace. Put simply, it defines the different ways we think, act and communicate. Some of us are neurodivergent which means the way we do these things is diff...

As a leader do you feel comfortable sharing when you’re struggling? In general, we don’t talk about struggle a lot but Grace Marshall wants to open up the conversation. This week on the Influence & Impact for Female Leaders podcast, I interviewed Grace about struggle, leadership and her new book Struggle: the surprising truth, beauty and opportunity hidden in life’s sh*ttier moments. We discussed:...

Everyone has mental health but not everyone feels comfortable talking about it, especially in the workplace. Danielle Bridge, founder and CEO of ABC Life Support CIC, is opening up the conversation on this week’s podcast. We discussed: What mental health first aid is and why it’s important Practical ways leaders can recognise and support mental health in the workplace How leaders can set boundarie...

This week on the podcast I interview Cat Strawbridge, a fertility advocate and host of the Finally Pregnant Podcast, and Frankie Hockham, Fertility Network UK volunteer on infertility, pregnancy loss and childlessness. Infertility is a disease that affects 1 in 6 couples, the majority of whom are in the workforce, however it is not an issue that is talked about or well supported in organisations i...

In this episode of the Influence and Impact for Female Leaders podcast, I speak to Haseena Farid, co-founder of The Women of Colour Global Network - a membership network connecting professional women of colour, supporting them with career progression and advancement. We discuss: How The Women of Colour Global Network was started, what they do and how you can be part of it. The double disadvantage...

In this episode, I interview Hannah and Rachel from The Job Share Pair. They’re on a mission to normalise job sharing as a way of life. In this episode, we talk about: Why job-sharing should be normalised and how we can do that The benefits of job sharing for the both employees and their organisation The practicalities of job-sharing and managing the role and relationship dynamics Tips on how you...

We give our power away in so many ways without even realising it.  In this episode, I share 13 ways we often give our power away at work, ranging from boundaries and people pleasing to deferring authority and underestimating ourselves. I also share 6 things you can do this week to take some of your power back.  By the end of this episode, you’ll have awareness of where you might be giving your pow...

In this episode of the Influence & Impact podcast I catch up with Harriet Minter, author of “Working From Home: How to build a career you love when you’re not in the office”.  Harriet has been writing about women and work for the past 15 years so we explore lots of interesting topics including… Managing your team remotely The future of hybrid working Strategies for building your brand and profile...

I’ve been running on autopilot lately, head down constantly focusing on the next task.  So I’ve taken a few days out at the end of my financial year to stop and do some reflection and I found it really powerful.  So in this episode of the Influence & Impact podcast I thought I’d share some of the powerful questions I use to reflect and course correct when I’ve been running on autopilot. We’ll be e...

20 years ago I took on my first management role.  It was much more of a personal development journey than I ever imagined it would be because it triggered all of my doubts about myself, all my unhelpful stories and it highlighted how much I didn’t know.  I wished that management and my team members came with a manual I could read so I could do it right without risking making any mistakes. In this...

In today’s episode of the Influence & Impact podcast for female leaders I’m talking to Fiona Buckland, author of the book Thoughtful Leadership .  Fiona’s book beautifully describes what it means to lead consciously and authentically with self-awareness.  We chat about why we need thoughtful leadership more than ever, how to lead yourself effectively and what it means to be an authentic leader. Fi...

This is part two of my series on perfectionism and overworking and in this episode of the Influence and Impact podcast I share with you 6 practical strategies you can start using today to help you become successful without breaking yourself in the process. If you want to adopt a more sustainable and enjoyable way of working yet still get great results this episode is for you. If you’d like know mo...

For years I thought that I was doing well in my career because I worked so hard and held myself to such high standards.  Then I realised that those strategies were actually causing as much harm as they were good.  I coach a lot of high achieving women, at all levels and perfectionism in its various guises, crops up all the time.  We may not consider ourselves to be perfectionist but often it looks...

Starting a new organisation can be daunting at the best of times but starting as a leader when everyone is working remotely adds new levels of complexity.  So in this episode I’m sharing my advice on how to start a leadership role in a new organisation.  I talk about being intentional about the impression you want to make, getting aligned on expectations, building relationships with key stakeholde...

In this episode of the Influence & Impact podcast for female leaders I’m chatting to Lizzie Martin of Work Life Mother about how to return from parental leave with confidence and how as leaders we can support parents with this transition. We talk about how you can prepare for your return, negotiation with your line manager, the skills we learn from parenting and getting yourself back in the work m...

Leadership is a delicate balance at the best of times, but no more so than when you’ve been promoted above your peers.  You may be experiencing all sorts of emotions, imposter syndrome could be in overdrive and in practical terms this is an awkward transition to manage.  Whether you are friends with your new direct reports or have experienced tension with them in the past there are things you can...

I had a moment of feeling old this week when I realised that I’ve been working for 25 years now!  I like to think I’ve accumulated some wisdom along the way and I also know I have lots of new listeners to my podcast so I thought I would share the career lessons I’ve learned from 25 years of working and share a bit about my career journey in the process.  This is a really honest account of the ups...

Let’s face it - lots of us are struggling with motivation at the moment.  Here in the UK we are in lockdown 3 and even though there are plus points to working from home the whole situation is challenging in so many ways.  In today’s episode of the Influence & Impact podcast I’m going to share how you can stay motivated in challenging times.  I’m sure you think a lot about keeping your team motivat...

Like many of the female leaders I work with, I have often found myself seeking reassurance, feedback and validation from others in order to feel like I am enough.  This is something I’ve been making a lot of progress with over the last few years and I see it come up again and again in the group coaching calls within my programme so I thought it would make a good episode for the podcast.  It seems...

This week’s episode of the Influence & Impact podcast for female leaders is all about gravitas.  What is it?  What do we need it for?  And how do we have gravitas when we need it most? Gravitas used to be a requirement for leadership, back in the days when leadership was about telling others what to do.  It is defined as dignity, seriousness or being solemn of manner.  Leadership has evolved since...

In this episode of the Influence & Impact podcast for female leaders I'm chatting to Eleanor Tweddell, author of the book "Why Losing Your Job Could Be the Best Thing That Ever Happened To You".  We talk about how to thrive when you've been made redundant, from dealing with those initial emotions to making decisions about your next steps.  We also discuss how leaders who are making colleagues redu...

In this week's episode of the Influence & Impact podcast for female leaders I'm chatting to Graham Allcott, author of How To Be A Productivity Ninja.  We talk about how we as leaders can make more space for the things that matter and what our teams need from us whilst working remotely.  We dive into what it means to lead well in this "new normal" and the power of doing less rather than more.  And...

If you are more comfortable talking about your team's achievements than your own, then this episode of the Influence & Impact podcast for female leaders is a must listen! I am joined by Stef Sword-Williams, TEDx speaker and author of F*ck being Humble. Stef is on a mission to change the way the world views self-promotion and encourage people to be unapologetically proud of their achievements.  I w...