Inspiring Thoughts Podcast

TEDx and International Keynote speaker, Kelly Swingler joined us on our Inspiring Thoughts Podcast to talk about her role as a HR Change maker.    Kelly's mission is to help HR professionals become the best happy, healthy and high performing versions of themselves.    Kelly and Stephen Adams discuss the changing world of HR and how vitally important it is for the role of HR to be more clearly defi...

Tom Martin has been in leadership roles for over 20 year and in this weeks Inspiring Thoughts podcast he shares his thoughts on what make an authentic leader.    Tom believes his love of football and sport has instilled in him many of the traits that a good leader should have from work ethic to making mistakes. He also shares how personal events have help shape his resilience and how compassion an...

How can hypnotherapy support your wellbeing? In this weeks podcast Stephen Adams talks to Clinical Hypnotherapist, Nicole Valens on this hugely interesting subject.   Nicole explains what happens to us during hypnotherapy and the benefits it can have for us when dealing with a variety of issues. As well as being used for changing habitual patterns, hypnotherapy is successful in helping people beat...

Michelle Hartley's passion for HR and infectious personality is evident from our first few minutes of chatting on our Inspiring Thoughts Podcast. Michelle is a huge advocate for HR being used to help change the world, if you let it. What other business function can help create an environment in which high performance can happen? Which other department can help transform both the organisation and p...

In the latest of ICL’s Inspiring Thoughts Podcast series, Stephen Adams has the pleasure of speaking with Jake Naudé from stressedexecutive.com. After many years of working in the corporate sector, Jake came to realise the pressures of his full time job needed to be addressed and recalibrated. He found the solution he was looking for in hypnotherapy and after a period of in depth study of this inc...

What is NLP? Neuro Linguistic Programming is a tool which can help us in so many aspects of our lives. Emma McNally is an expert in this field and in this weeks Inspiring Thoughts Podcast we hear from Emma about the benefits of NLP and the applied neuroscience behind the theory. Emma's passion for this topic is obvious and she tells us about the impact of what we say to ourselves and how, by chang...

The world of HR is changing and in this weeks Inspiring Thoughts Podcast, Amanda Nicholls talks with Stephen Adams about the future of HR and its place within the world of work. Amanda shares with us her insight on how businesses need to ensure HR is an integral part of their growth strategy and the benefits of having a HR function which compliments the business. We hear about the need for HR to b...

Maria Wilson from Saxon HR consultancy has used her extensive HR experience to develop 5 steps to employee engagement. In this weeks Inspiring Thoughts Podcast she talks with Stephen Adams through each step from investing in employees careers to giving them a voice and involving them in decision making. Maria tells us how important engagement is in developing a positive company culture and how thi...

This week on Inspiring Thoughts Podcast we had a great discussion about one of our favourite topics - Transforming HR. Stephen Adams chatted to Gavin Howarth about the common challenges facing HR today and how the role of HR should be utilised in SME's. In particular they discussed the differences between HR being reactive and fighting constant fires versus being proactive and really driving peopl...

As the summer months approach, Stephen Adams took the opportunity to talk to Samuel Baffour Kyei about why it is important to get outside and enjoy the natural environment as a means of improving our mental health and wellbeing. Sam is currently researching the benefits of green spaces and the impact they can have on our quality of life. Sam discusses how our current in-door lifestyles make us det...

Stephen Adams had the privilege of discussing Rapid Transformation Therapy (RTT) with specialist Jayne Robinson. Jayne brings to life the benefits of RTT, how it can support people's confidence and the speed at which it can support recovery.  Jayne shared how RTT can support many forms of trauma and shared her positivity in supporting her clients.  If you are going through a traumatic time or phob...

Stephen Adams had a thoroughly enjoyable discussion with Pip Lawrence from Wellbeing People Ltd for this week's Inspiring Thoughts Podcast around the subject of Stress in the Workplace. Pip educated us on how to manage stress on a daily basis and how small changes to our lives can make a huge difference in our confidence, self-esteem & productivity. The key takeaways for me were understanding the...

Gary Rogers has been an investigator for over 35 years and in this week's Inspiring Thoughts Podcast he shares with Stephen Adams his experiences and thoughts on conducting Investigations in the Workplace.    They discuss the importance of factfinding and following the evidence and how investigators act as an independent voice when any concerns of bullying or harassment are raised.    Gary and Ste...

We had a fascinating discussion with Helen Bailey for this week's Inspiring Thoughts Podcast around the subject of Neurodiversity in the Workplace.    Helen educated us on how to ensure our company culture is inclusive and supportive for neurodivergent colleagues starting from the recruitment process and on-boarding stages. We also discussed the dangers of stereotyping and that by leaning into con...

In this week's Inspiring thoughts podcast Stephen Adams talks to Sinder Gill Behavioural, Cultural & Change Manager at Derbyshire Constabulary. Stephen and Sinder discuss the Benefits of Coaching and how self development, through the use of coaching, will be the best investment you can ever make. Sinder is particularly passionate about using NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) to uncover the real m...

Sir Peter and Stephen Adams talk about Authentic Leadership, drawing on his experience in the civil service and the National Lottery through to his current role in NSPCC. He highlights the importance of having a strong purpose, and the key traits of clarity, positvity and unity for both a leader and an organisation. As well as discussing all things leadership, we also discover Sir Peters loves of...

Graham has plenty of experience in seeing the benefits of mediation for both individuals and organisations. In particular, Graham shares how having a management team that is equipped with mediation skills, can have a hugely positive impact on the culture of a business. Being able to have conversations and listen to colleagues effectively can avoid the need for disputes escalating to a more formal...

Stephen Adams spoke in detail to Jo Banks who is an expert on narcissism in the Workplace. Jo shared with us not only the typical traits of a narcissist but also how the cycle of narcissistic behaviour, acts as fuel to their actions. She also gives some excellent advice if you ever find yourself in the unfortunate position of being exposed to this type of personality. We can't wait for you to list...

In our next Inspiring Thoughts Podcast, Kirsty Knight talks about Modernising HR policies. Kirsty is helping to shape the culture of the business by moving to more principle-based HR policies. Kirsty tells us that rather than HR being seen as a 'controlling parent,' when it comes to grievance, bullying and harassment cases. Xtrac Ltd is seeing so many benefits already by moving away from old damag...

This edition of the Inspiring Thoughts Podcast, Anna Ong Creator & Host of 'What's Your Story Slam, Storyteller. Anna shows us that the journey of telling a story starts with self-reflection and recognising vulnerability, progressing through to visualisation and inspiring others. 

Dan Wood Officer at Avon and Somerset Constabulary for being our wonderful guest. Dan shares his non-traditional career path and believes that encouragement from others has supported him in moving into broader roles.   We found the examples Dan gave about what values mean to him, truly inspiring. “Values stand for something; they are an anchor and create meaning in people’s lives”.

Thank you to my first wonderful guest Sandra Farquharson Director of HR & OD. Sandra shared her views and feelings about Authentic Leadership. Understanding Sandra's career journey, the people that have inspired her and the Leadership Style she has developed were truly motivational. I will leave you with a quote from Sandra "Leadership is a privilege". I hope everyone has a good weekend ahead and...