Leading Through Uncertainty

Rebecca Mander is the Founder of GuruYou coaching . As an executive coach, she specialises in supporting people in business who are undergoing personal setback. None of us are strangers to personal setbacks. We all experience challenges in life and work. Rebecca is an inspiring leader who has turned her own personal setback into a business supporting others.  I first met Rebecca two years ago...

Rachel Fletcher is the CEO of Ofwat, the water regulator for England and Wales. Rachel shares the challenges for the water industry of the increased demand for water and the expectations on the environment. She talks about collaboration with different companies, as well as local environmental groups, communities and end users. Partnerships and collaboration are the key to everyone being part of th...

Jess Lonsdale is Internal Communications Director for Virgin Media. We discuss the importance of engaging in dialogue in a crisis to stay connected to employees. We also discuss the vulnerability of emotional connection, bringing your whole self to work, being more human in the workplace, changing the world, pushing boundaries, empowering others, resilience, and so much more! My head was buzzing a...

Deb Leary is the CEO of Forensic Pathways, a business she set up in 2001 after overhearing a chance conversation at a police conference. Deb has built her business on innovation, designing products and services that meet specific market needs in the security sector, despite having no prior experience in that market. She talks honestly about the need to know when to let go of products when they are...

Rachel Repper led the COVID-19 response for the NHS Supply Chain. She was responsible for ensuring that hospitals had the right equipment to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. People’s lives literally depended on her decision-making. She talks about the challenges of leading in a crisis, the learning curve of working with a new and expanded team and how having a shared purpose generated focus and comm...

Jane Ashcroft is the Chief Executive of the Anchor Hanover Group, England’s largest not-for-profit provider of housing and care for older people. Jane was awarded a CBE in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to older people, some 7 years ago but as you’ll hear, her passion and enthusiasm for older people has definitely not waned. She talks about the importance of listening and collaboration as...

Adrian Packer CBE is the CEO of the Core Education Trust, who runs a number of academy schools in the Birmingham area. Adrian has a fascinating career, having started as a teacher at the Brit School, teaching pupils such as Amy Winehouse. He was given the unenviable task of turning around a number of failing schools. He’s keen to point out that academically the children were excellent but the gove...

Sally Palethorpe is the Managing Partner of Inspired Partners, a change management consultancy. She talks about the need to support leaders and organisations through change, using her Other framework which provides the skills needed to lead change. She explains the challenges of changing behaviour and why change programmes fail when we ignore the human beings behind the change. I loved Sally’s Oth...

Aaron McCormick is one of my more unusual podcast interviews. Born on the south side of Chicago to a difficult background, he developed an incredible career by bucking every trend and refusing to conform. Instead, he listened to his intuition and inner guidance to be in the 1% of “Best of Best” in IBM as well as running his own tech companies. Aaron’s energy is infectious. I found myself smiling a...

Denise Bobb is a highly established Portfolio Manager, leading complex change programmes for organisations across both the private and public sectors. I spoke to Denise about how we increase black engagement so that black businesses have a stronger voice as well as BAME employees not being overlooked in organisations. Denise makes it clear that a “spray and pray” approach to racism and black engag...

Ahmed Farooq has been the CFO of Wesleyan Assurance for 5 years. He talks openly about his experience of being an ethnic minority leader in the workplace, about Ramadan, the vulnerability of being curious about other people and the discomfort of having honest and transparent conversations about race and diversity.  Ahmed is such an inspiration and a great role model for future generations. Hi...

Piers Tincknell is the MD of AtomicSmash, a creative design agency. He talks about the need to adapt and see failure as part of the evolution of learning. He recognises that encouraging his team to learn, to innovate through trial and error is how the business can push boundaries and do great creative work through technology.  Piers has such a balance between the art and science of using tech...

Andy Childerhouse is the CEO of Viewpoint. He talks about the transformation of a business that was close to failure to a thriving business today. He led the team to redefine the strategy, business model and product base, and crucially the organisation’s culture so that everyone was engaged in the transformation.  Andy’s inclusive team approach shows how important it is to achieve results thr...

Amanda Ling is the MD of SFM Limited. She talks about the challenge of transforming organisational culture when it is less tangible than transforming a business strategy. The way she runs her fascinating business shows the potential of focusing on people, profit and planet and how we need to integrate both critical logical thinking with the emotional connection of the heart. Amanda truly embo...

Derek Redmond is a British World and European champion of the 4 x 400m relay, having raced extensively in the 1980s and 90s. He talks about how he and the relay team bucked the trend and took risks to gain the edge on their competitors, as well as overcoming injury and switching what he knew about sport to building a business.  Derek role models the importance of having humility as a leader i...

Corin Crane is the Chief Executive of the Black Country Chamber and came in to shake up the Chamber for the modern-day. Corin has been CEO at the Chamber for almost 4 years, with a team of 31 people and a £2m turnover. The Black Country is one of the most diverse regions on the planet and Corin passionately champions that diversity.  The Chamber and Corin’s aim is to bring businesses together...

Elizabeth Cronin is Director of the New York State Office of Victim Services. She was appointed in 2013 by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. She has had the most astonishing legal career, specialising in the prosecution of domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse and sex crimes and worked closely with crime victims. She continues her work now leading the organization that support victims of crime....

Garry Honey runs a business called Chiron, a risk and resilience company specialising in uncertainty. I was excited to speak to him as he approaches uncertainty in a different yet compatible way to me. Garry works with boards of organisations on managing the uncertainty of risk and talks about the importance of treating risk management as part of strategy, rather than compliance.

I was delighted to have the tables turned this week as Duncan Brodie interviewed me on the skills that are needed by leaders in uncertain times. Of course, I had plenty to say about that. Not only did I write the book Leading through uncertainty, but I’ve also run over 20 masterclasses in the four weeks that we’ve been in lockdown, as well as having additional conversations. It has dominated my th...

Surlender Pendress is MD of the Love Writing Co, a business providing resources for children learning to write. She had to pivot her business rapidly to survive as a result of the Coronavirus lockdown. I’m inspired by her great messages for both small businesses wanting to explore how they stay in business but also for employees who want to re-ignite their passion for the business they work for.

Fergal Dowling is a partner at Irwin Mitchell and Head of Employment law. He shares the challenges of moving to remote working with very short notice and how they are operating under pressure with a significant increase in workload at a time when regulation is changing daily.

Bev Messinger is the CEO of IOSH. A former HR Director, Bev understands how important it is to include people in developing a vision and ensuring everyone is on board. Bev talks about the switch from HR Director to CEO and how putting people at the heart of the charity is crucial to the last three years of transformation.

Tracey Pritchard is Executive Director of Engagement for Prostate Cancer UK. She talks about the uncertainty of life, developing physical and emotional resilience, having a clear vision and being agile and flexible in uncertainty.

Anita Bhalla OBE is a leading figure in Birmingham where she holds a number of key roles, including Chair of the Birmingham Symphony and Town Hall and Head of the West Midlands Combined Authority Leadership Commission. Anita talks about setting up an Asian Women’s refuge in Leicester, her extensive career as a broadcaster for the BBC and the role of the Leadership Commission in engaging business i...

Irene King is Head of IBM Systems Lab Services for UK & Ireland. She has lived and breathed uncertainty throughout her extensive career, continually responding to technological change and advising clients on how to use technology to grow their business. She applies the same approach to leading people too, recognising that everyone is different and everyone needs to have a voice to be engaged o...