Let’s Talk Money and More

What should investors really be watching after putting money into a business? In this final episode of Series One, Lesley Thomas speaks directly to investors, private equity, growth capital, and board members about what happens to leadership decision-making once financial pressure changes the conditions around a management team. She explains why the team you assessed before the deal is not necessa...

What if the leadership problem you’re trying to solve is actually a money problem? In this bonus episode, Lesley Thomas explores why traditional leadership development may not address what financial pressure is doing to the decisions leaders make. While leadership programmes can improve communication, trust and collaboration, they may not touch the underlying relationship with money and risk that...

What if the one thing driving every number in your business is the one thing you have never measured? In this episode, Lesley Thomas explores why businesses measure revenue, margin, cash, pipeline and countless other outcomes, while rarely measuring the quality of the decisions that produce them. When decisions are delayed, avoided or quietly dropped, there is often no report showing what happened...

The finance leader is often seen as the objective voice around the leadership table, the person who brings the numbers and keeps emotion out of financial decisions. But what happens when that same person is carrying the earliest and most complete view of financial pressure, while having the least freedom to express uncertainty? In this episode, Lesley Thomas explores why finance leaders can become...

What happens when the leadership team quietly stops believing the plan, but nobody says so? In this episode, Lesley Thomas explores how financial pressure can create a dangerous gap between the number a business is working towards and what its leadership team privately believes is achievable. From investment decisions and recruitment to spending and strategic priorities, decisions continue to be m...

Why can a straightforward business decision take six months when everyone involved agrees it should happen? In this episode of Financial Judgement, Lesley Thomas walks through a real-world example of a leadership team that took six months to approve an opportunity that could reasonably have been decided in six weeks. Month by month, she shows how every delay had a perfectly valid reason, yet the d...

Why can a straightforward business decision take six months when everyone involved agrees it should happen? In this episode of Financial Judgement, Lesley Thomas walks through a real-world example of a leadership team that took six months to approve an opportunity that could reasonably have been decided in six weeks. Month by month, she shows how every delay had a perfectly valid reason, yet the d...

Delayed decisions don't just slow progress. They quietly drain revenue, increase costs, and create problems that often get blamed on the wrong parts of the business. In this episode of Financial Judgement, Lesley Thomas takes a closer look at the Hidden Tax™ and explains how leadership delays create financial consequences that traditional accounting systems simply cannot capture. She breaks down t...

Financial pressure doesn't just affect the decisions leaders make. It also changes the physical state of the people making those decisions. In this episode of Financial Judgement, Lesley Thomas explores the biological impact of sustained financial pressure and why leaders are often the last to recognize what's happening to themselves. From disrupted sleep and elevated cortisol to shifting percepti...

What happens when capable leaders keep delaying important decisions, not because they're avoiding them, but because every reason to wait seems perfectly reasonable? In the first episode of Financial Judgement , Lesley Thomas introduces The Hidden Tax,  the unseen cost of delayed decision-making under financial pressure. Drawing on research into stress, decision-making, and leadership behaviou...

🎙 Episode 204: The End of an Era and the Beginning of Something New In today’s special episode of Let’s Talk Money and More , Lesley Thomas reflects on the journey that has led to the end of this chapter. After 204 episodes, this marks the final episode in its current form before a seasonal break and a fresh new beginning. While this may sound like a goodbye, it’s really a pause—a moment to clear...

🎙 Episode 203: Navigating Money, Love, and Success with Sami Wunder In this enlightening episode of Let’s Talk Money and More , Lesley Thomas sits down with love and success coach Sami Wunder, who shares her fascinating journey from humble beginnings to building a multi-million-dollar empire. Sami opens up about how her relationship with money has evolved over the years and the powerful lessons sh...

🎙 Episode 202: The Unfiltered Lessons I Learned from Launching Parents, Let’s Talk Money In today’s deeply personal episode of Let’s Talk Money and More , Lesley Thomas opens up about the powerful, transformative lessons she’s learned from writing and launching her book, Parents, Let’s Talk Money . This episode isn’t a how-to on writing a book; it's a reflection on the identity shifts, challenges,...

🎙 Episode 201: Building a Strong Credit Foundation – How to Teach Your Teens About Credit Scores and Money Management When it comes to financial literacy, understanding credit scores is crucial—but many teens don’t learn the basics until it’s too late. In this enlightening episode of Let’s Talk Money and More , Lesley Thomas speaks with financial expert John Webb about how young people can start b...

🎙 Episode 200: What 200 Conversations Taught Me About Money, Confidence, and Legacy It’s a major milestone—200 episodes of the Let’s Talk Money and More podcast! In this powerful solo episode, Lesley Thomas reflects on the transformational journey of hosting two hundred episodes that explore money, self-worth, identity, parenting, and the stories that shape us. From business owners and financial e...

🎙 Episode 199: Five Bold Questions to Build Real Money Confidence – Why Self-Trust Matters More Than Strategy Can you truly feel confident with money if you’re still performing certainty while quietly avoiding the truth? In this heartfelt solo episode of Let’s Talk Money and More , Lesley Thomas shares a powerful listener story—and five bold questions designed to break financial habits and shift y...

🎙 Episode 198: What Are We Really Teaching Our Children About Money? In this enlightening episode of Let’s Talk Money and More , Lesley Thomas sits down with Clare Ford, educator, mindset coach, and founder of Switched On Global, to unpack the powerful and often unspoken money messages we pass down to the next generation. Clare shares her own rich and multi-layered money story, beginning with chil...

🎙 Episode 197: Why Money Alone Isn’t Enough – Teaching Teens Financial Confidence That Lasts Is giving your teenager money enough to prepare them for the future? In this eye-opening solo episode of Let’s Talk Money and More , Lesley Thomas challenges that very assumption. Prompted by an upcoming presentation to sixth formers in London, Lesley explores why financial confidence must go beyond bank a...

🎙 Episode 196: Parents, Let’s Talk Money – Why Your Teen Needs You to Start the Conversation In this powerful solo episode of Let’s Talk Money and More , Lesley Thomas takes listeners behind the scenes of her upcoming book “Parents, Let’s Talk Money – If You’re Not Talking to Your Teen About It, Who Is?” and shares the deeply personal and universal “why” behind writing it. Lesley invites you into...

🎙 Episode 195: What’s Your Money Story? – How Early Beliefs, Divorce, and Healing Shape Our Financial Confidence Your money story didn’t start with your first payslip—it started with your parents, your childhood, and the beliefs you absorbed long before you had a bank account. In this deeply moving episode of Let’s Talk Money and More , Lesley Thomas sits down with Gina Blundell—coach, podcast hos...

🎙 Episode 194: What Are You Really Teaching Your Teen About Money? – Why Conversations at Home Matter More Than You Think Your teen is watching you more closely than you realise—not just your spending, but your attitude towards money. In this heartfelt solo episode of Let’s Talk Money and More , Lesley Thomas dives into the powerful, often unconscious money lessons we pass on to our children—espec...

🎙 Episode 193: Are you ready to invest in YOU? – Lesley Thomas on Redefining Growth with Intention and Self-Trust Have you ever felt like you're doing too much in your business, saying yes when you should be setting boundaries, and chasing visibility for fear of falling behind? In this refreshingly honest solo episode of Let’s Talk Money and More , Lesley Thomas shares what’s been happening behind...

🎙 Episode 192: From Hidden to Heard – Tendai Rukarwa on Reclaiming Financial Confidence and Self-Worth What happens when you're highly educated, professionally successful, yet quietly overwhelmed by money? For Tendai Rukarwa , an auditor and chartered accountant, her personal relationship with money lagged far behind her professional expertise—until she decided to confront it head on. In this powe...

🎙 Episode 191: Financial Confidence for Women in Business – Reclaiming Your Worth and Power Around Money Do you ever feel like you're holding back when it comes to your finances? That somehow, despite running a successful business or being accomplished in your career, money still feels like a source of stress or uncertainty? In this episode of Let’s Talk Money and More , host Lesley Thomas dives d...

🎙 Episode 190: Building Confidence, Changing Futures – Louise Hill’s Journey with GoHenry and Financial Literacy What does it take to empower a generation of children to become financially confident? For Louise Hill , it all started with a simple realisation: young people were moving into a digital world, but their financial education hadn’t caught up. In this inspiring episode of Let’s Talk Money...