Sheep Dip with Raising the Baa

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? If it's good enough for the TV world it's fine by us!  One of our most popular episodes relates to THE most frequently asked question we still receive here at Shepherd's Hut HQ: " How on earth did the idea of Raising the Baa come about?" Usually followed, thankfully, by: "It's just so out there , like nothing I&ap...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Team effectiveness, behavioural preferences and what motivates people to think and act like they do - all topics which fascinate today's guest interviewee.  In his words "it bakes my noodles"! A determined individual, Ian Beer funded his way by selling cars to attend university as a 'mature' student.  His subsequent corpora...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Welcome to the February episode of A Day in the Life of a Shepherd. And in Head Shepherd Chris' calendar, an unusual occurrence for this time of year - he explains why.... We'd love to know the most surprising fact you learn from our conversation this month. Or perhaps it's prompted a question? Ask the shepherd: chris@raisingthebaa.c...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? An American angle on team culture and engagement this time in our conversation with funny, motivational keynote speaker Brad Montgomery . Brad helps leaders, managers and their teams improve their bottom line by improving individual and organisational happiness.  In fact he has trademarked "Laugh-o-nomics" one of his presentation packages...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? If someone suggested flying cows from the UK to Africa to assist in a time of extreme famine, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was too crazy an idea - and what's more would it even be possible? If ever there was a reason to see that thinking outside of the box, or perhaps the field, and to ignore naysayers, the charity Send a Cow is an a...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Executive coach, speaker and author of 5 books, Simon Tyler is our guest in this episode. Local to Raising the Baa, Simon is a humorous and popular keynote speaker at networking meetings - always a bonus when people have risen very early to be present! His passionate belief in the power of Attitude, creating Impact and above all else to Keep It Sim...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? [title courtesy of the late great David Bowie, shortly after the 5th anniversary of his passing] Our guest today is Tammy Deakin, who in 2020 co-founded coaching and change consultancy Capable Strides with a former colleague. Tammy draws from her 20+ years of organisational and talent development in the water industry to help people get through tim...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Welcome to the January episode of A Day in the Life of a Shepherd. Normally each episode is recorded on the farm, however on this occasion we're somewhere different... We'd love to know the most surprising fact you learn from our conversation. Or if you're left with more questions. Email us: baa@raisingthebaa.com or leave it in the r...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? In the second of our monthly series from the farm, we're marking the start of the shepherding 'new year' - otherwise known as tupping time.  You'll need to listen to find out what this is! Farmers are businesspeople too and we'll be discussing how they face challenges which we can all relate to. The shepherd's fresh pe...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Our guest this week endorses a holistic learning approach, much of it in nature-rich surroundings.  Founder and director of Saltbox Training and Events , established in 2008, much of Nicki Davey's work focuses on helping people to learn in, with and from nature. Clients of Saltbox are mainly charities and commercial organisations with "a...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Be inspired by lessons in leadership and teamwork from the first British woman to ski to the North Pole - without a snowflake in sight! With such an accolade that can never be taken away, you can imagine that Sue Stockdale has many tales of teamwork and leadership to share from this experience alone. Sue's expeditions on the icecaps of the Arc...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Uninformed optimism.  Informed pessimism.  These first stages of the Emotional Cycle of Change arise during our discussion with Morten Wiil , relating to his experience of herding sheep whilst he was Group HR Director at Europe's leading office supplies company Lyreco . With an original background in the Danish army, Morten also draws analogie...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Reflecting the English school's half-term break we thought we'd disrupt our usual routine too. This trailer episode is brought to you straight from the field, in amongst the sheep with our Head Shepherd, and founder of Raising the Baa, Chris - and his dog too of course. It introduces our monthly series of shows which will dip into the she...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? With Mother Nature as her business partner (and one of ours' too of course) Rachel Woods MSc shares her thoughts on how to improve teamwork and connectedness in the outdoors.  Most recently Rachel was HR Business Partner UK and Ireland for Nutricia Advanced Medical Nutrition,  the specialised healthcare division of Danone food group.  Having c...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Dog, wolf, hunter, farmer - just a few of the descriptors for salespeople and their selling style. And the most successful sales team is likely to have a diverse mix of them all. In this episode we're in discussion with Simon Hares of SerialTrainer7 who, like Raising the Baa , is based in the South West of England. With over 200 recommendation...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? If you're starting, building or re-structuring your remote team for massive success, this episode is for you. FTSE Senior Exec turned Entrepreneur Ian Drew shares his team tactics drawn from 20+ years in the global technology industry, including long stints at Intel and Arm. We discuss the challenges of building and motivating a remote team, n...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? In this week's episode we welcome an award-winning people development specialist who brought together a remotely based cohort of lead consultants at management consultancy firm Newton Europe to spend a day with Raising the Baa . So why did she feel this was a good idea? Our first question will reveal all! Diane Law has built her career helping...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? This episode is jam-packed with thought-provoking tips about teamwork from environments as varied as the Navy, the music scene and corporate boardrooms. In the third of our conversations with inspirational minds in the Learning and Development world, Paul Warriner - aka The Recognition Coach - shares a few of the many lessons he's learned thro...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Nick Obolensky experienced a day on the farm with Raising the Baa in its beta-stage days and his academic insights were particularly reassuring and helpful to the co-founders Chris and Caroline. Whilst the co-founders met through having built international teams of independent business owners, not unlike a franchise, the majority of their careers w...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? In this second series of SheepDip podcasts we're in conversation with some of the most inspiring minds in the field of learning and development. We're asking for their thoughts and tips on growing and developing teams, especially within this volatile and fast moving business world. Our first guest is business psychologist Jan de Jonge. Th...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Singing (you do recognise the song lyric above don't you?), dancing, high-fiving, clapping, shrieking, laughing, pats on the back, hugs and polite handshakes - we've seen them all. Who knew that herding sheep into a pen could cause such emotions?  Least of all the people who've stepped away from their normal working environment, trad...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Possibly not the most obvious learning from a team building exercise but one which is super useful - ask questions. We often notice the lack of questions, especially during the briefing. Despite advising team members that they can ask anything they like, there are usually few questions. It seems especially strange as the activity is new to 95% of p...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? Never has adaptability been more relevant than right now. As a result of the pandemic every business is adjusting, even totally pivoting, and its people are adapting to a new working pattern and environment.  In this episode we discuss the need for adaptability when participating in a Raising the Baa team building programme. Why is it such a fundam...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? If sheep are reputed to be so stupid why do teams of intelligent people find it such a challenge to herd them into a pen? All levels of management deploy their best leadership and communication skills yet the goal is never an easy one to achieve. Hundreds of corporate teams have pitted their team working skills against a flock of allegedly stupid s...

What struck ewe most from this episode - and why? The third lesson from teambuilding with sheep we discuss is conflict. In all its guises, conflict impacts massively on effective and collaborative teamwork. Resolving conflict on the other hand contributes greatly to the turnaround in energy and team success. Teamwork will always includes some conflict. The challenge of herding sheep into a pen dem...