The Culture Builders

Regular listeners will recognise the name - John Tusa has previously appeared on our podcast, talking about his book 'On Board' - a rich insight into the Boards of many public institutions. At the time, we didn't get a chance to talk about his role in the BBC World Service.  However, a chance comment from a colleague, concerning the famous 'Tusa-grams' sent us right back to John, with a plea to ta...

When a book lands on your desk titled: "The Eagle That Drank Hummingbird Nectar" you know it's going to be something different from the norm. Aneace Haddad is a coach and advisor to a range of C-level leaders, who draws on his own journey to a senior role to help others to articulate and overcome the challenges they face 'at the top'.    Chris got a chance to interview Aneace, and had a broad-rang...

Sun, sand and strategic thinking? At the time of recording, many leaders are turning on the out-of-office note and heading for a well-earned holiday. But they are departing from professional lives that are busier, more complex and stressful than ever. With a myriad of new factors to contend with, the question ‘who would want to be a boss?’ rings truer than ever. Jane and Chris dip their toe into t...

Want to be part of a really strong, positive and supportive culture? It’s going to cost you – the price of a swim in freezing cold water… But it’s worth it, as that action buys you entry into a rapidly growing network of people, mainly women, who are part of the Bluetits Chill Swimmers club. Sounds extreme, but for the 80,000+ people in the network, it’s a way to build courage and overcome their f...

What can beer theft (or lack of) teach us about how to bring values to life in an organisation? Or what does it mean to be Daring at 4am in the loading bay of a warehouse? Listen in as Owen and Chris talk about their experience with values and the ways in which organisations bring them to life.  You'll be asking tough questions of your own organisational values - are they static, active or progres...

Psychological Safety is a phrase we all bandy about, and more - it's big business and a major focus for many organisations that genuinely want to ensure it exists in strength within their teams. But, as most people to define it and we stumble - it's not a simple thing to grasp (or indeed create) and many of us end up talking about trust and safety to speak up.   Which, yes, it is both. But it's al...

This episode is a cautionary tale of linguistic privilege. What? You say. Listen on and find out, as Chris interviews Heather Hansen – a Global Communication Expert and author of the book ‘Unmuted’. She spends a great deal of her professional life helping people to feel more confident speaking in a second language (in particular, English). But, as she explains, the main root problems lie with the...

Jane is joined by our Head of Consulting - Tyson Matheson - to talk through the 'five languages of appreciation' - sharing tips, stories and ideas that can help to build a stronger culture within any organisation. Find time to listen and think about how you prefer to demonstrate it, and the reasons why you want to show appreciation (hint: It's not to receive it back). Jane and Tyson share some ide...

From an audience of fruit flies, to a global one numbering in the billions, Nicki Sheard, President, Brands & Licensing for BBC Studios, has had a highly varied career that's led to her current role. She's worked in FMCG, Fashion and Gaming sectors, and has held a number of roles across the BBC group. Jane got the chance to talk to Nicki about her experiences across this diverse portfolio and shar...

It’s mere days before we hear the strains of Auld Lang Syne played across the globe, as we say goodbye to a challenging 2022, and step into an uncertain 2023. Jane and Chris’s advice is simple – have a word ready to set the tone. Over the last few years The Culture Builders’ team has made it a habit to choose a personal word each year that helps them find new and more productive ways of working an...

Over the last two years the pressure of work has simply grown and grown – phrases such as ‘The Great Resignation,’ ‘Quiet Quitting,’ and ‘Husk Workers’ have all sprung up as we all find the professional life more challenging than ever, and leaving us to ask the tough question of ‘why’. On this podcast, Chris and Jane talk through the key factors that led them to creating the Bank of Me app – a too...

 Jane Sparrow, speaks with designer and maker Stephen Bailey - who shares his story behind being self-employed and working alone, as well as the experience of taking part in an 'impact of work' study and how it made himself more aware of his mental wellbeing, particularly during the pandemic. Lots of ideas, tips and inspiration to help us all move forwards with our health.

Jane Sparrow speaks with Kirstin Furber, People Director at Channel 4 - who shares her advice on how to tackle Sunday night blues, as well as tips on workplace wellbeing. Her organisation has recently placed a great emphasis on making Monday the highlight of the week, rather than the lowlight. Lots of ideas, tips and inspiration to help us all move forwards with our health.

Organisations, quite rightly, are very proactive in providing mental wellbeing support to their employees. Perhaps less so with physical wellbeing… but even worse when it comes to financial wellbeing. On this note, as we enter the ‘Talk Money’ week and there’s a raised focus on this area, Jane caught up with one of the UK’s leading financial wellbeing consultants – Emma Waller – to look at how org...

Jane caught up with our Head of Programmes, Owen Cook, who recently delivered a taster webinar to share our latest thinking around the hugely topic of flex working. On this podcast he shares an overall structure for developing a consistent, sustainable road-map for an organisation's way forward. Plenty of practical ideas to get you thinking and open up wider conversations within your organisation...

“Four day working week ahead” shout all the headlines at the moment. But, as many are finding out, the reality of a truncated working pattern is far from easy. Jane got a chance to talk to David Taylor, the Group Commercial Director for Costain, who shared with her his experience of changing from a five to a four day week. The move was part of his search for a ‘quality of life upgrade’ but, when h...

There is, without a doubt, a huge, global desire to remove the nine to five working patterns. But, to be balanced, it’s been on the way out for a number of years… but slowly and with great effort by a few determined people. In that vein, meet Emma Cleary – Founder of Flexibility Matters, an organisation that’s been specialising in placing candidates that are looking for flexible working patterns....

During the early autumn of 2021, The Culture Builders commissioned an independent research project to look at the impact of the pandemic on organisations across the UK, and beyond. The aim was to identify the key factors that have been impacted (positively and negatively by the Lockdown and restrictions, and to chart out how this impact differs across organisations. The inevitable results demonstr...

Since Jane and Chris developed the thinking behind the concept of Poly Working, the team has been inundated with requests for conversations, support and ideas. The notion of a multi-faceted approach to the return to work, and beyond, is a compelling call to action that challenges the overly simplistic remote working structures that some organisations are looking to implement. In this podcast, they...

Selina Hales, founder of Glasgow-based Charity, Refuweegee talks to Owen Cook about managing, leading and looking after staff, volunteers, and yourself in a high-purpose environment, where people pour themselves into their work. The conversation brings lessons in working towards unachievable goals and developing a symbiotic relationship with your people in order to continue to perform under diffic...

In this episode, our Head of Programmes, Owen Cook, talks with Diana Jupp, the CEO at Pancreatic Cancer UK - the Charity leading on raising awareness of this type of cancer and providing support to patients and families affected by it. Diana talks about the challenges that working in a charity so closely linked to loss brings to her and the team. During the course of the conversation Diana shares...

How do you maintain culture, connection and performance in your organisation when you add talent? In this episode, Hilary Wells - HR Director for Hawkeye - talks to Owen about managing and developing people to achieve high-performance. Hilary shares her insights on recruiting people during phases of rapid growth, in contexts ranging from family-owned, to truly global businesses and dealing with th...

Kellie McSorley, Founder of  SILK Search and The SET joins Jane Sparrow to discuss the current and emerging talent landscape that organisations are experiencing. Her insight is both deep and broad – bringing in a number of perspectives that point to the emerging direction that organisations will be taking as they look for the next wave of senior leaders. In a pandemic and hopefully post-pandemic w...

Jane and Chris both take time on this episode to interview Peter Davies – a man whose vast experience and knowledge of the aviation industry and its unique leadership challenges needs two interviewers to do justice to! He’s a turn-around specialist who has rekindled the passion, and passenger numbers in a number of airlines and aviation-related organisations. But he’s not your average trouble-shoo...

Sir John Tusa’s board experience reads like a top ten list for the UK arts world. He’s been part of the governance process for organisations such as The British Museum, The English National Opera and the National Portrait Gallery. This, on top of a career that’s seen him running the BBC World Service, co-founding Newsnight and managing London’s Barbican Centre. So, when John writes a book about Bo...