The Fulfilled Leader with Jean Balfour

Today’s podcast guest is Vanessa Iloste. Jean and Vanessa have a great high energy conversation about how to have a courageous career conversation - both as an individual and as a leader.  Vanessa was born in France and moved to Japan at the age of 19 years old. She received a scholarship to study in Japan and has been now living and working in the Asia region for 26 years. She has lived in Osaka,...

As we move to a different phase of Covid many organisations are moving back to working in the office. But this is proving challenging. Many individuals are not keen to go back full time and many leaders are not sure if hybrid working can work! In this episode Jean explores ways to help hybrid working to be successful. She talks about how we need to overcome 'Operational Distance' and &ap...

In this episode Jean is joined by Tamara Singh.  Jean and Tamara talk about Creative ways to build a portfolio career Her experience of COP 26 Regenerative systems and sustainability How to make hybrid working work What a climate hackathon is and why the green economy is important Tamara spends time considering global systems and the nudges that may help to render them more sustainable, She does t...

Do you have a clear career plan? How often do you revisit your direction of travel to see if you are heading where you want to? Our career is ours along! Even if we work in an organisation, it’s still up to us to make sure we are having the career we choose, and not one chosen for us by our organisations.  In our busy lives, it can be easy to put off doing any thinking or planning for our career....

For some of us strategic thinking comes naturally - for others it is something we have to learn.  In this episode Jean Balfour is joined by Stacy McCarthy. Stacy is a business advisor, executive coach and board member. Stacy McCarthy has spent a lot of her career developing strategy for one of the world's big brands. In this podcast she and Jean Balfour talk about  The importance of stepping...

What is it about managing up that seems so challenging? Some people do it with ease, but most of us have difficulty with it at some stage in our career. There's a good reason for this. We were often raised not to promote ourselves, or to respect the hierarchy. The challenge is that if we don’t build good relationships up as well as down the line, then we may miss out on opportunities for new...

Inclusive Leadership is shown to have a big impact on both business outcomes and employee engagement - as well, of course, as being the right thing to do. And yet we don’t see enough leaders being inclusive. In this podcast Jean talks with Pierre Cheung who puts inclusion at the heart of his leadership approach. Pierre is Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) for Kreed Entertainment Inc - the first inclu...

Those who know me well that for much of my working life I have been plagued by self doubt, over thinking and worry - even anxiety. It impacted my work, my experience of work, and often left me feeling depleted. About 15 years ago I decided it was time to change. This led me on a journey of discovery of the best approaches to managing negative thinking and low confidence. In this podcast I share wi...

The most common topic people ask Jean to talk about is Toxic Work Cultures. In this episode Jean is joined by Liz Bingham. Liz shares her insights on this along with sharing her career journey.  Liz began her career straight from school with BDO Stoy Hayward in 1981, joining Ernst & Young in 1986. She went on to have a long and illustrious career with EY. As well as an outstanding career as a...

In this episode Jean is joined by Soo Yee Leong.  Soo Yee is an entrepreneurial corporate leader who enjoys working with people to create the future through innovating, solving problems and seizing opportunities, Soo Yee's energy, and her entrepreneurial spirit led her to becoming the first Asian member of the global executive team of the UK based ACCA (The Association for Chartered Certified...

All organisations are inherently political. However, many people would rather not engage in politics at work as it often has negative connotations.  In this episode Jean Balfour introduces the importance of being politically savvy and its importance in enhancing both workplace performance and career prospects. She  Shares how to balance being politically astute while also acting with integrity.  I...

In a world of increasing specialization, Andrew has consciously sought a broad base of experiences - from organic farming and Shiatsu massage in the UK to printing money in the USA and developing sales service and leadership skills in clients, colleagues and himself. Singapore based for the past 18 years, he is currently an executive facilitator and master coach with a human capital constancy and...

Are you on the tiredness/exhaustion/burnout continuum? A recent McKinsey study suggested that over 50% of us at work are exhibiting signs of burnout. In this episode Jean Balfour shares her own very personal story of Burnout and what she learnt from it.  She goes on to share Signs and symptoms of exhaustion and burnout Possible causes from our working lives Her approach to recovery A call to actio...

In this episode Jean is joined by Serena Evans. Serena has worked as an actor for over 40 years in theatre and television. She also helps people to find their authentic voice through coaching and facilitating groups. In this episode they discuss How to build connection and belonging with people when working virtually,  How anxiety is a normal response to public speaking! Strategies for calming and...

This is the first in a series of episodes about the importance of self awareness in our working lives.  One of the things that Jean has learned over 30 years of consulting is how much being self-aware is important in our working lives and in our personal lives. If we want to make sense of every aspect of work, we need to understand our approach to it and what we're bringing to it. In this epi...

In this episode Jean is joined by Ambica Yadavalli.  Ambica is Director, Head of YSC Consulting South East Asia and Hong Kong.  Ambica has consulted globally in assessment, executive coaching, top team development and leadership strategy across a range of industries. She specializes in the space of inclusive leadership, with a particular interest in female leadership and creating psychologically s...

The Great Resignation is on everyone’s lips. A google search found 255 million hits on something we only heard about in 2021.  What is it? And what happens if I am feeling the urge to join the movement and resign from my job? Covid-19 has had a big impact on our mood and experience of work - but is changing jobs really the answer? In this podcast Jean Balfour looks at the reasons why we might be t...

We hear a lot about the importance of having a clear sense of purpose. Yet for many people it can be difficult to know what their purpose is - or even if it really matters. In this episode Jean explores the idea of purpose - what it is and why it matters. She shares practical ways of helping you to become clearer about your purpose in your work.  The episode includes Jean’s own experience of worki...

Welcome to The Fulfilled Leaders Podcast Sign up to my weekly newsletter. Book a free strategy call: https://calendly.com/jean-balfour/30min Learn more about my work: https://jeanbalfour.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanbalfour/