The Inspire Podcast

In this conversation Bart speaks with Megan Fielding, Vice President, Brand and Culture Communications at Nutrien, about Story Living. Megan explains how you can turn clarity of purpose into powerful stories that inspire employees, customers, stakeholders and yourself. She shares how the concept has guided her own career, leading her to choose -- and leave -- jobs that allowed her to connect more...

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) is an increasingly-used term.... but what does it mean and how should leaders think about its objectives? In this conversation Bart speaks with Larissa Maxwell about why companies are embracing ESG and how they begin integrating it into their work (proactively and reactively). She then explores what role leaders have to play in ESG and what kind of leade...

In this episode Bart is joined by Jackie Scales, Director of Inclusion and Diversity at Teck Resources. Jackie talks about the historic barriers to inclusion that have been common in the mining industry, what the impact of those barriers have been, and how different cultural norms across geographies can pose additional challenges to organizations seeking to create more equitable workplaces. She ta...

Answering questions is one of the most challenging leadership communication tests for a leader. The time pressure, unstated assumptions and even audience emotion can all make it a fraught situation; yet leaders who can master this high stakes interaction can influence and inspire their listeners. In this episode Bart is joined by Dr. Brian Gibkowski, Associate Professor of Management at North Cent...

This special episode is released on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia - IDAHOTB. Bart is joined by Colin Druhan, Executive Director of Pride at Work Canada/Fierté au travail Canada, to discuss what questions we should be asking to create more equitable, inclusive organizations. Colin shares his own journey and how he came to head up PaWC, why research demonstrates...

In this episode Bart speaks with Michael Piperno, founder of the Comvia Group, about building Relationship Intelligence. Michael is a seasoned communications coach whose passion is to help clients communicate more clearly and effectively, build and maintain positive and healthy business relationships while leading with confidence. He takes Bart through an assessment then uses it to share lessons f...

In this episode of The Inspire Podcast Bart welcomes Shad, award-winning Canadian rapper and broadcaster. Shad talks with Bart about his approach to performing and what he has learned from winning (and losing!) rap battles, using humor and vulnerability to create connection with the audience, channeling nerves, and harnessing gestures and physical presence to energize the audience. Shad has releas...

In this episode of The Inspire Podcast Bart speaks with Lisa Morton, Founder and CEO of Roland Dransfield, a UK communications agency. Lisa's entrepreneurial journey has been driven and guided by her values, starting with her decision to create her own agency, carrying through her personal growth, to pursuing community outreach in Manchester, and now to how she onboards and builds her team. Lisa's...

In this episode of The Inspire Podcast Bart speaks with Tony Martignetti, Founder of Inspired Purpose Coaching about why so many leaders reach a career peak only to realize they may have to in fact come down and climb a different mountain. Drawing on his own life experiences where he walked away from a prestigious executive role to reflect on his own journey, Tony shares wisdom he currently uses t...

In this kickoff episode of Season 4 of The Inspire Podcast Bart speaks with Susan Black of the Conference Board of Canada about the challenges facing today's leaders. Drawing on the CBOC's deep research capabilities, Susan shares insights into the major pressures facing leaders across all sectors -- from talent management to a return to premises to DEI and the future of work. She provides suggesti...

In this episode Bart speaks with Casper Wong about his journey to create the United Nation of Cyclists, a race team whose mission it is to promote diversity and inclusion. Casper, whose day job is COO and Co-Founder of Financeit, came to cycling late in life but quickly caught a passion for the sport. In his interview with Bart, he shared his personal experience of loving the sport but feeling lik...

In this episode of the Inspire Podcast Bart interviews the CEO and Founder of Cheekbone Beauty, an Indigenous-owned and founded cosmetics brand. Despite having no background in the beauty industry, Jenn had a vision to create a brand that gave representation to Indigenous youth and started the business from scratch in 2016. As she built her business she worked hard to invest in and give back to he...

In this episode Bart speaks to Prof. Gervase Bushe about his work in understanding of why change fails and the many mistaken assumptions around leading change leaders have. Gervase shares his model for Generative Change and explains practically how leaders can use it to harness the thinking and engagement of their people. A must listen in this time of continual transformation for any leader grappl...

What's the most pressure you've ever been under?" For his latest book, The Power of Pressure, Third Factor's CEO Dane Jensen, asked this question to thousands of people, from Olympic athletes and Navy SEALS to over-worked managers and busy parents, and discovered that while each experience is unique, pressure has patterns. These patterns are somewhat counter-intuitive, but once we learn to recogni...

In this episode of the Inspire Podcast Bart is joined by Darrin Tulley, Founder and CEO of Ignite Happy, to talk about what it takes to inspire yourself and others. Prior to founding Ignite Happy Darrin spent 25 years in corporate America, rising to senior executive roles...and learning a lot about himself along the way. Darrin shares his journey with Bart, where he came to realize that his relent...

In this episode of the Inspire Podcast Bart speaks with Sarah Beech, Area Executive President, Central Canada at Gallagher. In the first half of the interview, Sarah shares her story of developing a strong leadership compass through two decades in the insurance industry. From a big company to a smaller one and back to a big one (Gallagher) Sarah explains that her leadership philosophy -- leading a...

00:39 Live show promo 01:30 Welcome 03:13 Personal backstory 05:40 What was your first job? 07:13 Curiosity 08:40 Yellow Pages 11:15 Early stages of company 12:34 Sell services – figure out how to deliver afterwards 13:50 Hiring the team 14:53 What it’s like at the company 16:40 Workshops on personal stuff 19:36 John Vuong’s philosophy 19:56 Clarity 20:54 Example of goal-setting session 23:04 Shop...

year ago Wes Hall engaged Corporate Canada in a mission to end anti-Black systemic racism. Using a business-first mindset, the organization has achieved much in its first year, and yet much is left to be done. In this interview Bart talks with Dahabo Ahmed Omer, BlackNorth's inaugural executive director, about the journey that led her to joining the organization, what she's learned and her advice...

In this episode of the Inspire Podcast Bart interviews Christopher Farris Zabaneh about why mindfulness is an increasingly critical skill for leaders to master. Chris shares his journey from starting his career as an engineer, to leaving to pursue work on mindfulness and to bringing what he learned to his work with clients at The Humphrey Group. Chris shares lessons that are practical including th...

In this episode Bart interviews Sanjay Patil, a Consultant with The Humphrey Group about his life and professional journey. Sanjay is an experienced human rights lawyer whose globe-spanning career has been driven by a desire to help create spaces for others to be heard. In the course of his career he has embraced self-awareness, mindfulness and a commitment to going slow as fundamental to leadersh...

In this episode Bart welcomes David Miller, former Mayor of Toronto, head of the World Wildlife Foundation and now Director of International Diplomacy for C40 Cities. David shares his life's journey and how from a young age he has been driven to address inequity and bring about positive change in the world. Along the way he has developed a set of principles for communicating his ideas in a focused...

It's not easy at the top... and when you listen to this episode, you'll understand the unique challenges leaders face and how to overcome them. Bart is joined by Nancy MacKay, Founder and CEO of Mackay CEO Forum, about the challenges facing senior leaders and the keys to unlocking their own potential. Nancy shares how the pressures - internal and external - facing leaders can sap their motivation,...

In this episode Bart interviews Ronan Levy, Founder and Executive Chairman of Field Trip Health, one of the world's leading psychedelic companies, about his non-traditional career choices. Ronan, who began his professional career a corporate lawyer, soon found himself hating his working life, and set out on a series of risky yet authentic ventures in pursuit of fulfilment. From working in the musi...

Entrepreneurship is hard. Leaving a stable career to start a firm with uncertain prospects, winning customers, hiring staff, gaining access to capital... the challenges are many for those who aspire to build their own businesses. And if you're a Black entrepreneur you face the additional barriers of unconscious bias, inequity or even racism. In this episode tech entrepreneur Andrew Bromfield joins...

A nuclear submarine is one of the most intense and inhospitable environments in the world. For three months crews are put into a vessel that operates in hostile territory while being powered by a nuclear reactor. In this conversation John Gregory Vincent shares how the decades he spent in these vessels led him and his partner Deb Cake led them to develop a system to create inclusive teams. They ta...