The Mind Takeaway Podcast

What do the fear of failing, the fear of making mistakes, and the fear of being criticised have in common? It feels to us that the world will end, and there won't be any life after, so we stay stuck in our comfort zone and miss opportunities for growth and learning. Chances are that we will fail, be criticised and make mistakes; it would be ignorant to think that we will not experience any of...

Change and uncertainty are two constants in today's business world. As a leader, it's not only essential but also vital to navigate these challenges and guide your team through them. Great leaders acknowledge that change and uncertainty are inevitable. By doing so, they can prepare for opportunities rather than resist them or be caught off guard when an opportunity presents itself. They st...

Looking to improve your decision-making skills, overcome your fear of failure, and build resilience? Check out our latest podcast episode! We all face tough decisions in life and at work, but fear of making the wrong choice can hold us back. In this episode, we talk about the role of our emotions in making decisions, how resilience works, and making better decisions even when feeling scared. From...

We were inspired to make this episode last week, where we took time out to get creative, and what better place to do that than Venice? In this 16-minute episode, we explore female virtuoso performers of the 18th century, the Figlie Del Coro, whom Vivaldi trained and supported in his musical laboratory at The church of S. Maria della Pietà, known as the "Church of Vivaldi. These women were the...

The Power of Silence in Leadership  Who would have thought that getting comfortable with silence in conversations could positively impact human connection and bring out the best in people? When we get comfortable with being uncomfortable with silence, we invite insight, realisation and curiousity into our conversations. We were working with a trail-blazing group of leaders last week, checking in t...

In this episode, we invited Sunday Times Bestselling Author and Executive Coach Jamie Smart back on the show to talk about the principles behind clarity and his 10th Anniversary edition book with the same name. We came across the principles behind clarity back in 2015. Since then, it has transformed our personal lives and allowed us to have more impact in our work with leaders, teams and organisat...

This episode explores the importance of being compassionate towards ourselves and others and why we need to start with ourselves first. When you learn to be compassionate towards yourself during challenging situations, showing kindness towards others becomes second nature.

What Makes a Great Leader? In this episode, we explore - Being comfortable with being uncomfortable - The benefits of listening to understand - How being authentic can increase your impact 

🚀 Stepping up into a senior leadership role? Set yourself up for success and avoid burnout with these three key areas: 1:Reassess your boundaries: It's a common challenge faced by our Executive Coaching clients. Your new position demands new boundaries, and ignoring this can lead to future difficulties. 2: Energy exploration: Discover what fuels and drains you. This awareness allows you to re...

Listening to understand is probably one of the most impactful and profound skills you can master as a leader. In this episode, we explore what gets in the way of becoming a better listener and what practical steps you can take to improve. 

What gets in the way of feeling safe in leadership roles? In this second series of what gets in the way episodes, we explore what gets in the way of having more women in leadership roles and, when they are in senior positions, what stops them from feeling safe, valued and being themselves. We also share some practical tips and suggestions for the future.

What gets in the way of collaborating and working together effectively? In this first series of what gets in the way episodes, we explore what stops us from being able to collaborate effectively and being part of a team. We also share some practical tips to make it more enjoyable to work together.

Our business relationships and teams will benefit from embracing our intercultural differences. We were at a friend's wedding in Portugal last week, and my friend's father said something interesting about the secret to lasting relationships. He mentioned embracing intercultural differences. We looked around our table, and In our conversations, we realised all eight of us were from different countr...

Being authentic isn't just doing what occurs to you at the moment; it is knowing who you are and following your truth to the best of your ability. In this episode, we speak to Sunday Times bestselling author, speaker & coach Jamie Smart. We talked about the pressure to conform, the dangers of losing authenticity as leaders, and what we can do about it, so we do not lose ourselves and do it in...

Self-doubt is a typical experience of being a great leader. Learning new skills and becoming aware of how your feelings can impact your ability to lead will be messy sometimes; you will feel uncomfortable, and you might feel like an imposter some days.  That doesn't mean you are heading in the wrong direction, and it's part of learning from your experience. If you are not doing the work, push...

Do you celebrate your milestones? If so, how do you celebrate with your team? This episode explores the importance of celebrating milestones and enjoying the journey. You can quickly lose your way if you do not reflect on how you got to where you are now. When you don't take time to reflect, it is challenging to stay on track and know your purpose. Celebrating small incremental wins can make all t...

In this 10 minutes episode, we explore a story about one leader's challenge with getting comfortable with being uncomfortable in front of his team and sharing when he got things wrong or did not always answer. The positive impact of sharing your learnings and challenges with your team is this: - It builds trust, compassion, and empathy. - You go there first, allowing others to do the same. - Trans...

Do you need a tight, rigid plan and structure to succeed with your business idea? In this 10 minutes episode, we explore planning vs. preparing for opportunities and how learning about our resilience and creative we are is much more helpful than being strategic or being able to build a detailed plan. We stifle innovation and creativity when we think our plan should be one way or another. When doin...

Do you feel valued by your team and colleagues? Do you feel you need to talk more to be heard by your colleagues? In this 10 minutes episode, we explore what gets in the way of having an impact as a leader and allowing others to do the same. You must get to know yourself to be a great leader and positively impact others. If you are not listening to yourself and not seeing your value,  you are...

Did you know that your perception of reality shifts depending on how you feel? In this 10 minutes episode, we share a valuable thing to know regarding how we feel about any given situation that can shape our perception of reality at that moment. How we feel in any situation can change depending on our mood. Being curious about how our perspective in any given moment can impact our work, the better...

Everything is useful until it is not We are now facing substantial global challenges regarding how we lead, so is it not time we look at other ways of organising ourselves as a species? Creating the management hierarchy structures we have in place right now was a super clever thing to do in the past and has been a very successful concept when it comes to organising; however, is it now in need of a...

Living a life with purpose. In this 10 minutes episode, we share some of the insights from our work supporting leaders. You can not find your purpose as it is not something outside of us; it shapes through our life experiences. The more you connect with yourself and listen to your inner voice, your decisions and actions will be aligned with your purpose. You cannot find your purpose and then live...

Burnout keeps you from being productive. It reduces your energy, making you feel hopeless, cynical, and resentful. The effects of burnout can hurt your home, work, and social life. In the first of our podcast live series, we had a great conversation and exploration into what causes burnout and how we can address it individually and in the workplace, together with Corinne Lembe Mayunga from Stillpo...

Kristen is currently the Vice-Chair of European Women on Boards (EWoB) and the Development Programs Committee chair. EWoB is the European umbrella association for gender equality at the decision-making level, a non-profit consortium of national organizations whose aim is to improve gender balance on corporate boards across Europe. From 2016 to 2021, Kristen was Barilla's Chief Diversity and In...

Humans are so varied and complex that no one phycological test has yet to determine how diverse we are or can even begin to identify your team's strengths. "We learned through our work supporting leaders that these tests are also not well suited to people outside of western cultures, and they are constructed to be ableist, racist, sexist, and classist." Timestamps and takeaways 01:43 Some facts an...