The Visible Leader

Andy Edwards, behavioural psychologist and creator of RELATIONOMICS, joins me to talk about why relationships drive results—and what to do when they’re off. We cover how to spot the hidden signs of misalignment, why most 1:1s aren’t good enough, and the simple fix that changes everything. Expect real stories, plain speaking, and practical tools you can use tomorrow. Key Takeaways Why ‘my door’s al...

I'm joined by writer and communications expert Charlotte Otter to unpack a topic that often gets misunderstood: reputation . Before this conversation, I associated reputation management with spin and crisis control. Charlotte completely shifted my perspective. What if reputation is less about image and more about the stories people tell about you based on what you say and do? We explore how to sta...

In this episode of The Visible Leader , I talk to Ed Fidoe - co-founder of the London Interdisciplinary School - about a concept that could radically shift how leaders operate: interactional expertise . What do you do when your team knows more than you do? How do you lead across functions where you don’t have the depth of knowledge? And how can you avoid falling into the trap of blind trust or dan...

Dr Hayley Lewis joined me to talk about perfectionism in leadership—when it’s helpful, when it holds us back, and what we can do about it. We get into: What perfectionism actually is (and isn’t) The toll it can take on leaders and teams How to spot it in yourself or others Ways to loosen its grip (without lowering your standards) Reflective practice, micromanagement, inbox zero, and why reframing...

In this episode, I chat with Marcus Dimbleby, a former military officer, Marcus has been helping organizations build adaptive leadership, resilience, and engagement since retiring from the Royal Air Force in 2013 through his work at Effective Direction. We explore why so many leaders struggle to create empowered teams and what's really needed to bridge the gap between intent and execution. Have a...

In this episode of The Visible Leader , I chat with Paul Teasdale about high-performance conversations and what leaders can learn from Formula One. Paul’s career spans from sausage-making to F1, and he shares how leaders can handle tough conversations, make better decisions, and build a culture of high performance. Here’s what we covered: What makes a difficult conversation so hard, and how do you...

In this episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with Danny Wareham, an organisational psychologist, coach, and speaker with over 25 years of experience. We took a deep dive into organisational culture - what it is, what it isn’t, and the common missteps leaders make when trying to improve it. Danny has such a wealth of experience and shared incredible insights on how to align culture with strategy...

I talked to Scott Allen about tackling some of the most persistent myths about leadership. Why do these myths continue to hold sway, and how do they shape our understanding of what it means to lead? Scott dives deep into the origins and impact of these myths, encouraging us to rethink traditional views on leadership. Key questions explored: Are leaders really born, not made? Scott’s insights chall...

In this episode, I sit down with Sarah Langslow, an executive coach and leadership expert, to dig deep into the impact we have as leaders—both the intentional and the unintentional. Sarah went from competing in the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race to a stellar corporate career, and now she’s the author of Do Sweat the Small Stuff , a book that takes a close look at how our smallest actions as leaders ca...

In this episode, I chat with Stacey, an expert on introverted leadership, about the myths surrounding introverts in leadership roles and how they can excel in environments often geared towards extroverts. Have a listen and discover how to truly embrace your strengths as an introverted leader! Key takeaways include: Introversion vs Extroversion: Stacey shares her thoughts on why it’s not a simple b...

Rich Kirkpatrick is a creative leader, author, and speaker who helps people unlock their creative potential. With a background spanning both business and the arts, he blends science and creativity to guide teams and leaders in fostering innovation. He’s the author of Mind Blown: Unlock Your Creative Genius by Bridging Science and Magic , where he offers practical insights into the creative process...

Mark Graban is an author, speaker, and podcast host specialising in lean management and healthcare improvement. He wrote "The Mistakes That Make Us" and hosts the podcast "My Favourite Mistake." Mark is known for his insights on learning from mistakes and improving organisational processes. Themes Covered: Innovation and Mistakes: Why embracing small mistakes can lead to big breakthroughs. Healthc...

I recently sat down with Samuel Drauschak to explore what process-driven leadership really means – and how you actually build empathy and connection if you get it right. Listen out for the question he suggests you ask your people if you want to get more of the RIGHT things done. Highlights: What is Process Leadership? Learn the key differences between process-driven and data-driven leadership (and...

In this episode I chat with Walt Morgan. As a certified coach, former Navy Commander, and university lecturer, Walt specialises in helping people develop their leadership skills on both personal and professional fronts. Walt’s seen it all and has some sharp insights on the common slip-ups leaders make. What we cover: Common Leadership Blunders: Walt lays out the five big missteps he sees leaders m...

Julie Smith is a sought-after coach who has been supporting leaders and teams to grow their impact for three decades. A 15+ year corporate career with Mars and PepsiCo gave Julie first-hand experience of what it takes to succeed in a demanding, fast-paced organization. Julie is the author of Coach Yourself Confident, an encouraging and supportive guide for professionals who have aspirations to pro...

Dr. Steven Rogelberg is an organizational psychologist whose award-winning research into meetings led to the publication of the highly successful book The Surprising Science of Meetings. And again, he’s taken that research-based approach with his latest book – the excellent Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1:1 meetings. In this episode we challenge the idea that 1:1s are an optional extra for t...

Dr Nia Thomas is a thought leader in self-aware leadership and practices self-aware leadership every single day in her role as Director in a Children’s Charity. She has an allergic reaction when she hears the phrase ‘you shouldn’t care what anyone else thinks’. We talked about the perils of heeding that advice and how to avoid going the other way and becoming a total people pleaser! Topics we cove...

Dr Katharina Schmidt completed an executive MBA at Kellogg Business School and then for the next 20 years had an international career with various professional services firms before she started her own business as an Executive Coach & Leadership Team Developer. She’s lived all over the world and speaks 5 languages fluently. And she had a career as a professional volleyball player! We talked ab...

Are you struggling to turn your vision into reality? Learn how to become an execution-focused leader and drive results in your organisation. Monte Pedersen is dedicated to helping organisations manage their strategy execution -  he wants this to be a competency within every one of his clients. He wants to eliminate all the bad habits they’ve developed over the years so they have a repeatable...

Ben Simpson works with leaders and their teams to create better relationships, improve trust, increase autonomy, ditch bureaucracy. He very much sees that you perform best when you’re happy in your work. And he’s a fierce critic of traditional (command and control) management and prefers a more human-centric way of leading and managing. He co-founded Organisational Vitality , is the Director and C...

Dr Lee Williams is a behavioural scientist with 30 years experience helping organisations improve productivity and performance. He’s done this work across many companies – including American Express,  Tesco and Dupont. He has an undergraduate degree in Pharmacology & Physiology, an MBA and a DBA from Alliance Manchester Business School where he completed the UK's first empirical study of...

Marina Nitze is an author and a crisis engineer. She co-authored Hack Your Bureaucracy with Nick Sinai, it contains over 50 tactics, each with real-world examples, for making lasting change in bureaucracies from PTAs all the way up to the White House and Fortune 500 companies. Marina is currently focused on improving America’s child welfare system, helping organisations solve mission-critical IT c...

Harrison Ward is better known as Fell Foodie. He’s an inspirational speaker, outdoorsman and cook who loves to recreate restaurant-style meals on minimal equipment (usually a camp stove) in remote locations. He has a vast following across various social media platforms and has featured regularly in the media including Channel 5 and BBC. He regularly delivers talks about his personal battle with de...

Glyn Potts is the Headteacher of Saint John Henry Newman Catholic College in Oldham. Newman is a large secondary school serving a diverse community where 43% of students are in receipt of ‘Free School Meals.’ Glyn was awarded the ‘Inspirational Teacher of the Year’ award in 2010, has a masters degree in Catholic Educational Leadership and a second masters in Youth Leadership. He is an active membe...

Carrie helps people transform meetings and meeting culture. She has redesigned how we meet for the collaborative era, crafting meetings that are honest, focused, supportive and energising. Carrie’s PhD created an evidence-based framework for what underpins meeting success (spoiler alert: it’s not having an agenda) and her research was described as 'game-changing for meeting science'. Topics covere...