The Alternative Leader Podcast (Mari Williams, The Mind Architect)

At aged-39, Connie was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is now a 12-year survivor.

In this episode, Connie shares her experience of overcoming breast cancer, documented in her book, 'How Connie Got Her Rack Back'. She also supports others going through similar journeys, through her organisation 'Get Your Rack Back' (gyrb.org) Connie built an amazing business from her own experience. Listen in to find out why and how.... 

Where to find Connie: 
Website: ww.conniebramer.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Whats-Next-Life-and-Health-Coaching-106965908322968
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/connie-bramer-53b50a12/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Next4UCoach

If you would like to hear more about the work i do with leaders find me at mari@mari-williams.com and www.mari-williams.com 

Gavin Gallagher had it all, including the penthouse in New York, but when the recession hit he lost almost everything. Here he shares with you his lessons in how to build to a business in the property industry and avoid the pitfalls. 

In this candid interview Gavin shares the mistakes he made and the lessons he learnt. He also talks openly about how this affected him as a man and how it affected those around him. Gavin found his way back to success but many others didn't. Gavin has an important message about how not to link your personal value to your business.

Gavin has his own podcast to help other avoid the pitfalls he fell into and you can find it here... Behind the Facade  you can contact Gavin here

To contact me you can find me on www.mari-williams.com or mari@mari-williams.com or 07932007328

In this pilot episode, your host Mari Williams shares her journey into Alternative Leadership. She wants you to join her crusade to for strong intentional leadership that starts with you and ends with world change. She tells you her story; from sitting in an apple tree as a child; to becoming a mother of 5 children and The Mind Architect as an adult. She now runs a successful Leadership focused business www.mari-williams.com as a Coach-therapist and Mediator and believes strongly in leading from the core. 

Mari's 5 principle method is focused on the fact that if you as a leader can have a strong central core, that you will become the leader you want with ease and inspire others to follow you. Mari's guests have all gone through huge life challenges and she shares their journey with you, the lessons they have learned and their tips in things you can do right now, today, to help you move forward and become the leader you want to be. Join us for leadership, learning and legacy. 

Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Instagram, find all link at www.mari-williams.com

Book an appointment now to see how you can upscale your leadership. 

I'm joined on my first podcast by Neil Fachie MBE World champion Paralympian cyclist. Author of  Earn your Stripes

Neil was born with a congenital eye condition that has left him almost blind. However, that didn't stop him from competing in both Athletics or Cycling! Neil is also now in pride of place on a UK postage stamp. 

Neil talks candidly about his journey from the small boy who hid his disability, to the man he is now who helps others find their true path and earn their 'stripes'. Despite his training Neil now works as a business coach. 

Find Neil on LinkedIn; Twitter;

Or his website LNF Coaching 

Lucy talks us through her journey from growing up on a farm in rural Cambridge to becoming the Director of supporter led funding for Alzheimer’s Research UK. Her journey takes us through lessons she learned from a mother with Rheumatoid Arthritis and a husband with PTSD. Lucy is candid and open about the struggles she has been through. Diagnosed with Dyslexia it was assumed she wasn’t very bright and University wasn’t ever thought of, let alone mentioned. Lucy’s journey through life’s challenges and the challenges of being a professional working mother are inspiring.   

You can find Lucy here: 
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-squance-84759a1/
Twitter:  www.twitter.com/lucysquance

From California to London, Sophie is the Co-Founder of Roleshare, a company that matches skilled people to job roles and enables companies to build a sustainable diverse workforce. Sophie shares her career journey, and how she's has managed to balance parenting with professional life as a leader. We reflect on how COVID has impacted the way we work, the changes we hope to see and the future of remote working as well as the importance of staying connected even online.   

www.linkedin.com/in/sophiegonin

Mo has an amazing story! After being diagnosed in his early 30's with stage four cancer he set about the normal treatments. These did not work. Mo's doctors wanted to try a new and trial drug but it had to be privately funded so Mo's friends encouraged him to set up a crowdfunding page....here's the story of what happened and Mo is here to tell it! 

Mo also works in diversity and inclusion and shares his views on Blacklives matters. 

It's an inspiring story which will get you thinking. 

If you want to find out more about Mo you can contact him here.

www.mohaque.com or on Linkedin here http://linkedin.com/in/mo-haque or on Instagram @mohaquespeaker

if you're interested in finding out more about my work as a Coach, Therapist and Mediator working with professionals and Leaders, or my book 'It Begins with YOU' do get in touch at www.mari-williams.com 

In this episode, Lorraine Gannon (www.LorraineGannon.com) talks about her journey from the corporate world to becoming a best selling author of 'More Money More Fun' her book that enables to make reoccuring income from what you know. 

Lorraine's life changed irrovocably when her son Ben was born with Cerebral Palsy, having to change her lifestyle to accommodate her beautiful son, Lorraine has run pubs, been in the property business and has now created a brilliant guide for anyone wanting to move to having more freedom. 

Listen to Lorraine's story here and get lots of tips and tools to help you move out of the time for money trap. 

Lorraine even offers a free download at the end!

You can find Buy Lorraine's book! 'More Money, More Fun' and find her on social media. 

If you want to find out more about me find me on Linkedin, Twitter, Instagram, You Tube (where you can find video recordings of these interviews. www.mari-williams.com The Alternative Leader and @WilliamsThinks on Twitter and Facebook. 

David Cann is MD of Target Publishing. David was a forerunner in reducing his employees to a 4 day working week and taking a paycut himself, even the Financial Times wanted to speak with him, you can read about it here. David talks here with me about this decision. David also talks about his journey from a life of pool staff and nannies to the decision he and his wife took to scale it down and live a more fulfilling life. What made him make that decision? 

Learn David's tips and about how you could think about living the life you want to lead. 

Jacqui Sansom  is a Parenting Mentor, Childcare Lawyer and Trustee for The Institute of Recovery from Childhood Trauma. 

She is the creator of The Powerful Parenting Programme which is the culmination of both her professional and personal experience together with her training as a practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming, Emotional Freedom Technique, Matrix Re-imprinting, Neurobiology and Hypnotherapy. This ground breaking programme not only teaches you the skills you need to succeed but it  deals with the parts of you that stops you using those skills.  

Jacqui helps adults who struggle with parenting, not because they are a failure but because they want to avoid recreating their  own negative childhood experiences  for their child, they are fearful of being  criticised or  judged for their parenting choices,  decisions or  behaviours  and making mistakes because they don’t have all  the tools,  answers or solutions.   

https://www.powerless2powerfulparenting.com/

For more about my work in leadership do contact me on mari@mari-williams.com you can find my book on Amazon: It begins with you: transform your mind to excel as an alternative leader. 

After being told she would never have a career as a woman, Jude went on to have a very successful one and now runs her own business. Where do the horses come in? Jude runs an equine facilitated leadership company where she helps develop teams and helps them be more 'human.' The results are amazing with the horses picking up the individual tensions between team members. Jude's personal story is inspiring and her work is fascinating. Tune in to hear more. 

If you want to find Jude you can contact her here.

or www.Judejennison.com

For more information about me, you can find all my content and links at www.mari-williams.com 

Michelle grew up as an army kid travelling all over, she found this a struggle and asked to be sent to boarding school. She thrived at boarding school with structure and routine. However, she feels she fell into the good girl behaviour model, not speaking unless spoken to and not standing up for herself. As an adult and having gone through relationship breakdowns Michelle started to understand herself differently and realised that she may have ADHD. Having gone all, ‘Hermione Granger’ in gathering the information, she was diagnosed with combined ADHD.  

Michelle wants to help others -especially women (as it’s much rarer for women to be diagnosed) to think about ADHD.  She also wants to stop women from being silent and is in the middle of writing a book, ‘Good Girl deprogramming’ which is out in the autumn. Michelle and James are also releasing their new podcast ‘How to unfu*k work in early summer.  

Links:  

Website - https://www.workpirates.com/ 

LinkedIn –  https://www.linkedin.com/in/mminnikin/  

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/workpirates/?hl=en  

Michelle chatting about ADHD on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/do-you-ever-feel-like-youre-just-normal-michelle-minnikin/  

In 2010 Nola applied for a leadership programme but was refused as she needs support to help with the extra learning and childcare around commuting. When she was going to the office it took so long that she didn’t see her kids.  

She changed jobs so she had a VPN and could work 3 days from home – then she broke her leg… 

So how do you leverage leadership when you aren’t leading a team? (It’s funny how we think of leadership always as leading others, a topic I cover in my book.) 

Nola found that she didn’t actually enjoy remote working full time and found she hit burnout after working far too many hours. In the end, she became ill and crashed her car after passing out from a collapsed lung and pneumonia.  

Nola has set up her own company when she advises organisations on remote hybrid working. She wants to help organisations find what is right for them and for each individual employee. Having seen all sides of remote working for 10 years, Nola knows her facts about remote working.  

She also runs the Janus Oasis podcast, bringing the best of the past to create the future. 

You can find Nola here: 

Website: www.nolasimon.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/nolasimon
Twitter: www.twitter.com/nolasimontjo
Instagram: www.instagram.com/nolasimontjo

Anna McAfee is a LinkedIn Trainer, Community Strategist and Author. Anna’s work is focused on helping people and businesses alike to build better and more authentic connections, as well as empowering companies and brands to create and scale their own communities. She created #LinkedInLocal movement, an initiative to meet online connections offline at a local and human level, which spread to over 1000 cities in 96 countries. Anna has a unique background in social media and recruitment and is based in Coffs Harbour, Australia.  

You can find Anna: 

Website: https://annamcafee.com.au/
LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/annamcafee/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/annamcafee
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annamcafeeofficial/

In this episode I am joined by Clare McDonald to share her story. It's a story rooted in her childhood from when her parents separated to her father dying when she was just 12. It's a story of loss and grief but also immense strength and resilience. Taking Clare from a life where she believed she was living small to one where she's acting on stage right out of in front of an audience. She went from feeling unloveable to and not good enough to feeling so good that she puts herself forward for the opportunities that life is bringing her. It's a story that you and I can all resonate with, it's that story of those times when we feel too afraid to be vulnerable or to take risks. Clare talks very candidly and beautifully about her story, her challenges, and how she changed her life and moved forward to be the version of herself that she wants to be now. 

You can find Clare on: 
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/clare-mcdonald-280b8718/
Email: claremcdonaldcoaching@outlook.com

Gareth joined the police at aged 15. Since then, his life has been profoundly shaped by his experiences in the force, with two near-death experiences leaving him to navigate PTSD. Now full-time dad and 'part-time grass cutter', Gareth reflects on the impacts of his work, the importance of mental health and his ability to heal with the love of his family, 'Team Squance'.

Gareth's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Irishpixel/...
Gareth's Twitter: https://twitter.com/irishpixel?lang=en
Gareth's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/irishpixel/...

I met Emma when I was interviewing Calvin Niles several years ago. Emma ran a beautiful bookshop called, ‘Travelling Through’ -  now the name of her podcast. Emma worked talks about her experiences of working in the Balkans in post conflict cultural conservation. This work was about so much more than the conservation. She then began a journey driving through the Balkans to experience the land and she talks about this journey in her book, ‘Driving Tito’ – who is Tito you ask, I’ll leave you to find out!  

At age 6 Emma’s lung collapsed and it put a new perspective on life and she launched into it with huge enthusiasm. Her father died when she was 20 which again pushed her forwards.  

Emma reflects on how all of these experiences led her to realise that she was a leader and what sort of leader she was.

You can find Emma:  

Website: https://www.travellingthrough.co.uk/ 

- My book: Driving Tito - Through The Balkan Backroads With A Celebrity 

- You can purchase / order a copy in all good bookshops across the world, on Amazon, or as an ebook here: https://books2read.com/u/bw2kBO 

- Podcast: Travelling Through London, the World and Life on all the usual platforms and on my website at https://www.travellingthrough.co.uk/podcast-1 

- Instagram: @travelling_through 

- Facebook: Travelling-Through 

- Twitter: @Trvllng_Thrgh 

Brendan Turner is a Personal Trainer and Human Biomechanics Specialist who coaches business owners and executives who are in pain to become pain free. Brendan runs workshops and 6/ 12 month 1-2-1 coaching programmes. He has a growing YouTube channel where he talks about his journey of losing 10 Stone (64 kilograms) in weight and recovering from Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome which is deemed to be incurable. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiqR311F7yEwGW5EtiiNGHQ 

Content warning: Please note this episode discusses suicide  

Joel Stone runs his own successful marketing agency Codebreak, and in 2022 launched Andy’s and Joel’s Growth Academy, marketing coaching for solopreneurs. He is also the author of Amazon best seller book, Stay Hungry, and hosts the Stay Hungry podcast, a marketing and mindset podcast for business owners.  

Raised in rural Shropshire, Joel’s childhood was affected by his father's severe bipolar disorder. He then went on to university gaining a first-class degree in Graphic Design, graduating into the 2008 recession. Joel moved back to Shropshire and became an accountant, figuring it was recession proof. In this episode Joel speaks openly and honestly about his childhood, his own diagnosis with anxiety and clinical depression and reflects on how this has affected his life.  

Where to find Joel:

Done-for-you marketing: www.codebreak.co.uk
Marketing coaching: www.andyandjoel.com
Podcast: www.codebreak.co.uk/podcast-channels/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joelstone13
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joelstoneofficial
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelstone1/ 

John Spencer is an urban warfare and military expert, author, professor and scholar. He recently published the book Connected Soldiers: Life, Leadership, and Social Connections in Modern War.  John regularly consults for United States Army Forces Command units, Training and Doctrine Command, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the United Nations, and many others military and national security organisations. 

 
Having served 25 years in the US Military, in this episode John talks about his time in the military, his role as a leader, what he has learned and what he would do differently. He talks candidly about his many experiences from his wife being deployed, the importance of staying connected to what matters to you most to why you shouldn't go for a run in a gas mask. 
 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpencerGuard 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spencerguard/ 

Website: https://www.johnspenceronline.com/ 

Book Understanding Modern Warfare: https://www.howgatepublishing.com/product-page 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnwspencer2018/ 

Corey Gaidzionis Founder, Big Emotions Academy Corey is a passionate, heart-centred entrepreneur on a mission, and it's all about:  "Creating positive change using simple tools to teach Emotional Intelligence to equip our next generation of leaders to have their own motional superpowers."  With a background as a personal trainer and coach, Corey recognised the need for a personal development program that reached young people in a way that made sense to THEM, rather than the usual, more adult-like perspective. As a result, Corey has recently published his first book, "The Little Book of Big Emotions" and is in the process of getting it out to the world.
 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BigEmotionsAcademy
Linkedin: https:/www.linkedin.com/in/corey-gaidzionis/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigemotionsacademy/ 
 

Ken Okoroafar achieved financial freedom by 34, and alongside his wife Mary runs the Humble Penny. In this episode, Ken discusses his childhood, how his mother's entrepreneur spirit inspired him, and how he achieved financial independence and helps others achieve the same.  

Find Ken Okoroafor here:  

The Humble Penny: https://thehumblepenny.com/about/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-okoroafor/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehumblepenny/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHumblePenny 

After a heart attack at 45, Esther reviews her workaholic personality. Did it start when her father died when she was 5 or does she just love her work?  

Known as the ‘Impact Guru,’ Esther is a former “Live” BBC producer.  She’s worked with Hollywood stars and other ‘big’ personalities and knows exactly how to get the best performance out of talent.  She’s interviewed celebrities including Madonna and George Clooney and has produced shows with world-class authors, business leaders and politicians – including Boris Johnson. 

She now uses her 28 years of ‘personal impact’ expertise to help firms and individuals from all over the world communicate better in business, win pitches, conferences, raise their profile, increase their presence and get promoted. 

She’s also a busy mum of 2.  

www.estherstanhope.com 

Tammy came out of an abusive childhood determined to enable others to do the same. Homeless at 15, she sought out education and turned her life around. A brilliant mother, partner and leader, she shines with passion about her mission to change training, so it is powerful, effective and creates lasting impact.  After working in a variety of roles from hostels to forensic psychology she was then the CEO of a charity. She is now the founder of Taye Training.  

Listen to Tammy’s story of how she went from surviving to thriving whilst changing the world.  
Warning: Themes of abuse and suicide (although no details) are included.  

To connect with Tammy :

Watch Tammy’s origin story in her TEDx talk here  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_aXK-MfZDQ&t=1s

Join her Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2319831878105722/ 

Linked in https://www.linkedin.com/in/tayetraining/ 

Twitter @tammybanksy 

For more information visit 

www.tayetraining.org.uk 

www.training4influence.co.uk  

Lucy Barkas founded 3WH, a leadership and team development consultancy in 2013 after working as a leader in the energy industry. She works with leaders and their teams to build organisations they are proud of.

Author, Podcast host and regular BBC Radio contributor, her clients include private clients to international conglomerates.

She was the archetypal good girl, and followed the traditional path – head girl, uni, job, married, kids, career – all ticked off the list by the time she was 30. She was living the dream, except it wasn’t bliss, nor a nightmare.

She was coasting. By 35 she was divorced, left her job and sold her house and started again, and that’s when she started living.

Since then, she has worked with hundreds of leaders to coach them to lead authentically, build high performing cultures and make an impact. Author of the bestselling book, LeaderX, she presents a rallying cry to the next generation of leaders to step up, take control and start leading with impact.

Her initial curiosity was why do people behave the way they do and this led her to discover what shapes a leader, teams and high performance.

You can find more from Lucy here: 

Website: www.3wh.uk.com/ 
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lucybarkas/
Podcast: www.3wh.uk.com/
Book: www.amazon.co.uk/LeaderX-steps-GenerationX-control-impact-ebook/dp/B0867V7Q1F/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=leaderx&qid=1596454477&s=books&sr=1-1

With a background in aeronautics, avionics and optoelectronics, Michelle Child has been choosing to challenge assumptions, stereotypes and boundaries her whole career.  

After a 20-year career in the Royal Air Force as an Engineer Officer, and a 4-year stint in the Defence Electronics Industry, Michelle took on the challenge of moving to a completely different industry, Education. Despite once having been told in basic training that she was “too small to command respect or authority”, she led a 200 strong team to the successful delivery of hundreds of thousands of qualifications for students around the world during the COVID 19 Pandemic. 

Michelle chose to leave the world of high stakes assessment behind and is now the Operations Director in a medical devices company. Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, crafting and writing articles on her experiences in leadership and management, as well as long walks with her husband and 3 dogs Rocky, Lily and Daisy 

You can find Michelle here: 
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-child-1965074/

Phil Jones is MD of Brother Ltd. Phil talks here about his journey from council house kid to MD, bypassing university on the way. Phil is passionate about leadership having learned that you have to look after yourself as a leader before you can meet the needs of your team. He shares his learnings around how to build strong relationships and how to view a non-academic route as a strength.  

Phil Jones can be found on Linkedin:  www.linkedin.com/in/philjones40/ 

And on Twitter: @philjones40 

Terry is a senior leader who believes passionately that leaders need to be aware of the impact of their behaviour on others. He finds it hard to watch poor leadership. He feels that a leader needs to create psychological safety for their team so they are happy to be fully open with any problems or issues.  

Ian talks us through his journey from emergency caesarean to leadership. How did the birth of his daughter who has a very rare chromosome deletion help Ian to evolve both personally and professionally? What is the connection between the Caribbean and Amsterdam and how does getting it wrong safely apply to both parenting and managing your team? Ian candidly opens up about how his dreams of parenting have affected the way he leads his teams. How his daughter’s birth put his career on hold for 7 years but also how these experiences makes him a better leader.  

In this episode, fintech professional Tobi Fasipe unpacks his upbringing in Lagos, Nigeria. We explore the importance of family, through great challenges of loss and financial struggles, as well as through celebrations of success in education and the world of work. Tobi shares with us his vibrant energy, informed by his gratitude for life.

You can find Tobi here:
Twitter: www.twitter.com/FasipeTobi
Instagram: www.instagram.com/uncl_tee
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tobifasipe/

Ben Kirk is the founder of Inspired Schools. The organisation's aim is to raise the 'physical literacy' of kids in schools all over the country, and it came into being after the passing of Ben's best friend, Luke.

In this episode, Ben explores the profound ways in which Luke's passing has affected his outlook and energy towards life, addressing themes of loss, masculinity and emotion.

You can find Ben at: 

www.instagram.com/benkirk8

www.inspiredschools.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/inspiredschools

https://twitter.com/inspiredschools

www.instagram.com/inspiredschools

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-kirk-08448848/

If you are interested in finding out more about my work as a Leadership specialist, coach and mediator, or you would like to buy a copy of my book, It begins with you: transform your mind to excel as an alternative leader – do get in touch at www.mari-williams.com or find it on Amazon.

Lora is a multi-award winning paraolympian cyclist, wife of Neil Fachie one of my previous guests, these two are a powerful team. Lora was born completely blind and not quite content with winning medals, she decided she wanted to start writing about her other passion, cooking. Here Lora talks about growing up in a family of blindness and how she is not allowed to use a blowtorch whilst cooking!

You can find her at https://blindinglygoodfood.co.uk

@loraturnham and @BlindinglyGF