Leading Through Uncertainty (Jude Jennison)

Garry Honey runs a business called Chiron, a risk and resilience company specialising in uncertainty. I was excited to speak to him as he approaches uncertainty in a different yet compatible way to me. Garry works with boards of organisations on managing the uncertainty of risk and talks about the importance of treating risk management as part of strategy, rather than compliance.

I was delighted to have the tables turned this week as Duncan Brodie interviewed me on the skills that are needed by leaders in uncertain times. Of course, I had plenty to say about that. Not only did I write the book Leading through uncertainty, but I’ve also run over 20 masterclasses in the four weeks that we’ve been in lockdown, as well as having additional conversations. It has dominated my thoughts (and occasionally my sleep) as I’ve learned even more from every interaction with every person.

Surlender Pendress is MD of the Love Writing Co, a business providing resources for children learning to write. She had to pivot her business rapidly to survive as a result of the Coronavirus lockdown. I’m inspired by her great messages for both small businesses wanting to explore how they stay in business but also for employees who want to re-ignite their passion for the business they work for.

Fergal Dowling is a partner at Irwin Mitchell and Head of Employment law. He shares the challenges of moving to remote working with very short notice and how they are operating under pressure with a significant increase in workload at a time when regulation is changing daily.

Bev Messinger is the CEO of IOSH. A former HR Director, Bev understands how important it is to include people in developing a vision and ensuring everyone is on board. Bev talks about the switch from HR Director to CEO and how putting people at the heart of the charity is crucial to the last three years of transformation.

Tracey Pritchard is Executive Director of Engagement for Prostate Cancer UK. She talks about the uncertainty of life, developing physical and emotional resilience, having a clear vision and being agile and flexible in uncertainty.

Anita Bhalla OBE is a leading figure in Birmingham where she holds a number of key roles, including Chair of the Birmingham Symphony and Town Hall and Head of the West Midlands Combined Authority Leadership Commission. Anita talks about setting up an Asian Women’s refuge in Leicester, her extensive career as a broadcaster for the BBC and the role of the Leadership Commission in engaging business in being more inclusive to lead social change in the region.

Irene King is Head of IBM Systems Lab Services for UK & Ireland. She has lived and breathed uncertainty throughout her extensive career, continually responding to technological change and advising clients on how to use technology to grow their business. She applies the same approach to leading people too, recognising that everyone is different and everyone needs to have a voice to be engaged on the journey. If you think IBM is stuffy, think again. Irene is an entrepreneur.

David Keene is the CEO of the RDM Group based in Coventry. He celebrates 27 years of running his business next month but the vigour and enthusiasm he brings, as well as his approach, are akin to an entrepreneurial startup, which is of course what he set up 27 years ago. David loves uncertainty because it keeps things fresh and exciting and explains how he balances that with providing a structure within which creativity can occur. He has a plan B, C, D for everything so it seems that whatever happens, David is ready to lead through it.

Ray O’Donoghue is MD of Corporate Banking for the Midlands region in Barclays. He talks about transforming the organisation from geography-led to industry-led and how the relationships with customers changed. It was a bold move that could have led to resistance but he engaged people by making sure they were part of the solution, continually refining the solution based on feedback.

Martin Reeves is CEO of Coventry City Council. He thrives on disruptive change and is comfortable with the chaos it brings, confident in the knowledge that transformation is created from chaos. His energy is infectious, and I found myself caught up in his enthusiasm. But Martin brings more than just enthusiasm. He engages people through solid leadership and relationship skills. The world needs more CEOs like him who not only embrace change but actively encourage difference as a way to achieve it.

Bill Coletti specialises in reputation management and crisis communication. He is author of the book Critical moments: the Mindset of Reputation Management. In this podcast, he shares his experience of staying grounded under pressure in a crisis and being confident of the way forward in moments of extreme uncertainty that a personal or professional crisis brings. There is much to learn from him about how we create clarity and certainty in moments of extreme uncertainty.

Susan Gee is Head of Wellbeing and Occupational Health for Yorkshire Water and is a highly regarded expert on stress and wellbeing. She talks about how work has been proven to be good for people and that we need to ensure that we make mental wellbeing at work as important as physical wellbeing. Susan has a wealth of knowledge on this subject and really understands the role that effective leadership has on our mental health.

Mani Hayre is a Client Relationship Manager at Falcon Insurance and a regular blogger at Mani’s madness. She talks openly about losing her job, how it impacted her self-esteem and starting her career again a decade later. As part of re-starting her new career, she moved from her home town of Scunthorpe to Birmingham. She explains how challenging it was to uproot her whole life to a new city, the loneliness she experienced, recovering from a house fire, owning a new home, having panic attacks and what it is to be an Asian woman living in Birmingham.

Sarah Windrum from the Emerald Group shares her story of how she led disruption in her IT business to adapt to new technologies and in the process caused communication and cultural challenges. She talks openly about how she brought the business back together and the need to listen to different ideas.

Cathy Wahlberg is one of the Directors of Alsters Kelley solicitors based in Warwickshire. She talks about how the recession in 2008 created uncertainty as every industry had to reform and adapt to new ways of working. Cathy talks openly about the need to upskill leaders and adapt to embrace the uncertainty created by a rapid pace of change.

Jude Jennison reads chapter fourteen Leading from the heart and soul from her book Leading Through Uncertainty.  She summarises the challenges we face in uncertainty, sharing the journey of her own uncertainty in looking after horses and running a business.  

Jude Jennison reads chapter thirteen on Being human from her book Leading through uncertainty.  She explains how important it is to accept our limits in uncertainty, to relinquish control and find ease and flow in our leadership.

Jude Jennison reads chapter twelve on Staying with the discomfort of uncertainty from her book Leading through uncertainty.  She explains how we often disconnect when it gets uncomfortable and how that causes us to erode trust and break relationships. When we trust in our capabilities, we trust that we can stay even when it gets uncomfortable.  

Jude Jennison reads chapter eleven on Building trust from her book Leading through uncertainty.  She puts forward the argument that Trust is a leadership choice. We can choose to trust I any given moment and choose not to trust. Notice how you build trust and the stories you hold around how long it takes.

Jude Jennison reads chapter ten on Connection and Support from her book Leading Through Uncertainty.  She explains how we connect and disconnect on and off in relationships to avoid the vulnerability of being seen. Notice how you connect and where you disconnect when things or situations are uncomfortable and uncertain.

Jude Jennison reads chapter nine on Listening and dialogue from her book Leading Through Uncertainty.  She explores the need to listen at a deeper level in uncertainty and different ways we can do that. She also articulates the need for dialogue as a way of deepening relationships, as much as to create new ideas.  

Jude Jennison reads chapter eight on Creating and shaping the future from her book Leading through uncertainty.  She explores how to pay attention at a deeper level to what is going on beyond the words being said and how to use external events to influence your direction.

Jude Jennison reads chapter seven on Creating the framework from her book Leading through uncertainty.  She explores how to create clarity, certainty and a framework for leading through uncertainty with more ease

Jude Jennison reads chapter six on Pain and trauma from her book Leading through uncertainty and explores how past experiences shape our leadership decisions and how organisational change creates trauma as people learn to adapt to the change.

Jude Jennison reads chapter five on Fear and Polarisation from her book Leading through uncertainty and explores how a desire to be safe and/or in control in uncertainty causes resistance. Resistance is a by-product of fear and causes polarisation.

Jude Jennison reads chapter four on Stress and Overwhelm from her book Leading through uncertainty and explains the need to manage the stress level of ourselves as well as our teams and organisation.

Jude Jennison reads chapter three of her book Leading through uncertainty and explains the importance of emotions in decision making and the need to use them as a source of information.

Jude Jennison reads out chapter two of her book Leading through uncertainty and explains the context of uncertainty, how technology is driving a rapid pace of change and the emotional disconnection experienced in work.

In season 2 of the Leading Through Uncertainty podcast Jude Jennison reads chapters of her book, explains why she wrote each chapter and unpicks it. In this episode, she reads the Introduction.

Saqib Bhatti became the youngest President of the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce in Birmingham when he was only 28 years of age. He shares his experience as an auditor in the banking crisis where people dismissed questions as preposterous that later turned out to be the crucial ones. Inspired by his father, a leading businessman in the West Midlands, Saqib role models curiosity and a desire to understand the point of view of people with different experience, skills and backgrounds.

Ron Carucci from Navalent shares his story of moving from the east to west coast of the US, taking his family with him, the challenges of taking on more than one role and the importance of reflection as part of our development as leaders. He explains that sometimes uncertainty is thrust upon us and sometimes we create our own uncertainty by the choices we make. I think that’s an interesting take because we often think uncertainty is completely out of our control, yet Ron argues, and for what it’s worth, I agree with him, he argues that we create uncertainty by instigating change.

Richard Edge is a Customer Development Controller at Mondelez. Richard’s story of uncertainty is both professional and personal as he shares his story of how he finally admitted to having a mental health issue some 18 months after struggling on in silence. He speaks candidly about the uncertainty of being open and honest about mental health as well as the uncertainty of returning to work after a 6 month period of absence. Richard’s story is both harrowing and heart-warming. This is a must for everyone to listen to.

Karen Walker is President of OneTeam and author of the book No Dumbing Down. She’s no stranger to uncertainty. She explains how she had the courage to leave a well-paid job in her early twenties to help set up Compaq, a company that grew exponentially in the 14 years she was there. She is a strong advocate for the development of people and teams to grow business. She has a wealth of wisdom and experience and shares it generously in this interview. Have a listen.

Chris Thurling talks about the importance of vulnerability and failure as a key part of the process of creativity and innovation. As the Executive Chairman of a creative marketing agency and the Chair of Bristol Media, you might expect Chris to be naturally creative but he explains creativity as being pertinent to every business and why we need to engage both head and heart in decision making.

Theo Millward, MD of Swimtime has all the passion and enthusiasm of a young entrepreneur but there’s no naivety in his business. It’s based on a vision for the future of humanity, pushing the boundaries of what is possible and grounded in the hard graft of execution. There is so much in this podcast to take away for every leader in business about challenging the status quo.

Transforming company culture is always challenging, especially when going from a family culture to a commercial one. Lynda Moore, Head of Talent and Development at the Bradfords group, explains how communication was key and has improved collaboration. She talks openly about the challenges of attracting a younger and more diverse employee and the impact that has on the business and the managers within it.

Alison Jones is the owner of Practical Inspiration Publishing and the host of her own highly successful and engaging podcast series called The Extraordinary Business Book club. Alison has a wealth of experience in publishing from being Director of Innovation Strategy at Macmillan to now running her own niche publishing company specialising in publishing business books.

Donna Warr is Head of Colleague Experience at Curo Housing Group, a Sunday Times Top 100 organisation based in Bath who provides housing in the Southwest of England. Donna talks about her experience of going through a restructuring programme in her previous company and how difficult it was due to the lack of communication throughout the process at a time of personal uncertainty shortly before going off on maternity leave. She used that experience to ensure that when she had to lead her own team through a similar process sometime later, she handled it very differently.

Laura Shuckburgh is the Associate Director of Ricketts Architects in Leamington Spa. Laura embraces uncertainty with ease. Knowing little about architecture when she joined the business, Laura has used her creativity in other ways and developed her role to include business development as well as the development of the people in the business. She admits to being an ideas person and recognises that most people are not keen on change. She talks about productivity, the need to slow down to be more effective and the value of coaching to align the team.

There is no interview this week. Instead, I share my experience of leading through uncertainty at my book launch, as well as explaining the background to the book that was published in May 2018. In the last 6 years working with horses, I’ve become comfortable with high levels of uncertainty. In parallel, as the pace of change has been accelerating, my clients have been learning to be more resilient in uncertainty, as well as becoming more comfortable and confident leading through it. That’s down to the work with horses so it was fitting that they would be at the book launch, sharing the experience with me. Have a listen and reflect on how uncertainty shows up for you and how you find support through it.  

Elinor Perry-Hall is the MD of Pentlands Accountants and Advisors. Elinor turns accountancy on its head by putting people at the heart of everything they do. She talks about the uncertainty created by a substantial brand development that her business has recently gone through and how it affected everything they do in the business.

Colin D. Smith is known as The Listener and specialises in teaching people to listen. Colin explains how we are taught to communicate through the forms of reading, writing and speaking which are ways that allow us to express ourselves. However, we are rarely taught to listen which is an essential skill for understanding and relating to the person doing the expressing! Learning to listen shifts the communication from self-expression to a two-way dialogue. I’d never thought of it in that way before.

Will Deane is a highly successful entrepreneur and the founder of a digital marketing agency called Unstoppable. The name says all you need to know about Will. It was wonderful to talk to him and experience his unstoppable energy. He is an entrepreneur through and through. His passion shines through for his customers and his work and he really understands the value of a team – not just his own internal team but also his ability to collaborate with other partners as well.

Vicki Wentworth is the Chief Customer Officer at Wesleyan Assurance. She’s had an outstanding career so far. Having started in the military, she developed her leadership skills early on in critical war situations and has brought all of those leadership skills into the financial services industry. It gives her a true, grounded self-confidence that you rarely see. In this interview, she shares some amazing stories of leadership – both in the military and at Wesleyan.

Mark Underwood is the MD of Staffline Recruitment, the largest recruiter in the UK with an employee base of 50,000 people. In this interview, we covered just about everything – from entrepreneurialism, innovation and creativity, to LEAN and process and procedures to psychological safety, communication, resilience and everything in between. Mark’s not just smart, he’s genuine, humble, honest and likeable.

Stephen Maddock OBE is the CEO of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. After 19 years as the CEO, you’d think there’s not much Stephen hasn’t seen but he explains the uncertainty of leading a world-class orchestra that relies on a mix of government funding (which has been slashed in the last few years), charitable donations and commercial income.

Kevin Watson is the MD of Amadeus, a catering company providing food to venues throughout the UK, with a strong base in the West Midlands, including the NEC and other arenas. Kevin was pushed into the deep end of uncertainty when only 3 weeks into joining Amadeus as the MD, he found himself leading through a crisis management situation. It probably helped him get off to a fast start in terms of getting to know the team but I’m sure he wouldn’t recommend such an experience. Every time I interview someone, I think what a fantastic person they would be to work for and Kevin was no exception. I do love a fast-paced challenging business and Kevin seems to thrive on the uncertainty Amadeus’ business. I hope you are inspired to explore how you can lead differently this week as a result of hearing Kevin speak. I certainly am.

Tim Kay is Lead for KPMG’s Tech and media practice in the Midlands (UK). Tim was tasked with exploring how KPMG could work more closely with tech startups in London several years ago and he shares some of the challenges that large organisations face in working with fast-paced entrepreneurial businesses. He’s honest about how uncomfortable it is when we don’t have all the answers and he openly admits the mistakes he made and how in hindsight he could have done things differently. I know he denies it but I think Tim’s a bit of a maverick. See what you think.

Gareth Parry is the CEO of Remploy, the UK’s leading disability specialist. Gareth talks about the benefits of inclusive workplaces, both physically and mentally and openly shares his personal experience of depression. His depression didn’t stop him becoming a CEO and he’s an inspiration to all of us that we can develop business and careers that are life-enhancing for individuals, businesses and communities, regardless of the circumstances.

Neil Henderson the CEO of Safeline, a charity that provides both support for sexual abuse victims as well as education to prevent it. Formerly on the board at Royal Mail, Neil talks candidly about the challenges of communicating change and taking responsibility to ensure everyone is aligned. Neil argues that running a charity is much like running a commercial organisation - you need to focus on key strategic imperatives, the numbers need to stack up and it’s all about the people. He makes it sound so easy. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.

While some people thrive on uncertainty, for others it can lead to stress and overwhelm. Everyone’s limit is different based on how comfortable they are operating out of the comfort zone. It is also dependent on the volume of workload in any given moment. We have a psychological need for safety and uncertainty threatens that. Consideration must be given to what is a reasonable and acceptable amount of pressure and this will vary on an individual basis. If we continue to demand more than people are able to deliver on a long-term basis, the rise in overwhelm, stress and burnout will continue its upward trend. 

Jane Austin is the Head of HR for Wave, a start-up business in the utility industry. Jane has experienced huge uncertainty in the last 18 months as the business has undergone massive change. She shares her passion for engaging people emotionally, the importance of communication and how to do it when you legally can’t! I was inspired by Jane’s ability to balance her enthusiasm for change with the understanding she has for the fact that change can be excruciating for others. She continually seeks ways to engage people, recognising that emotions need to be included as part of the process. Jane explains some key HR policy decisions she has made that would normally be considered unaffordable for a start-up. She explains the importance of being both strategic and operational in business and HR and why she believes investment in people policies is an ethical and moral obligation, as well as making good business sense. ©2018 Jude Jennison. All Rights Reserved.

Paul is the former CEO of Birmingham international airport and is now a Non-executive director of five different organisations. Paul has such a breadth and depth of business knowledge, not just limited to the aviation industry. We covered so many topics from running an airport to Brexit and democracy, novel-writing, risk management, business growth, the importance of having a professional team in place who are skilled in what they are doing and having a “childlike acquisition of knowledge”. Paul believes that “Managing uncertainty has got to be the number one thing for business managers today.” He thrives on uncertainty and is such a great advocate of developing the skills to lead through it.

In this podcast, Jude talks about the importance of emotions in business. She explores why we suppress them and how we can start to use them more skillfully as a source of information. We are emotional and intellectual beings. We have the capacity to both think and feel, and we are at our most effective when we bridge the gap between the two. Most people have developed the muscle of one over the other, yet truly effective decisions integrate both critical thinking and emotional feelings.

Martin Yardley is the Deputy Chief Executive of Coventry City Council and is Head of Place which covers anything from bins and potholes to strategic regeneration of the city. In the 9 years Martin has been in post, Coventry has seen massive change and business growth, and is unrecognisable from the concrete jungle that it once was. It may be down to him but he makes it clear that it’s a team effort. ©2018 Jude Jennison. All Rights Reserved.

Paul Faulkner is the CEO of Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce. As the UK’s second city, the Birmingham Chamber covers a huge area with 10 sub-divisions. With major business growth and the recently announced Commonwealth games coming to Birmingham in 2022, there is certainly a lot of change and uncertainty in the region. Paul seems to navigate it with apparent ease and talks about the resilience of his team in doing so too.  ©2018 Jude Jennison. All Rights Reserved.

Sue Grindrod is the CEO of Albert Dock in Liverpool. Sue is an advocate of being kind to yourself in the context of being realistic about what you can achieve. I think that’s laudable in a world of fast-paced change. It’s so easy to put ourselves under inordinate pressure. She talks a lot about balance – the balance between being a CEO and having a home life and interests outside of work, the paradox of being expected to have all the answers whilst working collaboratively and including people in the decision making, and the dichotomy of being strategic and also paying attention to the detail that is needed. ©2018 Jude Jennison. All Rights Reserved.

Nick Eastwood is the CEO and Deputy chair of WASPS rugby team. Nick has taken WASPS from a failing business in Buckinghamshire to a thriving business in Coventry in the heart of the Midlands. He talks openly about the challenge of making some tough decisions and the honesty required to engage people. From the moment I sat down with Nick, he showed such humility having overcome enormous challenges and achieved so much in turning around WASPS to the thriving team and venue it is today. I love his idea of making everything simple and he certainly role models that, as well as tenacity, teamwork, courage and so much more. ©2018 Jude Jennison. All Rights Reserved.

In this podcast, I explore the role of emotions when leading through uncertainty. I explore how we suppress or explode our emotions and how we can use self-awareness to regulate them and use them skillfully as a source of information. I also share how the horses invoke emotions and how people can learn from that experience.  ©2018 Jude Jennison. All Rights Reserved.

Sue Noyes is a non-exec director for multiple charities and the former CEO of the East Midlands Ambulance Service in the UK. In this podcast, Sue talks about the importance of operating according to a set of values. She explains that most challenges in organisations are due to the way people relate to each other and having values that the whole organisation work with, create a foundation for treating each other as human beings. Sue is a great believer in being the change you want to see. A fascinating insight into a CEO who integrates the head and the heart in her leadership. ©2018 Jude Jennison. All Rights Reserved.        

In this short podcast, I explain why technology has an impact on uncertainty, the emotional challenges we face as a result and the need to embrace them as part of leadership. I also introduce why I work with a herd of horses to help senior leaders and executives lead through uncertainty, how the horses respond and why they create such great learning. ©2018 Jude Jennison. All Rights Reserved.

Elizabeth Cronin is the Director of the New York State Victim Services department. A former lawyer, her team provide support for victims of crime, anything from domestic violence to mass shootings or events like 9/11. She understands the challenges faced daily by her team in leading through uncertainty where anything can happen at any time without warning. There are lots of leadership hints and tips for leading though uncertainty, whatever industry you are in. ©2018 Jude Jennison. All Rights Reserved.

Jude Jennison from Leaders by Nature explains the challenges we face when leading through uncertainty and sets the context for the Leading through uncertainty podcast series of interviews with business leaders. Jude provides strategic leadership solutions to large organisations as an author, speaker, executive coach and Horse Assisted Educator. ©2018 http://www.judejennison.com (Jude Jennison). All Rights Reserved.

Elizabeth Cronin is Director of the New York State Office of Victim Services. She was appointed in 2013 by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. She has had the most astonishing legal career, specialising in the prosecution of domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse and sex crimes and worked closely with crime victims. She continues her work now leading the organization that support victims of crime. As such, she applies her own knowledge of people and human behaviour to lead her team.  Elizabeth was the first person I interviewed for y previous podcast Leading through uncertainty, so it seems fitting that she kicks off this new podcast Rethinking Leadership Elizabeth is one of many leaders who have had to adapt rapidly to working remotely. What makes her work different from many though is the fact that her team are on the front line, supporting victims of crime, whilst dealing with the trauma of the Covid-19 pandemic on themselves and their families. The resilience and fortitude needed to do that is beyond my comprehension. How do you build resilience and fortitude in your team so you can adapt quickly, not just to Covid 19 but other disruptive change in the future?

©2020 www.judejennison.com

Corin Crane is the Chief Executive of the Black Country Chamber and came in to shake up the Chamber for the modern-day. Corin has been CEO at the Chamber for almost 4 years, with a team of 31 people and a £2m turnover. The Black Country is one of the most diverse regions on the planet and Corin passionately champions that diversity. 

The Chamber and Corin’s aim is to bring businesses together, find them new customers, new ways of working and shout when they are being held back or doing something amazing. I felt inspired after talking to Corin, confident that with the right energy and enthusiasm, regions can transform themselves for the future and business can too.  What’s the transformation that your organisation or team need to make to position you solidly for the future?

www.judejennison.com

Derek Redmond is a British World and European champion of the 4 x 400m relay, having raced extensively in the 1980s and 90s. He talks about how he and the relay team bucked the trend and took risks to gain the edge on their competitors, as well as overcoming injury and switching what he knew about sport to building a business. 

Derek role models the importance of having humility as a leader in business. He talks openly about his failures, learning from them and taking bold action as a way of having competitive edge. He has picked himself up repeatedly throughout his career and is one of the most warm-hearted people I’ve had the privilege to interview. How do you role model humility and resilience at work? How do create an environment where failure is part of the process of learning, both for you and your team? 

www.judejennison.com

Amanda Ling is the MD of SFM Limited. She talks about the challenge of transforming organisational culture when it is less tangible than transforming a business strategy. The way she runs her fascinating business shows the potential of focusing on people, profit and planet and how we need to integrate both critical logical thinking with the emotional connection of the heart.

Amanda truly embodies holistic leadership. Amanda is clear that if we want to transform the business culture, we need to be open and honest. I loved her story of three people in a room telling three different stories about the same thing. That is so common in conflict where every perspective is valid and subtly different and how easy it is to misunderstand people. Perhaps if we all listened more beyond the words, we could eradicate conflict and misunderstandings earlier. So much easier said than done though don’t you think? How do you resolve differences of opinion?  What changes need to be made in the culture of your organisation for everyone to thrive and what’s your first step?

www.judejennison.com

Andy Childerhouse is the CEO of Viewpoint. He talks about the transformation of a business that was close to failure to a thriving business today. He led the team to redefine the strategy, business model and product base, and crucially the organisation’s culture so that everyone was engaged in the transformation. 

Andy’s inclusive team approach shows how important it is to achieve results through relationships. His humility and transparency of communication were key to the business transforming in an agile way in a challenging environment. As we continue to deal with the Covid 19 pandemic, these skills are crucial for every business today. How do you bring people with you at times of extreme change and uncertainty?  How do create an environment where communication is transparent and based on collaboration, clarity and empathy?

www.judejennison.com

Piers Tincknell is the MD of AtomicSmash, a creative design agency. He talks about the need to adapt and see failure as part of the evolution of learning. He recognises that encouraging his team to learn, to innovate through trial and error is how the business can push boundaries and do great creative work through technology. 

Piers has such a balance between the art and science of using technology for innovation and he recruits and develops his team in the same way. I’m fascinated by how we blend creativity and logic, left and right brain, to solve some of the problems in the world. With technology being a fundamental part of how we live and work, we need to continually be curious about the world we live in and have the humility to recognise when something is not working. How do you balance creativity and logic? Which one might need more attention in your work or your team?

www.judejennison.com

Ahmed Farooq has been the CFO of Wesleyan Assurance for 5 years. He talks openly about his experience of being an ethnic minority leader in the workplace, about Ramadan, the vulnerability of being curious about other people and the discomfort of having honest and transparent conversations about race and diversity. 

Ahmed is such an inspiration and a great role model for future generations. His blend of attention to detail and nurturing others demonstrates his range as a CFO and the ability to bring out the best in others. I’m always talking about expanding our range because the more well-rounded we are as leaders, the more effective we can be in different situations. Perhaps that’s the key to embracing difference too? The more we stretch into new ranges, the more we can acknowledge it in others. Where do you need to expand your range as a leader? How can you embrace diversity in the workplace more?

www.judejennison.com

Denise Bobb is a highly established Portfolio Manager, leading complex change programmes for organisations across both the private and public sectors. I spoke to Denise about how we increase black engagement so that black businesses have a stronger voice as well as BAME employees not being overlooked in organisations. Denise makes it clear that a “spray and pray” approach to racism and black engagement is not going to cut it.

She’s advocating a structured systemic approach to educate everyone and that it must be on the agenda of every organisation. We need to plan it in a structured way just as we would a project. The need for greater openness and a willingness to “get it wrong” is crucial if we are to have some of the difficult conversations that need to be had in every workplace and community. There’s lots to be done. What are you doing in your organisation to promote BAME leaders? What are you doing in your community?

www.judejennison.com

Aaron McCormick is one of my more unusual podcast interviews. Born on the south side of Chicago to a difficult background, he developed an incredible career by bucking every trend and refusing to conform. Instead, he listened to his intuition and inner guidance to be in the 1% of “Best of Best” in IBM as well as running his own tech companies. Aaron’s energy is infectious. I found myself smiling and nodding a lot because he speaks to the need for balance and the polarity and complications of leading our lives.

Whilst he talks about listening to our inner guidance and not bowing down to external pressure, I personally know how difficult this is in practice. So many of us have learned to conform, to fit in and belong. If you’re not yet feeling in flow at work or in life, this podcast will encourage to spend more time introspectively. Where are you feeling out of balance? Where do you want more ease and flow? www.judejennison.com Aaron McCormick is the author of Unbounded - Journey to Your Within available from Amazon and other booksellers.

Sally Palethorpe is the Managing Partner of Inspired Partners, a change management consultancy. She talks about the need to support leaders and organisations through change, using her Other framework which provides the skills needed to lead change. She explains the challenges of changing behaviour and why change programmes fail when we ignore the human beings behind the change.

I loved Sally’s Other framework – tenacity rather than resilience. It’s so strange how we still refer to soft skills which are anything but. Some of the hardest skills we can develop are the soft skills. Empathy is tricky – too much empathy and you lose sight of what you are doing, too little and you lose people. Finding that perfect balance is one of the most difficult things you can do in change. How do you strike the balance of empathy and being human so you have the same clarity of direction in harmony with bringing people with you in a way that works for everyone?

www.judejennison.com

Adrian Packer CBE is the CEO of the Core Education Trust, who runs a number of academy schools in the Birmingham area. Adrian has a fascinating career, having started as a teacher at the Brit School, teaching pupils such as Amy Winehouse. He was given the unenviable task of turning around a number of failing schools. He’s keen to point out that academically the children were excellent but the governance and finances were all over the place. Here’s what he has to say about aligning a team in a crisis. I loved Adrian’s dogged determination balanced with a collaborative approach. Those two things might seem at opposite ends of the spectrum but I’m impressed by his ability to hold the polarity of strength and gentleness. He had “One Love” as his mantra, knowing that he had tough decisions to make and a variety of stakeholders with differing needs and opinions to manage. I think that speaks volumes about Adrian’s ability to lead and he’s honest about how challenging it is to lead a team in crisis. Where do you need to balance dogged determination with collaboration? Where might a “One Love” approach help you with tough decision-making? www.judejennison.com

Jane Ashcroft is the Chief Executive of the Anchor Hanover Group, England’s largest not-for-profit provider of housing and care for older people. Jane was awarded a CBE in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to older people, some 7 years ago but as you’ll hear, her passion and enthusiasm for older people has definitely not waned.

She talks about the importance of listening and collaboration as a CEO balanced with clarity, scorecards and compliance. I think that’s a tough balance to juggle that she seems to have mastered in her organisation.  Jane has encouraged me to think differently about ageing, both in the workplace and for me personally. She was so inspiring in her ideas. I enjoyed hearing about her Grip and Pace approach – the idea that we need to have a grip on the basics and approach change with the appropriate pace. I was struck by the idea that a diverse workforce that spans 4 or 5 generations can work collaboratively together if they have a shared passion and listen to each other’s points of view. That’s so crucial. How do you find the balance between scorecards, compliance and collaborative thinking? How do you encourage diversity of thought as the basis for getting results? 

www.judejennison.com

Rachel Repper led the COVID-19 response for the NHS Supply Chain. She was responsible for ensuring that hospitals had the right equipment to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. People’s lives literally depended on her decision-making. She talks about the challenges of leading in a crisis, the learning curve of working with a new and expanded team and how having a shared purpose generated focus and commitment. She’s frank about her limitations as a leader and aware that others can do things better than she can. Such an enlightened and important awareness to have when she was right at the sharp end of getting equipment out to the NHS right at the heart of the COVID-19 crisis.

The image I had talking to Rachel is that her mobile phone is like a brick, full of phone numbers of people she can call on, no matter what the crisis is. Building and using the power of your network is underestimated but Rachel recognises that she can’t solve problems alone and having that extended network literally in the palm of her hand enables her to make better decisions collaboratively. I find it a comforting thought to know that in our mobile phones we might just have the answers to all the world’s problems if we are open to reaching out to others. How willing are you to help others? How willing would they be to help you if you reached out to your network? How might you develop your network in a more collaborative way? Somebody’s life might just depend on it. 

www.judejennison.com

Deb Leary is the CEO of Forensic Pathways, a business she set up in 2001 after overhearing a chance conversation at a police conference. Deb has built her business on innovation, designing products and services that meet specific market needs in the security sector, despite having no prior experience in that market. She talks honestly about the need to know when to let go of products when they are not hitting the mark and to continually look forward, hone those products or develop something new. At a time when every business is having to adapt, it is crucial to consider what needs to be re-designed, dropped or created.

I loved Deb’s approach to building a team who are better than her, as well as the stories of the family rows they have had around the table. Wouldn’t you love to be a fly on the wall for those?  Seriously, I’m inspired by her ability to stay focused on pulling the team together despite their differences of opinion, and the ability to achieve a common goal whilst also providing space for the team to make mistakes. I particularly enjoyed her line: “You have to let your team breathe or you’ll stifle creativity.” With the current uncertainty, leaders and teams definitely need to find a more emergent and fluid way of working together, without the need to control. Where do you need to let go of control? What might creativity open up for you and your business?

www.judejennison.com

Jess Lonsdale is Internal Communications Director for Virgin Media. We discuss the importance of engaging in dialogue in a crisis to stay connected to employees. We also discuss the vulnerability of emotional connection, bringing your whole self to work, being more human in the workplace, changing the world, pushing boundaries, empowering others, resilience, and so much more!

My head was buzzing after talking to Jess. We covered so much – from remote working to being human. Jess’s warmth shines through and it shows that when there is the desire to create emotional connection, we can drop the masks and just show up as human beings. I love Jess’s view that we should try to change the world. I think if we all do a piece of that, we genuinely can. How does your work make a difference? In your team? Your business? And in the wider world? And how can you create a more human conversation in your team?

www.judejennison.com

Rachel Fletcher is the CEO of Ofwat, the water regulator for England and Wales. Rachel shares the challenges for the water industry of the increased demand for water and the expectations on the environment. She talks about collaboration with different companies, as well as local environmental groups, communities and end users. Partnerships and collaboration are the key to everyone being part of the solution, a message that is very relevant to other businesses and industries too. The subtlety of collaboration requires an ability to have humility, vulnerability and to relinquish control.

In talking to Rachel, I’m struck by the delicate balance of problem-solving in an emotionally intelligent way using data and science to inform and guide. Our world is no longer binary, so we need to work in a more systemic and distributed way so that everyone becomes part of the solution. I think this applies to any business and industry.  How can you collaborate with others outside of your team or organisation?

www.judejennison.com

Rebecca Mander is the Founder of GuruYou coaching. As an executive coach, she specialises in supporting people in business who are undergoing personal setback. None of us are strangers to personal setbacks. We all experience challenges in life and work. Rebecca is an inspiring leader who has turned her own personal setback into a business supporting others.  I first met Rebecca two years ago and I invited her to share her personal story on this podcast. Her story is both heartbreaking and inspirational. She has applied what she knows and it works.

I’m always struck by what it takes to bounce back from personal setback and how we all do it in different ways. Rebecca is one of the most warm-hearted, generous and giving people I’ve ever met. Her warmth always lifts a room. She’s a testament to the incredible human spirit and what we can overcome. The key thing is reaching out for support – something she does wholeheartedly as well as giving generously. I encourage you to do the same. What’s your biggest challenge and who might support you and give you a new perspective on it?

www.judejennison.com

Mary Gregory is a leadership consultant and coach and the author of the book Ego: Get over yourself and lead. We discuss the emotional side of change and the need to include the people side of change as a priority. Mary unpicks the ego in leadership and in relationships, exploring how it can be useful, as well as how it can get in the way. We discuss the shadow side of leaders, the importance of self-awareness and making conscious choices in service of the team and organisation.

Talking to Mary, I’m reminded of the importance of fine-tuning, to reflect on the choices we are making moment by moment in how we relate to others so that we get the best out of teams as well as bringing our best leadership to work. What small change might you make today to make you more effective as a leader?

www.judejennison.com

Lee Evans is the founder of Mind Power Solutions and coaches the British Army’s leadership as well as elite athletes and business owners. He talks about how fear is the biggest challenge that every leader faces and how we need to change our relationship with it, moving from avoiding it to working through and with it. We also talk about finding your flow and the importance of self-awareness, especially when you are out of your comfort zone. Lee’s story of working in Afghanistan where he didn’t live his value around listening was such a powerful one and a reminder of how difficult it is to balance different values and be inclusive where others may have a different set of values. I echo his belief that living values is a courageous act and defining them without living and breathing them is worse than not defining them at all.  How well are you living your values? What happens when your values are at odds with those in your team?

Contact Lee: www.highperformancegrowth.com

Contact Jude: www.judejennison.com

Sope Agbelusi is a leadership consultant and coach and founder of the business Mindset Shift and the podcast host of Everyday Leadership. We discuss the need for courage and vulnerability in order to be authentic and have an inclusive workplace. Sope outlines the steps needed to create an inclusive workplace and is clear that the conversation is just beginning.

I loved how Sope reminds us that creating an inclusive workplace and society doesn’t need to be a mountain to climb but to consider it a bridge to cross to create connection. That can fundamentally shift the way we approach it because when something feels enormous, there is a tendency to drop it and see it as too big a problem. Instead, the invitation is to look at which bridge we can build to support one person and one conversation.

Who would benefit from your ability to build bridges and create connection?

How might that shift the mindset, behaviour and culture in your organisation?

Jane Huntington is the Head of Application Development for Guide Dogs. I’ve worked with Jane and her team and I have some understanding of the complexity and volume of technological change that they are leading. Jane talks about using an agile way of working to lead change, continually taking the next step forward, reviewing progress and adapting quickly where needed. And of course, she reminds us that accessibility is critical when using technology so we don’t leave people behind. 

What Jane and the Guide Dogs team have done is enhance the way they communicate as a result of remote working. I love how they have a culture of learning something and building on what works and dropping what doesn’t. You can only innovate if you are willing to embrace trial and error. Jane is a reminder that we can use technology to deepen connections but it’s how we use it that matters. That of course is down to humans, to us as leaders. 

Who do you want to create a deeper connection with and how might technology enable that to happen? 

www.judejennison.com 

Bella Lewis-Smith is the founder and MD of Salad, a design and digital agency based in Dorset in the UK. Bella talks about the process of selling her business to become a 100% employee-owned business and the challenges she faced along the way. She explains how selling the business into an employee-owned trust enabled her to be much more honest about what she wants personally.

Even though Bella is still the MD, I can’t imagine how hard it was to let go of making all the decisions when the company was founded by her in the first place. That speaks volumes about her willingness to be bold and courageous, to work through the difficult conversations and build a deeper level of connection and trust in the process. Whether you are considering an employee-owned business model or not, there is much to take from her radical honesty and ability to bring people with her.

Where are you not being honest, either with yourself or with others?

What would you say if you spoke with the radical honesty that Bella mentions?

www.judejennison.com

Cathy Brown is the Chief Executive of i-SE, a social enterprise that provides business support services for social enterprises in the West Midlands. Cathy brings a wealth of experience from both the commercial sector as well as social enterprises and social movements. We discuss the importance of having a strong sense of purpose in an organisation and the importance of social value in business.

Talking to Cathy, I’m struck by how everything comes down to connection and communication. If we build good relationships and we communicate effectively, we can do great work in the world that has a positive impact on society. That sounds so easy yet we all know how tricky relationships and communication can be!

The purpose of my own business is to enable people to thrive at work through connection and communication. I wonder if we switched our perspective to enabling humans to thrive, we might deliver work that was more purposeful and ultimately lead the change we need to see in the world

What change do you want to see in the world and how does your work lead or support that change?

www.judejennison.com

Rich Horth is Operations Director for Adecco, a large recruitment agency with 80 offices throughout the UK. Rich talks about the great resignation, how that creates a candidate-led market and what that means for employers. With the highest number of vacancies ever seen, Rich talks about the importance for organisations to look after their employees and keep people engaged. He shares some of the things they do at Adecco to make work more fun.

It's easy to think that people leave their job for more money but all the research shows that people leave because of their manager. Not every organisation can pay top salaries so I’m glad Rich offered some alternatives that show people that the organisation cares about them. Ultimately if we know the job market is candidate-led and people are looking for more purpose and a greater sense of enjoyment in their role, every manager needs to consider how they can create that for their team. We don’t need to keep people in jobs they don’t want to be in so sometimes people moving can be an opportunity to do things differently.

Who in your team is disengaged and what might you do differently to either re-engage them or reorganise the way you lead your team?

www.judejennison.com

Sarah Foster is the Managing Director of Comply Direct, an environmental consultancy and compliance business. She is also the author of Yabba Dabba Do It, a book on self-confidence. Sarah shares her three steps to self-confidence – Prepare, Do and Review. We also talk about the environment, of course, Sarah’s business is based on it but we also discuss relationships, emotional intelligence, boundaries and so much more!

I love how Sarah brings everything back to confidence because, at our heart, we’re all ethical and responsible and want to do great work. We often know what we want to say and do, but when things get tricky, we can so easily get pushed off course and modify our behaviour based on other people’s expectations. Ture collaboration is when we have the confidence to show up fully with what we think and feel and work through differences of opinion that may exist with others.

Where are you holding back? What differences of opinion need to be resolved? Trust in your self-confidence and show up fully today. You might even surprise yourself! 

Topics covered:

• The environment
• Cop 26
• Environmental consultancy
• Sustainability
• Three steps to self-confidence – Prepare, do, Review
• Confidence to say no

 

Other free resources:

• Take the Team Performance Scorecard and discover the 12 hidden dynamics of your team’s performance
• Join our monthly Team Performance webinars
• Download White papers
• Sign up for our Weekly Leadership Hints and Tips
• Connect with Jude Jennison on Linked In

www.judejennison.com

Phill Elston is Operations Director of Brompton Bicycle and is responsible for leading the manufacturing organisation in the production of the famous Brompton bicycles. Phill joined the company because his values were aligned, and he felt able to express himself. He talks about the importance of being driven not being at the expense of having joy and fun and seeing a team as an organism. He has a special way of bringing his team together called ‘Rum and Coke’ that has transformed the relationships and results.

I enjoyed hearing about Phill’s leadership style and the way he encourages his team to be themselves. I particularly loved his phrase: “I like being myself because it takes fewer calories’! So true! The ongoing and constant disruptive change people are experienced often leads to fear and Phill’s approach to helping his team navigate those fears is refreshing. If we can encourage people to be themselves and show up fully, we can resolve tension and differences of opinion more quickly before they build out of proportion.

What are you currently concerned about? What would the authentic version of you think, say and do?

Topics covered:

• Leading a team
• Being driven to create results by having fun
• Authenticity
• Transforming a team
• Remote working and collaboration
• Teamwork in sports and the Marines

Other free resources:

• Take the Team Performance Scorecard and discover the 12 hidden dynamics of your team’s performance
• Join our monthly Team Performance webinars
• Download White papers
• Sign up to our Weekly Leadership Hints and Tips
• Connect with Jude Jennison on Linked In

www.judejennison.com

Dr Mersha Aftab is the co-host director for MA Design Management courses at Birmingham City University. She specialises in design leadership within large organisations, exploring how designers design and lead strategically in business. We discuss how designers have a voice and a platform to give them the agency to lead even though they don't have the position in an organisation. We cover emotional intelligence, designing the future and the skills needed to act as a bridge between user experience, technology and business.

I like the idea that design management is the bridge between design and business, enabling business to create meaningful products for customers. I’m also struck by the reminder that professionals need to develop new skills in every part of the business. In this case, design thinking requires business to explore business viability, functionality through technology, and desirability from the user experience side. And it's the perfect combination of these three things that make a good product or a good service. And that at the heart of all of this is the emotional intelligence to explore things from different points of view and collaborate effectively together.

How do you ensure that business, technology and user experience or employee experience all come together in a seamless way in your business?

Topics covered:

• Design management
• Collaboration
• Human-centred design
• Emotional intelligence
• User experience

Other free resources:

• Take the Team Performance Scorecard and discover the 12 hidden dynamics of your team’s performance
• Join our monthly Team Performance webinars
• Download White papers
• Sign up for our Weekly Leadership Hints and Tips
• Connect with Jude Jennison on Linked In

www.judejennison.com

Tara Rule is the Senior Director of Commercial Strategy Go to Market and Operations at Adobe, responsible for looking at how Adobe make smart commercial decisions. Tara manages to juggle her full-time role as a director in a fast-paced global business with launching a leadership programme, being a working mum as well as a professional coach. She talks about the importance of curiosity in leadership, the power of having a positive mindset without sugar-coating reality and how we need to look after our teams. And much more!

Tara is so inspirational. Her energy appears to be boundless and she seems to have worked out how to focus on what is critical so she can achieve many things without burning herself out. I also liked the fact that the leadership programme she has implemented doesn’t require one person to do everything. It spreads the load by including many people and enables leaders to collaborate, think creatively and be empowered to shape things.

How do you empower your team to be a part of the solution, both the design and the implementation? How could you take more pressure off yourself by not having all the answers?

 

Topics covered:

• Coaching in business
• Curiosity
• Developing leaders
• Working mum
• Collaboration

Other free resources:

• Take the Team Performance Scorecard and discover the 12 hidden dynamics of your team’s performance
• Download White papers
• Sign up to our Weekly Leadership Hints and Tips
• Connect with Jude Jennison on Linked In 

www.judejennison.com

Tony Langham is the Executive Chair and co-founder of Lansons, a reputation management and public relations firm based in London and New York. We discuss the importance of approaching reputation management as the way people perceive each other and companies. With an increased focus on ESG, Tony explains how companies need to change their behaviour to stay relevant. We also discuss anti-racism, balancing tension with comfort and much more!

I loved Tony’s explanation of balancing adrenaline and tension with comfort in order to create change, and engage employees (including yourself!) without leading to chaos and burnout. It’s a delicate balance that many organisations and leaders are grappling with today. It’s also good to hear a white male championing anti-racism and understanding the changes in behaviour that are required to do so. After 33 years of leading a business and a team, Tony really understands what makes people tick and goes the extra mile to make his organisation one of the UK’s Great Places to Work.

Where do you need to find more balance? What changes in your behaviour would make your team or organisation a great place to work?

Topics covered:

• Reputation management
• Behavioural change
• Balancing adrenaline, tension and comfort
• Anti-racism
• Inclusivity
• Purpose
• Partnership

Other free resources:

• Take the Team Performance Scorecard and discover the 12 hidden dynamics of your team’s performance
• Download White papers
• Sign up for our Weekly Leadership Hints and Tips
• Connect with Jude Jennison on Linked In

www.judejennison.com

Gillian Bailey is the Operations Director for Maintel, a technology organisation. We talk about the backdrop of the pandemic, as well as economic and political uncertainty and how all of these impact employees as well as business. Gillian explains how Maintel is handling hybrid working and the challenge of balancing the needs of a business with the needs of employees. We discuss the complexity of leading an organisation and developing middle managers to create business results in harmony with the physical and emotional well-being of employees.

I’m struck by the courage that it takes for a senior leader like Gillian to put a stop to certain projects in order to focus on the key priorities. Many leaders I talk to at the moment are struggling to prioritise because everything is deemed to be important. We can’t execute as fast as we can create new ideas so it takes awareness, humility and empathy to recognise when to say no and how to make sure the key priorities are aligned all the way through the organisation. Gillian’s humility in recognising that she’s not got it all perfect is refreshing. That humility opens the door for a better quality of conversation.

Where do you need to say no? What would you prioritise if you accepted that you can’t do it all? 

Topics covered:

• Middle management
• Hybrid working
• Connection
• Stabilising change
• Prioritisation
• Saying no 

Other free resources:

• Take the Team Performance Scorecard and discover the 12 hidden dynamics of your team’s performance
• Download White papers
• Sign up for our Weekly Leadership Hints and Tips
• Connect with Jude Jennison on Linked In

www.judejennison.com

Anne Shaw is the Executive Director for Transport For West Midlands. She talks about the challenge of managing a variety of stakeholder groups, from users to transport providers, the government, as well as her own team. She explains that change can be positive or negative for people by how well we engage and include them in the process and decisions. Anne recognises the need to balance the needs and desires of everyone, with the primary focus on the end users who rely on the transport services to ensure they are able to access health, jobs, school and other daily activities.

Anne has certainly sold the transport industry to me, making it sound exciting with change, innovation, diversity, technology, people and variety at its core. It’s a reminder that when we are curious and passionate about change, it’s much easier to inspire and be inspired. Anne talks about the need to be clear about the purpose behind change in order to help people navigate the emotions and uncertainty with curiosity. Some of the most uninspiring things we have to do could be more motivating by changing how we approach them.

What’s the purpose of the change you are experiencing? and how do you use that purpose to motivate yourself and others?

Topics covered:

• Purpose
• Change
• Transport industry
• Birmingham Commonwealth Games transport
• Leading change
• Being on the receiving end of change
• Engaging stakeholders
• Including users in the decisions and process of change

Other free resources:

• Take the Team Performance Scorecard and discover the 12 hidden dynamics of your team’s performance
• Download White papers
• Sign up for our Weekly Leadership Hints and Tips
• Connect with Jude Jennison on Linked In

www.judejennison.com

Ann Hiatt is a Leadership Strategy Consultant working with scale-up companies to create rapid growth. Ann talks about personal and professional change and the skills needed to navigate the uncertainty of change. She advocates a need for an “insatiable curiosity” and draws on her experience of working with Jeff Bezos at Amazon to demonstrate how companies can grow through a recession through innovation and technology. I particularly liked her phrase “Having talented people is more important than a solid business plan because your business plan can pivot but you need talented people to deliver it.”

I’m impressed by Ann’s ability to balance being a perfectionist with her willingness to fail in order to learn and apply the learning in innovation. She draws on Carol Dweck’s book ‘Growth Mindset’ to explain the importance of seeing failure as an opportunity to learn, even though it is excruciatingly painful at times! As we continue to lead change in organisations in a context of economic and political instability, as well as a cost of living crisis, having the resilience and growth mindset to lead through uncertainty becomes ever more critical.

Where could you have an insatiable curiosity? Where is the opportunity for you to learn from failure?

Topics covered:

• Curiosity
• Rapid growth
• Psychological safety
• Failing to learn vs being a perfectionist
• Carol Dweck’s book ‘Growth Mindset’
• Humility, vulnerability
• Innovation

Other free resources:

• Take the Team Performance Scorecard and discover the 12 hidden dynamics of your team’s performance
• Download White papers
• Sign up for our Weekly Leadership Hints and Tips
• Connect with Jude Jennison on Linked In

www.judejennison.com

Suzi Archer is the Staff Director at Huler.io, a fast-growing HRtech company. Suzi’s creative approach to HR policies and procedures has resulted in a more human interaction with employees at Huler. By ripping apart the employee handbook, she's created a culture where people can be themselves both inside and outside of work. 

Suzi shows that by prioritizing employee well-being, balancing technology with human touchpoints, and setting clear objectives, Huler has created a culture of engagement, productivity, and profitability.

As always, I love how technology and people come together and Suzi is definitely an advocate for using technology to enhance human connection in the workplace. Suzi talks passionately about Huler and it’s so inspiring to hear someone who clearly has a passion for the business, the people and the role that she has to play in it.

What are you passionate about? How does that influence how and where you work? How might you inspire those around you to work more purposefully? 

Topics covered:

• HR tech
• People-first culture
• authenticity
• Work-life integration
• Wellbeing
• Purpose
• Human connection

Other free resources:

• Take the Team Performance Scorecard and discover the 12 hidden dynamics of your team’s performance
• Download White papers
• Sign up for our Weekly Leadership Hints and Tips
• Connect with Jude Jennison on Linked In

www.judejennison.com

Julie Chakraverty is the founder of Runway, a platform that facilitates employee feedback in organisations. Julie explains how Runway allows employees to voice concerns either anonymously or openly, ensuring a safe space for dialogue. She explains that the platform is predominantly used by companies undergoing change, with common themes around organisational and process change.

Julie shares some shocking insights from Runway's data that show that women and people of colour are more likely to use the platform's anonymity feature. Without Runway, many of these people silence themselves and conform.

If organisations really want to lead change, be inclusive and engage their employees, they need to provide an opportunity for people of colour in particular to engage anonymously so their concerns are heard, understood and included. Otherwise, minority groups continue to conform.

I was especially struck by Julie saying “It's one thing to say, my door is always open. It's another to be sure that people have got the personal courage to walk through it.”

How are you creating a safe space for employees to engage fully and honestly without fear of blame or judgment? How do you ensure everyone has the courage to articulate what’s important to them in the workplace?

Topics covered:

• HR tech
• Employee listening
• Engaging employees through change
• Inclusive conversations

Other free resources:

• Take the Team Performance Scorecard and discover the 12 hidden dynamics of your team’s performance
• Download White papers
• Sign up to our Weekly Leadership Hints and Tips
• Connect with Jude Jennison on LinkedIn

www.judejennison.com

Show Notes

Leading Through Uncertainty podcast celebrates its 100th episode and this time I’m talking about my journey with uncertainty and why we need different skills.

I share stories of how I came to talk about uncertainty, how I have led through uncertainty, some of the challenges I’ve faced and how I’ve overcome them. 

I also share stories of the horses, how working with them has given me the skills to be comfortable with the discomfort of uncertainty and continually ask: “What’s needed now?” so I can respond to the uncertainty of change in service of everyone.

How might you get more comfortable with the discomfort of uncertainty?

Topics covered:

• Leading through uncertainty
• Leading through fear
• Team dynamics
• Change 

Other free resources:

• Buy the book Leading through uncertainty
• Take the Team Performance Scorecard and discover the 12 hidden dynamics of your team’s performance
• Download White papers
• Sign up to our Leadership Hints and Tips
• Connect with Jude Jennison on Linked In

www.judejennison.com

 

Graham Todd, Co-founder of Spaghetti Agency, a digital marketing company talks about his transformative journey from struggling with alcohol to adopting a healthier lifestyle. He explains the moment he realised how excessive his drinking habits were and how that realisation led him to quit alcohol.

Todd explains the positive changes he experienced after focusing on his fitness, including improving his health, productivity, and being more present as a parent. He’s an advocate of self-reflection and addressing the root causes of stress rather than resorting to alcohol as a prop.

Todd’s journey is inspiring from the moment he decided to quit and how he kept at it, continually improving his health by adding new habits one at a time. He’s not suggesting it’s for everyone but for anyone wanting to do Dry January, Todd certainly provides lots of good reasons and plenty of inspiration.

What props do you turn to when under pressure? And how might your life and work improve if you made your physical and mental health a priority?

Topics covered:

• Quitting alcohol
• Healthy living
• Transformational change
• Better sleep
• Hydration
• Personal growth
• Physical and mental health

Other free resources:

• Buy the book Leading through uncertainty
• Take the Team Performance Scorecard and discover the 12 hidden dynamics of your team’s performance
• Download White papers
• Sign up to our Leadership Hints and Tips
• Connect with Jude Jennison on Linked In

www.judejennison.com