The Brave Next Step

In this episode, I’m exploring observation as a leadership skill, and why being too close to a team, habit or way of working can make important patterns almost impossible to see. A recent conversation with a former boss...

In this episode, I’m exploring the difference between pressure that drains us and pressure that actually helps us perform better. It started with something as simple as swimming, where I noticed that the targets I was...

In this episode, I’m exploring the psychology underneath delegation and why it is about far more than giving someone a clear brief and trusting them to get on with it. I’m looking at dependence, independence and...

In this episode, I’m getting practical about upward influence and what actually helps an idea land with senior decision-makers. Building on the last episode, I’m looking at Yukl and Tracey’s influence tactics and the...

I’ve had to learn this one the hard way: having a good idea does not automatically mean people will get behind it. For years, I often went straight to the decision maker, trusted the quality of my thinking to do the...

In this episode, I’m exploring why effective leadership is not about finding one perfect style and sticking to it. The people we lead are constantly changing, so the way we show up needs to change too. Someone who...

I’m reflecting on one of the hardest questions in leadership: what do you do when there is no obvious right answer? After a decision in my own business did not work out as planned, I found myself asking not what I...

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been doing more things alone, from attending a wedding solo to driving across Germany and exploring Munich by myself. None of it felt completely comfortable, but that was exactly the...

In this episode, I’m exploring self-authorisation, what it really means, and why it matters so much in leadership and life. I share one of the hardest decisions I made as a teenager, when I chose to protect my own...

What if the thing holding your message back is not what you are saying, but how you are breathing while you say it? In this episode, I’m joined by Melissa Thom, founder of Brava, to explore what leaders can learn from...

Why do people resist change, even when the change is positive? In this episode, I’m exploring how the brain’s bias towards threat detection can shape behaviour at work, and why resistance, disengagement or conflict may...

When we talk about breaking a habit, we often make change feel like a battle. In this episode, I’m exploring why words such as stopping, removing and giving something up can create resistance before we have even begun...

In this episode, I’m continuing what has accidentally become a three-part mini series on psychological safety, trust, and what leaders can do when something in the team feels off. I talk through why it is so important...

In this episode, I’m talking about trust, and honestly, how have we got to episode 60 without giving it its own moment? After last week’s reflections on psychological safety, I wanted to pull apart the difference...

In this episode, I’m sharing a reflective learning moment from one of my most extreme leadership testing grounds, supporting my son in his ambitions as an athlete. It has had me thinking deeply about psychological...