If you’re looking for inspiration about making a difference in today’s society, look no further. Dame Julia Unwin was Chair of the Inquiry into Civil Society Futures, which published in 2018. In the same year she wrote a report on The Role of Kindness in Public Policy for the Carnegie Trust. For ten years she was chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, where she was the driving force behind the 2016 report “UK Poverty: Causes, costs and solutions.” Julia thinks that we need “a fundame...
Apr 02, 2020•41 min•Ep. 20
Mark Michaux Brown is a coach, and author of the book ‘Outward Bound Lessons to Live a Life of Leadership’, former director of corporate potential at Grappone Automotive Group and before that course director at Voyageur Outward Bound School. His is a fascinating story, because he has used the transformative potential of Outward Bound to change his own life as well as that of others. Mark spent 22 years at Outward Bound, which is an international organisation with a presence in 30 countries aroun...
Mar 19, 2020•44 min•Ep. 19
This is Chris’s second podcast with Sarah. In the first, which is episode seven of this series, you can hear her backstory, some of her work-related achievements, and her approach to learning and to self-care. They gave this podcast the somewhat ambitious title of “the leader as philosopher, learner and listener” and imagined that it might be more of a conversation than an interview. Sarah has said previously that our politicians are no longer philosophers. She believes this matters because we l...
Mar 05, 2020•34 min•Ep. 18
Dr Nate Regier is a trained clinical psychologist who has built a business on a beautiful idea. Diversity is a fundamental characteristic of the human race and an inevitable consequence of that diversity is conflict. He discovered in the work of Michael Meade that compassion is the mechanism that transforms conflict from a destructive force into a creative force. Nate is Founder and CEO of Next Element, a global advisory firm specializing in leadership communication, and author of two books: Bey...
Feb 20, 2020•29 min•Ep. 17
Marie Cooper is Chief Executive of engineering business CBE Plus Group. Right now she finds herself stalking Jenson Button on Twitter with a view to him participating in a Get up to Speed with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths) event. CBE Plus Group was assembled in 2016 by Marie and Chris Brown, her chief operating officer, who provides the technical expertise behind the organisation. The four businesses within the group comprise CNC machining, electroless-nickel plating, labora...
Feb 06, 2020•32 min•Ep. 16
Professor Rob Copeland is Director of The Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC) in Sheffield and Professor of Physical Activity and Health at Sheffield Hallam University. Rob is a keen cyclist. He says “if it’s going to be a good day, it’ll start with a bike ride…” He arrived at the studio having just played host to Andy Anson, the new CEO of the British Olympic Association. That meeting focused on the work that Rob and colleagues across the city have been doing on the Olympic legacy, suppor...
Jan 23, 2020•36 min•Ep. 15
Lara Bundock is founder and chief executive of The Snowdrop Project, a charity that supports survivors of human trafficking. Her Twitter page describes her as a “speaker, adventurer, actress, human rights advocate – embracing a life of faith, expecting the unexpected.” So far ‘the unexpected’ has included advising the government of Turmenistan on how they can support the NGOs in their country to address human trafficking, and interviews with displaced persons in Libya against a backdrop of gunfi...
Jan 16, 2020•43 min•Ep. 14
Michael West is professor of work and organisational psychology at Lancaster University and visiting fellow to the King’s Fund, the NHS think tank. How did he come to those appointments? He observes that careers often unfold rather than are preplanned. After university he worked in a coalmine for a year. There safety and mutual support were prominent features of the culture. When he returned to university, the experience led him to take a particular interest in teamwork in organisations. His 35-...
Jan 02, 2020•36 min•Ep. 13
Tracy Allen is Chief Executive of Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust (DCHS), a primary care trust with 4,000 staff. Tracy was recruited to the NHS Management Scheme straight out of university and, apart from a brief spell in academia, has worked for the NHS throughout her career, close to 30 years. For the first 20 years she worked mainly for secondary (acute) trusts but for the past 10 years she has specialised in primary (community) healthcare. She established DCHS in 20...
Dec 19, 2019•33 min•Ep. 12
Lisa Leighton is joint Managing Partner of BHP Accountants, who have 350 staff in five offices across Yorkshire. They are the only Sheffield business named in The Sunday Times Best 100 Middle-Sized Companies to Work For. They have tripled in size in the last ten years. They act primarily for SMEs, but also in the healthcare sector, and for charities and not-for-profit organisations. Their strap line is “Reassuringly Straight Laced”, a phrase that reflects the personality of a business which has ...
Nov 14, 2019•40 min•Ep. 11
Tony Stacey is Chief Executive of South Yorkshire Housing Association, who own over 6,000 homes in the Sheffield travel to work area. There are around 1,000 housing associations in the country. SYHA is a standout: the social housing regulator has made a case study of it on account of the scope and impact of the initiatives that it has taken in service of its tenants. They answer their ‘why’ question by saying that “with SYHA, you can settle at home, live well, and realise your potential.” They m...
Oct 31, 2019•3 sec•Ep. 10
Nancy Fielder is editor of The Star, Sheffield Telegraph and Doncaster Free Press. She is the first woman to edit a newspaper in Sheffield. If you check out her social media feeds, football, art and the built environment emerge as themes. Of these, it’s the built environment she is most passionate about – “the city really needs to move forwards but has got a lot worth protecting.” She was nominated for the podcast by Dan Hayes, the Star’s business reporter. Does she think of herself as a compass...
Oct 17, 2019•34 min•Ep. 9
Hugh Facey OBE is Chairman of Gripple and of the Glide group. In 2014 Management Today ran an article on him entitled “Is Hugh Facey Britain’s best boss?” and he has appeared on BBC’s The One Show. His career started at Tinsley Wire. He set out on his own with Estate Wire in 1984 and then sold it five years later to fund Gripple, the wire connector that he invented. 30 years on, the Glide group that he chairs is now some 1,000 strong and Gripple is known throughout the UK manufacturing sector as...
Oct 01, 2019•32 min•Ep. 8
Sarah is Managing Director of Thrive Consulting Collaborative. She has a side hustle, Love Work More, with friend Richard Ferguson. Thrive is based on the premise that we all have enough time to prosper and works with organisations and leaders to achieve this. Love Work More provides people with tactics and strategies to find a working life that they love. Sarah originally qualified as a lawyer then moved into legal recruitment. After an MBA she moved into senior roles in professional services m...
Aug 29, 2019•41 min•Ep. 7
In this show, Chris Whitehead turns the tables on Chris Hill. Chris regularly interviews young people in a ‘Dragons’ Den’ environment in his role as CEO of Element Society. Element Society is a charity that “empowers young people to make a positive change in their communities.” Over 2,700 young people have participated in the programme since its inception six years ago. Element Society facilitates young people to tackle social issues that the young people believe are important. At the moment tho...
Aug 15, 2019•23 min•Ep. 6
As a child growing up overseas, Danyal Sattar witnessed destitution at first hand. It was a profound experience that has coloured his life’s work. Having worked for Joseph Rowntree and the Esme Fairbairn Foundation he now heads up Big Issue Invest, providing finance to small and medium sized social enterprises, all of which positively influence the lives of people across the UK. He is CEO of Big Issue Invest, the social investment arm of The Big Issue, the magazine for homeless and vulnerably ho...
Aug 08, 2019•51 min•Ep. 5
Jodie started her own law firm, Thrive Law, at 29 and 15 months later she has 10 staff. Thrive Law is a specialist law firm, based in Leeds. The company specialises in employment law, with a focus on HR and mental health in the workplace. She graduated from Leeds Beckett in law in 2009, trained as a barrister and a solicitor, became qualified while working for Milners and at the same time started lecturing in law part time. She has worked pro bono for Mind and has been elected a Fellow of the Ro...
Aug 01, 2019•26 min•Ep. 4
Adrian Brown wrote the foreword to the book Compassionate Leadership. After running a series of design agencies, he joined his father's medical devices business. He deployed his design skills to reinvent the business, putting an emphasis on clinician education and training. He has also deployed his communication skills internally, creating a culture that is open and engaging. His leadership style involves trusting his team, empowering them and "a lot of listening." He maintains that the written ...
Jun 24, 2019•21 min•Ep. 3
Laurie Cottam is director and owner of Race Cottam Architects (RCA). Before he was an architect he toured the world singing with Oxford a capella singing group 'Out of the Blue.' A comparatively young leader in terms of his profession he is learning his trade alongside running the practice. He worked in London for a number of years before moving north to work alongside his father, Dave, one of the two founders of the practice. He describes how the narrowing window of opportunity for him to work ...
Jun 10, 2019•22 min•Ep. 2
Auriel Majumdar is a coach, thinker, speaker, teacher and poet. She is a regular broadcaster, recently featuring on the BBC's Naked Podcast. Formerly a senior manager with a local authority she gave up a well-paid secure corporate job to follow her heart and pursue a more satisfying portfolio vocation. She describes the pivotal event that catalysed the change. It was liberating, fabulous and traumatic in equal measure. Several years on she has a newfound sense of creativity and playfulness. She ...
May 27, 2019•42 min•Ep. 1
