Leading Through Uncertainty

Donna O'Toole is the Founder of August Recognition, a business dedicated to helping other businesses to win awards as part of their marketing strategy. Donna and her team advise on the strategic timing of award entries, leveraging past successes, and aligning award participation with business goals. Donna also talks about her own challenges as a business leader, including navigating uncertainty, adapting to change, and providing clarity to her team. I’ve entered and won awards in the past but Donna has explained how much more there is to creating a compelling entry. I particularly loved her award personas and the fact that mindset and different perspectives are also a key component to being successful. I’ve worked with Donna and her team over several years and seen her grow her business substantially. Their dedication to helping their clients demonstrate credibility and achievements is exemplary. Donna’s ability to balance business ambition with empathy ensures she gets the best from and for her team, enablin

Eman Al-Hillawi is the CEO of Entec Si, a business change management consultancy. Eman discusses the challenges her business faced during the pandemic, including the financial strain and the emotional impact of redundancies. She reflects on the importance of relationships and the need to balance business growth with nurturing the team. The conversation also covers the shift to hybrid working and the significance of trust and flexibility in the workplace. Eman is such an inspiration and I love the parallels between managing uncertainties as a pilot and in business and the importance of preparation, risk assessment, and adaptability. Having worked with Eman over a number of years, I know how hard it has been for her to navigate the challenges of recovering from the pandemic. Her resilience and honesty are inspiring. So many businesses have had some tough challenges since 2020 with recovery from the pandemic, as well as navigating new innovation and new ways of working, and yet so often people have struggled alo

Chad Foster is a keynote speaker who became blind at the age of 21 due to an eye condition, retinitis pigmentosa. Chad had a dream as he was growing up to be in the medical field but had to change this due to his eyesight and ended up going to Harvard Business School and became the first executive to graduate from their leadership programme. I feel grateful for having had the chance to interview Chad. He is genuinely a wonderful human being who has this incredible sense of purpose and meaning as a result of going blind at the age of 21. I love how the tough love that Chad learned from his father is in Chad’s words today. He speaks with such clarity and his words felt like an arrow to the heart, not in a cheesy way but his straight-talking truths hit me hard at moments and make me want to be more ambitious and a better person. In Chad’s words: “The stories we tell ourselves about our circumstances either limit us or propel us towards our goals.” You can find out more about Chad on his website www.chadefoster.c

Fabrice Desmarescaux  is a Partner at McKinsey and works with CEO’s and their teams to increase in their performance and effectiveness. He also creates the next generation of leaders working with team members who are not yet on the executive committee. He talks about the benefits of retreats for his clients and how slowing down and being in nature can have a positive impact. Fabrice tells us the importance of changing the environment and where the team work together helps to see the world in a different way. When immersed in nature Fabrice explains how leaders can deal with uncertainty differently. As someone who works with a herd of horses in nature, I certainly resonate with everything Fabrice talks about. I found myself slowing down and getting really present with Fabrice and my nervous system calming. I’m someone who often works at 300 mph and taking time to be really present is such a gift. For anyone who is sceptical about slowing down, I love how Fabrice explains that nature demonstrates the abili

Daniel Astarita is the Managing Director of Kesslers, a business that he bought when it went into administration. He’s also MD of a London-based mannequin business, having bought the assets from another business that had also gone into liquidation. He explains how he took a risk to run the business in a different way. Instead of chasing revenue and profit in isolation, he realised that retail needs to be an experience for the consumer, particularly after the impact of COVID-19 on retail. Regardless of the sector you are in, there is so much to learn from listening to Dan’s story and leadership. What really comes across when talking to Dan is how much he cares about the people and sees them as being fundamental to the success of the business. I love that he encourages his staff to ask questions and seek guidance as much as possible. Having space to be curious is so critical. Dan was open about his leadership, his desire for fairness and honesty and spoke about the emotional toll it took on him when dealing wi

Wendy Dean is the CEO of Strategi Solutions, a business consultancy offering services around people, creative and marketing. She talks about the anxiety that comes when thrust into the uncertainty of major change and how she looks for opportunities and generates new ideas to turn uncertainty into certainty. Wendy reminds us that excitement and fear are physiologically the same and therefore how we can choose how we consider the uncertainty of change. She’s pragmatic about the fact that some people like the status quo and talks about how important it is to lead change in a way that doesn’t burn people out. The over-riding word I get from Wendy is “balance”. She seems to balance leading change without burning people out, encouraging young people without overlooking the older workforce as well. She balances growing a business with growing the people in it. Where do you need to be more in balance, in life, in work and in the way you lead? Topics covered: Leading through uncertainty Transformational cha

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

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.judejennis

Julie Chakravarti 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 pe

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

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 uni

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,

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.

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 Wor

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, b

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

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 ou

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 tod

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 movi

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 se