Welcome to Insights from Leaders, with Lucy Carter at ⁠⁠⁠TenOpalSquare.co.uk⁠⁠⁠.  

Hear my honest and frank conversations with leaders from accountancy and wider professional services firms, sharing their path to leadership and how they continue to thrive.  Through listening, you'll find there's lots you'll be able to relate to your journey into leadership, but also gain advice and top tips to help you on your way too.

In this episode gain insights into leadership and the journey into leadership with Margi Campbell who is a partner in Saffery LLP, one of the UK's top 20 accounting firms.  She is involved in accounts and tax planning for high net worth individuals throughout the UK, with a particular focus on rural land and diversification uses.  She is the staff partner for the Inverness office and loves to help others grow and rise through the ranks.  With a young family and a busy role, she shares the challenges many face in juggling both.

"A good team needs to have lots of different strengths, and if you're judging your performance on someone else's strengths, you're going to fall short. ...I think sometimes you imagine you should have all the strengths - you can't."

"...'What got you here won't get you there'. I think I've found the transitions a little bit tricky sometimes where you're good at what you're doing, so then you move on to something else...you were probably top dog in the the role and the level you were at and then go to being the newbie every time you go into a new role - I found that tricky at times."

Welcome to Insights from Leaders, with Lucy Carter at ⁠⁠TenOpalSquare.co.uk⁠⁠.  

Hear my honest and frank conversations with leaders from accountancy and wider professional services firms, sharing their path to leadership and how they continue to thrive.  Through listening, you'll find there's lots you'll be able to relate to your journey into leadership, but also gain advice and top tips to help you on your way too.

In this episode gain insights into leadership and how your career can continue to grow once you become a leader with Joe Stringer.  Joe spent 20 years in professional services, which included being a Partner in the healthcare consulting practice for almost 10 years.  He's since spent time leading Google Health during covid, launched his own healthtech venture capital fund, which was acquired by Octopus Ventures, and now has a portfolio of investment and board roles across the healthtech sector that all come together towards his lifelong passion for improving as many lives as possible.

"Do what you love.  Your purpose, energy and passions all seep out of you... if it's not there, you won't succeed."

"Something I really really wish I had known earlier, was to gel properly and build friendships with the 10-20 people who are on the same trajectory as you in your market.  For me those friendships have been the most valuable investment I have made over my whole career."

"Things always happen really quickly...but don't try and force the pace artificially  - normally it's a bit of a waste of energy."

Welcome to Insights from Leaders, with Lucy Carter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠TenOpalSquare.co.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠.  

Hear my honest and frank conversations with leaders from accountancy and wider professional services firms, sharing their path to leadership and how they continue to thrive.  Through listening, you'll find there's lots you'll be able to relate to your journey into leadership, but also gain advice and top tips to help you on your way too.

In this episode gain insights into leadership and tips on navigating the path to leadership from Ben Bilsland, who is a UK Partner at RSM and also their Technology and Media Industry Senior Analyst, a role that's part of RSM’s Industry Eminence Programme. In this role Ben forecasts and communicates economic, business and technology trends advising clients on conditions impacting middle market leaders.

'When it comes to leading teams, it's constantly thinking that not everyone is the same as you and what might make perfect sense in your brain may not land with the other person.... one leadership style doesn't fit all or all situations.'

'Self reflection really matters...it's one of the skills you have to develop.'

A must read book: The Innovator's of DNA: Mastering the five skills of disruptive innovators by Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen and Clayton M. Christensen

Welcome to Insights from Leaders, with Lucy Carter at ⁠⁠⁠TenOpalSquare.co.uk⁠⁠⁠.  

Hear my honest and frank conversations with leaders from accountancy and wider professional services firms, sharing their path to leadership and how they continue to thrive.  Through listening, you'll find there's lots you'll be able to relate to your journey into leadership, but also gain advice and top tips to help you on your way too.

In this episode gain insights into leadership and how to navigate the path to leadership with Simon Collier who's a Partner at PA and currently their interim Global Head of Health and Life Sciences. 

Before joining PA Simon held roles at IBM and EY in which he developed his leadership skills. Over the last 20 years he's worked with clients to support complex programme management, organisation and process design, and performance improvement throughout the UK and US. He believes purpose is everything, and is highly motivated by the work he and his teams are delivering that save lives.  Simon was also a founding member of PA's Women in Leadership programme, which aligns with his belief that everyone should have an equal opportunity to fulfil their potential.

"You don't get to Director or Partner by just doing a good job - you've really got to think about how you're going to grow your own business within a business."

"To become a leader...I needed to develop myself as an individual...working out why I got on so well with some people and not as well with others, I realised it was as much about me as it was about other people...acting peer to peer came quickly, but understanding why, it took me a long time to get there."

Top Tip: Know why you want to be a leader and what's important to you - and think through how you bring the best of yourself to being a leader.

Clare is a co-founder and Managing Partner of Town Legal LLP, the UK’s leading specialist planning law firm. As a lawyer, she is particularly known for her work on major projects in London, including Battersea Power Station and the Emirates Stadium.  In 2022, Clare also qualified as an executive coach and now also undertakes coaching pro bono, primarily (but not exclusively) in the planning and built environment sector.  She is closely involved in the leadership and management of Town and regularly speaks on diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Welcome to Insights from Leaders, with Lucy Carter at ⁠⁠TenOpalSquare.co.uk⁠⁠.  

Hear my honest and frank conversations with leaders from accountancy and wider professional services firms, sharing their path to leadership and how they continue to thrive.  Through listening, you'll find there's lots you'll be able to relate to your journey into leadership, but also gain advice and top tips to help you on your way too.

In this episode gain insights into leadership from Madeline Seibert, a leader in the legal profession. Currently a national Technical Director at Slater & Gordon specialising in Clinical Negligence & Serious Personal injury, and previously a Partnership position as head of the Medical Negligence department at Attwaters Jameson Hill.

She has had a career in the law stretching over 20 years and is ranked as a Leading Individual by Chambers 2023 and Legal 500 recommended.

"We all worry! But nothing is as bad as it seems, I wish I could shake my old self!  Having people be honest and provide me with sound sensible advice really helped."

Welcome to Insights from Leaders, with Lucy Carter at ⁠TenOpalSquare.co.uk⁠.  

Hear my honest and frank conversations with leaders from accountancy and wider professional services firms, sharing their path to leadership and how they continue to thrive.  Through listening, you'll find there's lots you'll be able to relate to your journey into leadership, but also gain advice and top tips to help you on your way too.

In this episode gain insights into leadership and how to navigate the path to leadership from Graeme Swan, a Senior Partner at Baringa Partners.  Graeme made Partner at 33, and over the last 20 years he's become skilled at leading teams for growth, delivering transformation and starting new businesses.

'There's no such thing as failure, just feedback, I've learnt to back myself.'

'I was incredibly risk averse for the first 6-7 years of partnership, I took very safe options and that was because of a fear of failure really.  It's through institutional trust, trusting the people around you and feeling that we're all in it together with positive intent that allows you to take some risk without fear of failure.'

Welcome to Insights from Leaders, with Lucy Carter at TenOpalSquare.co.uk.  

Hear my honest and frank conversations with leaders from accountancy and wider professional services firms, sharing their path to leadership and how they continue to thrive.  Through listening, you'll find there's lots you'll be able to relate to your journey into leadership, but also gain advice and top tips to help you on your way too.

In this episode, gain insights into leadership and how to navigate the path to leadership from Mariko O'Neill, a Partner at PA Consulting Group and member of PA's Management Team.

During her 20+ year career as a management consultant, she has had the opportunity to work in various countries such as the UK, US and Singapore, and has worked across a number of different industries, with a focus on life sciences. 

"I used to think that asking for help would make people think I wasn't capable.  But the opposite is true, in fact you can't make it alone, you need support.  Trying to make it alone is limiting, lonely and quite frankly boring!"