Michelle Hartley's passion for HR and infectious personality is evident from our first few minutes of chatting on our Inspiring Thoughts Podcast. Michelle is a huge advocate for HR being used to help change the world, if you let it.

What other business function can help create an environment in which high performance can happen? Which other department can help transform both the organisation and people's lives? I

f you work in HR or L&D and you agree that training doesn't need to be dull and grey, then please take 30 minutes to listen to Michelle chat to Stephen Adams, such a fun episode we think you will enjoy.

In the latest of ICL’s Inspiring Thoughts Podcast series, Stephen Adams has the pleasure of speaking with Jake Naudé from stressedexecutive.com.

After many years of working in the corporate sector, Jake came to realise the pressures of his full time job needed to be addressed and recalibrated. He found the solution he was looking for in hypnotherapy and after a period of in depth study of this incredible tool was able to turn Stress into Success.

In a fascinating account of a topic many of us have heard of but are unlikely to have much first hand experience of, Jake shares some tips and tricks which he considers are key to well being and balancing our busy modern lifestyles.

What is NLP?

Neuro Linguistic Programming is a tool which can help us in so many aspects of our lives. Emma McNally is an expert in this field and in this weeks Inspiring Thoughts Podcast we hear from Emma about the benefits of NLP and the applied neuroscience behind the theory.

Emma's passion for this topic is obvious and she tells us about the impact of what we say to ourselves and how, by changing our language patterns, we can help ourselves make better decisions.

From imposter syndrome to personal fears to gaining confidence we explore how NLP can help us achieve greater success. To hear more about this fascinating subject, listen here:

The world of HR is changing and in this weeks Inspiring Thoughts Podcast, Amanda Nicholls talks with Stephen Adams about the future of HR and its place within the world of work.

Amanda shares with us her insight on how businesses need to ensure HR is an integral part of their growth strategy and the benefits of having a HR function which compliments the business. We hear about the need for HR to be more proactive and how it can achieve this by being more data driven, looking at trends in the future to help build HR strategy.

If you work in HR we sure you will agree with a lot of the sentiment and if your company doesn't have a HR plan, we would definitely recommend you take a listen.

Maria Wilson from Saxon HR consultancy has used her extensive HR experience to develop 5 steps to employee engagement.

In this weeks Inspiring Thoughts Podcast she talks with Stephen Adams through each step from investing in employees careers to giving them a voice and involving them in decision making.

Maria tells us how important engagement is in developing a positive company culture and how this can help improve productivity by up to 21%.

For some excellent hints and tips take a listen here:

This week on Inspiring Thoughts Podcast we had a great discussion about one of our favourite topics - Transforming HR.

Stephen Adams chatted to Gavin Howarth about the common challenges facing HR today and how the role of HR should be utilised in SME's. In particular they discussed the differences between HR being reactive and fighting constant fires versus being proactive and really driving people, culture, and employee experience in the organisation.

Gavin and Stephen agreed that the HR function should be viewed by any company board as key players in their growth strategy.

We think our HR followers will really enjoy this one!

As the summer months approach, Stephen Adams took the opportunity to talk to Samuel Baffour Kyei about why it is important to get outside and enjoy the natural environment as a means of improving our mental health and wellbeing.

Sam is currently researching the benefits of green spaces and the impact they can have on our quality of life. Sam discusses how our current in-door lifestyles make us detached from the very environment that helps our wellbeing and emotional health.

He also tells us about his research into loneliness in younger people and how being outside can help build social connections, helping yourself and others too. So put your shoes on, get outside into a green space and listen to this podcast now, you will hear Sam's smile through your headphones!

Stephen Adams had the privilege of discussing Rapid Transformation Therapy (RTT) with specialist Jayne Robinson.

Jayne brings to life the benefits of RTT, how it can support people's confidence and the speed at which it can support recovery. 

Jayne shared how RTT can support many forms of trauma and shared her positivity in supporting her clients. 

If you are going through a traumatic time or phobia listen to this Podcast. Jayne shows us there is another way to move forward.   

Stephen Adams had a thoroughly enjoyable discussion with Pip Lawrence from Wellbeing People Ltd for this week's Inspiring Thoughts Podcast around the subject of Stress in the Workplace.

Pip educated us on how to manage stress on a daily basis and how small changes to our lives can make a huge difference in our confidence, self-esteem & productivity.

The key takeaways for me were understanding the different types of stresses and what we can do to help alleviate them - Physical, Emotional and Chemical.