Leaders in Conversation with Anni Townend

In this episode of Leaders in Conversation, Anni Townend talks with Azziz Hussain, Head of HR Corporate and Technical Operations at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, about what it means to be here.

Azziz shares why knowing your story, and being able to tell it to others, matters; how origins, background, family and friends shape who we are; his beliefs and what turning 40 meant to him, and in the Qur’an; and the choices we make, and are helped to make, to reach our full potential.

Azziz’s three key encouragements to leaders:

1. Leadership needs to be authentic
2. Know your story and tell your story
3. Big relationships over transactional ones

About Azziz: Azziz has been a Civil Servant for nearly two decades and is currently Head of HR Corporate and Technical Operations at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. He is a Chartered Fellow and qualified OD&D Practitioner, and has previously led teams at the Department for Education, the Education and Skills Funding Agency, the Cabinet Office, HM Revenue and Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions. He is a qualified coach and mentor, and was previously co-Chair of the Civil Service Muslim Network. Outside his day job, he is Director and co-founder of a modest wear clothing line, and is currently building a school in Bangladesh.

Connect with Azziz:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/azizul-hussain-fcipd-fcmgr-1a0b6947/

Instagram: @azzizulhussain

If this conversation has resonated with you, I would love to tell you more about Collaboration Equation, the leadership framework Lucy Kidd and I created together. Built on Curiosity, Care and Courage, it gives leaders and their teams going through change a practical, relational way forward. Get in touch directly at [email protected] or visit annitownend.com to find out more.

Leaders in Conversation is the podcast where leaders weave together the threads of their life and leadership stories to encourage and inspire you to be even more confident and courageous in your leadership. Subscribe, review and share.

Listen to more conversations at annitownend.com, and to Finding Your Collaborative Edge with Lucy Kidd at collaborationequation.com.

In this episode of Leaders in Conversation, I talk with Dr Michael Josephson MBE, charity campaigner, successful businessman and mental health awareness advocate, about turning lived experience into purpose, the power of community and generosity, and inspiring others to act.

Michael has raised over £13.5 million for children's charities. In his early twenties he chaired the Childline Ball Committee, growing it from £250,000 a year to over £1 million annually for the NSPCC. In 2015 he founded the Michael Josephson Ball, which now raises over £1.1 million net each year. In our conversation he shares the story behind that work: surviving a suicide attempt in 1998, the care that changed the course of his life, and his commitment to making a difference for children and young people.

Please note: this episode includes Michael's account of a suicide attempt and childhood abuse. Do listen with care. If you are struggling, please talk to someone. In the UK, Samaritans are available on 116 123.

Michael's three encouragements to leaders:

1. Use your platform with purpose
2. Start with what you can do now
3. Make generosity practical

Connect with Michael

LinkedIn: Dr Michael Josephson MBE

Instagram: www.instagram.com/michaeljosephson1

Website: www.michaeljosephsonmbe.com

If this conversation has resonated with you, I would love to tell you more about Collaboration Equation, the leadership framework Lucy Kidd and I created together. Built on Curiosity, Care and Courage, it gives leaders and their teams going through change a practical, relational way forward. Get in touch directly at [email protected] or visit annitownend.com to find out more.

I also bring leaders together on Walking Partnerships days, time outside to think, reflect and talk honestly with people who understand what it means to lead through change. The next date is 8th October 2026 in East Sussex, you can find the details on my website.

About Leaders in Conversation

Leaders in Conversation is the podcast in which leaders weave together the threads of their life and leadership stories, the people, experiences and places that have shaped them, to encourage and inspire you to be even more confident and courageous in your leadership. I'm Anni Townend, podcast host, partner to leaders, executive coach to leaders and their teams, and co-founder of Collaboration Equation with Lucy Kidd.

Find out more at annitownend.com.

• Why comfort often hides behind good intentions, while culture is shaped by behaviour
• Why culture changes quietly, and how leaders often miss the warning signs
• What leaders do when inclusion challenges comfort and demands courage

1. Notice where you stay silent. Silence is data.
2. Hold yourself accountable before holding others accountable.
3. Act with Integrity, ask whether your decisions reflect those you expect others to live by

Jiten Patel is an inclusive leadership coach, DEI strategist and author of Demystifying Diversity. He works with leaders and organisations across global and local organisations, sport, healthcare, education and the third sector to help them understand how culture is shaped through everyday behaviour. His work is informed by lived experience, research and years of working inside organisations where good intentions often fall short. Jiten’s focus is on leadership responsibility, psychological safety and the choices leaders make when inclusion becomes uncomfortable.

Website www.diversync.co.uk

Phone: 07875 310824

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jiten-patel-diversync/

Books: Demystifying Diversity

To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website, www.annitownend.com; to find out more about Collaboration Equation and finding your Collaborative Edge co-founded by Lucy Kidd and I do go to our website www.collaborationequation.com

A big thank you to SHMOGUS Media for the marketing of the podcast with Louisa Penny, from Penny Writing and to George at Podcast Room Brighton for the production of the podcast.

To contact me Anni Townend do email me on [email protected] visit my website, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn.

I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening.

My guest today is Neil McLoughlin, Director at Buckswood Overseas Summer School (BOSS) and ADHD Coach.

• Putting people before process: Neil’s leadership style is people first, leading through relationships, not rules.
• Bringing energy and honesty together: Neil brings huge enthusiasm, openness and honesty
• Understanding difference: Neil has dyslexia and ADHD which allows him to see the people who learn and work differently. He builds environments in which people can thrive.

1. Mind the many, not just the few. Do not let the small number of difficult people drain the energy that belongs to your whole team. The motivated ones notice where your attention goes.
2. You cannot pour from an empty cup. Look after your own energy and enthusiasm first, because it is contagious either way. Flat leaders make flat teams.
3. Lead with curiosity, not judgement. Find out what actually matters to each person before you try to motivate them. You will be wrong less often.

Neil McLoughlin leads with energy, creativity, and a deep belief in what education can unlock in young people. As Director of Buckswood Overseas Summer School, he runs global education programmes, and while he cares about standards, he cares more about people. He takes people as he finds them and builds trust quickly, creating environments where students feel safe enough to grow and staff feel trusted enough to lead. His background is in drama, and he has ADHD, both of which shape how he leads. Neil is also a qualified ADHD-informed coach, with the aim he brings to everything, helping people thrive as they are, not as they think they should be.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-mcloughlin-77890442/

Website: www.buckswoodsummerschool.com.

(Don’t have a personal one yet but will build one for my ADHD Coaching later this year.)

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neiladhdcoach/

YouTube: www.youtube.com/buckswoodsummerschool

To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website, www.annitownend.com; to listen to Finding Your Collaborative Edge™ with Lucy Kidd and I, to do go our website www.collaborationequation.com

A big thank you to SHMOGUS Media and Louisa Penny, from Penny Writing for the wonderful marketing of the podcast.

To contact me Anni Townend do email me on [email protected] visit my website, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn.

I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening.

My guest today on Leaders in Conversation is Omar Abouseif, a former professional basketball player and now Global Associate Sector Manager at Shell.

• Leading with purpose in business and in life
• Knowing and being yourself
• Engaging with and in others to deliver great performance
• The importance of paying attention to the soft skills

1. 1. Invest in people before outcomes, results will follow.
2. Be in the moment, be intentional in every interaction. Small moments build big trust.
3. Lead with genuine care, people will remember how you made them feel.

Omar Abouseif is a seasoned marketer with fourteen years of experience in the biggest multinational in the world (Unilever, Nestle & Shell). Currently, Omar is a Global Associate Sector Manager at Shell, working in global marketing for the commercial road transport sector. He is passionate about building meaningful relationships and turning everyday interactions into impact. Before entering the business world Omar spent 16 years as a professional basketball player, an experience that shaped how he leads, adapt, and perform. Shaped by his experience and basketball and diverse global exposure, Omar focuses on helping people feel better, perform better, and connect more deeply—both in business and in life.

LinkedIn: ‏Omar Abouseif‏ - ‏Global Associate Marketing Manager @Shell | xNestlé | xUnilever | xProBasketballPlayer‏ | LinkedIn

To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website, www.annitownend.com; to find out more about the work I do with Lucy Kidd go to our website www.collaborationequation.com

To find out more about the Future-Engage-Deliver approach to leadership, visit www.futureengagedeliver.com and the book ‘Leadership Plain and Simple’ by Steve Radcliffe.

To find out more about the Marketing Leaders Programme, and The Marketing Society do go to their website wwww.themarketingsociety.com

A big thank you to SHMOGUS Media for the wonderful production and marketing of the podcast with Louisa Penny, from Penny Writing.

To contact me Anni Townend do email me on [email protected] . Please share and subscribe to the podcast, and to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn.

I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening.

Victoria Rennoldson, is a coach, speaker and author specialising in global leadership, communication and cultural intelligence She is host of the podcast: The Culture Cuppa: Cultural Communication Confidence, and author of ‘Become a Global Leader: Amplify Your Impact, Lead Confidently Communicate Clearly and Connect Across Culture’. She dedicates the book to her father, who died in Spring 2025 and had a huge influence on her, and her values, beliefs, passion and purpose.

• How we need our human capabilities more than ever in an AI world.
• How the ability to connect and to have good conversations, and to build trust and relationships is ultimately our human differentiator.
• That so-called ‘soft skills' is a total misnomer and that there is nothing soft about people skills that impact individuals, teams and organisations.
• How in a time of divides in and out of work we need Cultural Intelligence more than ever.

1. Keep making space for curiosity about people - have conversations, make connections;
2. Cultural intelligence is an action, not what we know. We need to show, act and lead by example - even with people who have very different values, perspectives or behaviours from our own.
3. Yes, AI skills matter and our human skills matter just as much. Adaptability is key.

Victoria Rennoldson is a multi-award-winning coach, international speaker and best-selling author helping people lead across borders in a rapidly changing world.

As technology accelerates and AI reshapes how we work, Victoria focuses on what makes leaders distinctly human- clarity of communication, confidence, cultural intelligence and the ability to build meaningful connection.

She supports ambitious professionals and teams to increase their visibility and impact globally, helping them speak up with confidence and collaborate across cultures.

Victoria is the CEO and Founder of Culture Cuppa and host of a top-ranked global leadership podcast with over 170 episodes. Her book, Become a Global Leader, became an Amazon bestseller in Career Advancement and Professional Development on launch.

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/victoria-rennoldson

Website: https://culturecuppa.com/book

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/culture_cuppa/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@culture-cuppa

Podcast: https://culturecuppa.com/podcast/

Book: https://culturecuppa.com/book

To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website, www.annitownend.com; to listen to Finding Your Collaborative Edge™ with Lucy Kidd and I, to do go our website www.collaborationequation.com

A big thank you to SHMOGUS Media for the wonderful production and marketing of the podcast with Louisa Penny, from Penny Writing.

To contact me Anni Townend do email me on [email protected] visit my website, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn.

I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening.

My guest today on Leaders in Conversation is Yasmin O’Neal, Senior Director for Global Brand at DECIEM. DECIEM is best known for its leading brand The Ordinary.

• How you can love your team, and you can win
• Kindness versus Niceness
• Being Curious
• How we all have an impact

1. Our sphere of influence matters. Leaders have, by nature, a bigger sphere of influence - how can we use it for good?
2. Belief should be a given. Expect little from people and they will give you little. Expect a lot and you’ll be rewarded tenfold.
3. Loving honesty. Tell it straight, but tell it straight from the heart. You’ll be helping if you do it.

LinkedIn: Yasmin O'Neal

To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website, www.annitownend.com; to listen to Finding Your Collaborative Edge™ with Lucy Kidd and I, to do go our website www.collaborationequation.com

A big thank you to SHMOGUS Media for the wonderful production and marketing of the podcast with Louisa Penny, from Penny Writing.

To contact me Anni Townend do email me on [email protected] visit my website, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn.

I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening.

Today's guest is Erin Rogers, Founder of ERA Collective, Executive Coach, and Leadership Development Partner.

• Motherhood - How becoming a mother made her a better leader, grounded in what matters, more emotionally intelligent, and ultimately led to her pivot into coaching.
• The mentor who saw her before she saw herself - she shares the Pink Hair story and the lesson of not waiting for permission.
• Leading through crisis - what her daughter's cancer journey taught her about presence, priorities, and refusing to wait for 'someday.'
• The power of being seen, and of not hiding.

• Make sure that you really see the people around you. Keep noticing. Name what you see in them. You might be the one who shifts everything. And don't wait - the window isn't guaranteed.
• Crisis Clarifies. You learn what actually matters - and you stop performing leadership and start living it.
• One moment of being seen can change everything. That's what psychological safety actually looks like. It's not a policy. It's a moment.

1. Stop waiting for permission. The mentor who asked about my pink hair wasn't giving me permission - she was showing me I didn't need it. And I almost waited too long.
2. See the people around you - even when they're hiding. Ask how they are doing. One question gave me permission to stop shrinking and start helping others.
3. Your next era can be your greatest era - if you're present, listening to the signals, and learning through your experiences. The things I've struggled with most - motherhood, menopause, my daughter's illness - are now the things I use to support other leaders. Nothing is wasted if you're paying attention.

Erin Rogers is the Founder of ERA Collective, an executive coaching and leadership development consultancy helping leaders show up with intention, build visibility, and navigate the messy middle of professional growth. With 25+ years in senior marketing and communications roles - including 12 years as Director of Brand, Marketing and Communications at EY Canada and 5 years as Country Head of Marketing at HSBC Canada - Erin brings a rare combination of strategic rigour and genuine warmth to her coaching. She is ICF ACC-certified and works with individuals, teams, and organizations ready to step into their next chapter. Erin lives in Toronto with her husband and three daughters.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/erin-j-rogers

Website: eracollective.ca

Insights: eracollective.ca/insights

To listen to more episodes of Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend do go to my website, www.annitownend.com; and to Finding Your Collaborative Edge™ with Lucy Kidd and I, www.collaborationequation.com

A big thank you to SHMOGUS Media for the wonderful production and marketing of the podcast with Louisa Penny, from Penny Writing.

If you would like a conversation with me do email me on [email protected] visit my website, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn.

And please do subscribe, and share the podcast. Thank you for listening.

My guest today is Susie Partridge, round the world sailor and founder of the strategic marketing agency Blue Feathers.

I had the pleasure of being in conversation with Susie for an earlier episode of Leaders in Conversation in which she spoke about the people, places and experiences that had shaped her life and leadership; how following her passion for sailing helped her find her purpose and to set up Blue Feathers eight years ago.

• What the fast-changing marketing landscape means for capability in the industry
• The responsibility leaders have for developing marketers of the future
• How to drive capability as part of a marketing culture

1. Decide the role you want to take as a guardian of marketing – what matters to you to protect and pass on to the next generation.
2. Whatever that is, be the champion of it – share the passion, spend time thinking about how it applies as marketing evolves, and share that on.
3. Role model growth - normalise the cycle of learning and make it part of the everyday in our teams.

After a successful career in marketing at Unilever and British Gas, and then fulfilling her ambition of sailing a yacht around the world, Susie started her next adventure when she founded the strategic marketing agency Blue Feathers.

Susie’s aim was to help marketers to be their best and drive their brands to succeed. She now leads a team of marketing experts who work with major brands including Tesco, Primark, Michelin, Simplyhealth and Cambridge University Press & Assessment.

Susie believes that people do their best work when life is balanced – and that belief is reflected in how she leads the Blue Feathers team: a highly skilled, fully remote group, motivated through shared purpose and a deliverables-based approach.

Susie remains passionate about sailing and loves spending time on the water. She is also now a keen beekeeper and gardener, and enjoys spending time hiking.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/susiepartridge/

Website: www.bluefeathers.co.uk

Instagram: @susiepartridge00

To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website, www.annitownend.com; to listen to Finding Your Collaborative Edge™ with Lucy Kidd and I, to do go our website www.collaborationequation.com

A big thank you to SHMOGUS Media for the wonderful production and marketing of the podcast with Louisa Penny, from Penny Writing.

To contact me Anni Townend do email me on [email protected] visit my website, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn.

My guest today on Leaders in Conversation is Sally-Anne Airey, leadership coach, founder of Skilful Leaders and author of Mindful Command - the way of the evolving leader, and podcast host of Fearless Forward.

• What good leadership looks, sounds, and feels like.
• How becoming a better leader is less about what you do, and more about how you are.
• Why she created the concept of Mindful Command and what it is - Balanced Awareness (seeing things as they are), Clear Purpose (being clear what matters) and Fearless Compassion (cultivating the courage to do the right thing).

1. Pause
2. Look at the whole picture
3. Listen for what’s needed.
4. Be Present

SALLY-ANNE AIREY is a leadership coach who has devoted over 40 years to the art and skill of leadership. A Royal Navy officer for 23 years, she rose to the rank of Commander and was the first woman to continue in service as a mother. Later she worked for 8 years in Ukraine and Russia, where she discovered her coaching vocation on a consultancy project in Kyiv in 2007. She has been coaching leaders ever since. Inspired by the mountains surrounding her home in the French Alps, she developed the concept of Mindful Command – now the foundation for all her work with people who care about their impact on the world.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallyanneairey/

Website: https://skilfulleaders.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sallyanne_airey/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SkilfulLeaders

Podcast: https://skilfulleaders.com/podcasts-blog/

Resources/Books/Free download: (If applicable) Mindful Command - The way of the evolving leader

To listen to other Leaders in Conversation and to find out more about Walking Partnerships do go to my website, www.annitownend.com; to listen to Finding Your Collaborative Edge™ with Lucy Kidd and I, to do go our website www.collaborationequation.com

A big thank you to SHMOGUS Media for the wonderful production and marketing of the podcast with Louisa Penny, from Penny Writing.

To contact me Anni Townend do email me on [email protected] visit my website, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn.

I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening.