Today’s guest is Ed Corbett "The Brand Plan Man", Head of Consulting, AI evangelist, Lover of marketing and Mentor to emerging businesses.

Leaders in Conversation is the podcast in which leaders share their life and leadership stories; the people, places and experiences that have shaped their values, beliefs, passion and purpose to encourage and inspire you to be even more confident and courageous in your leadership.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

I had the joy of meeting Ed over ten years ago when he was working at the pharmaceutical company MSD here in the UK. Ed had been to an event and heard my colleague, and mentor, Steve Radcliffe speaking about Future Engage Deliver, and being at your best. Ed invited Steve to MSD to do a session on being at your best, following which MSD asked for a proposal for a Leadership Development Programme. This FED programme was a huge success over many, many years and transformed peoples lives and leadership at MSD.

In this conversation Ed offers valuable insights into:

• How success is built on big relationships
• The importance of seeking out and really listening to feedback to grow
• Why being comfortable not knowing everything is key
• How we can inspire others to be the best they can be

Ed’s Three Key Encouragements to Leaders 

1. Acknowledge and accept that you are not and cannot be perfect
2. You can only really grow with and through the help of others
3. Relax into ‘you’ - Be comfortable in who you are and what you care about

To contact Ed:

LinkedIn: Ed Corbett

To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website, www.annitownend.com

To find out more about Future-Engage-Deliver do get in touch with me, read the book ‘Leadership Plain and Simple’ by Steve Radcliffe. And to hear Steve sharing his personal leadership story do listen to my podcast episode with him.

A big thank you to SHMOGUS Media for the wonderful production and marketing of the podcast.

To contact me Anni Townend do email me on [email protected] visit my website www.annitownend.com, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn. I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

Today’s guest is Delia Lazaroiu, Senior Data Analyst and the title of our conversation is Kind leadership and diverse voices rising.

I had the joy of meeting Delia when she was working at the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Delia engaged with the leadership development work, and with myself and Emily Court. Since then we have kept in touch via LInkedIn, and as always Delia is immensely supportive and passionate about all she does. I am looking forward to hearing her story, and to getting to know her through this episode.

In our conversation Delia offers valuable insights into: 

• Making progress by aspiring to be the least knowledgeable person in that room
• Finding your tribe and thriving 
• Living in and leading with gratitude 
• Living a meaningful life as a leader and human by helping others and offering kindness 

Delia's Three Key Encouragements to Leaders 

1. Lead by lifting each other up
2. Stay true to your values
3. Visit places not visited by all your peers

Contact Delia:

LinkedIn - Delia Lazaroiu  

Instagram - @delialazaroiu

To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website, www.annitownend.com

A big thank you to Coco O’Brien for the wonderful intro and outro music, for the lovely design, and for the excellent editing, sound production and marketing of the podcast.

To contact me Anni Townend do email me on [email protected] visit my website www.annitownend.com, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn.  I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening.

Leaders in Conversation is the podcast in which leaders share their life and leadership stories; the people, places and experiences that have shaped their values, beliefs, passion and purpose to encourage and inspire you to be even more confident and courageous in your leadership.

About This Episode

Today’s guest is David Dand, Managing Director of Coreus, the Brighton based Talent Acquisition agency. I had the pleasure of being introduced to David through a mutual friend, previous podcast guest, Dougal Fleming. If you haven’t already listened to that episode I highly recommend it. 

Dougal encouraged David and I to have a conversation, and that David has a wonderful story to share.

In our conversation, David offers valuable insights into:

• The five-step framework he uses when leading a candidate search to understand fit and motivation; 
• What you need to know about changing career and recruitment;
• Navigating career changes and your next big step;
• Hiring tips for leaders to ensure you have the right people in the right roles.

David’s three top tips for leaders looking to either make their next big move and, or ensuring that they make the right hire

1. Use the 5-step framework: 

• Consider salary and benefits
• Convenience
• Culture and brand reputation
• The day-to-day job
• Training and career progression 

2. Remember the stakes are high: 

• There are Soft & hard turnover costs, replacement & job hopping.

3.  Embrace individuality through knowing:

• What your key skills and strengths are
• What the conditions are for you to thrive 
• What Great looks and feels like, just because something is great doesn’t mean it is great for you!

To connect, follow and find out more about David and the The Five Step Framework go to:

LinkedIn: David Dand

Website: www.coreus.co.uk

Instagram: @coreus_talentacquisition 

About The 5 Step Career Change Framework 

A framework to help you understand career change and motivation, either for yourself or when you are hiring others to understand best fit.  

The five essentials are:

1. Salary & benefits 

• There is more to life than money. 
• And we have bills to pay. Responsibilities. Wants & needs. 
• Benefits: I work with an investment firm that offers a 20% pension contribution. 

2. Convenience

• Work-life balance
• Ability to manage work around your caring commitments, for example picking up children from school. 
• Work/life/harmony: Why, just because I am an accountant should I not have a weekend? 

3. Culture & Brand Reputation
I work with Accountancy / FS institutions. ‘Much the same.’ What is unique about this institution? What do I want?  

• Autonomy
• Challenge
• Sustainability

4. Day to day job

• Operational vs strategic 

5. Training and career progression

• Where is your career going, ideally
• What in an ideal world would you like to be true 

To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website, www.annitownend.com

To contact me Anni Townend do email me on [email protected] visit my website www.annitownend.com, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn.  I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening.

Leaders in Conversation with Anni Townend is the podcast in which leaders share their life and leadership stories; the people, places and experiences that have shaped their values, beliefs, passion and purpose to encourage and inspire you to be even more confident and courageous in your own leadership.

If you are not already please do subscribe to the podcast, review and share it. Thank you!

About this Episode:

Today’s guest is Sue Cockell, Solo Traveller on a mission to help women in their mid-lives to enjoy the transformative power of travelling alone.

I had the joy of first meeting Sue when she was working at a pharmaceutical company where I was leading a leadership development programme. Sue was one of a small group of leaders with whom I worked over a period of time, supporting them in leading others.  As a group we got to know each other well, and during that time, some ten years ago, Sue lost her beloved husband. I remember Sue getting into solo travel, and helping me to feel confident about my youngest daughter travelling solo aged 18.

In our conversation Sue offers valuable insights into: 

• The transformative power of travel
• Solo travel for women in mid-life
• Embracing the power of “Yes!”

Sue’s Three Key Encouragements to Leaders :

1. It’s not what happens to you in life, but how you respond that makes you who you are
2. You grow the most outside your comfort zone. Embrace those opportunities to stretch it, even if it scares you
3. Your life experiences are what makes you unique, relatable & interesting. Never be afraid to share them as you never know where it may lead.

The best way to connect, follow and find out more about Sue:

LinkedIn: Sue Cockell 

Website: www.suewherewhywhat.com

YouTube: @SueWhereWhyWhat 

Instagram: @suewherewhywhat

About Sue Cockell:

Sue Cockell is a Transformative Travel Coach, Solo Female Travel Expert, Blogger and YouTuber. She began her solo travel journey after tragically losing her husband back in 2014. Travel allowed her to breathe, grieve, heal and finally find herself again. She has now visited over 80 countries, across 6 continents and through her work she aims to inspire other women over 40 to embrace the power of travelling alone too. 

If you have a deep desire to explore the world but feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of planning and preparation involved. Sue has designed a new course specifically for you: Find Your Way: Your Ultimate Guide to Starting Your Travel Journey. If you would like to learn more, then contact her now at [email protected].

To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website, www.annitownend.com

A big thank you to Coco O’Brien for the wonderful intro and outro music, for the lovely design, and for the excellent editing, sound production and marketing of the podcast.

To contact me Anni Townend do email me on [email protected] visit my website www.annitownend.com, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn.  I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening.

Today’s guest is Andrew Edwards, former BBC broadcaster, and now an Event Host, Trainer, Teacher and Mentor. The title of our conversation is ‘You Don’t Need to Be a Boss to Be a Leader’.

Leaders in Conversation is the podcast in which leaders share their life and leadership stories; the people, places and experiences that have shaped their values, beliefs, passion and purpose to encourage and inspire you to be even more confident and courageous in your own leadership.

If you are not already please do subscribe to the podcast, review and share it. Thank you!

ABOUT THIS EPISODE 

I had the joy of being introduced to Andrew through his brother John Edwards. If you haven’t already listened to John and I in conversation, it is a great episode on Understanding Ourselves, and Understanding Others. 

John suggested that Andrew would make an excellent guest, and that he had produced, whilst at the BBC a podcast about their late Mum’s experience of living - and dying - with dementia, ‘Mum and Me: The Dementia Diary’ 

Andrew offers valuable insights into: 

• Leading by example through your leadership behaviour in an ‘on and off air’ frontline role.
• Looking down, up and out - remembering to consult your team, using the expertise around you, and never losing track of your real bosses - your audience, customers and the public.
• Swimming against the tide of expectation - your own and others’ expectations while looking after your own mental health.
• Differentiating the personal from the private, and the power of opening up in the right way to others and getting the balance right. 

Andrew's Three Key Encouragements to Leaders 

1. Be true to yourself and your values 
2. Listen more than you talk
3. Inspire others through your leadership behaviours 

Connect, follow and find out more about Andrew:

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/thebeardedbroadcaster

Andrew's website: www.theandrewedwards.com

X / Twitter: @RadioAndrewE

Instagram: @andrewedwardsleeds 

Email: [email protected]

To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website, www.annitownend.com

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

About  Andrew Edwards

Andrew is a broadcaster, teacher, trainer and event host. He began broadcasting on hospital radio in his hometown, Hull, making his professional debut as a sports reporter on Viking Radio. He started his career in journalism at the Hull Daily Mail newspaper, before joining the BBC as a trainee in 1989. Andrew moved to BBC Radio Leeds in 1993 where he stayed, very happily, for the next thirty years. 

For many years he combined his on-air career with teaching radio journalism and spent seven years at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and Leeds Trinity University. He still mentors students and radio colleagues and is now doing freelance work at the University of Leeds.

Until 2022 he spent part of each week looking after his Mum, who died from dementia. He gives talks about, and hosts events linked to, dementia and hopes to write a book about his mother. He recorded a weekly audio diary called ‘Mum and Me: The Dementia Diary’, for which he was named a Dementia Hero at the Alzheimer’s Society’s awards 2021.

About this Episode 

Today’s guest is Meg Farren, General Manager, Chief Customer Officer, Chief Marketing Officer and much more! 

I had the joy of meeting Meg for the first time on the Marketing Leaders Programme, in early 2024. Meg opened the programme for us, and did a wonderful job of sharing her story and setting the context and the ambition of the programme.

Together Meg and I delve into the people, places and experiences that have made Meg the person and leader she is today. 

Meg’s Three Key Encouragements to Leaders 

1. Be Curious in Everything, make your first response a curious one, about yourself and about others - ask Why all the time
2. Lean into your Fear, build resilience through daring to ask - don’t hold yourself back
3. Have Fun, find and do what you love and gives you Joy

To connect, follow and find out more about Meg:

LinkedIn: Meghan Farren

To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website, www.annitownend.com

Leaders in Conversation is the podcast in which I talk with leaders about their own life and leadership stories, to encourage you to reflect on your values, beliefs, passion and purpose, and inspire you to be even more confident and courageous in your leadership. 

A big thank you to Coco O’Brien for the wonderful intro and outro music, for the lovely design, and for the excellent editing and sound production and promotion of the podcast.

To contact me Anni Townend do email me on [email protected] visit my website www.annitownend.com, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn.  I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening.

Hello, and welcome to the second Collaboration Equation™ episode in Leaders in Conversation with Anni Townend and Lucy Kidd. 

Today’s guest is Somya Agrawal, Leader, Collaborator and Motivator and the title of our conversation is Finding your Collaborative Edge™.

Leaders in Conversation is the podcast in which leaders share their life and leadership stories, and in our Collaboration Equation™ episodes their experience of collaborating and how they find their Collaborative Edge™ to encourage you to bring even more curiosity, care and courage to your leadership.  

If you are not already please do subscribe to the podcast, review and share it. Thank you!

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

In our conversation we talk about the application of Collaboration Equation™ and Somya shares her experience of collaboration and offers valuable insights into:

1. Bringing two teams together to get to know each other, to be able to have an open conversation, and how  this fast tracks success.

2. Connecting through being vulnerable in sharing her experience of hearing loss and how this has created meaningful connection  with others. 

3. Creating psychological safety that invites people to give and ask for help, getting what we need from each other and caring about each other.

4. Building trust through being human and authentic with colleagues.

5. Meeting people where they are at, and making time for everyone to have a voice, and for different thoughts and feelings to be heard.

6. Creating a culture of care and connection whether working online or in person.

To connect, follow and find out more about Somya:

LinkedIn: Somya Agrawal

Instagram: @somyaagr

To listen to more Leaders in Conversation with Anni Townend visit my website www.annitownend.com

A big thank you to Coco O’Brien for the wonderful intro and outro music, for the lovely design and marketing of the podcast and to Tom at Brown Bear Studios for the excellent production of this episode.

To contact Anni Townend and Lucy Kidd do email us on [email protected] and [email protected], or via our dedicated email address [email protected]

To explore more about how to find your Collaborative Edge™,  visit our website www.collaborationequation.com, subscribe to our fortnightly Leadership Conversations and follow us on LinkedIn Collaboration Equation™.  

We look forward to connecting and collaborating with you, thank you for listening.

About this Episode:

Today’s guest is Somya Agrawal, Leader, Collaborator and Motivator. I had the joy of meeting Somya in June 2024, when she joined us for a Walking Partnerships day in Surrey, in the UK.

Somya offers valuable insights into: 

• Being the conductor and not the trumpet player - The difficult transition between manager and leader, how the role changes and the importance of building a high-functioning team.
• The ripple effect - leading by example - The importance of watching and learning from leaders around you and how we are always being watched, even when we think nobody is watching! 
• Dare to enter the arena - How we foster a culture of openness, transparency, honesty and collaboration. Ask questions and challenge with kindness and curiosity. It is not what you say, but how you say that it matters.

We discuss the People, Places, and Experiences that have shaped Somya and made her the person and leader she is today: 

People - "My parents, sisters and my tribe" 

Places - "Around the world. My family’s travelling style and how it reinforced the importance of teamwork"

Experiences - "The loss of my father and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro"

Somya's key encouragements to Leaders: 

1. ENGAGE - establish a rapport with your team and build trust which will allow you to be your authentic self. With passion for your purpose, you will be able to identify the best people for the job.
2. ENABLE - use your energy to have an impact on those around you to bring people to the table who also understand your vision, as nothing is done without collaboration.
3. EMPOWER - by engaging with energy and by enabling with empathy, you will lead a team that feels empowered. 
4. It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. So remember to enjoy it and take your team with you.

Connect with Somya:

LinkedIn - Somya Agrawal

About Somya Agrawal:

Somya’s most recent leadership post as a Senior Civil Servant was as a Deputy Director for Product and Delivery at UK Health Security Agency. She became a DD after a very busy and demanding period as Product Introduction Lead during the COVID-19 pandemic where she was responsible for the design, development and launch of the COVID-19 lateral flow devices. Over 2.5bn LFDs were deployed during that time, so as you can imagine, it was a very high-profile and complex mission with a lot of ambiguity, unknowns and political sensitivities in play. However, Somya loved every second of it, because of the self-development it gave her but also the HUGE national impact that this job had.

Prior to being a Senior Civil Servant, she worked at the Royal Marsden Hospital, a specialist Cancer Hospital in London, where she believes her passion for positive outcomes in healthcare really came from, as during her stint there in Research and Clinical trials, she saw many oncology drugs become licensed after seeing patients not only surviving but thriving when given the right care and treatment.

Somya is one of 3 girls in her family (the middle one) who have been very fortunate to have been raised by parents who provided their daughters as much as they could within their means which did not come without sacrifices and we are all incredibly grateful for our childhoods and it making us who we are today. Though not yet married, she has a 6 year old niece who she absolutely dotes on and calls one of her best friends.

Somya is incredibly passionate about positive outcomes in healthcare and states that her stakeholder engagement skills and energetic personality have now become her USP that have contributed to the successes she has had in her leadership journey so far.

Leaders in Conversation with Anni Townend is the podcast in which I talk to leaders about their own life and leadership stories, to encourage you to reflect on your values, beliefs, passion and purpose, and inspire you to be even more confident and courageous in your leadership.

About this episode:
 
Today’s guest is Carien Borst, Artist and Leadership Coach. In this episode we are talking about Creativity and Reflection in Leadership - how every job is a creative act, and how we all have a part to play in creating a workplace and environment in which there is harmony, diversity and contrast.

Carien offers valuable insights into:

• How as human beings we are all creative
• How through being creative it can be an endless source of life energy
• Knowing and being yourself - how being authentic and vulnerable gives others permission to be authentic and vulnerable
• Creativity and how it’s related to leadership 

Carien's Three Key Encouragements to Leaders:

1. Know yourself, and be yourself - We serve the world by showing ourselves who we are! 
2. Explore, experiment, play and be creative - Let go of the outcome and experience joy! Remember to play and take time to simply enjoy creative activities. 
3. We create all day - By choosing our words and by our reaction towards others. 

Connect, follow and find out more about Carien:

LinkedIn: Carien (Mooibroek) Borst 

Website: www.carienborst.nl 

Instagram: @carien_borst_art

To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend:
 
Email me on [email protected]
Visit my website www.annitownend.com 
Follow me on LinkedIn

About Carien Borst:

Carien was born and raised in the Netherlands. She studied Art Therapy and Human Development. 

Carien worked for 15 years in mental healthcare, and for about 10 years in different leadership roles. She started as a team leader and the last years as a manager of the eleven sheltered living houses for people who suffered from all sorts of psychiatric diseases.

Around 7 years ago Carien started to realise she was missing creativity in her life. Due to a busy job, two young children and simply not prioritising what she needed. 

After a weekend spent in a monastery, filled with silence and creativity she decided to change things in her life. She woke up early every day to create in silence. Writing, creating an art journal, sitting still and taking time to think and feel. She chose to follow art courses and slowly new ideas developed. How could she bring this creativity into her leadership role?

She found the courage to bring three pillars together in her own business: creativity, leadership and reflection. Based on her experience as a leader in mental healthcare but also through her journey in opening up again for the power of creating and growing in being a painter and artist. 

Hello, welcome and welcome back to Leaders in Conversation with me, Anni Townend. 

Today’s guest is Guy Newey, Chief Executive Officer at Energy Systems Catapult, and the title of our conversation is ‘On Accelerating Net Zero Energy Innovation’.

I have had the privilege of partnering with Guy and working with a group of Future Leaders at Energy Systems Catapult - a company committed to accelerating NET ZERO in the UK through supporting innovators to commercialise, and helping design and deliver the future energy system.

Together Guy and I delve into the people, places and experiences that have made him the person and leader he is today. 

Guy offers valuable insights into :

• Communication and what he has learnt about communicating across the wider team.
• Resilience, how managing your own energy is key, along with helping to manage that of the team.
• Getting comfortable with not knowing everything, and how the more senior you become as a leader the less you know.

Guy's Three Key Encouragements to Leaders looking to innovate and commercialise for Net Zero 

1. There is a huge market out there - net zero is an incredible opportunity (as well as an essential mission)
2. It is not unusual to feel imposter syndrome - in fact it is super common
3. Learn fast - be prepared to pivot quickly if something you thought was going to work does not work.

To connect, follow and find out more about Guy:

LinkedIn: Guy Newey

Website: https://es.catapult.org.uk/

Twitter/X: @guynewey

To contact Anni Townend:

Email me on [email protected] or visit my website www.annitownend.com, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn.

About Guy Newey

Guy was appointed Chief Executive Officer at Energy Systems Catapult, the innovation business, in June 2022. Guy joined the Catapult in 2018 as Director of Strategy after being an energy and political adviser to two UK Government Secretaries of State; Greg Clark and Amber Rudd. In Government, he was involved in many key decisions, including closing the UK’s coal-fired power stations, greater independence for the electricity system operator, and as an architect of the Clean Growth Strategy.

Before joining Government, he was Head of Policy at the challenger energy supplier, OVO Energy and Head of Environment and Energy at the influential think tank, Policy Exchange. He was previously a journalist, including three years as a foreign correspondent in Hong Kong for the international newswire, AFP. He is a non-executive director with UK100, a charity campaigning for greater environmental action by local authorities. He lives in Enfield, with his wife and two children.