Leadership Discoveries

Vincent Brennan joins Dr Shirley Kavanagh to reflect on more than four decades in banking and financial services, including senior executive roles at Bank of Ireland, his work as Transformation Director at Accenture, and his time as Deputy Chairman of the Euro Banking Association. He now works as an independent transformation advisor and non-executive director. Vincent shares candid insights into moving between leadership roles within the same organisation, navigating impostor syndrome, and building the trusted relationships that help leaders make sound decisions. We explore why leaders need to listen to constructive dissent and face inconvenient truths, how to influence without formal authority, and what changes when you move from executive responsibility into advisory and board roles.

 Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn, and Vincent on LinkedIn

This is Part 2 of a 2-part series on internships, and what happens when students move from the classroom into the workplace. Charlie Askew & Aoibhinn Murphy are students currently working on the award-winning BSc in Digital Business & Innovation at Dublin City University Business School (DCU), a programme started by our previous guest, Professor Brian Harney. Charlie has an internship with Enterprise Ireland, and Aoibhinn has an internship with PwC. Hear the top skills the students have learned in their internships, how part-time work experience can prepare students for internships, the importance of feedback in an internship programme, how much responsibility to give your interns, and why the students have become more confident throughout their internships. Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn, and Charlie & Aoibhinn at DCU.ie and on LinkedIn

This is Part 1 of a 2-part series on internships, and what happens when students move from the classroom into the workplace. Brian Harney is Head of School for Work, Psychology, and Strategy and Professor in Strategy & HRM (Human Resource Management) at Dublin City University Business School (DCU). He is founder and former Programme Director of the award-winning BSc in Digital Business & Innovation and former Programme Director of the award-winning MSc in HRM. Brian’s research focuses on the intersection of Strategy & HRM, with a particular focus on SMEs, growth, and knowledge-intensive sectors. Hear the critical thinking skills students learn in internships, how their perspective on failure changes, what makes a genuinely developmental experience in an internship, how to infuse a mentorship component into your internship programme, and how present & future leaders can navigate our complex world. Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn, and Brian at DCU.ie and on LinkedIn

In this special solo episode, Host Shirley Kavanagh explores the skill of leading yourself. Hear why we don’t spend nearly enough time on self-leadership, why leaders stall, how to choose growth over the comfort of the familiar, how to exercise bravery & openness as a leader, and how to keep learning throughout your career. Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn

For 20+ years, Julia Payne has helped founder-led B2B companies sharpen their market position, improve commercial performance, and build systems for sustainable growth. She’s worked with 500+ organisations as a Founder, CEO, Board Director, Advisor, and Fractional CMO/GTM Lead. Today, she helps ambitious B2B companies reduce founder dependence, strengthen go-to-market capability, and build commercial organisations that scale without relying on individual heroics. Hear why the founder’s intuition stops scaling, how to get functional roles to come together to support growth, how to keep the strategic view as a leader, the leadership lessons Julia has learned from her competitive sailing background, and her advice for founders as they scale up. Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn, and Julia at Julia-Payne.com and on LinkedIn

Ben Beckley is the CEO of RevHealth, a full-service agency that partners with progressive healthcare companies to communicate cutting-edge science, launch novel therapies, and help life-changing treatments reach the patients who need them the most. He has over 20 years of experience in healthcare marketing & communications. Hear how to make yourself redundant as a leader, how to be a builder as a leader, how to deliver clarity for your team, how to make sure your values truly get adopted by your team & clients, and his hopes & fears when it comes to AI in the workplace. Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn, and Ben at RevHealth.com and on LinkedIn

After 30 conversations on Leadership Discoveries, it’s time to take a moment to reflect on the leadership lessons that keep coming up and to look at what matters most for leaders today. In this special episode, Host Shirley Kavanagh has become Guest Shirley Kavanagh, interviewed by Guest Host Max Branstetter of MaxPodcasting (better known as Shirley’s Wingman & Podcast Producer). Hear why Shirley started Leadership Discoveries in the first place, the leadership lessons frequently mentioned by guests, the leadership themes that surprised Shirley, her takeaways from her Gen Z mini-series on leadership, and what’s next for Leadership Discoveries. Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn, and Max at MaxPodcasting.com and on LinkedIn

Three-time guest Dean McAlister, EVP, Inizio Biotech, has spent over 35 years in Fortune 500 pharma leadership, including nearly 3 decades at AstraZeneca. His book, How to Matter Forever, comes out at the end of 2026. Hear how to think about passing the baton as a leader, how to have good judgment as a leader, the importance of constructive dissent, how to have conversations with respect while not avoiding the issue, and how to be an accountable leader. Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn, and Dean on LinkedIn

In this episode, I speak with Antoinette Dale Henderson, Founder & Owner of Gravitas Programme, about Leading with Gravitas: finding your voice, presence, and influence. Antoinette is a TEDx Speaker, 2x Author, and Executive Coach. Drawing on over 25 years of experience in leadership communications, including 16 years holding senior positions at the world’s top PR consultancies, Antoinette reflects on why gravitas is so important to leadership, her keys to impact & influence, and how we can get more people into the room when they’re not being heard.

We also explore what we’re missing at the human level in today’s world, what happens if learning goes away, and her advice for leaders at the early stage of their career.

Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn. To learn more about Antoinette’s work, connect with her at AntoinetteDaleHenderson.com and on LinkedIn

In this episode, I speak with Steve Widdoss, Chief People Officer of One Physics, about what it takes for HR to become a truly strategic leadership function. Drawing on senior HR leadership roles across global organisations including JPMorgan Chase, Capital One and Barclays, Steve reflects on why commercial credibility is essential for today's Chief People Officer, how HR earns a genuine seat at the executive table, and why understanding the business is just as important as understanding people.

We also explore leading through growth, organisational transformation and acquisition, the importance of helping leaders manage themselves through uncertainty, and how AI is reshaping the future of work without diminishing the importance of human leadership.

Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn. To learn more about Steve’s work, connect with him at OnePhysics.com and on LinkedIn