Leading Through Uncertainty

David Keene is the CEO of the RDM Group based in Coventry. He celebrates 27 years of running his business next month but the vigour and enthusiasm he brings, as well as his approach, are akin to an entrepreneurial startup, which is of course what he set up 27 years ago. David loves uncertainty because it keeps things fresh and exciting and explains how he balances that with providing a structure within which creativity can occur. He has a plan B, C, D for everything so it seems that whatever happens, David is ready to lead through it.

Ray O’Donoghue is MD of Corporate Banking for the Midlands region in Barclays. He talks about transforming the organisation from geography-led to industry-led and how the relationships with customers changed. It was a bold move that could have led to resistance but he engaged people by making sure they were part of the solution, continually refining the solution based on feedback.

Martin Reeves is CEO of Coventry City Council. He thrives on disruptive change and is comfortable with the chaos it brings, confident in the knowledge that transformation is created from chaos. His energy is infectious, and I found myself caught up in his enthusiasm. But Martin brings more than just enthusiasm. He engages people through solid leadership and relationship skills. The world needs more CEOs like him who not only embrace change but actively encourage difference as a way to achieve it.

Bill Coletti specialises in reputation management and crisis communication. He is author of the book Critical moments: the Mindset of Reputation Management. In this podcast, he shares his experience of staying grounded under pressure in a crisis and being confident of the way forward in moments of extreme uncertainty that a personal or professional crisis brings. There is much to learn from him about how we create clarity and certainty in moments of extreme uncertainty.

Susan Gee is Head of Wellbeing and Occupational Health for Yorkshire Water and is a highly regarded expert on stress and wellbeing. She talks about how work has been proven to be good for people and that we need to ensure that we make mental wellbeing at work as important as physical wellbeing. Susan has a wealth of knowledge on this subject and really understands the role that effective leadership has on our mental health.

Mani Hayre is a Client Relationship Manager at Falcon Insurance and a regular blogger at Mani’s madness. She talks openly about losing her job, how it impacted her self-esteem and starting her career again a decade later. As part of re-starting her new career, she moved from her home town of Scunthorpe to Birmingham. She explains how challenging it was to uproot her whole life to a new city, the loneliness she experienced, recovering from a house fire, owning a new home, having panic attacks and what it is to be an Asian woman living in Birmingham.

Sarah Windrum from the Emerald Group shares her story of how she led disruption in her IT business to adapt to new technologies and in the process caused communication and cultural challenges. She talks openly about how she brought the business back together and the need to listen to different ideas.

Cathy Wahlberg is one of the Directors of Alsters Kelley solicitors based in Warwickshire. She talks about how the recession in 2008 created uncertainty as every industry had to reform and adapt to new ways of working. Cathy talks openly about the need to upskill leaders and adapt to embrace the uncertainty created by a rapid pace of change.

Jude Jennison reads chapter fourteen Leading from the heart and soul from her book Leading Through Uncertainty.  She summarises the challenges we face in uncertainty, sharing the journey of her own uncertainty in looking after horses and running a business.

 

Jude Jennison reads chapter thirteen on Being human from her book Leading through uncertainty.  She explains how important it is to accept our limits in uncertainty, to relinquish control and find ease and flow in our leadership.