In this bitesize episode we talk to Chris Barkey about creating alignment and engaging teams in large organisations, the importance of trust and the futility of micro management.

In this short episode you can listen to Phil Crowle talk about his experience leading teams through creating alignment and engagement. Phil recalls the ambivalence he has seen in teams where there is no real emotion or connection to the work they are doing and shares his thoughts on how to avoid this.Phil also talks about the importance of the right mindset and behaviours at all levels to avoid transparency being weaponised.We also talk about the value of learning and how this needs to be acknowledged and rewarded, not just outcomes in line with objectives. Appreciation for learning sustains a Continuous Improvement culture.

In this short episode we talk with Graham Hopkins and Apurva Sinha about the critical role that data plays in successfully delivering product development programmes in complex organisations. In doing so we explore the need to take a holistic approach across the entire value chain as an antidote to function based thinking that often drives people to hoard data, preventing the realisation of its full potential and value.Graham and Apurva have a wealth of experience in this domain and share snippets of their wisdom in this discussion.

In this bitesize episode from our talk with Peter Hill we discuss the importance of creating the conditions necessary to stimulate innovation in teams or organisations and what we can learn from children who are typically unencumbered with the fear of failure we have often developed as adults. As the title of this episode suggests we conclude that a little bit of authorised anarchy can unlock significant potential and might even be fun sometimes.At the heart of this episode are some of Peter's personal experiences that have been a key part of his leadership journey.

In this episode we talk with Krysia Hudek and Pete Ashby about how we often feel compelled to be people pleasers to build harmonious working relationships.We explore some of the reasons that might be driving us to act in this way and the missed opportunity if we are unable to tame our people pleaser. In doing so we cover a range of topics from trust to authenticity to self-confidence amongst many others.Krysia and Pete share some great stories from their experience of having worked extensively with leaders helping them to realise their potential.

In this bitesize episode you can hear us talk with Ian Ritchey about his views and experiences of Agile and Waterfall methods and the importance of context. We talk about differences in how alignment is typically achieved in complex product development programmes around schedule and key milestones and we explore whether we should be trying to align more around the rapid retirement of risk and some of the challenges that this brings.Ian provides valuable insights from his unique perspective as a former Group Chief Engineer at Rolls-Royce.

In this short episode we talk with Gareth Lewis who is the Chief Executive Officer of Project7 Consultancy about his experiences of using visual performance management to engage organisations in identifying and resolving problems at short intervals.Gareth emphasises the importance of considering problems as opportunities to learn and how doing so can motivate teams to take action to deliver outstanding results.

We talk with Luke Logan about his reflections on the changes in working practices that he's seen arising as a result of the COVID-19 restrictions that were introduced at short notice in Spring 2020.Luke discusses how these restrictions galvanised the team to introduce changes rapidly and the key role that trust played in maintaining an efficient operation whilst teams were working remotely. He shares his hopes that the positive changes experienced can be sustained and built upon in future to create an even more inclusive working environment.Throughout the conversation Luke shares key insights that leaders in many different contexts are likely to find helpful.

In this podcast episode Ryan contrasts his experiences of leading teams in the military with teams in commercial businesses.  In doing so he identifies 3 areas of focus that he believes are critical for leaders in developing great teams. The first is to lead by example by demonstrating consistency, compassion and effective communication, which will establish credibility. The second is to show that the team comes first by equipping them for success, paying particular attention to workload, capacity and capability.  The third is to provide direction and guidance explaining what needs to be achieved and why and leaving the team to work out the who and the how.

In this episode we talk to Mike Denison about his passion for leading with questions.Mike talks about the power of questions in helping people to think differently and how they can be used to challenge some of the tacit assumptions that we have that dictate our behaviour.Throughout the episode Mike shares his passion through storytelling and leaves us with some practical steps that we can all take to continue to improve as leaders.