Talking Toughness

Our special guest for this podcast is Andrea Naylor. Andrea is Senior Manager, Learning and Development for Etihad Airways – one of the biggest airlines in the world employing over 8,000 people.

She is also one of the most experienced practitioners with the mental toughness concept and the MTQPlus measure which she has incorporated successfully into her work for more than 12 years. Her expertise across a wide range of applications is such that she is recognised as a Master Trainer for the concept.

In this podcast, Andrea shares something valuable – her real experience with the concept and how it has been able to make an impact. This will range from dealing with the stressors of the Covid era and afterwards through to applications such as leadership development and team building as well as coaching individuals.

Andrea stresses the importance of self-awareness about this aspect of your personality, usually hidden from view and draws attention to the depth of valuable information that can be generated through the mental toughness concept.

This is a session for the practitioner – coach, trainer, consultant, facilitator, managers and leaders.

There is a rich source of learning here.

"We need to achieve a level of proficiency that is sufficient for us to navigate life successfully"

This is part two of a truly amazing conversation with Jo Owen, a serial social entrepreneur building some of the most important organisations in the world of education and a genuine "leadership guru", author of several best-selling books on the topic.

In this episode, Jo explores what the overused term "authenticity" really means in the context of leadership. You can't succeed by being someone else – the key is to be the best version of who you are.

He explains why he feels that leadership is learned – it cannot be taught and how important it is to be realistic and grounded. Leaders are expected to be perfect but they must strive to do what they do as well as they can whilst asking themselves "Where do I really add value in all this?".

Finally, he introduces RAMP. An approach to building intrinsic motivation which works.

Listen and learn.

"Dance first in the sun to be able to dance in the rain when the rain comes."

This podcast, in two parts, we welcome a very special guest Jo Owen.

The term "guru" can be overused but in Jo Owen, we have the real thing. Jo Owen has become something of a leadership and motivation guru which is reflected in a number of best-selling books on these and other related themes.

He is also something of a social entrepreneur in the world of education having founded 8 organisations which all make an impact—these range from Teach First in the UK to STIR Education which operates globally.

What this means is that he has a lifetime of knowledge, experience and skills to share.

In this first episode, Jo Owen defines leadership in very straightforward terms including exploring the critical role of trust. Importantly he sees leaders as people who make their own success. It's less about luck and more about making your own luck. Less about responding when the going gets tough to honing your skills when the pressures off. Leadership is a full-time job.

"Challenging yourself to do things differently"

Part two of this unique podcast explores the importance of being flexible and adaptable and not formulaic in customer service.

Maya notes that everyone can offer good customer service - but not many can be bold enough to do things differently. That includes enabling employees to take risks based on their judgement of a situation.

Self-awareness about your mental toughness is also explored – to understand your mental response to the immediate situation creating an ability to switch between the negative and the positive mindset in order 'to smile' at your workplace and do so authentically.

The challenge for leaders in customer service is to help staff find the purpose in what they do/job satisfaction to deliver that 'authentic' level of service.

What shines through in both parts of this podcast is the passion of a very talented individual who is constantly learning how to do what is already excellent, even better.

Listen, learn and be inspired.

"Changing 'the doing' by changing 'the viewing'"

Our very special guest today is Maya Mattar. Maya is a people-development professional, educator, and author who has become recognised as an expert in customer services, authoring the bestselling book "Lasting Impressions - The Framework for Consistent Service Delivery".

We have known and worked with Maya for 10+ years since she became an early adopter of the 4Cs Mental Toughness concept in MENA and became the first MTQ master trainer for the region.

Maya believes firmly in a genuine approach to customer service stressing the importance of generosity through serving, it needs to happen from the heart. To do this setting up the right mindset is the only way to achieve excellence.

In this episode, Maya talks about why emotional connections ensure your customers will come back to you, rave about you - become your ambassadors. Rejecting the idea of "one size fits all training, her deeply held philosophy is that customer services need to understand and adapt to the variety of needs of different customers.

This episode finishes on a very practical note born out of Maya's considerable experience. Her 'service PPE' model.

Customer Service matters for all of us. There is 24-carat learning here.

"As a leader, my success is defined by how fast my team comes to me and says we've messed up, because at that point I can fix it."

Part two of this very special podcast with Andrew (Stotts) Stotter-Brooks turns the attention to leadership.

His approach is very down-to-earth and practical. Andrew has a special interest in Leadership and has usefully picked up on our work on Mental toughness and incorporated this into his thinking and his work.

Here we explore the imperative for leadership self-awareness and what is needed for leaders to be truly approachable to staff.

Andrew goes on to consider why many senior leaders believe they need to be perfect, and through this, they can miss opportunities for engagement.

Finally examining why openness to others works in practice. If mistakes are made, they can be corrected quoting Jeff Bezos "99% of decisions are relatively easy to reverse".

It is not a surprise that in October 2022 he was nominated as No 1 in a list of the ten most influential HR leaders in the United Arab Emirates.

Listen and learn.

"People never forget how you make them feel."

Our incredibly special guest for Part 1 of this podcast is Andrew Stotter-Brooks, known as Stotts to all his friends and colleagues.

We have got to know Andrew and his work at close quarters in recent years and have grown to admire a truly unique approach to people and organisation development which is very much an example of leading-edge thinking.

Until recently Stotts was Vice President of Learning and Development for Etihad Airways. He introduced innovative, leading-edge learning solutions, to support the development, growth and performance of Etihad's 24,500 global team members.

Andrew is very people-centred. He describes taking employee engagement to another level and delivering real results. Care and compassion come to the fore in his work. His belief -" Keep it human, keep it kind, care about people."

Andrew is a reflective practitioner who is very thoughtful about his work and his purpose and very energetic in applying this. It is not a surprise that in October 2022 he was nominated as No 1 in a list of the ten most influential HR leaders in the United Arab Emirates.

IS KINDNESS YOUR LEADERSHIP SUPERPOWER

In this second part of a remarkable podcast, our guest Karen Stein, brings her experience and expertise to the discussion to explore issues and topics about which she has a real passion.

An Executive Coach with Deloitte Australia and Deloitte University Partner Faculty member, Karen also applies her skills is a variety of voluntary work.

Here she explores with us her thoughts on 'Kindness Coaching' - what it is and its value in leadership.

Usefully she considers whether leadership represents a different challenge for women than for males and offers her observations on the notion of unconscious bias.

Finally, she returns to Leadership and the importance of role modelling to create an environment which allows for psychological safety, creativity, diversity, trust, mindfulness etc.

In June 2023, her book "Be your own Leadership Coach" is published.

Again, a remarkable opportunity to listen to an acknowledged expert in her field … and to learn from that.

HOW TO BE THE BEST LEADER YOU CAN BE

Our guest for this first section of a two-part podcast is Karen Stein, one of the most experienced and thoughtful coaches with whom we have worked.

Based in Australia, with over 30 years of experience in professional services, Karen works for Deloitte as an Executive Coach and Deloitte University Partner Faculty member serving the Asia Pacific region.

In this session, Karen explores her interest in and her path to learning about Mental Toughness. In 2022 she delivered a brilliant session on this for the Institute of Coaching, McLean/Harvard Medical School.

Karen also talks about coaching work at Deloitte, particularly in designing a coaching programme for female partners of Deloitte.

Finally, she addresses the subject of Leadership and the importance of leading by example. In June 2023, her book "Be your own Leadership Coach" both taps this well of experience and draws attention to what we can do for ourselves. An idea that really resonates with AQR International's approach to development.

Both parts provide a remarkable opportunity to listen to an acknowledged expert in her field … and to learn from that.

Dr. Michael Gerson has worked with a diverse range of soldier-athlete-clinical populations in the field of performance, sport, military, health, and clinical psychology. A Core Faculty member at John F. Kennedy University in California, he teaches sport/ performance psychology and mindfulness courses.

In addition, Dr. Gerson is the Director of Mental Skills at Mission 6 Zero, a tribe of performance experts that merge Special Operations Forces veterans with Behavioural Science Practitioners /Researchers — blending the work of the practitioner with the academic.

With this wide and varied background, Michael Gerson adds his perspectives to support the understanding of the mental toughness concept and its application to all walks of life.

In part 2 he carries on with the theme of evidence-based practice.

As a Mental Skills Director for Mission 6 Zero, he believes strongly in a scientific practitioner model, using science and research to direct and guide his work.

He is a practitioner of the 4Cs model because of the wealth of evidence behind the concept and measure, finding it valuable to link this to a variety of models and concepts to gain the best outcomes for his work.

In our podcast session, both John and Doug learn a great deal from the practice and experience of others who pick up their ideas.

Listen and you will too.