The Brave Next Step

Telling people something is changing doesn’t mean you’ve actually managed the change.

Whether you’re having one conversation with a direct report or leading a major cultural shift, successful change needs far more than an announcement and a hopeful assumption that everyone will simply get on board.

In this episode, I’m exploring why change is relational, contextual and, yes, sometimes messy. I’ll share why experimenting, testing, learning and reflecting matter, plus the three things I consistently come back to: repetition, emotional acknowledgement and capability.

Because the announcement isn’t the work. It’s what happens afterwards that determines whether change actually sticks.

Highlights:

(01:30) - Change isn’t a formula, and what works brilliantly once might flop the next time

(02:40) - Experiment, test, learn, reflect... and yes, mistakes are part of the deal

(04:00) - When a change is announced and then everyone goes quiet for six months

(05:08) - Resistance isn’t always irrational, sometimes it’s simply human

(06:00) - You’ve communicated the what, but have you actually built the how?

(07:15) - One question to ask yourself: have you communicated change or managed it?

Connect with Emma:

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This Podcast is proudly produced by Wavemakers Audio

A night at the theatre reminded me of something we often forget in leadership: people don’t think their way into feeling connected.

Sometimes the body responds first. We feel the energy, the emotion and that powerful sense of being part of something bigger than ourselves.

In this episode, I’m exploring what music, sport and theatre can teach us about moving people. Strategy decks and town halls have their place, but information alone doesn’t create commitment.

So how do we create the conditions where people genuinely feel connected, involved and inspired to bring their energy, rather than simply comply?

Highlights:

(01:35) - The moment my energy shifted without me choosing it

(03:08) - Why understanding the strategy doesn’t mean people feel committed to it

(04:59) - What happens when we sanitise emotion out of the workplace

(06:08) - Why compliance will never be the same as commitment

(07:12) - Are you informing people when you actually need to move them?

(08:35) - One small leadership experiment to change the energy in the room

Connect with Emma:

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This Podcast is proudly produced by Wavemakers Audio

In this episode, I’m joined by Emma Saccomani to talk about boundaries, people pleasing and the difference between genuinely empowering someone and quietly enabling them.

Emma shares why boundaries aren’t simply about saying no, and why they can become too rigid just as easily as they can become too loose.

We explore guilt, difficult conversations, self-awareness, capacity and the urge to rescue people when things get uncomfortable. We also look at how clearer boundaries can actually create more trust, autonomy and growth, both at work and in our personal lives.

Highlights:

(03:58) - Why boundaries need nuance rather than an all-or-nothing approach

(11:25) - The important difference between empowering someone and taking over for them

(18:47) - Why boundaries can create freedom rather than simply shutting things down

(28:40) - How capacity and self-care become boundaries when life gets busy

(32:02) - Why feeling guilty doesn’t mean you’ve made the wrong decision

(37:01) - How to prepare for a clear, constructive boundaries conversation

Connect with Emma:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmasaccomani/

https://emmasaccomani.com/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1068585323

Connect with Emma:

LinkedIn

Website

This Podcast is proudly produced by Wavemakers Audio

In this episode, I’m exploring the gap between what we intend as leaders and how our behaviour actually lands.

You might genuinely trust, respect and support your team, but if your actions communicate control, checking or hovering, that is the experience people will remember.

We look at why this gap often gets wider under pressure, how unconscious habits can override our values, and why self-awareness alone isn’t enough.

I also share three practical ways to notice the gap, understand your impact and start rebuilding trust through consistent behaviour.

Highlights:

(01:36) - Why your team experiences your behaviour, not your intentions

(03:07) - How trust can quickly start to look like micromanagement

(04:28) - Why pressure exposes the habits hiding underneath your values

(05:34) - How small contradictions quietly erode trust and psychological safety

(07:44) - Three ways to start closing the intent and impact gap

(09:44) - The simple question that can show you how your leadership really lands

Connect with Emma:

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This Podcast is proudly produced by Wavemakers Audio

In this episode, I’m exploring observation as a leadership skill, and why being too close to a team, habit or way of working can make important patterns almost impossible to see.

A recent conversation with a former boss reminded me how powerful it can be when someone reflects back something about us that we cannot currently see for ourselves.

I also look at what happens when observations are ignored, dismissed or acknowledged without anything changing. Because noticing a pattern is only the beginning.

Real leadership means creating enough safety for people to speak honestly, receiving what they say with curiosity, and then choosing to disrupt the habits that keep pulling everyone back to the familiar.

Highlights:

(01:30) - The comment from a former boss that made me see myself differently

(03:30) - Why being close to a system can make its patterns almost invisible

(05:19) - Awareness without disruption is just more sophisticated repetition

(06:10) - The three ways observation tends to fail inside organisations

(08:10) - Why your first response to feedback is often defence, not curiosity

(10:43) - The complete loop: notice it, receive it, then actually let something change

Connect with Emma:

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This Podcast is proudly produced by Wavemakers Audio

In this episode, I’m exploring the difference between pressure that drains us and pressure that actually helps us perform better.

It started with something as simple as swimming, where I noticed that the targets I was setting for myself were creating more stress and fatigue without improving my performance.

I’ll share what happened when I removed those targets completely, and what changed again when I allowed a different kind of pressure in.

We’ll look at the self-authored deadlines, expectations and internal countdowns we create at work, and why real accountability, visibility and challenge can sometimes sharpen us far more effectively than the pressure we invent for ourselves.

Highlights:

(01:37) - The swimming experiment that made me question how much pressure I create for myself

(03:00) - Same pace, same ability, completely different stress levels

(04:40) - What happened when I stopped counting and just kept swimming

(06:25) - The surprising kind of pressure that actually improved my performance

(08:28) - How private deadlines and invented KPIs can create stress without creating better work

(10:20) - Three questions to help you work out which pressure to drop and which pressure to let in

Connect with Emma:

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This Podcast is proudly produced by Wavemakers Audio

In this episode, I’m exploring the psychology underneath delegation and why it is about far more than giving someone a clear brief and trusting them to get on with it.

I’m looking at dependence, independence and interdependence, and what each one asks of us as leaders.

I’ll also share why some leaders accidentally create the very dependence they complain about, why other people struggle to receive responsibility, and what genuine interdependence can look like in practice.

This is really a conversation about trust, responsibility and being honest about what you are willing and able to hold in your working relationships.

Highlights:

(01:30) - Why the real question is not employee or associate, but what kind of dependence you can hold

(03:34) - The maturity continuum from dependence to independence to interdependence

(05:53) - How leaders can accidentally create the dependence they later resent

(07:14) - Why some people struggle to receive delegation even when they are completely capable

(08:18) - What genuine interdependence actually looks like in a working relationship

(10:12) - The leadership question worth asking: is this stance serving both of us, or just protecting me?

Connect with Emma:

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This Podcast is proudly produced by Wavemakers Audio

In this episode, I’m getting practical about upward influence and what actually helps an idea land with senior decision-makers.

Building on the last episode, I’m looking at Yukl and Tracey’s influence tactics and the difference between simply having a strong argument and creating the conditions for someone to support it.

I’ll talk through the tactics that tend to work best when influencing upwards, including rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, consultation and coalition building.

I also share the mistakes I used to make, why consultation became one of the biggest shifts in my own approach, and how thinking carefully about timing, sequencing and what really matters to the other person can completely change the outcome of a high-stakes conversation.

Highlights:

(01:30) - Why being right is only half the job when you need someone senior to say yes

(02:32) - The tactic I used to skip because it felt slower, and why it now changes everything

(03:18) - Why building allies before the meeting is not manipulation, it is groundwork

(05:49) - The three influence tactics that work best upwards, and why the magic is in combining them

(06:41) - The three questions I now ask before any high-stakes conversation

(08:03) - Stop walking into the room with a good idea and hoping it lands, build the tactical plan first

Connect with Emma:

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This Podcast is proudly produced by Wavemakers Audio

I’ve had to learn this one the hard way: having a good idea does not automatically mean people will get behind it.

For years, I often went straight to the decision maker, trusted the quality of my thinking to do the work, and skipped the slower job of bringing people with me. Sometimes that was impatience. Sometimes it was confidence. And sometimes, if I’m honest, it was arrogance.

In this episode, I’m looking at the five bases of power and what they teach us about influencing upwards.

We’ll explore where your influence actually comes from, why expert knowledge alone is rarely enough, and how mapping the power dynamic can completely change the way you approach a high-stakes conversation.

Highlights:

(01:30) - Why a strong idea can still fail if you haven’t brought people with you

(02:26) - The five different types of power shaping influence at work

(03:21) - Why titles, rewards and consequences matter more than we like to admit

(04:10) - The two forms of power you can rely on when influencing someone more senior

(05:20) - The mistake of trying to win the argument instead of building the relationship

(06:14) - The questions to ask before your next high-stakes conversation

Connect with Emma:

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This Podcast is proudly produced by Wavemakers Audio

In this episode, I’m exploring why effective leadership is not about finding one perfect style and sticking to it. The people we lead are constantly changing, so the way we show up needs to change too.

Someone who needed direction last month might need space today, while someone who seemed confident may suddenly need more support.

I bring together situational leadership and co-active leadership to explain four practical ways of leading: from the front, beside, behind, and within the wider field.

This is really about attentiveness, self-awareness, and asking one honest question: am I giving this person what they need, or simply giving them the version of me that feels most comfortable?

Highlights:

(01:49) - Why one default leadership style will eventually hold people back

(03:24) - Matching your approach to someone’s confidence and competence

(04:33) - When clear direction is generous, not controlling

(06:20) - Supporting someone who already has the answer

(08:14) - Why delegation without autonomy is not really delegation

(10:02) - Spotting the difference between a conscious choice and an old habit

Connect with Emma:

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This Podcast is proudly produced by Wavemakers Audio