What's the most unhumble thing you have done?

And what rule would you break? 

We put Stefanie Sword-Williams, founder of F*ck Being Humble, in the hot seat for our latest episode of The Fast & The Curious and let’s just say, her answers were as bold as her brand.

In just a few minutes, we found out:

👀 The rule she’d break if no one could stop her
📧 What she’s done saying sorry for
🎶 Her go-to confidence anthem before a big moment

This was a lot of fun to do.

Listen to the clip, then head to the full episode on YouTube for more unfiltered answers.

👍 Stay inspired by joining our YouTube community! Click the link, hit the subscribe button, leave a comment, and never miss an episode. Your support helps us empower courageous leaders like you!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2kZ-x8fDHKEVb222qpQ_NQ


🚀 Elevate Your Leadership:
Book a call for transformative leadership and team coaching:
Website: https://thechangecreators.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannahowes/

What does it really take to step into your purpose, even when it scares you?

In this episode, I’m joined by Stefanie Sword-Williams, the fearless founder of F*ck Being Humble. She opens up about her journey from advertising to creating a global movement, what drives her, and why she’s not afraid to challenge the status quo. We explore courage, burnout, and how to find meaning when life throws you off track.

We Cover:
01:51 – How starting Fuck Being Humble was Stefanie’s boldest move

06:43 – Why she created her own stage instead of waiting for permission

09:20 – How Stefanie launched her first event and became a public speaker

15:52 – Rapid growth through word of mouth and community

20:44 – Learning to set boundaries after being overlooked

25:05 – Why scrappy events and strong storytelling worked

31:26 – What’s next: Stefanie’s new book and shifting into legacy work

34:56 – Helping people stuck in their careers find a new path

45:01 – How she’s learning to say no and trust what matters

55:31 – A traumatic moment in 2023 and the power of healing in public

Don’t miss out on this powerful episode. 

👍 Stay inspired by joining our YouTube community! Click the link, hit the subscribe button, leave a comment, and never miss an episode. Your support helps us empower courageous leaders like you!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2kZ-x8fDHKEVb222qpQ_NQ


🚀 Elevate Your Leadership:
Book a call for transformative leadership and team coaching:
Website: https://thechangecreators.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannahowes/

Danny Dyer or Peter Crouch?

Negroni or Yorkshire Tea?

We put Leah Spears in the hot seat for our latest episode of The Fast & The Curious.

And her answers never disappoint 🔥

From bold picks to unexpected truths...

This one moves fast, and nothing is off limits...

👀 What would she name her racehorse?

🍽 Why would she say yes to being on First Dates?

🤯 What’s harder: being a mum or managing creatives?

🙋‍♀️ And what advice does she give to the next wave of bold women in business?

❌ No filters.
❌ No fluff.

Just a leader being fully herself and loving it.

For the full insight's check out the full story, which is live now on YouTube.

👍 Stay inspired by joining our YouTube community! Click the link, hit the subscribe button, leave a comment, and never miss an episode. Your support helps us empower courageous leaders like you!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2kZ-x8fDHKEVb222qpQ_NQ


🚀 Elevate Your Leadership:
Book a call for transformative leadership and team coaching:
Website: https://thechangecreators.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannahowes/

What happens when you stay true to yourself even when the world tells you to change?

In this episode of The Courageous Leaders Podcast, I’m joined by Leah Spears, Head of Brand Strategy at Paddy Power. She shares the personal moments that shaped her leadership, from navigating judgement based on appearance to stepping into bold, visible roles. We explore confidence, curiosity, and what it takes to lead with integrity in an industry that doesn’t always make it easy.

We Cover:
01:22 – Why Leah joined Paddy Power and how she knew it was the right fit

04:08 – The judgement she faced based on how she looked and who she was

06:08 – The advice she regrets taking and how she quickly reclaimed herself

08:50 – How she turned being underestimated into her biggest strength

11:27 – Why being curious has helped her grow as a leader

14:13 – How she handles difficult conversations without fear

17:16 – Childhood ambitions and how they shaped her mindset

20:53 – Creating real connections in a digital, hybrid workplace

23:29 – What makes a great agency–client partnership work

26:20 – How she’s helping younger women in her team find their voice

29:21 – Why confidence starts with knowing you don’t have to know everything

Don’t miss out on this powerful episode. 

👍 Stay inspired by joining our YouTube community! Click the link, hit the subscribe button, leave a comment, and never miss an episode. Your support helps us empower courageous leaders like you!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2kZ-x8fDHKEVb222qpQ_NQ


🚀 Elevate Your Leadership:
Book a call for transformative leadership and team coaching:
Website: https://thechangecreators.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannahowes/

In this episode of The Courageous Leaders Podcast, I share one of the hardest chapters of my leadership journey, being excluded, questioned, and broken down by the very people I was meant to lead alongside. I reveal the five lessons that helped me survive it and rebuild stronger. If you're stuck in a toxic dynamic, this episode is for you.

We Cover:
01:00 – The moment I realised I wasn’t wanted on the team

01:44 – What it feels like to be excluded and humiliated by peers

02:18 – The self-doubt spiral that nearly broke me

03:07 – How being excluded and humiliated reshaped my life and career

03:42 – Lesson 1: Stop trying to win them over

04:21 – Lesson 2: Find your allies, even if they’re outside the room

05:21 – Lesson 3: Set boundaries and call out passive aggression

06:42 – Lesson 4: Protect your mental space and reframe your thinking

08:27 – Lesson 5: Speak up when you see toxic behaviour on your team

Don’t miss out on this powerful episode. 

👍 Stay inspired by joining our YouTube community! Click the link, hit the subscribe button, leave a comment, and never miss an episode. Your support helps us empower courageous leaders like you!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2kZ-x8fDHKEVb222qpQ_NQ


🚀 Elevate Your Leadership:
Book a call for transformative leadership and team coaching:
Website: https://thechangecreators.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannahowes/

Is your team's growth being silently blocked by toxic positivity, hidden politics, or a culture of avoidance? 

What if you could banish just one of these frustrations to unlock everyone's true potential?

I put that exact challenge to three brilliant leaders in a special 'Leadership Room 101' debate. I welcomed Nishma Patel Robb (Founder, Glittersphere) , Ete Davies (EMEA EVP, Dentsu Creative) , and Natalie Winford (Chief Solutions Officer, Jellyfish) to each nominate the one leadership flaw they believe does the most damage in business today. 

The resulting discussion is a masterclass in identifying the root causes of team friction and building a culture based on reality, not pretence.

We Cover: 
01:57 – The 'Good Vibes Only' Trap: When positivity becomes toxic. 

07:38 – A Leader's Most Powerful Tool: The choice to be vulnerable. 

08:28 – Nishma on how relentless positivity can silence your team 

12:46 – Exposing the Hidden Power Structure: The problem with organisational politics. 

17:10 – How "corridor meetings" create a parallel culture of mistrust. 

27:25 – Can you be a good person and good at politics? 

29:29 – Natalie’s argument for banning the phrase "it’s above my pay grade" 

35:07 – Why employees feel stuck: Is it evasion or a cry for help? 

39:43 – Should you do a task before you're promoted for it?

44:10 – The Final Verdict: The single most damaging leadership flaw is revealed.

Don’t miss out on this powerful episode. 

👍 Stay inspired by joining our YouTube community! Click the link, hit the subscribe button, leave a comment, and never miss an episode. Your support helps us empower courageous leaders like you!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2kZ-x8fDHKEVb222qpQ_NQ


🚀 Elevate Your Leadership:
Book a call for transformative leadership and team coaching:
Website: https://thechangecreators.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannahowes/

In this powerful episode, I sat down with Abi Wright and Jen Toll, the inspiring founders behind Festival of The Girl. What started as a grassroots idea is now a powerful movement helping girls step into their power and challenge gender stereotypes from childhood.

We talked about how courage can grow from anger, why shrinking starts in childhood, and how both boys and girls benefit when we reframe what confidence, risk-taking and visibility really mean. If you’ve ever wondered how to raise or lead with more intention, this episode will change how you see the next generation.

We Cover:
00:36 – What does success really mean, and who decided it?

01:36 – Why Jen’s journey into feminism began with motherhood

02:42 – Abi’s wake-up moment while raising daughters

04:17 – Launching Festival of The Girl with no budget

06:35 – What courage looks like behind the scenes

08:45 – “We were angry. That’s what drove us.”

10:55 – The moment their daughters pointed out inequality at home

13:40 – Why girls fear ‘getting it wrong’ more than boys

14:53 – The real risks girls are afraid to take

16:42 – Confidence doesn’t just appear. It’s taught.

18:10 – Launching Festival of The Boy and what it means for boys 

Don’t miss out on this powerful episode. 

👍 Stay inspired by joining our YouTube community! Click the link, hit the subscribe button, leave a comment, and never miss an episode. Your support helps us empower courageous leaders like you!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2kZ-x8fDHKEVb222qpQ_NQ


🚀 Elevate Your Leadership:
Book a call for transformative leadership and team coaching:
Website: https://thechangecreators.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannahowes/

“What’s the biggest bullshit in leadership?”

Chris Hirst answers without blinking. 

But you’ll have to watch to hear what he says.

In this Fast & The Curious episode,Chris, former Global CEO of Havas Creative goes from sharp insight to guilty pleasures in under six minutes.

☕ A very strong opinion on herbal tea

🎸 A Nickelback moment he didn’t see coming

🧦 And the one workplace trend he’d cancel forever

It’s short. It’s sharp. And it’s leadership with a side of dry humour.

📺 Watch now on YouTube and check out the full Courageous Leaders episode while you’re there.

👍 Stay inspired by joining our YouTube community! Click the link, hit the subscribe button, leave a comment, and never miss an episode. Your support helps us empower courageous leaders like you!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2kZ-x8fDHKEVb222qpQ_NQ


🚀 Elevate Your Leadership:
Book a call for transformative leadership and team coaching:
Website: https://thechangecreators.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannahowes/

What happens when you’ve spent years inside a failing business, then asked to take over as CEO and turn it around?
For Chris Hirst, it wasn’t just a step up. It was a defining challenge that forced him to rethink everything he knew about leadership.
In this episode of The Courageous Leaders Podcast, I’m joined by leadership expert, award-winning author, and former Global CEO of Havas Creative, Chris Hirst. Known for transforming struggling companies from within, Chris shares what it really takes to lead under pressure and why clarity, courage, and conviction matter more than ever.

We Cover:
01:22 – Becoming CEO of a broken business, and why it felt like career suicide

04:00 – The Harvard moment that changed Chris’s mindset and life

05:50 – How to fix a failing company: honesty, clarity, and ruthless prioritisation

08:00 – Why commitment beats capability when it comes to business growth

10:23 – What makes a great CEO and how to build a high-performing culture

13:18 – Attitude vs. aptitude: the core of Chris’s new book Indispensable

16:49 – Workplace autopilot: why most people don’t show up with intention

20:24 – Leading 100 CEOs: spotting the difference between good and great

26:00 – Decision-making as a leadership superpower

30:50 – Chris’s personal demon and the advice he’d give his younger self

Don’t miss out on this powerful episode. 

👍 Stay inspired by joining our YouTube community! Click the link, hit the subscribe button, leave a comment, and never miss an episode. Your support helps us empower courageous leaders like you!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2kZ-x8fDHKEVb222qpQ_NQ


🚀 Elevate Your Leadership:
Book a call for transformative leadership and team coaching:
Website: https://thechangecreators.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannahowes/

Many leaders still see empathy as a weakness.

This is shortsighted as empathy is one of the most powerful skills to drive trust, performance, and real connection.

In this episode, I explain what it means to lead with empathy and share three practical ways to integrate it into your leadership today. You’ll learn how empathy shifts behaviour, strengthens accountability, and builds a culture where people feel seen, safe, and motivated to give their best


We Cover: 
01:03 – What empathy in leadership really means

01:39 – Real story: How one CEO shifted outcomes with one question

02:24 – Why empathy is often misunderstood as “going soft”

03:14 – Leadership shift: Empathy as a strategy, not sentiment

03:41 – Tip #1: Always start with empathy

04:22 – Tip #2: How to practice active listening

05:02 – Tip #3: Check in regularly, beyond the task list

05:39 – Final thoughts: Why empathy is good for performance and for you


Don’t miss out on this powerful episode. 

👍 Stay inspired by joining our YouTube community! Click the link, hit the subscribe button, leave a comment, and never miss an episode. Your support helps us empower courageous leaders like you!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2kZ-x8fDHKEVb222qpQ_NQ


🚀 Elevate Your Leadership:
Book a call for transformative leadership and team coaching:
Website: https://thechangecreators.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannahowes/