The Dee-Brief Show

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Erin Treacy has led teams while raising five children and running her own business, so she knows the pull of both worlds.

In this episode, she and Dee explore why we try to separate the leader from the parent or carer, why that isn't always the answer, and the small habits that help.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube via linktr.ee/deeclayton.

Listen on Apple | Spotify

Billy Schwer was a world champion. Then he was knocked out, and in the years that followed he lost his marriage, his home and any idea of who he was.

Twenty years on, he tells Dee what he sees in the leaders he works with now, and what he wants them to notice. The job you have is a part of you, not the whole of you.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube via linktr.ee/deeclayton.

Listen on Apple | Spotify

If AI keeps promising more than it delivers, this episode is for you.

Bryce cuts through the noise, gets straight to why it feels like hard work, and instead how to make it work for you. Reassuring, practical and grounded in real experience.

Finish with a clearer head and permission to approach AI much more simply.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube via linktr.ee/deeclayton.

Listen on Apple | Spotify

Most leaders think they treat their people fairly. But fair and equitable are not the same thing, and that gap matters.

In this episode, Celeste Warren brings thirty years of experience to a very practical question: what does inclusive leadership actually look like in your next team meeting?

Real examples, no jargon, and ideas you can use straight away.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube via linktr.ee/deeclayton.

Listen on Apple | Spotify

Most leaders avoid difficult conversations hoping the problem will go away. It never does.

In this episode, Bruce Mayhew shares his practical framework for having these conversations early, clearly and safely, before tension builds into conflict.

If you’ve been putting off a conversation you know you need to have, this one is for you.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube via linktr.ee/deeclayton.

Listen on Apple | Spotify

What does it take to build a team that performs at its best even when you are not there?

This week's guest Brendan Hall knows. A winning skipper who led an improbable crew of amateurs, 27 nationalities, ages 17 to 63, through 40,000 miles and a North Pacific hurricane.

Real team empowerment lessons you can bring straight back to dry land.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube via linktr.ee/deeclayton.

Listen on Apple | Spotify

What if your workload problem has a real solution?

Not a theory, but a practical strategy someone is living right now.

This week's guest is Andrew Fraser, a senior global leader under constant pressure who has genuinely figured out how to stay on top of it.

In this episode, he shares the principles and habits that help him manage the pressure without burning out, and explains why protecting your time makes you better at your job, not worse.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube via linktr.ee/deeclayton.

Listen on Apple | Spotify

In this episode of The Dee-Brief Show, Dee is joined by Derek Thomas, a former headteacher and author.

Derek shares his personal story of pushing on for years, holding himself to high standards while his health slipped down the priority list—until a major health wake-up call forced him to stop.

He reflects on rethinking priorities, restoring balance, and making different choices, including climbing Kilimanjaro. Derek also discusses what that shift revealed about how he now lives and leads.

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Hiring feels hard for leaders right now, and not just because of the market.

In this episode of The Dee-Brief Show, Dee is joined by Claire Bond and Suzanne Sherriff from Bond Williams Professional Recruitment to explore why hiring feels so demanding in the current climate, and what often gets overlooked when recruitment is squeezed in alongside the day job.

With skills shortages, candidate hesitation, changing expectations and the rise of AI tools, hiring is often assumed to be simpler now. In reality, for many leaders it has become a high-stakes responsibility carried alongside everything else, where delays, uncertainty and missed signals can quickly cost you the right candidate.

Drawing on their experience as professional recruiters, Dee draws out the seven most common hiring mistakes, and what can be learned from the way recruiters think and work.

They also explore how hiring behaviour signals leadership and culture, and why repeated small missteps can create longer-term hiring challenges beyond a single vacancy.

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In this episode of The Dee-Brief Show, Dee Clayton is joined by psychodrama psychotherapist Julie Lacy to explore how an inner critic can quietly shape leadership behaviour.

The conversation explores:

Through their discussion, the episode highlights how greater self-awareness can restore flexibility, strengthen connection, and expand choice at work.