Welcome back to Season 2. We're also now on YouTube!

Thanks to all who've listened and subscribed to this podcast series so far, we've been away for a little while and whilst we're still all about exploring high performance, we're going to focus our attention to the world of professional coaching.,

In this series we'll explore the world of coaching from the perspective of four experienced practitioners.  Our host Stephen Brown is an EMCC Senior Practitioner and coach educator, and each episode he will joined by a stellar line up of regular expert guests, including:  

Louise Startin - ICF Professional and personal/business coach 

Louise Presley-Turner - ICF Accredited Coach and internationally published author 

Alison Cripps - ICF Accredited Coach and Solutions Focussed Practitioner.

Pop- along to our YouTube channel if you would like to see us in person, and if you do remember to like, comment and subscribe.

If you've got topics you would like us to cover in future episodes either leave a comment on YouTube or you can contact us on [email protected]

Thanks!

In this episode our host Stephen Brown is joined by international speaker and best-selling author, Professor Damian Hughes.

Damian is an author of eight best-selling business books, including Liquid Thinking, Liquid Leadership, How to Change Absolutely Anything, How to Think Like Sir Alex Ferguson, The Five STEPS to a Winning Mindset and The Barcelona Way: Unlocking the DNA of a Winning Culture.

He was appointed as a Professor of Organisational Psychology and Change for Manchester Metropolitan University in September 2010 and is the co-host of The High Performance Podcast, an acclaimed series of interviews with elite performers from business, sport and the arts, exploring the psychology behind sustained high performance.

During our discussion Damian shares how non-negotiable behaviours lie at the heart of high performance, the impact of cultural architects when sustaining change and what Ant Middleton has taught him about personal resilience.

We gain some brilliant insights from Damian’s own recent interviews from the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Sir Chris Hoy and England Rugby League coach Shaun Wane, as well as exploring what impact the global pandemic may have on high performance.

This is a great episode to round off our first season, so if you enjoy this and our other discussions please support our podcast by subscribing and rating our show on apple podcasts or your favourite podcast provider.

Be sure to check out the third season of Damian’s own High Performance podcast where you can hear discussions with the likes of Steven Gerrard, Lily Cole and Sir Clive Woodward.

Hello and welcome to the STRETCH podcast. In this episode our host Stephen Brown is going to be exploring professional coaching with Ted Campbell.

Whilst still a relatively young industry, professional/executive coaching has gained popularity in recent years with business and people leaders recognising the impact it can have on an individual’s performance and that of a wider business. But coaching can mean different things to different people, and that’s where we start with today’s guest.

As former head of the Academy of Executive Coaching, Scotland, Ted Campbell was responsible for the development and accreditation of professional coaches and has over 18 years’ experience as an executive coach himself running his company Executive 21.

During our chat Ted provides his definition of coaching as well as sharing the philosophy he adopts when working with clients. We find out what it takes to be a credible coach and how important integrity is when creating an environment where your coachee feels comfortable to bring anything to the table. We also take a look at how the coaching industry has evolved over the years as well as how emerging technologies may play a part in it’s future.

Whether you’re new to coaching or an experienced coach yourself, you’ll gain fantastic insight from one of the industry’s most experienced practitioners.

In this episode we’re going to be talking to Miles Cherry, Executive chairman of React - Acting for business.

If you’ve been involved in high impact learning and development programmes at certain points in your career, you may have experienced drama-based learning and coaching. Our guest was a pioneer in this area creating his business React back in 1993, when the thought of combining professional actors and aspiring or developing managers was seen as very ‘out there’ and highly differentiating.

Miles Cherry studied film and drama as a student and despite wanting to be an actor joined the BBC working behind the cameras progressing to an Assistant Floor Manager role. After finally becoming an actor It was at the BBC that the opportunity to provide acting for business presented itself and the rest as they say is history.

During our discussion we discuss the merits of using professional actors in a learning scenario and pick the brains of an entrepreneur who’s business started in his bedroom and expanded to a global operation, including making sure you have the right people around you to help you grow and what Frozen 2 can teach us about incremental business growth!

You can find out more about React and the work that they do by visiting their website at react.co.uk.

If you like what you hear then please don’t forget to subscribe and rate our show on Apple Podcasts or iTunes.

In this episode we’re going to be finding out what it’s like to run a business in the multi-billion dollar video games industry.

Matt Murphy is CEO of Genba Digital, an automated, web based digital logistics platform that bridges the gap between games publishers and retailers globally. He is also Trustee of mental health charity for gamers, by gamers, called ‘Safe in our World’.

Matt has spent time working for Groupe Renault and Lloyds Register before becoming a Managing Director in the Healthcare Technology sector and now currently CEO of Genba Digital.

During this discussion we talk about how disruptive technology is reshaping the video games industry, connecting gaming giants like Sega, Ubisoft and Capcom with the worlds largest retailers, such as Amazon. We talk about what the future has in store for both the industry and gamers, and Matt very generously shares the journey he has been on at Genba Digital in the last three  years, providing brilliant insight into growth phases, how decision-making changes over time, and what it takes to be an effective business leader in a constantly evolving tech industry.

We know you’ll enjoy this episode, so please don’t forget to subscribe and rate our show on Apple Podcasts or iTunes.

In this episode we’re going to be exploring business through the lens of design and innovation.

Dr Philip Veal is a design thinker, innovation champion, CSR 2.0 advocate and business owner. He helps businesses move from their current situation to a preferred one, with empathetic design as the guiding principle.

Philip graduated in 2016 with a Professional Doctorate “The realization of a value-led organization: the “Digital NGO” as a case study”. His research fused industry-specific concepts such as Human Centred Design, Agile methods and Data Journalism with academic theory and personal motivations, leading to the formulation of an ethically-driven approach.

During this discussion Philip shares his thoughts on design thinking, lean startup & innovation, agile production and much more.

In this episode we’re going to be focussing on harnessing the capabilities of women in business.

Gender diversity has never been higher on the agenda. Global movements such as ‘Me too’ and others have projected women’s rights into the spotlight, generating fierce debate and calling for change in our workplaces. Topics like gender diversity are complex, which is why we’re thrilled to be joined on today’s podcast by Emily Cox, MBE, who co-authored the report ‘Empowering Productivity; Harnessing the Talents of Women in Financial Services’ alongside Dame Jayne-Anne Ghadia.

Emily is the Group Head of Colleague Relations at Lloyds Banking Group, whilst previously holding the role of Director of Public Affairs at Virgin Money.

She is the Chair of the CBI North East regional council, and is a board member of the Sage Gateshead International music venue as well as Gentoo, a large housing association in Sunderland.

Emily was also awarded ‘Woman of the Year’ in the Women in Finance awards, in 2017.

We joined Emily at the Sage Gateshead music venue for a chat about her career and to discuss the findings from her ground breaking report.

This episode was recorded in January 2020, pre-lockdown.

In this episode we’re going to be exploring creativity.

You would be forgiven for thinking that creativity is an innate talent, held by the few, but the reality is quite different. Whilst it's true we all have different preferences when it comes to creativity, we also all have the capacity for it. But if we’re not careful it may be conditioned out of us, possibly determined by the environment in our organisations our by our education system. Sir Ken Robinson in his record breaking Ted talk famously argued that our schools and universities undermine our creativity, rather than nurturing it.

Our guest today has managed to retain his creative license and we’re very fortunate to be joined in this episode by Paul Merrick, whose life and work embraces creativity.

Paul is a contemporary artist, curator, gallery educator,  maker and teacher based in gateshead.

I spent some time with Paul in his Gallery in Newcastle’s artist hub Lime Street for a chat about his creative process and frankly to find out what’s going on in his head.

As well as exploring creativity, Paul shares his thought on the commercial side of being an artist, the reliance on others to validate ideas and the importance of developing a strong network.

This interview took place at the end of 2019.

In this episode we’re going to be exploring what it’s like to run a premier league football club.

It’s not everyday that you get the chance to speak to someone who has presided over an elite sports team in one of the most watched football leagues in the world. But that’s what we had the opportunity to do for this episode of the podcast. Steve Walton, a banker turned football Chief Executive, was the ‘Mr Football’ of the banking world who, over a period of time, managed the financing of half the 20 premier league teams in his time at Barclays.

In a move that changed Steve’s life, he was approached to be the chief executive of Newcastle United and subsequently Sunderland football club.

In this very entertaining and insightful interview you’ll here Steve talking about financing England’s top football clubs, his transition from banking to the premier league and just what it takes to be a Chief Executive in professional sport.

(This interview took place at the start of 2020, prior to lockdown).

You can find out more about what we do outside of the podcast by visiting our website: www.jemcoconsultancy.co.uk

In this episode we’re going to be exploring what it takes to establish and grow a successful business.

A successful businessman, Steve Coulson co-founded and scaled a maritime systems business from conception through to its eight figure sale to a large PLC, whilst at the same time co-founding and running a thriving commercial drones enterprise that is forecast to hit revenues of over £20m within the next two years. His business success so far has attracted various awards including two Queens awards for enterprise and a place in the FASTTRACK 100.

Steve is also a published author. His book ‘BIG Thinking for Small business: Providing straightforward advice to grow your business’ was released in early 2020, where he’s shares what he’s learned along the way.

During this discussion we talk about Steve’s journey, the mindset required to succeed, how to get to grips with strategy and how even unprecedented events like COVID-19 all present opportunities. This episode of the podcast was recorded at the end of June 2020 during lockdown.

Steve’s book “Big Thinking for Small Business; Straightforward advice to grow your business’ is available now in paperback and digital format from Amazon and Google books.

Enjoy.