Advanced Executive Leadership

Our latest podcast episode dives deep into how to transform your Senior Leadership Community into a dynamic force that drives your strategy forward! In this episode, we’ll explore:How to structure your Senior Leadership Community to function as a cohesive, high-performing teamThe secret to unlocking the full potential of your senior leaders beyond their day-to-day rolesWhy poor team dynamics and weak accountability might be holding your business backWhat makes a senior leadership group more than just a collection of functional headsWe’re unpacking the twin challenges of structure and development, and how deeply intertwined they are in maximising the performance of your Senior Leadership Community, like a double helix of DNA. Just as DNA transmits essential genetic information, these two elements—how your leaders are structured and how they are developed—are critical for successful strategy execution and operational excellence.Listen in as I share real-world examples and our latest thinking on how to balance structure and development for real, tangible outcomes in your leadership team.You can sign up to receive our new White Paper here. Just put Helix in the notes and we’ll be sure to get it to you.  https://waldencroft.com/contact/ 

Is your life an endless rush from one thing to the next?  That was certainly the case for Carl Honoré, my guest on today’s podcast. He is the author of the phenomenally successful book In Praise of Slow.    Carl explains his journey to the slow movement, triggered by an epiphany of recognising the need to slow down and reconnect with the art of living in the moment when he found himself trying to rush the bedtime stories to his son.  He discusses how our fast-paced culture permeates all aspects of life, from the boardroom to the bedroom. And he shares examples of absurd manifestations of the go-faster culture, such as speed yoga and drive-through funerals!   The executives I work with are incredibly busy and have large and important portfolios of work that they’re managing. They're also experiencing an epidemic of burnout. The idea of slowing down is anathema to many executives. But as Carl explains, slowing down is not just about reducing speed but about being present and doing things well. It’s also about knowing when speed is important, and when giving yourself a bit more space around your work would enhance it immeasurably.   __Carl Honoré is an award-winning writer, broadcaster and two-time TED speaker.The Wall Street Journal hailed him as “an in-demand spokesman on slowness.” CBC Sunday Edition called him “the world’s leading evangelist for the Slow Movement.” His bestselling books have been published in 36 languages. While researching his first book, In Praise of Slow, Carl got slapped with a speeding ticket.This link has all of his books, courses, etc in one place:https://linktr.ee/carlhonoreIn case you missed it, he made a thing recently for BBC Radio 4:https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0021hc4

How do we balance AI integration with a human-centred organisational culture?  In this episode I’m joined by Bertie Tonks, Chief People Officer at Collinson and a 2023 HR Industry Influencer to explore this pivotal question.  We dive into the impact of AI on leadership, performance management, and workplace culture.  And Bertie shares how his lifelong passion for skateboarding shapes his leadership approach and offers insights into fostering high-performance teams in the digital age.  Tune in to learn how AI can transform work processes without compromising the human touch—and what leaders need to consider to thrive in this evolving landscape.  More about Bertie...Bertie was awarded the prestigious HR’s Most Influential Practitioner Award 2023 by HR Magazine and in 2024 was inducted into the HR’s Most Influential Hall of Fame.Bertie describes himself as a skateboarder, he believes this is what defines him as a person above all else. He is a skateboarder who just happens to do HR. He is currently the Chief People Officer for a company called Collinson, the global leader in Loyalty and Benefits for some of the world’s largest brands. He passionate about people and transforming the world of work and this is apparent in the lasting positive impact of everything he does.He is determined to ensure generations working both now and the future get to benefit of working in more human centred organisations. Thriving on challenging conventional thinking and best practice, instead he favours experimentation, looking at traditional business challenges from a different perspective.Bertie has spent most of his career operating as both an in-house expert and management consultant, creating strong links between people and strategy. He’s had two expatriate assignments in MENA and the Americas, with experience stretching across a range of industry sectors such as Media, Retail, Financial Services and even Oil & Gas where he would spend a lot of his time on platforms in the middle of the North Sea.Outside of work, Bertie supports the Employers Initiative against Domestic, encouraging organisations to make a meaningful difference to survivors and perpetrators. He also supports various charities such as the Concrete Jungle Foundation, focused on building skateparks in troubled parts of the word, providing fun, safe access and a sense of belonging and purpose for young people.He loves what he does and it shows in the way he works! 

What does it mean to be authentic as a leader? Are there ways of being that are authentic, or is it just an excuse for some pretty bad behaviour under the guise of 'that's just me, I say it like I see it?"Welcome to the new season of the Advanced Executive Leadership podcast. We're back to a fortnightly cadence with guests, and solo episodes. Here is access to the Chip Souba article I reference, "The Being of Leadership".https://peh-med.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1747-5341-6-5

We’re interrupting our podcast season break because this week I’ll be speaking at the Global Offshore Wind conference in Manchester.  I’ll be inviting those in attendance to consider that as we transition away from extractive technologies and the associated ways of thinking and operating, so must we move to a more generative model of leadership. One that enables people and organisations to thrive in our new world.  To mark the conference, I had the opportunity to speak with David Currie, who has over 30 years’ experience in the energy industry. He joined Proserv in May 2018, first as its Chief Executive Officer, and since July 2022, as Chairman.  David is also a member of the Scottish Government’s Ministerial Trade Board, which was established to support and boost Scotland’s exports and a Board Member of the Energy Transition Zone, which has a pivotal role in establishing the North East of Scotland as a global leader in energy transition to net zero.  On the podcast, we explore in what ways the energy industry's transition towards renewables requires effective leadership, innovation, and talent development. We explore both challenges and opportunities of navigating the transition and the need for a middle way approach that acknowledges the complexity of the transition whilst embracing the potential of renewables and reducing carbon emissions.  You can listen to the podcast by clicking the link below. And if you’re attending the conference, please come and say hello – or better still come and participate in my talk.

Sarah joined TalkTalk in 2019 and has over 20 years experience in HR leadership, having previously worked for companies such as Centrica and Wheelabrator.Currently supporting TalkTalk through a demerger and period of significant change, Sarah is passionate about culture, belonging and employee experience.Sarah is married and a mum to two boys and counteracts her busy role with a variety of exercise such as running, personal training sessions, boxing & yoga. She also enjoys spending time with friends and socialising.At TalkTalk they use ‘100% human’ to describe themselves and Sarah describes herself as: 40% mum & wife, 20% runner, 20% friend, 20% ‘socialiser’ = 100% human.  If you’d like to find out more about Waldencroft and speak to us about how we might work with your executive team, you can reach out to us here: https://waldencroft.com/contact/  And if you’d like to receive my weekly newsletter where I share not only the podcast news, but what’s concerning executive leaders and those who have responsibility for developing them, you can sign up here: https://waldencroft.com/newsletter/

Innovation in app the development the space is vital as consumers crave new and useful technologies. So, the ability to deliver differentiated and flexible customer experiences is a highly competitive market. On today’s podcast I’ve delighted to be joined by Natalie Sheils who shares her story of Mosaic Group who build and acquire best-in-class app brands. To do this, they are dedicated to creating the conditions for innovation to occur day in, day out.We recorded this episode earlier this year, and at the time Natalie was Chief People Officer of Mosaic Group (NASDAQ: IAC). She's now Founder and CEO of Talenaut, revolutionising talent acquisition and intelligence through innovative technologies like AI and machine learning.She empowers organisations to embrace innovation and build a digitally ready workforce and dynamic human resources and capabilities infrastructure. She emphasises the crucial role of leadership and HR in harnessing technologies, fostering a culture of change agility and innovation, and proactively adapting strategies.As a thought leader, Natalie shares her insights on the intersection of technology, data, operating models and leadership. She empowers leaders to embrace continuous learning, cultivate the critical skills for success in this new era, and adopt a forward-thinking mindset to successfully navigate the challenges and opportunities of a future of work and industry that is being shaped by and radically optimised by AI and other advanced technologies.If you'd like to access some of Natalie's thought leadership in this space, you can find a selection of articles below: https://www.cipd.org/uk/views-and-insights/thought-leadership/insight/optimising-operating-models/ https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1822133/part-one-makes-future-ready-hr-professional https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1828663/part-two-future-ready-hr-professionals-role-driving-innovation https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1834539/part-three-nine-skills-future-ready-hr-leaders-harness-organisational-agility https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1845987/part-four-11-critical-areas-hr-focus-prepare-workforce-digital-future

In today’s episode of the podcast, I’m joined by Pete Hamill, consultant and author of Embodied Leadership: The somatic approach to developing your leadership. We explore how we can develop a sense of embodiment and how it can help you as a leader become more effective.    Pete Hamill is a consultant, facilitator, and coach with an international background in leadership, organisational development, and personal development, including the role that conflict plays in organisations and society. He is an expert in embodied leadership development in which he has completed a PhD, and is the author of Embodied Leadership: The somatic approach to developing your leadership.

In today's episode we explore the importance of Allying in Inclusion and how one professional has made it work in a large retail group.Chami Dhillon has pursued her lifelong passion for unlocking potential through better opportunities for marginalised groups across roles in Pharmaceuticals, Manufacturing, Financial Servies and Retail industries.Working on diversity and inclusion initiatives for over a decade across various HR roles, she has designed award winning outreach programmes, worked overseas to improve access to opportunities for disadvantaged youth and mentored social enterprises focused on widening participation. She established Kingfisher’s first Inclusion & Diversity Centre of Excellence in 2021, where she has gone on to launch a successful inclusion accelerator, set up 17 ERGs across the 82,000 strong international workforce and be named a Role Model for Inclusion in Retail by Diversity in Retail.

Three things are true in diversity and inclusion.The first is that it makes both good business sense – diverse teams are more effective. Second, it's the right thing to do – people should have a place in organisations based on their capabilities.And thirdly, and perhaps more controversially, that working with more diverse groups of people is harder. There is a cognitive cost in working with people who are less like us.That’s what my guest, Stephen Frost and I explore in today’s episode of the podcast.Stephen is a globally recognised diversity, inclusion and leadership expert, and founded Included in 2012. He leads the team and works with leaders around the world to embed inclusive leadership in their decision-making.From 2007-2012 Stephen designed, led and implemented the inclusion programmes for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games as Head of D&I for the London Organising Committee. From 2004-2007 Stephen established and led the workplace team at Stonewall.Stephen has also led D&I at KPMG and worked in advertising and consulting. Stephen was a Hertford College Scholar at Oxford and a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard. He remains a Visiting Fellow of the Women and Public Policy Program.He has won various awards from the 2010 Peter Robertson Award for Equality and Diversity Champions and 2011 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum to one of Management Today’s Change Agents for his race and gender work and 2022 Winds of Change Awards from The Forum on Workplace Inclusion.He has taught Inclusive Leadership at Harvard Business School, Singapore Management University and Sciences Po in France and advised the British Government, Royal Air Force and the White House.He is author of The Inclusion Imperative (2014), Inclusive Talent Management (2016) and Building an Inclusive organisation The Key to Inclusion (July 2022).