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Neil Jurd is an author and founder of Leader Connect, a leadership training business focusing on leadership in high-pressure situations. Neil draws on his deployment in Iraq sharing profound insights on leading soldiers under fire and how that relates to businesses today.

He explains his foundations for leadership - preparation, clear purpose, and team inclusion. He also discusses the importance of creating a safe environment, aligning organisational values, and fostering trust.

I love Neil’s idea that small acts of normalcy like making a cup of tea can help us stay grounded in uncertainty. So often we focus on what is not clear in uncertainty. Creating clarity and being clear about what is known and has not changed can be especially useful to help people feel at ease.

Neil has so many insights on being inclusive, taking personal responsibility, creating psychological safety, aligning a team and caring for them and much more.

Where can you create more clarity in uncertainty?

Topics covered:

· Leading in the military (00:02:21)

· Preparation, clarity and purpose (00:07:51)

· Diverse and inclusive teams (00:13:21)

· Aligning team values and culture (00:16:43).

· Safety and personal responsibility (00:19:55)

· Enhancing organisational culture (00:23:31)

· Caring, confronting for productivity (00:26:20)

· Technology and humanity (00:29:32)

Other free resources:

· Buy the book Leading through Uncertainty

· Take the Team Performance Scorecard and discover the 12 hidden dynamics of your team’s performance

· Sign up for our Leadership Hints and Tips

· Connect with Jude Jennison on LinkedIn

www.leadersbynature.com

Send us a text

Graham Wilson is the founder of Success Factory, a leadership and management development business leading people to experience an extraordinary life. Graham talks about organisations being "over-managed and under-led", and the need to have people who are skilful and knowledgeable enough to make decisions quickly.

Graham draws on examples from his military and corporate experiences, advocating for self-awareness, physiological understanding, and mindset shifts to navigate uncertainty and drive performance.

Graham recognises that wellbeing is critical for performance and that leadership of ourselves as well as others has a major impact on stress levels. He offers lots of options for how to manage stress levels and explores the importance of managing cortisol levels in decision-making.

What stresses you and how can you lead yourself differently?

Topics covered:

· Over-managed vs. under-led (00:02:38)

· Micromanagement vs collaborative leadership (00:06:19)

· Changing mindset and beliefs (00:01:53)

· Generational differences in leadership (00:10:44)

· Leading through uncertainty and ambiguity (00:13:14)

· Self-awareness and leadership tools (00:17:54)

· Wellbeing and managing stress (00:23:48)

Other free resources:

· Buy the book Leading through uncertainty

· Take the Team Performance Scorecard and discover the 12 hidden dynamics of your team’s performance

· Sign up to our Leadership Hints and Tips

· Connect with Jude Jennison on LinkedIn

www.leadersbynature.com

Send us a text

Edward Grigg is the former Managing Director of In Corporate Wear and Chairman of the Professional Clothing Industry Association Worldwide (PCI AW). Ed shares his journey from a part-time job in garment collection to leading a significant corporate clothing company.

He discusses the industry's evolution, particularly with automation and technology, and the challenges of navigating changes in ownership. Ed is passionate about bringing people with him and his approach demonstrates transparency and trust, honest communication during organisational change.

I was really inspired talking to Ed. He’s managed to develop his own career, whilst growing a business and caring about the people in it. He’s a great example of the kind of leader we will need in the future, using the ability to embrace technology and be truly human in our approach.

How are you preparing for the future, embracing technology and being human?

Topics covered:

· Introducing the clothing industry (00:04:11)

· The impact of automation and technology (00:04:41)

· The challenges of a change in ownership of the business (00:07:01)

· Communication and reassurance during uncertainty (00:10:25)

· Leading through change (00:18:20)

· Communicating major changes (00:22:50)

· Trust and loyalty (00:26:00)

· Clarity in uncertainty (00:27:01)

Other free resources:

· Buy the book Leading through uncertainty

· Take the Team Performance Scorecard and discover the 12 hidden dynamics of your team’s performance

· Sign up to our Leadership Hints and Tips

· Connect with Jude Jennison on LinkedIn

www.leadersbynature.com

Send us a text

Jane Ferre is a talent management expert and former HR professional at British Airways. She discusses her journey in HR and her work mentoring HR directors. She shares her experiences with redundancy, emphasising the importance of clear communication and managing emotions at times of change and uncertainty.

Jane identifies retention and attraction as the two main challenges in talent management today. She stresses the importance of addressing the "so what" questions for high-potential employees and clarifying the psychological contract between organisations and their employees.

It’s astonishing that Jane should be expected to recover instantly from being told she was being made redundant and then have the emotional fortitude to have conversations with her own team immediately after. This demonstrates the importance of considering the impact of communication and the need to communicate in a timely manner, recognising that anything that affects people’s careers has an emotional impact.

Despite that her upbeat approach and focus on controlling the controllables is a good reminder not to get emotionally sucked into everyday challenges in work and life. I sometimes think we take life too seriously, and often when we look back later, what we thought was terrible is often just a turning point.

What challenge are you facing that you could reframe as a turning point?

Topics covered:

· Jane’s personal experience with redundancy (00:05:15)

· Coping mechanisms for leading through uncertainty (00:12:08)

· Managing talent development (00:18:44)

· Talent retention, talent attraction and organisational culture (00:20:03)

· Different generational perspectives on job security (00:24:04)

· Inclusivity in talent management (00:32:49)

· Advice for career development (00:36:31)

· Advice for new CEOs (00:31:10)

Other free resources:

· Buy the book Leading through uncertainty

· Take the Team Performance Scorecard and discover the 12 hidden dynamics of your team’s performance

· Sign up to our Leadership Hints and Tips

· Connect with Jude Jennison on Linked In

www.leadersbynature.com

Send us a text

Vanessa Harwood-Whitcher is the Chief Executive of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH). Vanessa shares insights into IOSH's mission to promote global occupational safety and health standards, emphasizing the importance of proportionate risk management.

But don’t let the topic of health and safety put you off. Prepare to be engaged and inspired as you listen to Vanessa share her experience of leading an organisation that many might consider uninteresting. Vanessa clearly isn’t!

Vanessa is a fantastic leader who shares her leadership approach, highlighting the balance between being directive and consultative, and the need for clarity and adaptability.

Vanessa is clear who she is as a leader and continually looking to improve her skills and leadership as a CEO. Her honesty is refreshing and a reminder that self-awareness is not something we do once and expect to have it covered!

Her value of feedback and maintaining authenticity in leadership is a key part of her approach and I love how honest she is about the pressures of her role as a CEO.

What pressures are you facing and what could you do differently?

Topics covered:

· Purpose and mission of IOSH (00:00:51)

· Negative perception and misconceptions of health and safety (00:03:08)

· Challenges and uncertainty as a CEO (00:05:26)

· Adapting the strategy to external changes (00:08:10)

· Clarity of vision and purpose (00:10:37)

· Developing a collaborative strategy (00:16:29)

· Balancing consultative and directive approaches (00:21:18)

· Managing workload and priorities (00:23:38)

· The importance of self-awareness (00:26:45)

· Talent development and coaching (00:28:06)

· Advice for new CEOs (00:29:40) , seeking feedback, and articulating a leadership philosophy.

Other free resources:

· Buy the book Leading through uncertainty

· Take the Team Performance Scorecard and discover the 12 hidden dynamics of your team’s performance

· Sign up to our Leadership Hints and Tips

· Connect with Jude Jennison on Linked In

www.leadersbynature.com

Send us a text

Donna O'Toole is the Founder of August Recognition, a business dedicated to helping other businesses to win awards as part of their marketing strategy. Donna and her team advise on the strategic timing of award entries, leveraging past successes, and aligning award participation with business goals.

Donna also talks about her own challenges as a business leader, including navigating uncertainty, adapting to change, and providing clarity to her team.

I’ve entered and won awards in the past but Donna has explained how much more there is to creating a compelling entry. I particularly loved her award personas and the fact that mindset and different perspectives are also a key component to being successful.

I’ve worked with Donna and her team over several years and seen her grow her business substantially. Their dedication to helping their clients demonstrate credibility and achievements is exemplary. Donna’s ability to balance business ambition with empathy ensures she gets the best from and for her team, enabling them to do the same for their clients.

How well are you balancing results, with empathy and relationships?

You can find out more about Donna O’Toole and August Awards at https://www.augustawards.com

Topics covered:

· Strategic approach to entering awards (00:01:18)

· Understanding the judge's perspective (00:05:10)

· Different personas in award entries (00:07:16)

· Maximizing the value of winning awards (00:10:21)

· Overcoming mindset barriers (00:15:22)

· Strategic Approach to Awards (00:20:05)

· Uncertainty and Clarity (00:21:29)

Other free resources:

· Buy the book Leading through uncertainty

· Take the Team Performance Scorecard and discover the 12 hidden dynamics of your team’s performance

· Sign up to our Leadership Hints and Tips

· Connect with Jude Jennison on Linked In

www.judejennison.com

Send us a text

Eman Al-Hillawi is the CEO of Entec Si, a business change management cuonsultancy. Eman discusses the challenges her business faced during the pandemic, including the financial strain and the emotional impact of redundancies.

She reflects on the importance of relationships and the need to balance business growth with nurturing the team. The conversation also covers the shift to hybrid working and the significance of trust and flexibility in the workplace.

Eman is such an inspiration and I love the parallels between managing uncertainties as a pilot and in business and the importance of preparation, risk assessment, and adaptability.

Having worked with Eman over a number of years, I know how hard it has been for her to navigate the challenges of recovering from the pandemic. Her resilience and honesty are inspiring. So many businesses have had some tough challenges since 2020 with recovery from the pandemic, as well as navigating new innovation and new ways of working , and yet so often people have struggled alone.

How are you faring in the post-pandemic era and what do you need now to support you to move forward?

You can find out more about Eman Al-Hillawi and her business at www.entecsi.com

Topics covered:

· Recovery and dealing with uncertainty (00:03:43)

· Balancing business growth and nurturing the team (00:14:46)

· Navigating uncertainties in a hybrid working environment (00:19:44)

· Managing uncertainties as a pilot (00:25:21)

· Adapting to Pressure (00:29:00)

Other free resources:

· Buy the book Leading through uncertainty

· Take the Team Performance Scorecard and discover the 12 hidden dynamics of your team’s performance

· Sign up to our Leadership Hints and Tips

· Connect with Jude Jennison on Linked In

www.judejennison.com

Send us a text

Chad Foster is a keynote speaker who became blind at the age of 21 due to an eye condition, retinitis pigmentosa. Chad had a dream as he was growing up to be in the medical field but had to change this due to his eyesight and ended up going to Harvard Business School and became the first executive to graduate from their leadership programme.

I feel grateful for having had the chance to interview Chad. He is genuinely a wonderful human being who has this incredible sense of purpose and meaning as a result of going blind at the age of 21.

I love how the tough love that Chad learned from his father is in Chad’s words today. He speaks with such clarity and his words felt like an arrow to the heart, not in a cheesy way but his straight-talking truths hit me hard at moments and make me want to be more ambitious and a better person.

In Chad’s words: “The stories we tell ourselves about our circumstances either limit us or propel us towards our goals.”

You can find out more about Chad on his website www.chadefoster.com and his book Blind Ambition at www.blindambitionbook.com

Topics covered:

· Coping with blindness (00:03:24)

· Overcoming self-pity (00:07:22)

· Gratitude and happiness (00:14:56)

· Developing resilience (00:16:41)

· Key achievements and career journey (00:18:32)

· Overcoming barriers and turning disadvantages into advantages (00:24:12)

· Embracing discomfort and personal growth (00:31:22)

· Owning a Guide dog (00:34:17)

Other free resources:

· Buy the book Leading through uncertainty

· Take the Team Performance Scorecard and discover the 12 hidden dynamics of your team’s performance

· Sign up to our Leadership Hints and Tips

· Connect with Jude Jennison on Linked In

www.judejennison.com