The Day Three Boxes of Wine Taught Me a Career Lesson
One of the things we discuss throughout the Elevate programme is that careers are rarely built on performance alone. We use a framework called EPIC – Exposure, Performance, Impact and Consciousness. Recently, whilst delivering our session on Exposure, I found myself thinking back to a lesson I learned very early in my banking career. At […]
What Great Communication Really Looks Like
A few weekends ago, my husband and I stayed at an amazing country house hotel. The setting was beautiful. The service was impeccable. Until breakfast. We’d finished our eggs and wanted something simple – a slice of toast. My husband asked the server for toast with marmalade. As he walked away, I wondered: will he […]
Seven Things Good Leadership Training Must Include (If You Want to Progress)
People don’t attend leadership training just to learn – they do it to move forward. For that to happen, training needs to go beyond theory and create real, lasting change in how people show up and perform day to day. ________________________________________ 1) It Must Include Practical Takeaways If people are going to grow, they need […]
How words can make a situation worse
Recently, I was delivering two virtual sessions for a client for International Women’s Day. Then I was asked: “Can you do one in Spanish as well?” Now, whilst I speak Spanish well, it had been a long time since I’d used it in a business setting. (I mainly use it when travelling) And yet, I […]
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
We’ve always said it: what got us to where we are in our careers won’t get us to the next step. And it’s a lesson we keep having to relearn. Early in our careers, success comes from execution – delivering, solving, doing. But as we climb the corporate climbing wall*, the rules change. It becomes […]
What Richard Branson’s ‘Inappropriate’ Ask Teaches Us About Influence
Influence Starts with You When we talk about influence, we tend to think about the impact we have on others. But many leadership thinkers suggest it actually starts much closer to home – with ourselves. So the question becomes: how do we create that impact in our own careers and lives? When you look at […]
Restructured Out: Handling the Hardest News at Work
In recent times, many roles across organisations have been restructured. Increasingly, people are hearing the words no one wants to hear: “Your role is being restructured.” While no employee wants that conversation, no manager or leader enjoys delivering it either. It is a deeply uncomfortable experience on both sides. For many companies, restructuring does not […]
Breaking the Cycle of Crisis Leadership
When times get tough, leadership often regresses. The language changes.“We’re firefighting.”“We don’t have time to consult.”“This needs one clear voice.” And suddenly, we are back to command and control. The Lone Wolf. The heroic decision-maker. The belief that urgency justifies autocracy. But is that still true? Or is that instinct part of what keeps us […]
Finding Your EPIC: Five Leadership Insights That Shape the Future
Across the first seven episodes of the third season of Finding Your EPIC®, senior leaders from different industries share moments that fundamentally changed how they lead. While their stories vary, five clear insights consistently stand out – insights that are clearly resonating. In January, the podcast reached an exciting milestone – surpassing 5,000 downloads – […]
When the Leadership Compass Keeps Spinning
The start of 2026 has felt unusually unsettled. There’s a growing sense that the playbook many leaders have relied on no longer quite fits the world in front of them. Established assumptions about power, stability and predictability feel less certain. The rules of the game seem more fluid, and the ground beneath us less stable. […]