Leaders in Conversation with Anni Townend

Today’s guest is Andrew Edwards, former BBC broadcaster, and now an Event Host, Trainer, Teacher and Mentor. The title of our conversation is ‘You Don’t Need to Be a Boss to Be a Leader’. Leaders in Conversation is the podcast in which leaders share their life and leadership stories; the people, places and experiences that have shaped their values, beliefs, passion and purpose to encourage and inspire you to be even more confident and courageous in your own leadership. If you are not already please do subscribe to the podcast, review and share it. Thank you! ABOUT THIS EPISODE I had the joy of being introduced to Andrew through his brother John Edwards. If you haven’t already listened to John and I in conversation, it is a great episode on Understanding Ourselves, and Understanding Others. John suggested that Andrew would make an excellent guest, and that he had produced, whilst at the BBC a podcast about their late Mum’s experience of living - and dying - with dementia, ‘Mum and Me: The Dementia Diary’ Andrew offers valuable insights into: Andrew's Three Key Encouragements to Leaders Connect, follow and find out more about Andrew: LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/thebeardedbroadcaster Andrew's website: www.theandrewedwards.com X / Twitter: @RadioAndrewE Instagram: @andrewedwardsleeds Email: beardedbroadcaster@icloud.com To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website, www.annitownend.com To contact me Anni Townend do email me on anni@annitownend.com visit my website www.annitownend.com, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn. About Andrew Edwards Andrew is a broadcaster, teacher, trainer and event host. He began broadcasting on hospital radio in his hometown, Hull, making his professional debut as a sports reporter on Viking Radio. He started his career in journalism at the Hull Daily Mail newspaper, before joining the BBC as a trainee in 1989. Andrew moved to BBC Radio Leeds in 1993 where he stayed, very happily, for the next thirty years. For many years he combined his on-air career with teaching radio journalism and spent seven years at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and Leeds Trinity University. He still mentors students and radio colleagues and is now doing freelance work at the University of Leeds. Until 2022 he spent part of each week looking after his Mum, who died from dementia. He gives talks about, and hosts events linked to, dementia and hopes to write a book about his mother. He recorded a weekly audio diary called ‘Mum and Me: The Dementia Diary’, for which he was named a Dementia Hero at the Alzheimer’s Society’s awards 2021.

Hello, welcome and welcome back to Leaders in Conversation with me, Anni Townend. Today’s guest is Meg Farren, General Manager, Chief Customer Officer, Chief Marketing Officer and much more! I had the joy of meeting Meg for the first time on the Marketing Leaders Programme, in early 2024. Meg opened the programme for us, and did a wonderful job of sharing her story and setting the context and the ambition of the programme. Together Meg and I delve into the people, places and experiences that have made Meg the person and leader she is today. Meg’s Three Key Encouragements to Leaders To connect, follow and find out more about Meg: LinkedIn: Meghan Farren To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website, www.annitownend.com Leaders in Conversation is the podcast in which I talk with leaders about their own life and leadership stories, to encourage you to reflect on your values, beliefs, passion and purpose, and inspire you to be even more confident and courageous in your leadership. A big thank you to Coco O’Brien for the wonderful intro and outro music, for the lovely design, and for the excellent editing and sound production and promotion of the podcast. To contact me Anni Townend do email me on anni@annitownend.com visit my website www.annitownend.com, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn. I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening.

Hello, and welcome to the second Collaboration Equation™ episode in Leaders in Conversation with Anni Townend and Lucy Kidd. Today’s guest is Somya Agrawal, Leader, Collaborator and Motivator and the title of our conversation is Finding your Collaborative Edge™. Leaders in Conversation is the podcast in which leaders share their life and leadership stories, and in our Collaboration Equation™ episodes their experience of collaborating and how they find their Collaborative Edge™ to encourage you to bring even more curiosity, care and courage to your leadership. If you are not already please do subscribe to the podcast, review and share it. Thank you! ABOUT THIS EPISODE In our conversation we talk about the application of Collaboration Equation™ and Somya shares her experience of collaboration and offers valuable insights into: 1. Bringing two teams together to get to know each other, to be able to have an open conversation, and how this fast tracks success. 2. Connecting through being vulnerable in sharing her experience of hearing loss and how this has created meaningful connection with others. 3. Creating psychological safety that invites people to give and ask for help, getting what we need from each other and caring about each other. 4. Building trust through being human and authentic with colleagues. 5. Meeting people where they are at, and making time for everyone to have a voice, and for different thoughts and feelings to be heard. 6. Creating a culture of care and connection whether working online or in person. To connect, follow and find out more about Somya: LinkedIn: Somya Agrawal Instagram: @somyaagr To listen to more Leaders in Conversation with Anni Townend visit my website www.annitownend.com A big thank you to Coco O’Brien for the wonderful intro and outro music, for the lovely design and marketing of the podcast and to Tom at Brown Bear Studios for the excellent production of this episode. To contact Anni Townend and Lucy Kidd do email us on anni@annitownend.com and lucy@lucykidd.com, or via our dedicated email address connect@collaborationequation.com To explore more about how to find your Collaborative Edge™, visit our website www.collaborationequation.com, subscribe to our fortnightly Leadership Conversations and follow us on LinkedIn Collaboration Equation™. We look forward to connecting and collaborating with you, thank you for listening.

Today’s guest is Somya Agrawal, Leader, Collaborator and Motivator. I had the joy of meeting Somya in June 2024, when she joined us for a Walking Partnerships day in Surrey, in the UK. Somya offers valuable insights into: We discuss the People, Places, and Experiences that have shaped Somya and made her the person and leader she is today: People - "My parents, sisters and my tribe" Places - "Around the world. My family’s travelling style and how it reinforced the importance of teamwork" Experiences - "The loss of my father and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro" Somya's key encouragements to Leaders: Connect with Somya: LinkedIn - Somya Agrawal About Somya Agrawal: Somya’s most recent leadership post as a Senior Civil Servant was as a Deputy Director for Product and Delivery at UK Health Security Agency. She became a DD after a very busy and demanding period as Product Introduction Lead during the COVID-19 pandemic where she was responsible for the design, development and launch of the COVID-19 lateral flow devices. Over 2.5bn LFDs were deployed during that time, so as you can imagine, it was a very high-profile and complex mission with a lot of ambiguity, unknowns and political sensitivities in play. However, Somya loved every second of it, because of the self-development it gave her but also the HUGE national impact that this job had. Prior to being a Senior Civil Servant, she worked at the Royal Marsden Hospital, a specialist Cancer Hospital in London, where she believes her passion for positive outcomes in healthcare really came from, as during her stint there in Research and Clinical trials, she saw many oncology drugs become licensed after seeing patients not only surviving but thriving when given the right care and treatment. Somya is one of 3 girls in her family (the middle one) who have been very fortunate to have been raised by parents who provided their daughters as much as they could within their means which did not come without sacrifices and we are all incredibly grateful for our childhoods and it making us who we are today. Though not yet married, she has a 6 year old niece who she absolutely dotes on and calls one of her best friends. Somya is incredibly passionate about positive outcomes in healthcare and states that her stakeholder engagement skills and energetic personality have now become her USP that have contributed to the successes she has had in her leadership journey so far.

Leaders in Conversation with Anni Townend is the podcast in which I talk to leaders about their own life and leadership stories, to encourage you to reflect on your values, beliefs, passion and purpose, and inspire you to be even more confident and courageous in your leadership. About this episode: Today’s guest is Carien Borst, Artist and Leadership Coach. In this episode we are talking about Creativity and Reflection in Leadership - how every job is a creative act, and how we all have a part to play in creating a workplace and environment in which there is harmony, diversity and contrast. Carien offers valuable insights into: Carien's Three Key Encouragements to Leaders: Connect, follow and find out more about Carien: LinkedIn: Carien (Mooibroek) Borst Website: www.carienborst.nl Instagram: @carien_borst_art To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend: Email me on anni@annitownend.com Visit my website www.annitownend.com Follow me on LinkedIn About Carien Borst: Carien was born and raised in the Netherlands. She studied Art Therapy and Human Development. Carien worked for 15 years in mental healthcare, and for about 10 years in different leadership roles. She started as a team leader and the last years as a manager of the eleven sheltered living houses for people who suffered from all sorts of psychiatric diseases. Around 7 years ago Carien started to realise she was missing creativity in her life. Due to a busy job, two young children and simply not prioritising what she needed. After a weekend spent in a monastery, filled with silence and creativity she decided to change things in her life. She woke up early every day to create in silence. Writing, creating an art journal, sitting still and taking time to think and feel. She chose to follow art courses and slowly new ideas developed. How could she bring this creativity into her leadership role? She found the courage to bring three pillars together in her own business: creativity, leadership and reflection. Based on her experience as a leader in mental healthcare but also through her journey in opening up again for the power of creating and growing in being a painter and artist.

Hello, welcome and welcome back to Leaders in Conversation with me, Anni Townend. Today’s guest is Guy Newey, Chief Executive Officer at Energy Systems Catapult, and the title of our conversation is ‘On Accelerating Net Zero Energy Innovation’. I have had the privilege of partnering with Guy and working with a group of Future Leaders at Energy Systems Catapult - a company committed to accelerating NET ZERO in the UK through supporting innovators to commercialise, and helping design and deliver the future energy system. Together Guy and I delve into the people, places and experiences that have made him the person and leader he is today. Guy offers valuable insights into : Guy's Three Key Encouragements to Leaders looking to innovate and commercialise for Net Zero To connect, follow and find out more about Guy: LinkedIn: Guy Newey Website: https://es.catapult.org.uk/ Twitter/X: @guynewey To contact Anni Townend: Email me on anni@annitownend.com or visit my website www.annitownend.com, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn. About Guy Newey Guy was appointed Chief Executive Officer at Energy Systems Catapult, the innovation business, in June 2022. Guy joined the Catapult in 2018 as Director of Strategy after being an energy and political adviser to two UK Government Secretaries of State; Greg Clark and Amber Rudd. In Government, he was involved in many key decisions, including closing the UK’s coal-fired power stations, greater independence for the electricity system operator, and as an architect of the Clean Growth Strategy. Before joining Government, he was Head of Policy at the challenger energy supplier, OVO Energy and Head of Environment and Energy at the influential think tank, Policy Exchange. He was previously a journalist, including three years as a foreign correspondent in Hong Kong for the international newswire, AFP. He is a non-executive director with UK100, a charity campaigning for greater environmental action by local authorities. He lives in Enfield, with his wife and two children.

Welcome and welcome back to Leaders in Conversation with me, Anni Townend, the podcast that helps you to grow confidence, care and courage in your leadership. I created this series of candid conversations for leaders to share their inspirational personal leadership stories, weaving together the threads of their life - the people, places and experiences that have shaped them and made them the leader that they are today. Together we delve into what they really care about, their values and beliefs, their passion and purpose and how they live and weave these through their leadership every day, in all that they do. They offer valuable insights and rich experience to help and inspire you on your own unique leadership journey. If you are not already please do subscribe to the podcast, review and share it. Thank you! About This Episode In this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with Emma Harris, Finance Director, M&S Food, Property and Retail. Together we delve into: Emma's three key encouragements to leaders: About Emma Harris Emma is a senior finance leader, balancing living in Yorkshire with her partner and 2 boys, and working her London-based finance director role. Spending over 20 years in retail, leading finance teams, Emma is passionate about driving shareholder value for the organisation through commercial curiosity, leading great teams and her own self development. To connect, follow and find out more about Emma: LinkedIn: Emma Harris To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend: www.annitownend.com/podcast To contact me Anni Townend: Email me on anni@annitownend.com Visit my website www.annitownend.com Subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn. I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening.

Welcome and welcome back to Leaders in Conversation with me, Anni Townend, the podcast that helps you to grow confidence, care and courage in your leadership. I created this series of candid conversations for leaders to share their inspirational personal leadership stories, weaving together the threads of their life - the people, places and experiences that have shaped them and made them the leader that they are today. Together we delve into what they really care about, their values and beliefs, their passion and purpose and how they live and weave these through their leadership every day, in all that they do. They offer valuable insights and rich experience to help and inspire you on your own unique leadership journey. If you are not already please subscribe to the podcast, review and share it. Thank you! About This Episode In this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with Chris Harte, Chief Executive and Commercial Real Estate Partner at Morton Fraser MacRoberts LLP - a leading Scottish law firm committed to providing straightforward advice, clarity on cost and to building strong trusting relationships with clients ensuring that their evolving needs are met with focus and care. Together we delve into: Chris’s three key encouragements to leaders 1. Help others to succeed - be a leader - focus more on asking questions than providing answers; 2. Identify priorities - use limitations to help focus minds on conscious choices; 3. Retain a sense of perspective - keep a sense of humour close at hand and don't take yourself too seriously - a wee bit of humility goes a long way. To contact Chris: LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/chris-harte To find out more about Morton Fraser MacRoberts LLP follow them on linkedin and do go to their website. To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website, www.annitownend.com A big thank you to my support team at the Conscious Marketing Group for helping me with all the marketing of the podcast, to Coco O’Brien for the wonderful intro and outro music, for the lovely design, and for the excellent editing and sound production. To contact me Anni Townend do email me on anni@annitownend.com visit my website www.annitownend.com, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn. I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening.

About This Episode In this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with my two guests, Susie Ballentyne an Independent Psychologist and Bob Judson, a fellow podcaster, facilitator, leadership coach, and keynote speaker. We delve together into: Susie and Bob’s Three key encouragements for leaders looking to grow and develop their leadership: Connect with Susie and Bob: LinkedIn: Bob Judson and Susie Ballentyne Website: Leading4Life To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website, www.annitownend.com A big thank you to my support team at the Conscious Marketing Group for helping me with all the marketing of the podcast, to Coco O’Brien for the wonderful intro and outro music, for the lovely design, and for the excellent editing and sound production. To contact me Anni Townend do email me on anni@annitownend.com visit my website www.annitownend.com, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn. I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening.

About This Episode In this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with Carolyn Youdell, Group eCommerce & Customer Engagement Director, Group Marketing Specsavers. I have known Carolyn for many years and am a huge fan, she is a regular speaker on the Marketing Leaders Programme, and herself a huge fan of developing marketing leadership. Together we delve into: Carolyn’s Three Key Encouragements to Leaders To contact Carolyn: LinkedIn – Carolyn Youdell (she is the only one!) Email: carolyn.youdell@specsavers.com About Carolyn: At work. I am a Marketer. I've spent over 20 years working agency and brand side. With and on world-famous brands. Across all Marketing, Communications & Digital disciplines. As Group Marketing Director for Specsavers I am working collaboratively across regions and teams to drive the synergies and value that can be derived from centrally led activity. I am passionate about well-run teams, well-rounded teams. At Life: I am a Mum. Partner. Sister. Daughter. Friend. Dog lover. Pilates poser. 5Ker. Book reader. Stuff Hoarder. Traveller. Chef. Wine drinker. Shoe fancier. To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website, www.annitownend.com. A big thank you to my support team at the Conscious Marketing Group for helping me with all the marketing of the podcast, to Coco O’Brien for the wonderful intro and outro music, for the lovely design, and for the excellent editing and sound production. To contact me Anni Townend do email me on anni@annitownend.com visit my website www.annitownend.com, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn. I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE Co-Founders Anni Townend and Lucy Kidd in conversation with Natalie Shering for a special episode of Leaders in Conversation with Anni Townend podcast. Here they explore why Curiosity, Care and Courage are the mindset and behaviours that underpin their Collaboration Equation™ to: Psychological Safety Together they share how they met some 18 years ago and realised very early on in their working relationship that starting with and building psychological safety underpins creating cultures of care and connection in which people enjoy connecting, contributing and collaborating. Curiosity, Care and Courage They discuss how they partner with senior leaders and their teams helping them to bring the mindset and behaviours of Curiosity, Care and Courage to develop people and drive performance and how these underpin each of the building blocks of their Collaboration Equation™. Meeting People where they are at, and moving from ‘me to we’ They specialise in meeting people where they are at, on having people well met, and supporting them in leading and driving Collaborative Edge through Inclusive Dialogue, Diversity of Thought and Feeling. And why for them inclusivity comes before diversity, the importance of Inclusive Dialogue, and how language can have a huge impact on how people think, feel and behave. Open Conversations to get to Collaborative Edge Their approach is one of helping leaders do their best thinking together, to think differently, to have open conversations in which people feel confident and safe, enjoy Inclusive Dialogue, and can bring Diversity of Thought and Feeling in order to get to Collaborative Edge. The conversations are always in service of enabling performance and driving results through people working together. CONNECT WITH US Collaboration Workshops, We are all Culture Creators: How to Find Your Collaborative Edge workshops. Fortnightly Coaching Conversations Series: A series of questions to prompt conversations that will help you to lead with Curiosity, Care and Courage. Subscribe here. WHO WE ARE Lucy Kidd is a leadership team and culture coach, and describes how culture is the wrapping that feeds change and, or stifles it. Lucy’s passion is to help people find meaning and connection in their lives and work. Anni Townend is a leadership partner to senior leaders and their teams. Anni’s passion is to help leaders create a culture in which people feel safe and able to have open conversations and do their best work. Anni is the author of Assertiveness and Diversity, published in 2007. Natalie Shering is a leadership coach specialising in creative leadership and using nature in leadership. She is a collaborator with Collaboration Equation™.

About This Episode In this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with Akin Thomas, CEO and Founder of AKD Solutions - an international learning and development consultancy - built upon an ethos of stimulating brilliance through providing the space for people to engage in transformative and disruptive, and impactful fun learning experiences. Together we delve into: Akin’s encouragements to leaders looking to create a learning environment which stimulates brilliance: About Akin Thomas I first met Akin at the Diversity and Inclusion Global Forum in May 2023. We, my colleagues and I, were blessed to have Akin and his team as our neighbours in the exhibitors hall. An experienced exhibitor used to sharing his wisdom and knowledge he readily shared with us. We spoke in passing about his being a guest on the podcast. Since then I have followed Akin on LinkedIn, and the prompt to ask him was a post in which he shared how he had been back to see his sister in Lagos and spent time researching his own history, including rediscovering his original name, Okukenu, which means ambition, independence, strength, reliability and determination. AKD Solutions is all about brilliance, helping people to develop their unique potential and is fuelled by these beliefs: AKD Solutions has a special sports division dedicated to helping people and organisations develop their full potential in physical activity. The AKD Team challenge a lot, laugh a lot, eat a lot - they have fun and are intentional in making a lasting impact in all that they do. Contact: LinkedIn: Akin Thomas Website: AKD Solutions

About This Episode In this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with Karen Wilkinson, inspiring and award winning Marketing Director. We delve together into: Karen’s three key encouragements to leaders looking to Be Brave, Fly and Focus Acknowledge what support you need to be at your best - people who compliment you, your support team. And be mindful of overusing your strengths! The immense power in self belief, power of possible, managed risks, seeking growth opportunities, believing in others. Accept not everything will go to plan...that's ok! Adapt, pivot, change if you need to…. That’s all part of a Marketing Leaders toolkit. - The world, our teams, our customers (next gen!)technology is all changing. Stay curious, we’ll never ‘know it all’, seek adventure and find enjoyment in all you do . After all, we work, love, live to find fulfilment, growth and connect with our values .. whilst having fun along the way! About Karen Karen is a passionate marketing leader - with over 25 years of experience working in consumer products and financial services & banking. Most recently Marketing Director for AkzoNobel, parent of Dulux for 9 years. Adding colour to lives and creating beautiful living spaces. Currently with Evergreen Garden Care as Marketing Director UK&I, where she continues to connect with her passions for colour, growth and being outdoors. She graduated from Dublin City University with BA in international marketing and languages, and has worked, lived and studied in Ireland, Spain, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. Karen lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband and is a parent to two teens. Their 19yr old son is on a solo adventure in Japan, and 18yr old daughter is preparing for A levels. Together they teach Karen to have fun, be brave and practise what I preach (to them!). She loves being outdoors and being active… running, cycling, hiking, swimming, skiing, walking! And never says no to a challenge with friends. She is always seeking new learning, travel and adventures.. Ice skating, painting, and has climbed 2000m mountains, cycled through the Alps and Dolomites, enjoys kayaking and cold water swimming. Connect with Karen LinkedIn: Karen Wilkinson

About This Episode In this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with Helen Stephenson, CEO of the Charity Commission for England and Wales We delve together into: Helen’s Three Key Encouragements to Leaders Know when you need to dive into the detail on an issue (you can’t/shouldn’t be across everything) and signal to your team that’s what you’re doingBeing a leader is seeking to be a better version of yourselfIt can be lonely, have some support networksTo connect, follow and find out more about Helen: LinkedIn: Helen Stephenson Website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission To find out more about Future Engage Deliver, www.futureengagedeliver.com Buy the book by Steve Radcliffe ‘Leadership Plain and Simple’ https://www.pearson.com/en-gb/subject-catalog/p/leadership-plain-and-simple/ To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend do go to my website, www.annitownend.com A big thank you to my support team at the Conscious Marketing Group for helping me with all the marketing of the podcast, to Coco O’Brien for the wonderful intro and outro music, for the lovely design, and for the excellent editing and sound production. To contact me Anni Townend do email me on anni@annitownend.com visit my website www.annitownend.com, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn. I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening. About Helen Stephenson I was first introduced to Helen Stephenson by Steve Radcliffe, who thought we would partner well together in some Executive Team Coaching for Helen’s team. He was right! Helen and I have worked together with her leadership team over the past few years. We have introduced them to Future Engage Deliver, a leadership approach developed by Steve Radcliffe and wonderfully written about in his book Leadership Plain and Simple. And have gone on to share with my colleague Emily Court the Future Engage Deliver approach with the wider organisation of leaders, and their teams. It has been a privilege to work with Helen, and to be trusted by her to lead this programme - her commitment to developing people, and their leadership in particular has never wavered. On many occasions she has joined a development day, and been part of the welcoming and opening of the day sharing her leadership story, her values and beliefs, her passion and purpose. So I was thrilled when we agreed she would be a guest on my podcast, enabling listeners to learn from Helen, to be inspired and motivated in their leadership.

Welcome and welcome back to Leaders in Conversation with me, Anni Townend, the podcast that helps you to grow confidence, care and courage in your leadership. I created this series of candid conversations for leaders to share their inspirational personal leadership stories, weaving together the threads of their life - the people, places and experiences that have shaped them and made them the leader that they are today. They offer valuable insights and rich experience to help and inspire you on your own unique leadership journey. If you are not already please do subscribe to the podcast, review and share it. Thank you! About This Episode In this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with Julian Roberts, Executive Business Coach, Podcast Host of Helping Organisations Thrive We delve together into: Julian’s Three Key Encouragements to Leaders Contact Julian: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julesroberts/ Website: https://www.julianrobertsconsulting.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julesroberts45/ To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website, www.annitownend.com A big thank you to my support team at the Conscious Marketing Group for helping me with all the marketing of the podcast, to Coco O’Brien for the wonderful intro and outro music, for the lovely design, and for the excellent editing and sound production. To contact me Anni Townend do email me on anni@annitownend.com visit my website www.annitownend.com, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn. I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening. About Julian Roberts Julian Roberts, an Executive Business Coach with a background in commercial and sales, is passionate about people, resiliency, and business. He has held a number of senior strategic commercial positions for multinational corporations such as Heinz, Yoplait, and Johnson & Johnson, as well as for family-owned businesses. In 2017, he launched his coaching practice, working with individuals and teams from various industries, including food, FMCG, retail, media, engineering, financial services, legal, construction, and medical.

About This Episode In this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with John Edwards, Director General, Regions Group, at the Department for Education, UK. John and I were invited to be in conversation by and for the annual Transform Applied Leadership Summit, held virtually this year on 8th March 2024. The title of our conversation Understanding Ourselves and Understanding Others - a leadership perspective is the title of the summit. (For listeners who don’t know about Transform Applied Leadership I share their details at the end of the podcast, along with ways in which you can connect with John.) John and I delve together into: John’s three key encouragements for leaders looking to grow their leadership identity, build greater confidence and understanding in their leadership behaviours. We never need to create our leadership approach, or copy it from others - we just need to find it, observe it and look after itWe don’t need to worry about making time for DOING leadership, only for THINKING ABOUT leadership - it’s not an extra job, it’s how we do the job we haveListen to others but trust your instincts - there is no right answerHow to connect with John Edwards on LinkedIn The Transform Applied Leadership Summit happens annually and is designed to stimulate new ways of thinking and behaving in our leadership. Delegates come from education and reflect upon their own leadership, have conversations with other leaders, and to hear speakers from different backgrounds. To find out more about the Summit, and Leadership Applied the leadership study and research; the leadership experts and about the Future Engage Deliver approach to leadership developed by Steve Radcliffe do go to the website: https://www.transformapplied.co.uk/leadership-applied Contact Anni Townend anni@annitownend.com www.annitownend.com About John Edwards Having started out as a secondary school maths teacher, I’ve had the privilege to work in schools, local government and now central government - but still, when asked what I do, the word ‘teacher’ is the first word that comes to mind. 11 years in three schools was followed by 14 years working in three different local authorities, responsible for the full range of education and skills functions in largely urban settings. I now head up the Department for Education’s Regions Group, covering improvement, intervention and capacity-building for schools, children’s social care and SEND through 9 regional teams. I am proud to have grown up and lived all my life in the north - for more than 20 years in Sheffield where my wife and I both work and where my kids have grown up. We have one rule in our house: there’s always time for a hug. When neither working nor hugging, I love watching cricket, riding my bike and walking on the beach or in the hills.

About This Episode In this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with Tanya Shadrick - author of The Cure for Sleep: her memoir of a late waking life, a story of breaking free, and making a more creative life; Tanya is founder of the Selkie Press; editor of the Wainwright Prize-listed Wild Woman Swimming. She is a community builder of writers and storytellers through Substack where she writes, and invites you to share your stories. We delve together into: What it takes - and costs - to build an authentic life of one’s own, while continuing to honour our roles within families, workplaces, and communities. And explore four key themes: Three key encouragements Look how far you’ve come…A list of what you loveHow do you talk about your job to those you don’t work with? Contact Tanya via her website, for writing resources, and podcasts: www.thecureforsleep.com https://tanyashadrick.substack.com/ To contact Anni Townend anni@annitownend.com www.annitownend.com About Tanya Shadrick I first heard of Tanya through a friend that I met some years ago via Instagram. Knowing my love of life writing, and of memoir, she asked me if I had read, and did I know Tanya Shadrick. I didn’t. However the title of her book excited me, I wanted to know more about her, and about her writing. I read the book over a matter of days, snatching moments in my day to read, and was inspired by her openness and generosity of spirit. More recently she has shared via Substack and Instagram her experience of being with her mother at the end of her life, and her death. Tanya writes beautifully, poetically and is an inspiration to us to wake up, to make time to find and be creative, and to share our stories.

Welcome and welcome back to Leaders in Conversation with me, Anni Townend, the podcast that helps you to grow confidence and courage your leadership. I created this series of candid conversations for leaders to share their inspirational leadership stories, weaving together the threads of their life - the people, places and experiences that have shaped them and made them the leader that they are today. They offer valuable insights and rich experience to help and inspire you on your own unique leadership journey. If you are not already please do subscribe to the podcast, review and share it. Thank you! About This Episode In this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with Moses Tai Founder and CEO African Development Choices (ADC), Author of ‘There Is Shade’ and Speaker. We delve together into the working culture of African Development Choices, in particular how they encourage community and reflect who they are in what they do: Moses’ Three Key Encouragements to Leaders Develop a strong vision Recruit and retain talented people Build well structured teams Connect with Moses Tai, and find out more about African Development Choices www.linkedin.com/in/mosestai https://mybook.to/TISHADE https://africandevelopmentchoices.org/ To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website, www.annitownend.com A big thank you to my support team at the Conscious Marketing Group for helping me with all the marketing of the podcast, to Coco O’Brien for the wonderful intro and outro music, for the lovely design, and for the excellent editing and sound production. To contact me Anni Townend do email me on anni@annitownend.com visit my website www.annitownend.com, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn. I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening. About Moses My mission with the podcast is to be in conversation with people who have a passion and purpose (no matter how small or large), and, who want to make a difference through their leadership, and to give them a way of sharing their story to inspire, confidence, care and courage in you the listener - far and wide. So when Taryn Weeks of Sparks Marketing suggested that Moses would be a great guest I contacted him, and bought a copy of his book ‘There Is Shade’. Moses is an inspiring leader, a passionate voice for sustainable change.

Welcome and welcome back to Leaders in Conversation with me, Anni Townend, the podcast that helps you to grow confidence, care and courage in your leadership. I created this series of candid conversations for leaders to share their inspirational personal leadership stories, weaving together the threads of their life - the people, places and experiences that have shaped them and made them the leader that they are today. They offer valuable insights and rich experience to help and inspire you on your own unique leadership journey. If you are not already please do subscribe to the podcast, review and share it. Thank you! About This Episode In this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with Roger Mortlock, Chief Executive Officer, CPRE, the countryside charity. Together we delve into what it means to lead: ROGER’S THREE ENCOURAGEMENTS TO LEADERS To contact Roger LinkedIn: Roger Mortlock Website: www.cpre.org.uk About Roger Mortlock I first met Roger some twenty years ago and have had the privilege of partnering with him, and the teams he has led and been part of over the years. To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website, www.annitownend.com A big thank you to my support team at the Conscious Marketing Group for helping me with all the marketing of the podcast, to Coco O’Brien for the wonderful intro and outro music, for the lovely design, and for the excellent editing and sound production. To contact me Anni Townend do email me on anni@annitownend.com visit my website www.annitownend.com, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn. I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening.

Welcome and welcome back to Leaders in Conversation with me, Anni Townend, the podcast that helps you to grow confidence and courage your leadership. I created this series of candid conversations for leaders to share their inspirational leadership stories, weaving together the threads of their life - the people, places and experiences that have shaped them and made them the leader that they are today. Together we delve into what they really care about, their values and beliefs, their passion and purpose and how they live and weave these through their leadership every day, in all that they do. They offer valuable insights and rich experience to help and inspire you on your own unique leadership journey. If you are not already please do subscribe to the podcast, review and share it. Thank you! About This Episode In this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with Febronia Ruocco, Strategic Insights Professional, Executive Coach and Mentor We delve and explore together leadership values and skills, and the importance of these in Febronia’s life, leadership, insights and mentoring work. In particular the values of: Febronia’s three encouragement to leaders: How to contact Febronia LinkedIn: Febronia Ruocco About Febronia I first met Febronia through LinkedIn - she not only liked my podcast, but also commented, and messaged me personally. Febronia has her own podcast weekly roundup of the best listens, and it is a huge honour to have been chosen by her more than once! She is a Strategic Insights Professional and Executive Coach. And she is also a Leadership and Career Mentor for Undergraduates at Durham and Lancaster University. After several exchanges via LinkedIn we arranged a call and discovered that we shared similar passions, and had some shared experiences. I am delighted that she agreed to be my guest, and to share her leadership story. To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website: www.annitownend.com/podcast A big thank you to my support team at the Conscious Marketing Group for helping me with all the marketing of the podcast, to Coco O’Brien for the wonderful intro and outro music, for the lovely design, and for the excellent editing and sound production. To contact me Anni Townend do email me on anni@annitownend.com visit my website www.annitownend.com, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn. I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening.