ALLI SPARGO Explores Human Behaviours at Work

KEY TAKEAWAYS “…you had to come to the table knowing that while you had a lot of experience, you may have some suggestions but you had no solutions in your kickback. This was unprecedented work… you didn't know that you were doing the right thing. You didn't know whether you were doing the wrong thing. You just were making some decisions based on the amount on the limited amount of evidence” “There were times when you had to take on some commands and control…that were directives coming from the top…you've got to stop doing that and now you've got to do this. And that was very alien to me. I'm not a kind of directive leader… I didn't genuinely wield that kind of that kind of power. When I did that with my team did respond because they knew that I was serious because I've never really spoken to people like that before” “…It's like being at war in a way... you're given your orders; you may not agree with them, you may not understand them and they may not be right... you just do it… that in itself was very comforting, because you have a set of clear instructions.” “There was a real sort of what we refer to as a Dunkirk Spirit… We all knew that we had a task to do and we were, obviously some days asking people to really play to their skills...” “…human beings are very resilient… a lot of people have been reviewing their work life balance… having spent a long time working from home, some people have found the benefits of that some people can't wait to get back into the office…we see the risks” “…people's anxieties about going into the into the office is causing harm, because people are very anxious about it. We're also doing this against a backdrop of economic issues, I know there's an enormous amount of anxiety that people are starting to experience around the economic distress that we're going to be entering as well…the cost of travelling into work, the costs of dressing for work, the cost of buying a coffe...” “…being a menopausal lady, things sometimes slip one's mind. You tend to turn up in a room and say ‘What the hell am I doing?’... The reason that we laugh about it and joke about it is because it's actually quite tough… we do tend to sort of corner the menopause as a big drama. But many men do have issues of their own and getting older isn't easy for anybody” “If I have got something useful to contribute to the workplace, people will continue to give me a job to do. If I haven't, then c'est la vie. But, while I still have a contribution to make, I am what I am. And I don't have to pretend to be anything else. I think that's one of the wonderful things about the menopause, actually, you do realise that you are, you are an entirely flawed human human construction,” ABOUT KATE JONES Kate is Director of Research Delivery for the NIHR Clinical Research Network which provides infrastructure and support to the NHS and social care to enable the conduct of high-quality research. Kate has worked with the NIHR since its inception in 2007, having previously worked in both healthcare governance and as a research fellow. Kate is married with two grown up daughters and lives in Broadstairs in Kent. CONNECT WITH KATE https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-jones ABOUT THE HOST – ALLI SPARGO Alli is the mother of two daughters and a son, a wife, a daughter and a sister. She is also an executive leadership coach who passionately believes that every individual has the potential to be who they want to be, and do what they want to do (she is living proof of that!): to BE the BEST version of themselves. Alli specialises in behavioural performance as an executive leadership and systemic team coach. Her breadth of business experience, together with her coaching and facilitation expertise, enables her to enhance leadership capability and personal impact, whilst understanding the demands of the commercial and organisational environment. WORK WITH ALLI If you would like explore how working with Alli would support...

Always the definitive gentle-man. Considerate, thought provoking, provocative, highly experienced, highly regarded, and self-aware, Bill generously shares honest and real stories of a career well-travelled in communication and PR. KEY TAKEAWAYS “One learns to control one’s behaviours, one learns quickly to adapt to the people around one, and one learns from others as they’re talking, they’ve all gone through that process…the bank at that time was full of lifers." “You only needed the one mask, back in that day, everything was strict hierarchy, strict codes of dress and so actually you just took your slot and just move along with the crowd, today is much more difficult because everybody needs multiple masks and it’s a much more challenging environment in a way.” “We couldn’t have a standard dress code, we had to make them (clients) comfortable… my record was four different outfits in one day” "If you’re going to be safe in your work environment, people must play the game and behave themselves and appear in a certain light, tick the right boxes, say the right things in the appropriate meetings, not just the right thing, but in the right way… and one learns these things” "The great communicators are the ones who can engage with the greatest number of audiences, my own expression is that they have the biggest footprint, so the more people they can engage with, the more effective they’re going to be. So you find people being truly chameleon in the way they operate. Now that’s fundamental to their success in their job and fundamental in their ability to engage with people. Whether that’s good for them is a different question.” “Do we do it... sadly yes, go into any company and people are constantly in that mode they’re holding meetings about meetings about what they might say to the chief exec about X… We’re talking about people’s ability to relax and feel confident that they can articulate a particular point of view or a particular emotion without there being a sanction which might be imposed on them.” “It’s not because we are saying to Mary Have you’re say and what your say goes it’s just giving her the chance to be open and participate and to feel that she’s been able to participate... it may be that Mary has a dumb idea, but she should still be able to articulate it and put it into the discussion.” “all of this mask stuff is great up to a point, it gets us through the day, it enables us to engage with lots of different people, but ultimately if you don’t know who you are yourself you’re alienated from yourself. The Marx things was about being alienated from your work, if you were in a mass production environment, you no longer had that personal relationship with the product you were making, and Marx extrapolated loads from that. I think the alienation today is between the individuals many masks, whether that’s the social media masks, the ways they want to present, and the person that they are themselves and that for me is a real issue. The work you’re doing, Being Humans at Work, encouraging people to be more comfortable being themselves at work is essential because it’s not just the nice to have it’s the necessity to help with this whole balance in mental health – there is problem there that people are suffering with.” “Finding one’s Fundamental Self (John Paul Sartre) if one has a sense of oneself then when you put on a mask you know what you’re doing, there’s a relationship between you and the mask which is very clear and you take the mask of and you say “I don’t want to upset old so and so also I’ll wear this mask this evening .. when you lose the consciousness of masking and unmasking when the transition from one to another is just every day when you wake up and go to sleep perhaps without ever not having had a mask on then I think you are in real trouble, that’s when I ended up with that 5000-word essay pointed at my head (which I couldn’t write!)” “so much of what we do is learnt as we go...

The modest humility, genuine kindness, and quiet strength of this now retired police officer and Scottish gentleman, warmly greets the arrival of visitors to one of the top Asset Management Companies in the UK, and is always a highlight of my many visits to Edinburgh. His great love for his family and particularly his grandchildren encouraged John to capture his experiences in the police force in his self-published book, “Not long til Morning”. Once invited to train members of the FBI in USA, working the harrowing scenes of Lockerbie at the age of 26, and genuinely witnessing the dark side of life, John shares a very honest account of his thirty-two year career journey and “being human” within the police force in Scotland. KEY TAKEAWAYS “It's very difficult to get that sense of professional detachment that you require, when things are going very badly all around about you and those things that are terrible to look at…You can't just disappear into the background people.” “...calmness radiates from people... that's good leadership” “The Police are the public and the public are the Police; the Police being only members of the public who are paid to give full attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interest of community, welfare and existence” – Sir Robert Peel. 1825. An article from John’s book… “So, and I start as we gather around the van waiting to go home, a large 4x4 drives slowly into our midst. I mean so slowly, it kind of nudged some of us aside, it stops and a man gets out, a local, I think, maybe a farmer or something. He goes to the back, lifts the tailgate, and takes a bundle out. He then walks around the side of the car towards the Sergeant, easily identifiable these days by the Chevron's on their arms. There are dozens of us and he walks slowly through this crowd of policemen who one by one step aside, we see his carrying the body of a child, a little girl, may be 4 or 5 years old. She looks perfect, as if she's asleep in his arms. He walks up to the side and holds her out. Sarge takes her looks at him, and nods. As he turns and walks back to his car. The boys start saluting him, one after another as he passes, including me. He doesn't look up, but returns to his vehicle, starts it up, and backs away as slowly as he had come. No one has said a word. The whole episode passes in total silence. We watch the taillights disappear into the gathering gloom. It's my first day at Lockerbie. I have just turned 26 years old” “…Am I doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right way? And for the right reasons.” “…always be a listener. It's easy to say, but it's a skill. It's a skill that can be learned, but never to be dismissive. Never be dismissive. … never worry, never hurry, calm, collected behaviour, will radiate from you. So don't… whatever hits you. Don't panic. Just tell your team. Okay, we'll get through this. It's happened. Let's focus on what we need to do. Let's move on” ABOUT JOHN STUART John was born the youngest of four brothers in the Old Town of Edinburgh in 1962. After a childhood spent in the suburbs, he joined the Edinburgh Police cadets in 1979. He then spent the next 32 years in the service. This service spanned many notable events including the Robert Black serial killer, the miners’ strike and the Lockerbie atrocity. All his brothers also served in the emergency services. Two firemen and one paramedic. Retiring in 2011 he was employed in the NHS before joining BG in 2018. He has one son, three daughters and four tiring grandchildren. CONNECT WITH JOHN STUART johnstuart84@msn.com ABOUT THE HOST – ALLI SPARGO Alli is the mother of two daughters and a son, a wife, a daughter and a sister. She is also an executive leadership coach who passionately believes that every individual has the potential to be who they want to be, and do what they want to do (she is living proof of that!): to BE the BEST version of themselves. Alli specialises in...

Having taken a very non-traditional journey pushing himself continually out of his comfort zone, Nick Leitch made his way very successfully to Managing Director of corporate lending at Shawbrook Bank. (1000 people strong organisation offering highly personalised, practical, lending and savings products to individuals, businesses and real estate investors.) With humility, accepting you can't be successful on your own and with an attitude of “it's okay to make mistakes and learn” Nick is real, open, and honest about his journey to becoming managing director and what it takes to lead a successful team KEY TAKEAWAY Uncomfortable challenges: “I'm not happy with but I'm okay with putting myself into uncomfortable positions, and challenging myself in a way that says, well, if I want to move, keep moving forward and learn, I'll get the opportunity to experience more things. The easy option is... to stay in low gear or neutral and just sort of coast along. And one has to do that from time to time in order to catch your breath, or just see what's going on around you. But often, if you're really going to push, you got to put yourself in a slightly uncomfortable position once in a while.” Self-made? “I wouldn't be anywhere near where I am without… the people I've had around me; you can't do these sorts of things on your own. You often hear the expression, somebody described as a self-made woman or a self-made man… I don't believe you can't do that all on your own” “… there's an immense amount to learn from other people out there. Look for mentors, look for people who can, you know, who will want to give you guidance, some of the best people out there will be only so only too happy to be able to do that.” Distractions and internal conversations: “I'm easily distracted. I have a quite an active internal dialogue. In my mind, I have quite a large internal dialogue, which has many good things. It means I stop and think about things a lot and kind of work around problem... I do have a very healthy conversation with myself quite often.” ABOUT NICK LEITCH Nick is Managing Director of Shawbrook Bank Corporate Lending leading an award winning team supporting numerous shareholders, management teams and businesses across the UK. His career started in the late 80’s, first in hospitality and then financial services as a sales trainee in consumer, commercial and insurance products. This progressed to working in commercial lending markets for Barclays, TSB and Lloyds in sales, account and people management roles. Thereafter further opportunities were enjoyed with Ernst & Young, Endless and Seneca in advisory, investor, shareholder, director and partner roles. ‘I can’t imagine being anywhere other than financial services, it’s enabled me to experience so many businesses across numerous sectors. The variety makes everyday a school day in understanding how these companies work, but more importantly the needs and ambitions of the owners, individuals and teams we work with. Knowing this and using the experience gained enables empathy which makes for great professional and personal relationships.’ CONNECT WITH NICK LEITCH www.linkedIn.com/in/nickleitch ABOUT THE HOST – ALLI SPARGO Alli is the mother of two daughters and a son, a wife, a daughter and a sister. She is also an executive leadership coach who passionately believes that every individual has the potential to be who they want to be, and do what they want to do (she is living proof of that!): to BE the BEST version of themselves. Alli specialises in behavioural performance as an executive leadership and systemic team coach. Her breadth of business experience, together with her coaching and facilitation expertise, enables her to enhance leadership capability and personal impact, whilst understanding the demands of the commercial and organisational environment. WORK WITH ALLI If you would like explore how working with Alli would support you to be the person...

Susan Brodie, Director of Talent and Development at the Global Investment Managers, Baillie Gifford shares the milestones and insights of her career journey. Susan shares her very personal story of dealing with the grief of the death of a close family member just before lockdown, at the same time journeying with the impact of significant news her daughter shares. The transformational impact of a mentor and the value of focusing on "Being not Doing". "Embrace everything about yourself ... the good and the bad". This is an episode of vulnerability and honesty, of truly being authentically human at work. I'm incredibly grateful to Susan for this truly insightful and heartfelt episode KEY TAKEAWAYS Vulnerability: Leaders go first “… after the queen had just died and before her funeral, nobody was really talking about it, which I thought was really quite interesting …. it's okay to have those conversations. We all go through those feelings, those emotions. And maybe we must be brave enough to open it up ourselves, even though that makes you feel incredibly vulnerable. Because you don't quite know where your emotions are going to go when you start to talk and to have those kinds of conversations, but it's actually okay, and you making it okay for somebody else to share, what's going on for them” Recalibrating traditional norms “(so my daughter came out as a lesbian in November 19)… In society, I think we still have this strong belief that people will find a husband or a wife, and they will get married, have children, you'll have grandchildren. That's kind of the way things will play out in the world… I very quickly realised that of course, my daughter could still get married, she could still have babies, I could still be a granny..., I just had to recalibrate.” Focus on being authentic “….in my role as a learning professional I just want people to be their best. My role is to try and help that… it's actually just about… allowing people to be vulnerable, creating the space or the support for them to explore who they are and to be, you know, to be (themselves) Emotional Intelligence – Know yourself well “So my advice for the younger people is to take time really getting to know yourself, What are my passions, what are my talents? What do I feel strongly about? And then try to be true to that, because I think that's where you end up being your happiest, but also performing your best” The benefit of flexible working “I'm also in that sandwich generation where I have a teenage daughter and I've got elderly parents, who are all here, but all with significant health challenges… So visits to doctors, and various appointments have to come up. So flexible working really allows me to find that balance, to be able to meet everybody's needs. And also mine in the sense that I want to have a really fulfilling career, I want to add value to my team… having more flexibility allows me to do all those things. Which is great and I think we're still finding our way…” Queen Elizabeth II as role model ‘… When we talk about leadership, (HM Queen Elizabeth II) has been quite rightly held up as a phenomenal leader. And, the stories that people are telling about Her are about her human connection (not her human doing). And I think that should be an inspiration for all of us.” ABOUT SUSAN BRODIE Having completed an MA in Psychology at Aberdeen University Susan’s career started in retail during which she held a variety of HR roles, starting off as a generalist then following her passion for learning into leadership and management development. In 2000 she started her own business providing consultancy and coaching initially on leadership and management development and latterly, business transformation and career transitions. She worked with a variety of organisations across a wide range of sectors around the UK until 2015 when she joined the HR team at Baillie Gifford. Based in Edinburgh, Susan now leads the Talent &...

This is a slightly different episode, but nonetheless important when thinking about exploring human behaviours at work. “These days when we’re not only spending all our time in our ‘heads’ but are lost in our phones!” In this episode my guest and Master Sophrologist, Annette Ebbinghaus explores this methodology called Sophrology which is a dynamic practice, more so than the likes of yoga or pilates, to support well being and good mental health. Some people coined sophrology as “Happiness Training” - encouraging the production of more dopamine and happy hormones which studies have shown are more effective than ‘happiness pills’. It is a scientific approach, developed by a medical doctor. KEY TAKEAWAY What is Sophrology? “Sophrology basically stands for the study of consciousness and harmony, or the study of consciousness and peace… it was started in the 1960s, by Alfonso Caycedo. He was a neuro psychiatrist… he was working at the hospital in Madrid and he was working with clients who had some sort of mental disorder… He didn’t like how these people were begin treated… So he developed this system, there's 12 different levels, and in each level they have associated techniques. Through taking them through all of these levels, he basically got them off of all their medications” “…Each practice includes breath work, conscious awareness” Self-Awareness “We have to assess situations and in business… it's the business of assessment, right? You think about it… every business does some form of risk assessment… but that whole process of constantly doing assessment means we're constantly judging… And judgement is something as humans; we have to judge whether a situation is safe or not… that comes down to our primal selves… I would say that, we've brought that too much into business, when it comes to the whole capitalist model of… grow more, sell more, being more everything has to be more… you take a step back, you say, well, am I not enough as I am?” Self-Acceptance and confidence “And at a young enough age we need to expose ourselves to failure. So that we can learn that it's okay to fail… you have the ability to do that analysis, and to figure out ‘what I'm good at what I'm not’, but you need to have enough experiences, when you're young, in order to have certain level of resilience as an adult.” Practising these skills “So becoming aware that you have these is key, but also becoming aware that not everybody thinks the same way that you do. And not everybody is motivated the same way that you do… I'm need to understand how my communication style is impacting them. And that always comes down to the emotion because the emotion that drives the behaviour” ABOUT ANNETTE EBBINGHAUS Having emersed herself in her Masters training twice, Sophrology expert Annette challenges the ongoing global business requirement of constantly needing to be ‘more’ - ‘grow more, sell more, be more’. The constant human need to scan for danger, to make judgements, to remain ‘safe’ against perceived danger, driven by our primitive human behaviour of scanning for danger to stay alive. The human tendency to focus on the negative, the danger rather than the positive. Annette Ebbinghaus is a globally sought-after mental fitness coach, master sophrologist, and motivational speaker. She draws from 30+ years of experience and is founder of the beChill® Exams & Life programs for adolescents. Annette works with the link between mind, body, and consciousness to boost resilience, performance, overall wellbeing, and aids in the self-development of adults and adolescents. Educated in several fields, she began her professional career as a civil engineer and after an MBA shifted to sustainable development in business and ultimately into stress management and wellbeing. Annette teaches and mentors sophrologists and is an active charter member of the Inspired Women Lead global women’s leadership program. Annette’s business hero: Florence...

Leadership tips and the gifts of dyslexia are shared openly by Chris Bannister in this refreshing interview. Having worked across many financial market roles over the years, Chris talks about being the authentic you. The unique you. Whether it’s leading a team or delivering bad news, being the same person you are in every situation in and out of work, conversations are easier and people can respond better. Mastering the art of managing dyslexia, Chris uses this to his advantage – a great interview. Be encouraged. KEY TAKEAWAYS “Treating people equally” “I treat everyone pretty much the same. I think that's something that is very, very important to me, I am equally as comfortable sitting at a board meeting or going to an important event, as I am just sitting at the end of the desk and chatting to someone. The preparation might be a little bit different for each of those.” “Being Authentic” “I try and be the same person, in each and every different interaction that I have, because I think that's when I'm at my best.” “The leadership gift of Dyslexia” “I found out when I was 49, that I had dyslexia, which I think in some way, it probably had nothing to do with my impatience, but it probably had a lot to do with the fact that I didn't enjoy my levels. And, you know, over the course of my career, I've learned to turn the dyslexia from a disadvantage to a huge advantage, I (now) think it's a huge advantage… certainly in management, because it gives you a very wide view of life and the ability to manage 20 things at once… I think is it's really helpful if you're in a in a role like mine.” “It’s a gift in management, because as you say, it really allows you to step back, see the whole picture, rather than really focusing in too much on the detail and losing sight of some of the more complexities that exist around any issues that you're thinking about.” “The importance of Rapport building” “…having the EQ to navigate the company, is probably as equally as important as having the IQ to do the job” “Empathetic Communication” “…if there's one time where you should be genuine, really genuine and honest and a human being, it's definitely when you have to deliver bad news…” ABOUT CHRIS BANNISTER Born and educated in the United Kingdom and a British Citizen, Chris Bannister joined the Bank in 1985. Chris worked in a number of financial markets roles within the London branch of Westpac prior to joining Group Treasury in Sydney in 2001 as Head of Global Funding. In this role, Chris had responsibility for all wholesale funding, securitization, liquidity management and from 2005, capital execution, across the Westpac group. Chris returned to London in February 2007 and in October 2008 assumed the role of General Manager, Europe and Americas, relinquishing his funding responsibilities shortly thereafter. In his present role, Chris has responsibility for the Bank’s business interests (predominantly wholesale) in the Northern Hemisphere. Chris holds a BSc (hons) in Financial Services from Manchester University and is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Financial Services (CAifs). CONNECT WITH CHRIS BANNISTER linkedin.com/in/chris-bannister-87121688 ABOUT THE HOST – ALLI SPARGO Alli is the mother of two daughters and a son, a wife, a daughter and a sister. She is also an executive leadership coach who passionately believes that every individual has the potential to be who they want to be, and do what they want to do (she is living proof of that!): to BE the BEST version of themselves. Alli specialises in behavioural performance as an executive leadership and systemic team coach. Her breadth of business experience, together with her coaching and facilitation expertise, enables her to enhance leadership capability and personal impact, whilst understanding the demands of the commercial and organisational environment. WORK WITH ALLI If you would like explore how working with Alli would support you to...

Born in Delhi, in a traditional patriarchal Indian family, Kanchan broke the mould early on. Rare still today to find a 35 year old, single Indian female who has balked the “traditional system” by remaining unmarried and choosing a career in STEM. The only female in her class of male counterparts at Delhi College of Engineering, Kanchan’s journey has felt lonely (and often still does). She is determined to be a role model for other females to stand in their power and achieve their ambitions, breaking traditional norms and boundaries, even when it feels difficult. Empathetic, self aware, socially aware and undeniably strong and influential, Kanchan helps us to understand what it feels like to be a vibrant, bright and ambitious professional Indian woman with a career in engineering. KEY TAKEAWAY STEM FEMALE ROLE MODEL - IT TAKES COURAGE TO STAND AND BE A ROLE MODEL FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE. “One day I told my mom that I don't want to continue in engineering, because it's something not meant for women and not meant for girls like me”. And she gave me an advice which actually turned my life around. She told me that "I disagree, because you are living the dreams of many, many people around you (because I got into one of the top 10 colleges in India. And it's very, very hard to accomplish and to be there). She told me that "this is not a choice or an option for you to drop out. Think how you can change things, how you can navigate this successfully. And that's where I would lead you to" and I think this is one of the most important (pieces of) advice I ever got in my life. SETTING HIGH AMBITION GOALS “One thing, which perhaps differentiated me with my other, let's say, cousins, relatives, friends, etc, is that I've always wanted to aim a bit higher than others. And setting a low ambition was somehow, not a choice I give to myself.” THE LONELINESS OF BEING DIFFERENT “…it's lonely even now, to be honest, because the choices, all the choices I made, I think was always one, or very few of many. But I think that's where I also get the energy and I get my inspiration and motivation or whatever you want to call it… The kind of opportunities, the kind of exposure, the kind of peers, I had access to the intellectual network I have now, that was the starting point. And that's when I differentiated myself, but to get in there, one has to aim high, and not just aim, but to get it… so I think that's one thing, which kind of differentiated or set me apart from others” DON’T MISS BEING YOURSELF FOR 30% OF YOUR LIFE! “If I take an average span of eighty years of a human, first 20 years, you get into learning and your education, 20 to 60s is when you do your work, and 60 to 80 is when you retire, and maybe you give back…I think 20 to 60 is your active work life. And if I take on an average per hour a human spends, let's say 10 hours a day at work, it's almost 30% of our lives when we invest our time at work, so I think it is very important topic… because otherwise, we will miss the chance of being ourselves 30% of our lives!” ABOUT KANCHAN CHANANA Kanchan is a self-driven, an all-time learner and a possibilist. She is passionate about unlocking human potential by building stronger leaders; in particular women and enabling them to rise. She is driven by impact creation in business and therefore she invested her last 10 years advising CEOs / CXO to help them solve some of their most complex business problems. Her interests are traveling, meditation and coaching passionate individuals CONNECT WITH KANCHAN linkedin.com/in/chananakanchan kanchan.chanana15@gmail.com ABOUT THE HOST – ALLI SPARGO Alli is the mother of two daughters and a son, a wife, a daughter and a sister. She is also an executive leadership coach who passionately believes that every individual has the potential to be who they want to be, and do what they want to do (she is living proof of that!): to BE the BEST version of themselves. Alli specialises in...

Arriving in the UK from Zimbabwe in 2004 with her then boyfriend, now husband, Charity Bare was only initially here to do her masters degree in the UK. She stayed and broke boundaries within the insurance world through her resilience, determination, and hard work. Championed by some key stakeholders, Charity has risen courageously through the ranks to become a female board director in the still predominantly male world of insurance. Overcoming Imposter syndrome, moments of low confidence, three maternity leaves, and a chatty personality, Charity has learned to let down the ‘professional mask’ to bring her ‘whole self’ into the workplace, into her leadership style. Building and managing relationships, building allies, influencing and persuading by taking down the mask of professionalism. KEY TAKEAWAY Creating comfortable spaces, enjoying your job It's very important to me that people do feel comfortable, because I remember myself when I used to see those other executives thinking “oh...I can barely breathe at this point”..it's important to make people feel good and happy to be at work. I stopped taking it so seriously, and actually enjoy the job. Before.. I thought "oh, gosh, I've got to make sure that this gets done...oh, my word. I didn't hit that deadline, oh... this is the end of the world as I know it." It's not, it's about managing expectations. It's about enjoying your time with people. Fast track promotions I happen to have a really good support structure in the role that I was promoted too...Head of Risk Manager. The CEO at the time, for whatever reason, saw something in me… he said to me, "You should definitely do that job…you need to need to take that job." It surprised me! I couldn't possibly be the Head of Risk.. are you crazy? I've been here for a year, there's no way. But every day, I always think back to that day. And, I think, wow! If it hadn't been for him, I don't know where I'd have been. And... he was a white male. Building allies when you’re different from those around you I've been very lucky to have come across people that don't see that I'm different in any way. They see me. They see what I can bring to the table.. they've put me forward for things because that's the important thing. You've got to have allies. And it's quite hard to build those allies when you are different, because most people gravitate to what they know. They gravitate to people that are like them… I'm so unlike everybody, it's not even funny. I’m black, I’m female, I’m very different! I struggled a lot with imposter syndrome as a result. In my mind, I thought, well... you can only be in those positions, if you are off a certain tenure in the business, they'll be looking at me and saying, What is she doing here? What's she done to get to this point? Who does she think she is? Because I am different. I'm relatively young…I'm black and female. ABOUT CHARITY BARE Charity has over 15 years’ experience within the London market spanning responsibilities for establishing and overseeing the governance, risk management and compliance frameworks. She originally started her career as an underwriter having completed a Masters in Risk Management following a move to the UK from Zimbabwe in 2006. CONNECT WITH CHARITY linkedin.com/in/charity-bare-b93b7323 ABOUT THE HOST – ALLI SPARGO Alli is the mother of two daughters and a son, a wife, a daughter and a sister. She is also an executive leadership coach who passionately believes that every individual has the potential to be who they want to be, and do what they want to do (she is living proof of that!): to BE the BEST version of themselves. Alli specialises in behavioural performance as an executive leadership and systemic team coach. Her breadth of business experience, together with her coaching and facilitation expertise, enables her to enhance leadership capability and personal impact, whilst understanding the demands of the commercial and organisational...

Only when he was unknowingly nominated and pipped to the post on the Welsh “Pinc List” by H of 90’s rock band Steps did the passionate, honest and open Ewan Hilton CEO of Platfform (formerly known as Gofal) the mental health and social change charity come out as being gay at work. He honestly describes himself as “not being a great role model for LGBTQI++, Inconsistent, flighty, short attention span, and inconsistent!” Through his position and character, Ewan has the opportunity and privilege to influence and talk about social change in high places within the Welsh Government. “The power of a truly Purpose-driven co-created organisation is a brilliant, lovely thing to be part of.” Ewan’s obvious passion and desire to make a difference and total commitment to being person-centric, both inside and outside of his organisation feels real, congruent, and true. Ewan recognises that he holds a position of power in the organisation and he recognises that he doesn’t always get it right. Change happens when you acknowledge feeling the shame of admitting you’re wrong, which means being vulnerable. When studying a master’s degree (although didn’t make it to graduating!) he came across the concept coined by the poet Keats called “negative capability”, being comfortable with the “not knowing”. He feels his job as CEO is to hold people “safe to do the best job they can do”, creating a combined responsibility and culture for so doing – embracing the chaos! It’s about relationships. Ewan's colourful and honest interview stands true to his form. I hope you enjoy the show. KEY TAKEAWAY “…when we think of us as human beings at work, you can't talk about that without talking about shame, and owning your own shame. Some of these words are hard to say out loud, people find them difficult, but, it’s the truth. I might call it pain, and it was painful. But actually what I was experiencing was shame. You can either then be defensive and tell everyone, or you can feel it and understand it and do something about it.,,call yourself out and fess up when you need to - none of us are perfect. We're all human. Bravery …that means also being vulnerable. You have to be brave, to be vulnerable and to cry. And to admit you're wrong. So bravely doesn't mean puffing your chest out and being right I'm going to fight that government until we win. It means I'm really sorry.” “put safe structures in place that enable people to communicate, and feel safe in doing so.” “positive philosophical choice, which I really like. Just approach it as if they're a good person and treat them as if they're a good person, if they end up not being, fine. But if you approach it with suspicion and angst… you don't get what you want, do you? So I really liked that positive philosophical choice part of learning” ABOUT EWAN HILTON Ewan is CEO of the Wales based Mental Health and Social Change charity Platfform. Ewan grew up in Hertfordshire, moving to Wales aged 19 where he started his carer in the charity sector volunteering for a small housing and homelessness charity. " was the best learning experience I could possibly have had - getting to do a little bit of everything". He held various positions in the housing and homelessness sector until starting as CEO or Platfform, which was then called Gofal, fifteen years ago. Ewan led the charity through a strategic review and full rebrand three years ago resulting in Platfform being born. He lives in Cardiff with his partner. CONNECT WITH EWAN ewanhilton@platfform.org https://platfform.org https://twitter.com/ewanhilton ABOUT THE HOST – ALLI SPARGO Alli is the mother of two daughters and a son, a wife, a daughter and a sister. She is also an executive leadership coach who passionately believes that every individual has the potential to be who they want to be, and do what they want to do (she is living proof of that!): to BE the BEST version of themselves. Alli specialises in behavioural performance as an...

Humble, humourous and honest. From East End builder to London Underground Elder, Gary Rogers shares with us his wisdom and experiences in a way which engages and provokes. Why the candy-striped shirt and tie? You may well ask … it’s worth listening to the whole episode to find out! He’s a man with heart, who isn’t afraid to bring it to work and through that achieves great results and a career to match. Now Head of Investigations at Lexan Corporate Services, Gary describes himself as an investigator in workplace conflicts; bullying, harassment, misconduct, investigation into fraud, bribery, corruption allegations and a like. KEY TAKEAWAYS Procedure and policy “When you're dealing with people, the trouble is it’s driven by policy and procedure…it's not about people really its about compliance… the challenge is being compliant with a policy to meet every situation” Current phrases of the moment “....bring you whole self to work…. Okay that doesn't make much sense…. some people are private. They don't bring their whole self to work. Some people like to keep private life separate. But being human is just being who you are….” Conflicting priorities “We’re not practicing what we preach… there are priorities, external factors, pressure that these senior teams face…..I've got a team that supports me. I've got people that will come to me and help me, I've got people I can speak to… so if they're not coming along with me, then I'm going to fail miserably. If they do come along, I'm talking to them, and I know that they can trust me and talk to me and speak to me… I'll be honest and open with them. And suddenly, you've got what we're all looking for, which is a great working team.” Undervalued vs Respected “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don't want to.”.. I love this saying by Richard Branson… Being Human - it’s not about policy and Procedure “…It's about treating people as people but to understand that you’ve got to speak to them, and you listen. The only way you can speak to them and understand it, is if you allow them to speak and you listen.” ABOUT GARY ROGERS Having started his investigation career over 30 years ago in private security, Gary has conducted, led, and managed investigations in the Civil Service, Policing, Public sector and for the last 3 years in private consultancy. Gary spent 20 years working for Transport for London where he managed a large team and had the honour of going through a senior management programme where he was coached by Alli Spargo. A proud East Londoner, Gary has a strong belief in treating people as people, being true to his own background and values. CONNECT WITH GARY https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-rogers https://www.lexan-group.co.uk ABOUT THE HOST – ALLI SPARGO Alli is the mother of two daughters and a son, a wife, a daughter and a sister. She is also an executive leadership coach who passionately believes that every individual has the potential to be who they want to be, and do what they want to do (she is living proof of that!): to BE the BEST version of themselves. Alli specialises in behavioural performance as an executive leadership and systemic team coach. Her breadth of business experience, together with her coaching and facilitation expertise, enables her to enhance leadership capability and personal impact, whilst understanding the demands of the commercial and organisational environment. WORK WITH ALLI If you would like explore how working with Alli would support you to be the person you want to be, have the career (and life) you want to have and support your team to perform at their optimum, then please book a free 1 hour meeting with her: booking:-Exploring-Human-Behaviours-At-Work-with-Alli KEEP IN TOUCH WITH ALLI CONNECT WITH ALLI Follow me here with more amazing guest interviews and share with your Podcast...

Always thoughtful, quietly inspiring and hugely courageous, Julia Simister is Deputy Chief Operating Office of NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). KEY TAKEAWAYS Authenticity is first “The first thing that springs to mind about human behaviours at work is about being authentic. I try to be the best version of myself, every day.” Vulnerability - an innate part of being human “one of the aspects of being a human being, is about being vulnerable. And that's an innate part of being a human ……. it comes from people feeling vulnerable, because they feel threatened or they're uncertain. And you have to, in my experience of being open and honest, and perhaps sharing with my team that I'm not sure about something, or I'm not feeling quite the best version of myself that day has been quite a revelation.” The importance of balance I was talking to my God-daughter …who’s… recently starting out on her career. And she said, it's so great to hear you say about being open and sharing how you feel in a particular situation, because it validates it for everyone. And it makes it okay for everyone to not be okay on a particular day.….Its also important for them to know that perhaps on some days, you don't want to share it. And that's okay, too. For me, it's that real balance” Building safe psychological space (Vulnerability) …. came out as a real positive thing. There was no judgment in the space, the reaction was very positive, there was no judgment, and it was really good experience for everyone, ……by this person expressing their views and their difficulties, it enabled everyone else in the team to go “Okay, that's really good”. ….some of them (also) felt a bit “not sure” about things. I do think it's about opening up that (psychologically safe) space. And it's probably to do with culture as well, and making people realize, you know that this is how we are as a team – it’s is okay to feel like that. And that's what being part of a team is all about. Resilience is like a spectrum or risk threshold …resilience is probably like a spectrum or risk threshold … they acknowledged openly that they had reached their threshold or were coming to it, and actually needed help in order to fulfill the role and carry on being the super human being they are, being the best version of themselves. But at that time, ….I'm feeling not as strong as usual. And the reasons why ….. was a revelation, it was really inspiring. Confidence and Courage are key I started windsurfing …. It certainly taught, and continues to teach me how you need to keep going and try different things. I've learned so much from the experience, I had no choice but to ask for help. So, I couldn't be reluctant in coming forward because I didn’t have a clue. And I really had to put my hands up in front of all these real experts and say No, I really don't know, can you help me? And everyone was really willing (to help). ABOUT JULIA SIMISTER As a science and business graduate Julia started out working in the life sciences before joining the NHS, working in several London teaching hospitals as a biomedical scientist. With a curiosity for experiencing life in different ways, Julia enjoyed a short spell in a military hospital in the Middle-East before returning to the NHS. Driven by a passion for enabling improvements and development, Julia has worked within Quality Improvement and Clinical Research within the NHS for many years. Making connections and making a difference through advancing health and care. Working collaboratively with a diverse range of people across complex systems is what Julia loves to do. CONNECT WITH JULIA https://twitter.com/juliasimister https://local.nihr.ac.uk/lcrn/kent-surrey-and-sussex/ julia.simister@nihr.ac.uk ABOUT THE HOST – ALLI SPARGO Alli is the mother of two daughters and a son, a wife, a daughter and a sister. She is also an executive leadership coach who passionately believes...

Impressive, ex Royal Marine Captain, turned Business Development and Ecosystems Expert and TedeX Speaker, Ben Brabyn strives to ignite and sustain the fires of connectivity which helps human relationships and business flow. He uses his own significant life and business experience to support others to make and sustain connections, encouraging and recognising the value of “playfulness” and “lower stake” relationships. KEY TAKEAWAY The power of human connection – both inside and outside of your business function “Many people will spend, you know, a huge amount of time and resources, practicing their presentational skills, making sure that they really got a very tight grip of all of the detail and data. And all of that, of course, has its uses. But very often, people miss the more obvious sort of preamble to that which is to connect as one person to another.” The value of low stake relationships “lowering the stakes, not saying let's collaborate on a complex research project, let's build a business together, but instead, inviting people to play a bit.” The role of Humour and Playfulness in building connections “one of the four commando qualities, that the Royal Marines focus on is well, it is expressed as cheerfulness and adversity. The ability perhaps to see the bright sides to recognise that everything is not necessarily only to be viewed one way, only to be treated very, very seriously…. A W Auden …said “among those who I like, I can see no discernible pattern, but among those I love, I can, they make me laugh.” Vulnerability within the workplace “there are a few things more intimate, more personal and more vulnerable than facing the challenges of struggling through an incredibly arduous, difficult and sometimes very lonely series of challenges to become a trained marine commander”. Hiding vulnerability in the workplace “I had assumed that no one no one needed to hear anything about my problems. So I saw I thought I kept them to myself. Of course, I have problems and I have always had problems. So so I just saw it as part of my sort of duty to bottle them up.” ABOUT BEN BRABYN Ben is a business development and ecosystem expert who works with UK and international companies in fintech and cybersecurity. He is former Head of Level39, Europe's leading fintech and cybersecurity cluster based in London. He welcomed over 200 companies from more than 50 countries and grew Level39 by 70% becoming one of the most connected people in the UK startup ecosystem. Prior to leading Level39, Ben consulted to the UK Government, running UK Trade & Investment's Venture Capital Unit and introducing overseas investors to UK companies. Earlier in his career he served as an officer in the Royal Marines Commandos, as an analyst with JP Morgan and as founder of an online payments business which he founded in 2001, built and sold in 2010. He has an MA in Philosophy and English Literature from Edinburgh University and an MBA from Warwick Business School in the UK. CONNECT WITH BEN https://twitter.com/BenBrabyn https://www.linkedin.com/in/benbrabyn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W88YX6S7UD8 (1994 Royal Marines Selection) ABOUT YOUR HOST - Alli Spargo Alli is an International award-winning Executive Coach, Systemic Team Coach, Mentor and Mother of three now grown up kids. Through coaching, Alli takes her clients on a journey of self-development to become the powerful, successful, high performance leaders and teams. Alli inspires and empowers individuals & teams to get to know themselves better, to work and communicate better, to play at the top of their game. Her breadth of business experience, together with her whole system approach to coaching enables her to enhance leadership capability and personal impact, whilst understanding the demands of the commercial and organisational environment. If you would like Alli to work with you to ensure you become the very best version of yourself please book a free 20 minute...

Courageously moving to UK from Australia with his young family and not really knowing what he was going to do to provide an income for his family. Farm boy - come IT guy – now executive leadership coach and inspirational speaker, Peter Milligan shares his journey through imposter syndrome, vulnerability and shame to set up his own business, focussing on developing leaders of the future. “If I'd woken up that morning to run that workshop and said, ‘I'm gonna piss off everyone I can in that event’, it would have been mission accomplished, ….. great result!” KEY TAKEAWAY “…every time we step out of our comfort zone into something different, something new, it's natural to be afraid and our natural innate thing is to protect ourselves. To be humans at work is to start to get the balance right ….., there is a spectrum, at one end you don't reveal anything about yourself, you say nothing, you just do your job, and you don't let people know anything about you. That's one extreme. And the other extreme is you tell everybody, everything, you overshare. And I think we would agree that neither of those is healthy. Because if you say nothing, and you've got that wall around you people can't connect with you.” “But the truth is, I was clueless, I realised I was quite out of my depth. And I was the youngest member of the management team, the least experienced person. And I definitely had, you know, what's referred to as the imposter syndrome, but I didn't know it was a thing.” “…….. the fundamental thing that human beings need is a sense of connection, they need connection to others, and they need connection to meaning.” ”…… when you're vulnerable, you're invulnerable, because when you really reveal who you are, then people adjust, there's no more pretending, there's no mask that you have to keep up all the time. This is who I am……. and it's quite paradoxical. I love this phrase, perfection breaks connection. …….. and you and I are both perfectionist, we both like to look good. We don't like to fail and all of that, which pretty much makes us human. But the irony is that when we're imperfect, we actually connect more as people”. “I think success in life comes from high levels of awareness. And there are three levels to that, (firstly) there is awareness of ourselves…..Secondly, we need to have awareness of other people …. and then thirdly, we need to have awareness of context, the context in which we're operating, whether it's a meeting, whether it's the organisation as a whole, or even more broadly than that.” ABOUT PETER MILLIGAN Peter is an inspirational speaker and business psychologist with 30 years’ experience. He helps business leaders and teams to have less stress, more joy and greater productivity. Originally an IT professional, Peter retrained in psychology and joined the management team of a leading Australian HR consulting firm. After moving to the UK in 2000, he became a director of Europe's largest executive coaching firm before establishing his own business in 2005. Peter’s clients have ranged from professional services firms, SMEs and family businesses to larger organisations including Australia Post, BP, Credit Suisse, Kerry Foods, Novartis, Oxford University, Rolls-Royce, and Vodafone. CONNECT WITH PETER www.linkedIn.com/in/petermilligan https://www.newgenerationleaders.com https://www.sixtylessons.com https://twitter.com/PeterMilligan https://www.facebook.com/peter.milligan.777 ABOUT YOUR HOST - Alli Spargo Alli is an International award-winning Executive Coach, Systemic Team Coach, Mentor and Mother of three now grown up kids. Through coaching, Alli takes her clients on a journey of self-development to become the powerful, successful, high performance leaders and teams. Alli inspires and empowers individuals & teams to get to know themselves better, to work and communicate better, to play at the top of their game. Her breadth of business experience, together with her whole system...

In this inaugural Alli Spargo Explores Human Behaviours at Work Podcast, the tables are turned on host, Alli Spargo, as Amy Rowlinson asks her to share her ambitions for her new Podcast. What she hopes to achieve and why this Podcast is important here and now? Alli explains why she feels so passionate about creating a space for this important conversation, seeking to inspire others with stories from leaders from all walks of life. KEY TAKEAWAY “I want people to listen to the stories of other leaders from all walks of life, sharing some of their key milestones, key moments, when they have really broken down some of their barriers, being able to be truly human at work.” ABOUT YOUR HOST - Alli Spargo Alli is an International award-winning Executive Coach, Systemic Team Coach, Mentor and Mother of three now grown up kids. Through coaching, Alli takes her clients on a journey of self-development to become the powerful, successful, high performance leaders and teams. Alli inspires and empowers individuals & teams to get to know themselves better, to work and communicate better, to play at the top of their game. Her breadth of business experience, together with her whole system approach to coaching enables her to enhance leadership capability and personal impact, whilst understanding the demands of the commercial and organisational environment. If you would like Alli to work with you to ensure you become the very best version of yourself please book a free 20 minute conversation via https://calendly.com/alli-execcoach Please sign up for a free coaching audit at www.allisonspargo.com CONNECT WITH ALLI https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonspargo @AllisonSpargo or https://twitter.com/allisonspargo @allisonspargoltd or https://www.instagram.com/allisonspargoltd HOSTED BY: Alli Spargo DISCLAIMER:- The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. Please conduct your own due diligence.