Leaders in Conversation with Anni Townend

Welcome and welcome back to Leaders in Conversation with me, Anni Townend, the podcast that helps you to grow your confidence and courage as a leader.I created this series of candid conversations for leaders to share their inspirational personal leadership stories, weaving together the threads of their life. Together we delve into what they really care about, their values and beliefs, their passion and purpose and how they live 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 EpisodeIn this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with Candace Gerlach, founder of The Conscious Marketing GroupWe delve together into: How collaborating with people who think differently and getting to know them is key to business – and brand -success.Why inspiring people along their journey through creating a set of guiding principles and then letting them find their own way matters more than ever.How being curious makes us better marketers – and better humans.Three Top TipsWhat are your three top tips for leaders looking to collaborate, to inspire and to be more curious in their leadership?  Don’t be too hard on yourself – remember you are human – learn to let go of things rather than dwell upon them.Be curious and interested in what other people have to offer – encourage diversity of thought to get to a more rounded point of view.Be passionate! Be open and honest. Energy is infectious. Galvanise people behind a vision and common purpose – be they customers, colleagues, shareholders, or the wider community.ABOUT CANDACECandace is the founder of The Conscious Marketing Group (TCMG). Her mission and that of TCMG is to bring big brand thinking into the lives of small to medium sized business that are doing amazing things, and to problem solve collectively for brands that have so much to offer – for their customer, for people, and for the greater good.CONTACT CANDACETo find out more about Candace and The Conscious Marketing Group connect with her on LinkedIn, and go to her website www.theconsciousmarketinggroup.co.ukCONTACT METo 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 your confidence and courage as a leader.I created this series of candid conversations for leaders to share their inspirational leadership stories, weaving together the threads of their life. Together we delve into and weave together what they really care about, their values and beliefs, their passion and purpose and how they live 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 EpisodeIn this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with Alicia Ioannou, a policy senior manager in the Home Office who is currently enjoying new adventures on a career break in Switzerland!Together we delve into:1) What it means to be confident and to go for it!2) How to deal with stressful situations 3) The importance of being an explorer of new opportunities and skillsAlicia’s Three Top TipsRemember to communicate, communicate, communicate – it is better to over communicate than under communicateBe inspired by others, by their stories and be inspiring in and for yourself with your own storyAlways give opportunities to the people in your team to explore, learn and growABOUT ALICIAAlicia has been a senior manager in the UK Civil Service for 19 years where she has designed and implemented policies for the UK Government on migration including aspects of the post Brexit immigration system; tackling illegal migration and managing the UK’s Presidency of the G7 on Interior Security matters. Recently Alicia “went for it”, and moved to Switzerland on a career break where she is thinking through what is next for her career. Alicia is also enjoying rediscovering some of her early passions – piano, tennis and hiking in the mountains. To find out more about me go to my website www.annitownend.comTo listen to more leaders sharing their inspirational personal leadership stories, https://www.annitownend.com/leaders-in-conversation-podcastTo contact me Anni Townend, do email me on anni@annitownend.com

ABOUT THE SHOWWelcome to Leaders in Conversation with me, Anni Townend. The podcast that helps you to grow your confidence and courage as a leader.I created this series of candid conversations for leaders to share their inspirational leadership stories, weaving together the threads of their life, offering valuable insights and rich experience to help and inspire you on your own unique leadership journey.In each episode leaders share their personal life and leadership stories to encourage you to delve in what you really care about – your values and beliefs, your purpose and passions and how to live these through your leadership every day, in all that you do. If you are not already subscribed to the podcast please do subscribe, review and share it! To listen to more episodes go to my website www.annitownend.comABOUT THIS EPISODEIn this episode Wilma and I delve into and weave together:How making change always starts on the inside of ourselvesWhat it means to discover and lead from who we are, not from who we think we should be The value of being present and avoiding the zip wire of time Understanding the deep impact of spending time alone Why now, more than ever, there is a need for a leadership renaissance Wilma’s three top tips for leaders looking to lead differently 1. Make time to spend time alone and notice how this shifts your thinking and feeling2 Find your ways of nourishing and replenishing yourself, and your purpose not only for your leadership but for those around you3 Look within, change starts on the inside of ourselves.ABOUT WILMAWilma is a Growth and Development mentor to leaders and emerging leaders in the pursuit of something extraordinary, including People who are part of leading climate change solutions.  She has a very special cottage in the heart of the Black Mountains in Monmouthshire where she invites clients to spend time alone.  Here she uses the space and silence at the to allow the extraordinary to emerge.ABOUT BEING AT THE COTTAGEBeing at The Cottage offers a range of experiences with scope.  When leaders are in the pursuit of something extraordinary, it will have a positive impact for others.  It is something that will steer other people and the planet, as well as themselves, towards a better future.Clients can come and stay from 24 hours up to 7 nights at the cottage, which is tech free, and they are fully catered for with delicious food.Spending time alone at the cottage will give clients a profound experience of what it is to be present and in time.It’s important that the experience of being at the cottage is supported afterwards, so work continues together long after the client has left.To find out more about Wilma and Being at The Cottage do visit her website www.beingatthecottage.com/experiences and follow her on LinkedIn where she regularly posts or email hello@beingatthecottage.com

Welcome and welcome back to Leaders in Conversation with me, Anni Townend, the podcast that helps you to grow your confidence and courage as a leader.I created this series of candid conversations for leaders to share their inspirational leadership stories, weaving together the threads of their life. Together we delve into what they really care about, their values and beliefs, their passion and purpose and how they live 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. ABOUT THIS EPISODEIn this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with Ayesha Murray, founder of Ayesha Murray Coaching and a podcast host herself of the brilliant The Parent Equation.We delve together into: How it is vital to become the leader of you when you decide to run your own businessWhy it is so important to help women in leadership manage Imposter SyndromeThe challenges and conflicts for working parents between wanting a career and being present for their familyAyesha’s Three Top Tips for Leaders looking to become the leader of themselves when making a decision to set up their own business, or indeed anyone looking to pursue their passion and purpose:Stay in your lane, use comparison for goodBe Authentic, aligned to your valuesBe Curious and ask, What If?Thanks to my support team Taryn Weeks of Sparkz Marketing for helping me with all the marketing of the podcast, to Coco O’Brien for the wonderful intro and outro music, for the excellent editing and sound production.And thank you to you the listener. If you are not already please do subscribe to the podcast, review and share it – it really does help. Thank you!ABOUT AYESHAAfter many years in a successful corporate marketing role Ayesha realised her ambition to become a coach, focusing on working parents and helping them to manage the challenges and conflicts of pursuing a career and parenting. In 2020 she started her podcast The Parent Equation initially in order to stay connected to the working parents community during the pandemic and lockdowns.Ayesha lives in London with her husband and their two daughters, their Labrador dog and their cat. She loves being in nature, going for walks, watching box sets, good food, red wine and music.If you are wanting to go further with becoming the leader of yourself, struggle with Imposter Syndrome and with being present both for your career and your family do get in touch with Ayesha on www.ayeshamurray.com, and listen to her brilliant podcast The Parent Equation, and follow her on LinkedIn where she frequently writes about her own experience of working and parenting.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.

In this conversation, I share my thoughts about time and energy. For many years, I've been quoting Tony Schwartz, author of The Way We're Working, Isn't Working, that energy, not time, is our most precious resource. And I've been encouraging leaders and their teams to manage their energies, all four of them; physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. And I continue to think that this is super important. Increasingly, however, I'm beginning to realise that for me, it is both time and energy that are our most precious resources, and that they are inextricably and closely intertwined. It takes time to manage your energies to truly look after your well being. For leaders, making this time is key, in order for us to show up at our generous best, and indeed, to have the impact we want to have on those around us. So I am now not only encouraging leaders to manage their energies, by noticing how they are in their bodies, their mindset, their emotions, and finally connecting with their values and beliefs, but also to make time for this in their busy calendars, to find micro moments in their every day. The author Joseph Baldacci and his great book of the same title, encourages leaders to step back to take these micro moments to stop, pause, breathe and to notice, often described as switching off in many ways. I think of it as switching on to ourselves to being self aware, and then making time to take care of ourselves. 

In this episode join Anni in Conversation on how checking in and checking out with ourselves and each other is fundamental to building both self awareness and human-to-human connection.Increasingly, I'm aware of how important it is to check in, not only with ourselves but each other at the start of a meeting. For myself, at the start of the day checking in with, how am I feeling? How am I showing up today? And noticing what I need to bring, maybe what I need to do in order to bring the best of me. The same applies to checking in with each other. We often ask how are how are you? And the answer is ‘I'm fine’, ‘I'm okay’. There's more. By encouraging people at the start of a meeting to say a sentence or two about how they're checking in to themselves and sharing with each other. It means that everybody has a voice. Everybody is seen. Everybody is heard and understood. Managing that at the start of a meeting is as important as managing that, at the end of the meeting. Checking out, making time, again, to go around to hear from everybody. What have they enjoyed? What have they learned? Maybe how are they feeling at the end of the meeting? This is especially important be meetings in person, sitting around a table, or on the screen. Making time for each other to check in and check out can transform our meetings, from meetings feeling like they're very transactional to feeling that there is the real human to human connection, and that there's more than what we do to who we are being and how we are being with each other. 

In this conversation, I share the importance of Minding the Gap. Many, many years ago, I had the privilege of meeting and hearing Marguerite Patten, the British Home Economist, Chef, food writer and broadcaster, share her life and leadership story. At the end, one of the audience asked her, “What would be your top tip to people?” and she replied, “Mind the Gap”. She was at this time in a wheelchair and had spoken about the challenges that she experienced on a daily basis of not being able to get about having been someone who thought nothing of jumping on and off a train to London from her local station. In response to the question, she went on to share with us that it was on one of these occasions, jumping on a train, when she had not got the full measure of the gap between the platform and the train. And she had fallen down into the gap causing herself much damage. She spoke of being grateful that there had been help on hand and commented on the kindness of strangers, shown towards her in particular, of a young person who had leaped to her rescue. And so she concluded, my top tip to you all is to mind the gap, to pay attention to be present in the moment to yourself and to what is around you, especially when it is already familiar to you. Her message resonated with me to mind the gap between and in the many areas of my life, in particular, the gaps that are thresholds, the spaces between one thing and the next, and the gaps, which can be good, providing we notice and are present to them as we move and transition. For example, from one meeting to the next, from one conversation to the next. Making time to be present, to notice the thresholds and to make space of ourselves is all part of minding the gap. 

ABOUT THE SHOWWelcome to Leaders in Conversation with me, Anni Townend. The podcast that helps you to grow your confidence and courage as a leader.I created this series of candid conversations for leaders to share their inspirational leadership stories, weaving together the threads of their life, offering valuable insights and rich experience to help and inspire you on your own unique leadership journey.In each episode leaders share their personal life and leadership stories to encourage you to delve in what you really care about – your values and beliefs, your purpose and passions and how to live these through your leadership every day, in all that you do. If you are not already subscribed to the podcast please do subscribe, review and share it! Thank youABOUT THIS EPISODEIn this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with Steve Chapman. We delve into:How being playful with not knowing is at the heart of how he lives and everything he does;Spontaneity and allowing ourselves to be spontaneous, to experiment and let go;Freedom and how we can liberate ourselves the tightening grips that hold us back;Stuckness and what we can do to become unstuck.STEVE’s Three Tips for Leaders in becoming more playing not knowing are:Let GoNotice MoreUse Everything!With credit to his friend and colleague Rob PoyntonABOUT STEVESteve Chapman, (also known as @stevexoh), is an artist, writer and speaker interested in creativity and the human condition. He works as a consultant and coach with individuals and organisations who are interested in finding creative and counter-intuitive ways to help free themselves from ever-tightening loops of common-sense where creativity, novelty and change are rather difficult.

ABOUT THIS EPISODEIn this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with Louise Barnes, Louise is Founder of Team-HOi, dedicated to helping people identify how to regain control over their own health. We delve into:How precious Time is and how investing in ourselves is within our control when we plan our time. The importance of human connection and community in which people help each other.How focusing on and being conscious of what we believe in needs doing will bring joy and how giving back is a great reminder of what is important.How making health habits easy, attractive and rewarding through new patterns of thinking and acting can make all the difference to company cultureLOUISE’s THREE Top Tips for Leaders looking to regain control of their health and to feel healthy on the inside out. Find what makes you happy. What’s your thing? If you had a full day to yourself, without any demands on your time. How would you spend it? Weave this into your life.Slow down to speed up. Identify what you need to stop doing. Many of us are doing two things at once.  Choose what you want to focus on and plan how to do thatGet comfortable feeling uncomfortable - constantly stretch your limits. Have the courage to step out of your comfort zone.  Chrissie Wellington the English triathlete said "many of us don't know where our limits are" ABOUT LOUISELouise is Founder of Team-HOi. She radiates warmth and understanding. With a joy for living which is contagious.  She enjoys connecting with people and uses her extensive experience from working in a busy corporate role to balance the ongoing pressures of working and home life..As a mother of four young children and lots of travel with her work, she has tried many approaches to staying active, fuelling her body and managing a positive mindset.ABOUT TEAM-HOiTeam HOi partners with companies who have moved to flexible and remote working to help prevent the physical and mental health issues that come with a lack of regular movement. They don't offer a portal or information resource, they schedule integrated live regular movement sessions, life coaching and mentoring with a focus on connecting remote people to each other and their organisation.HOME START the charity that Louise mentions, can be contacted on. https://www.home-start.org.uk/ For help in identifying how to regain control over your health, to reduce stress and to develop long term health habits then do get in touch with Louise at Team HOi, www.teamhoi.co.uk To contact me, Anni Townend do email me on anni@annitownend.com, visit my website annitownend.com, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn. I look forward to hearing from you, thank you for listening. 

ABOUT THIS EPISODEIn this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with Anna Reddy.  We delve into:How following your heart in times of uncertainty can really help you find your passion and your purpose; How managing your energy to win personally and professionally is key to performance and productivity; The impact on women of demands made of them in the workplace and the challenges that they have to overcome.ANNA's Three Tips for Leaders looking for workplace health solutions for productivity and performance: Be the orchestra for healthy wellbeing change Show the Real You, be vulnerableAttract and retain talent, through the things that matter to people right nowABOUT ANNA Anna is the founder of Leap Health, providing bespoke, innovative and simple solutions which optimise physical and mental health, accelerating personal and professional performance and happiness in organisations.  She has a wealth of experience and knowledge of delivering health solutions in many situations including 18 years in the pharmaceutical industry; she is passionate about fitness and is a qualified nutritionist. She is the mum to three energetic children, and loves being outside with them. Find out more about Anna and her wonderful work via the Leap Health website, www.leaphealth.co.uk and listen to her own podcast. To listen to more episodes of Leaders in Conversation with Anni Townend, go to my website www.annitownend.com To find out more about Future-Engage-Deliver (FED mentioned by Anna and I) developed by Steve Radcliffe, and wonderfully described in his book Leadership Plain and Simple, to go www.futurengagedeliver.com  To listen to Steve Radcliffe in conversation with me go to https://www.annitownend.com/leaders-in-conversation-podcast/steve-radcliffe To find out more about Anna and my colleague Helen Bessell whom we also mention, go to www.thegamechangercollective.com and follow her on LinkedIn.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE – In this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with Nathan Blair. Nathan is the founder of The Somatic School; dedicated to training people in body-oriented coaching - helping leaders to become more conscious of their own embodied experience in relating to self and others in new ways, including using our bodies for strategic decision making and in leading for the whole.We delve into 'Why the body?' the embodied experience and the 'felt sense' as part of awakening the senses to being fully present to Sensing and Responding our way forward. We talk about the importance of Resourcing & Regulating, in particular the resourcing dimension of Play, and regulating our nervous system and the power of relationships in helping each other co-regulate, and having a nervous system conscious workplace. We dive into how treating an organisation as a living entity, and leading from a place of being in service are crucial to leadership, now more than ever.ABOUT NATHAN BLAIR -Nathan founded The Somatic School in 2018 offering a highly experiential online Body-oriented Coaching Programme, accredited by the International Coaching Federation. For many years Nathan worked in the corporate world leaving to set up his own coaching practice, working as a coach with individual clients, a facilitator of groups and is a qualified Coaching Supervisor.Click to find out more about Nathan and The Somatic School Nathan kindly also shared several books and resources here:The Mindfulness Prescription for Adult ADHD by Lidia ZykowskaIntelligence in the Flesh by Guy ClaxtonTao te Ching by Lao Tzu (translated by Stephen Mitchel)Play & Creativity in Psychotherapy by Marks-Tarlow, Solomon and Siegel If you loved this episode of Leaders In Conversation please leave a review, share and subscribe. Thank you

In this episode join Anni in conversation as she discusses turning shoulds into coulds, and priorities into choices Many years ago I trained in the theory and practise of Transactional Analysis and as with most trainings there are often one or two things which stand out and stay with me, and become part of who I am. One of these things was a simple exercise called 'Turning Should into Could'.  We were asked to make a list of all things that we said to ourselves that we Should be doing or have done, and, or all the things that we Should not have done, or Should not be doing.  I remember my list was long, and it was a list that I regularly visited and revisited and gave myself a hard time over. The list never seemed to get any shorter, if anything the older I got and the more responsibilities I had the longer the lists got. Having written our Should/Should not lists we were asked to write everything down again only this time turning every Should into a Could. This small word change was transformative for me, I realised through this simple shift in mindset that as soon as something became a 'I could do this....' that I had choice, that there was a sense of possibility and that it really was up to me.Most recently I have, thanks to  Raj Kumar a speaker on the Marketing Leaders Programme, started to think about making choices rather than setting priorities. When we think about Priorities we tend to think of a numbered list, and rather like the Shoulds the list tends to be added to and to grow longer with things jockeying for top position or dropping to the bottom of the list and eventually off it.  When we think instead about Choices there is an immediate sense of possibility, of choosing to do something because it is important, it matters to us, to our business and to the future direction.Find out more about the Marketing Leaders Programme  or find out more about Raj do follow him on LinkedIn and to find out more about me Anni Townend, head to my website annitownend.com. If you loved this episode of Leaders In Conversation please leave a review, share and subscribe. Thank you

Deeds not words from International leading women's rights activist Helen PankhurstIn this episode I am in conversation with Helen Pankhurst an international leading women’s rights activist, an experienced advocate and passionate collaborative campaigner for social justice. We delve into how Deeds not Words matter, why we must choose to challenge, to connect and dialogue with each other – locally and globally.  We talk about what it means to live and lead a portfolio life, and how fun and purpose go hand in hand, and how shoulder to shoulder we can make a difference together.     ABOUT HELENHelen is a senior adviser to CARE International UK working in the UK and in Ethiopia, and a convenor for the charity GM4Women2028 and of the Centenary Action Group (CAG).She is a part-time professor at Manchester Metropolitan University, and the first chancellor at the University of Suffolk. She has an honorary PhD from Edge Hill University and from the University of Manchester.She is the author of ‘Deeds not Words – the story of women’s rights then and now’ published in 2018.She is the proud mother of a son and daughter, and together with her daughter they promoted, advised on and had a cameo role in the 2015 film Suffragette.In 2019 Helen was awarded a CBE for her services to gender equality.To connect with Helen follow her on Twitter, or via the Universities or the charities with which she is connected.CARE puts women and girls at the centre of overcoming poverty and social injustice, because without equal rights and opportunities we will never overcome poverty in the world.  CARE is a charity registered in England and Wales, founded in 1945 and working in 45 countries around the world, saving lives in emergencies and finding long-term solutions to poverty for millions of people. Helen established the Centenary Action Group (CAG) in 2018, to mark the century of some women getting the right to vote by campaigning for greater representation of women, in all their diversity, addressing the barriers that prevent women from taking part in politics, through collaboration, joint action and campaigning.Helen also leads the charity GM4Women2028, a coalition of change makers committed to making Greater Manchester a better place for women and girls, in all their diversity to live, work and prosper.She is a mother of two children and the great granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst and granddaughter of Sylvia Pankhurst who herself was an alumni of Manchester School of Art.  Emmeline and Sylvia were both leaders in the British suffragette movement. If you would like to find out more about the work of CARE International, to join GM4Women2028 and to take action with the Centenary Action Group do visit their websites.If you loved this episode of Leaders In Conversation please leave a review, share and subscribe. Thank you

In this episode join me, Anni Townend, as I share the power of a walk and talk conversation.For many years, and for as long as I can remember I have loved walking. I grew up in West Yorkshire and every Saturday walked with my family through fields and woodland close to where my father's mother lived in a rented cottage on a farm with her sister. These afternoons were the highlight of my week and were some of the best times that we had as a family. We walked and talked, as we roamed through fields avoiding cows and climbing over styles. As a teenager some of the easiest and at the same time most difficult conversations that I had with my father were when we were walking the two of us, side by side, often in the rain or fog somewhere on the Pennine Way.Some thirty years ago I moved to a small semi-detached cottage on the South Downs Way, and over the past 10 years have incorporated the walk and talk, side by side conversation into my work as a leadership partner and executive coach to senior teams and senior leaders, whether that is in person or virtually.In person people meet me on the South Downs Way and we walk and talk, side by side; virtually we are both on our phones walking and talking - whether in person or virtually we pause, we stop, we listen, we notice as part of the coaching conversation paying attention to everything that is around us, looking up and looking down, feeling the ground beneath our feet, the air on our skin as part of becoming more conscious and clear on the way forward.If you would like to find out more about the Coaching Walk and Talk as part of team working and, or for yourself please get in touch with me Anni Townend. If you loved this episode of Leaders In Conversation please leave a review, share and subscribe. Thank you

About this EpisodeIn this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with Karen Ellis. Karen is founder of an amazing membership organisation for new mums to build a body they feel strong and confident in after they have had a baby and to be able to go on awesome adventures with their children.We delve into who and what inspired Karen to create the membership package for new mums to feel strong and confident in mind and body through movement and babywearing exercises. Karen shares how a shift in mindset from thinking of exercise as being about going to the gym to exercise being all about movement can help us lead a more active life everyday and in all that we do. She talks about why it is so important to her that the membership is truly affordable and accessible for all mums.  Karen's passion is to help new mums nurture their bodies through movement, to learn and to relearn to trust their bodies. This powerful message of body positive parenting is one that I believe will resonate with all listeners - learning to trust our bodies, to listen and to know ourselves is at the heart of body positive leadership.Karen's Three Top Tips for Leaders to integrate movement into their every day, to go on awesome adventures, to say yes to awesome experiences feeling strong in their bodies whether they have children or not..Connect and listen to and do what you body is telling you to do - if you need to breathe more then pause for breath, if you need to move - move your body; learn to trust your bodyNotice the language you are using when you talk about yourself and others, focus on language which is body strengthening and mind expanding rather than on looks and image; think about body positivity - some of us have smaller bodies some of us have larger bodies, we can all have awesome adventuresAdd as much movement as you can that fits easily into your lifestyle and that you find fun. That could be working out whilst you carry your baby, scootering the school run, using the stairs instead of the elevator, joining in with your children at the park, skating, having a walking desk. But whatever it is, make sure you enjoy it and it integrates easily into your life then you are more likely to keep itAbout Karen Ellis Karen founded her postnatal rehabilitation membership organisation in 2020. She had worked for many years as a midwife before taking a break and feeling pulled towards supporting new mums on their journey to feel super strong in their bodies. She has two children and lives on the coast, not far from the sea, in North East Yorkshire.To find out more about Karen and her awesome membership organisation visit Karen Post Rehab or contact her on: 07769357334 / hello@karenpostrehab.co.ukIf you loved this episode of Leaders In Conversation please leave a review, share and subscribe. Thank you

In this episode Anni discusses how on a recent walk she encountered a friend who had been very unwell and in fact, the walk as their first time out of the house. Anni talks about how important being well met is when meeting people, not just for the first time, but every time particularly when facilitating a team or a group. Anni said that “One of the ways in which I do this is to ensure that everybody has an opportunity to speak, to be heard, to be fully listened to” What is there to say about my name?One of the simple but effective ways Anni shares is to invite people to talk about who they are, through their name. Whilst it might seem there isn’t much to say about a name, you will find that there is so much to share. Anni shares her own ‘name’ story and an interview she conducted for a case study where that person had shared their name but was told it was ‘too difficult’ so gave him a new name. He described how he felt his whole identity had been taken from him and wasn’t able to be himself. Anni said ‘The importance of giving people an opportunity to describe and to share something about who they are through their name cannot be underestimated. It gives people an opportunity to say something about themselves, how their name is pronounced where their name came from, and indeed, on some occasions, what it mean’. If you loved this episode of Leaders In Conversation please leave a review, share and subscribe. Thank you

How to find your spark, tell your story and position your brand ‘you’In this episode I am in conversation with Taryn Weeks. Taryn is the Founder of Sparkz Marketing, helping people and businesses find their spark through building their brand and telling their story.We delve into her years of experience and Taryn shares how important having the right people on your support team, people who champion you and cheer you on is; how believing in yourself and that you can do it matters; and to treat yourself like a client, write your own business plan!ABOUT TARYN WEEKSTaryn is an experienced marketer, with a passion for storytelling and for helping people tell their own and to find their brand story. After many years working in the corporate world she took the big step and set up Sparkz Marketing supporting businesses who need an injection of strategic thinking into their marketing or who need an extra pair of hands to move their marketing forward. She is the mother of two teenage boys who are her inspiration, and who were her ‘spark plug’ during a difficult and dark time. She lives with them and her partner who is a big supporter of her dreams, helping her to realise them and support others in realising theirs.If you loved this episode of Leaders In Conversation please leave a review, share and subscribe. Thank you

In episode 3, series 2 of Leaders In Conversation Anni was delighted to be joined by Julia Yule Co-Founder and Director of Bloom and Blossom, an award winning British business that provides natural routine led, solution focused skincare for the whole family.The experiences that shape you Julia starts the episode discussing her greatest leading influence was her parents. She highlights that they were massively encouraging and pushed in a way that kept them accountable.The journey to successJulia discusses her years in PR, fashion and magazine which although incredibly glamour was hard work but incredibly important to work your way up. She said that “you need to do, and you need to see and you need to experience. So, I've always applied that in whatever I do. And I'm very determined”. Positivity in the workplace Julia goes on to discuss the importance of leading with confidence but also vulnerability. She says that “To be able to lead a business takes a team, right, it takes people. And so, to give people that ability, and that chance to shine and feel confident in something that they're doing particularly at that time’.  They both discuss that trust is vital as well enjoying what you do and one of the top things that distinguishes great leaders from good leaders is the ability to being a positive mindset. She said that “if we take business, having positivity in the workplace is imperative as a leader, but also, as an individual” and that we should celebrate the wins however big or small.The To Be ListAnni shares her to-be list tip… “we can get bogged down in to do lists, things we must do. I'm a great encourager of having a To Be list. So alongside, particularly for those people who love to have a list, to have the To Do list, but also to have the To Be list, who am I being,  how am I going to show up today-  wholehearted, determined, bringing a positive mindset ..”. Building a flourishing partnership They  both go onto discuss the Bloom and Blossom, the fantastic small, independent British brand that Julia and Christina,  her sister in law/ business partner created in 2010. She said that “We wanted to build a brand, we wanted to build something that took us out of, or within the realms of body care, but slightly out of just quite the small maternity sector, albeit a beautiful sector that we still cater for certainly.”. Both having the same clear vision, the same principles of how they want to get there has been keen to their journey of success. She believes it’s also important to listen, both with Christina but also her team. Creating a safe environment of diversity of thought. The importance of routineAnni goes onto share her love of the Bloom and Blossom brand products and its focus on creating routines for sleep, skincare and more.Julia shares that we should “sit, listen and encourage as much as you can. Have the courage yourself and encourage it all out of others as well”. Listen to the full episode to hear about:Vulnerability as a leader  Positivity in the workplaceThe To Be List Build a flourishing partnership with a friend Building a beauty and self care brand The importance of self-care for successTo find out more about Bloom and Blossom and Julia and to buy their wonderful skincare products for your wellness do go to www.bloomandblossom.com  If you would like to be a guest on Leaders in Conversation, please contact Anni on anni@annitownend.com 

In episode 2 of our second series of Leaders in Conversation, we are delighted to be joined by Bradley Pritchard.Bradley has had an exciting career in football and has gone onto to become the founder of The Sporting Way. A social enterprise which educates and inspires young people to fulfil their potential.From Zimbabwe to the UK Bradley shares his experience of being born and raised in Harare, Zimbabwe for the first 10 years of his life before moving to the UK.Bradley shares that “… It took me a long time to, to adapt, I think I always felt like an outsider. And I still feel like an outsider at times. But I've learned to embrace that, that feeling of being an outsider, rather than trying to conform with the environment trying to appreciate my differences and turn them into strengths”. A sense of belonging Bradley shares that “It’s one thing to say…just be happy being different. But it doesn’t get rid of vulnerability, that insecurity, of not having a sense of belonging”. He shares that it’s important to find someone we can relate with and someone that you can talk with. He believes that once you’re able to do that and accept that we can’t change our differences we can learn to love them. “I think that’s when the real strength comes in, because you are then able to see it as a positive.”. Breaking down barriersHis mom encouraged him to complete his A-levels before he did anything within professional sport where he went onto have great success. At 25 he shares that he was working as a performance analyst as an intern for Charlton Athletic Football Club and the manager at the time, Chris Powell, offered him a trial as a player.He shared that “I always talk about the number of young players who stopped playing completely by the time they're 21. So, for me to be able to jump in at 25. I was at that point where I was emotionally mature. So, I was able to cope with the adversity that comes with being a professional footballer.The Sporting Way and The Dripping PanBradley goes onto discuss The Sporting Way and his return to football at 'The Dripping Pan'. Bradley said that “I have always said that if I'm going to play non-league or play part time football, I want it to be about two things, convenience and enjoyment. Because, football at this point in my life really is just about continuing a love. But it has to fit within the work that I'm doing”.Before he knew it, he returned to football at the club and also set up a community garden in a corner of the ground which is run alongside volunteers and Michael Kennard who runs ‘Compost Club’ in Lewes. He hopes to soon grow the community garden team and bring in people with no interest in football, but who want to grow food, particularly those across a variety of demographics to help increase a sense of belonging. Listen to the full episode to hear about:The layers of identity and breaking down barriers Emotional readiness in a 'survival of the fittest' culture The Sporting Way and The Dripping PanLearning from your mistakes Building a diverse community Discover moreTo find out more about Bradley and about The Sporting Way and how they might be able to support work in your community school or college, or how you could partner and support their work visit The Sporting Way or contact Bradley via email on bradley@sportingway.co.uk

In this first episode in the second series of Leaders In Conversation, we are delighted to welcome back Scott Sherwood.Back in 2021, Anni had the pleasure of being in conversation with Scott and his then 7-year-old daughter Sophie Harvey Sherwood who shared her experience running to celebrate inspirational women.Scott participated in the Just Running It challenge, a 365 mega challenge in which he aimed to run 10km every single day for a year in aid of Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity and was joined by Sophie too.The parallels between running and leadership He talks with Anni about his inspirational experience with the Just Running It challenge, not only completing the challenge but running nearly 4200 kilometers and continuing to maintain running daily into 2022.Throughout his career in software engineering, Scott has found many parallels between running and leadership.Scott discusses how 'personal bests' in running are a great analogy for agile software development. Running is the ultimate agile approach to a problem where some days you get personal bests and other days take much longer.Some weeks in projects can be amazing and moving forward and other weeks things will struggle. Scott suggests that we must accept the ‘ups and downs’ as innovation is much more uncertain. Dreaming BigScott shares his motto that “Great leaders are not born or made they are chosen by the people they inspire”.He shares with Anni that his motto inspires everything he does in life even if its to encourage even one person to believe they can be more than what they thought. Whether that is the confidence to get running or as his role as a software engineering leader. He believes that many in the workplace constrain themselves by not dreaming big enough. His experience with the running challenge has shown others that you can achieve anything with sustained effort, self-belief and the support of others. Creating a resilient workplace cultureThey discuss the importance of staying healthy, in order to run but also stay healthy in order to lead and create a healthy workplace culture in which people can be their best even though they may have days, bad days and good days. He said that “The thing that really appeals to me about running, particularly Ultra running is the way athletes talk about it. They very rarely see that as a physical challenge it is all a mental challenge. And I think in the corporate world, the vast majority of help navigating and leading is really mental strength and finding you have been resilient both for yourself and for your people” Think bigger than you ever thought possible Scott is passionate that we should all dream bigger and ‘higher than we ever thought possible’ and that even if we don’t get there to not beat ourselves up- just work hard and be consistent- whether it’s a running challenge or a workplace one. Listen to the full episode to hear about:Scott shares his personal leadership story and participation in the Just Running it challengeThe parallels between running and leadership  Importance of a healthy culture and encouraging others  Leading through ups and downs  Dreaming big to achieve your goals Discover more, donate and connect with ScottYou can follow their progress and discover more on justrunningit.com which has links to the pair’s YouTube channel  and their fundraising page.You can also follow Scott on Instagram and Twitter @scottcsherwood