The Leadership Enigma

Jenifer Rosenberg OBE has enjoyed a life of incredible opportunity and hard fought success. She was the founder of the UK's largest privately owned clothing manufacturer after a career at Marks & Spencer during the roaring 60's. She voted Veuve Clicquot Woman of the Year and today is the Chair of the Board of The Heart Cells Foundation. This episode focuses on three key stages of Jenifer's life. By her own admission she was never an academic but excited to leave school and seek opportunity within the creative field. Marks & Spencer offered her a job in the post room which whilst not very exciting, it provided Jenifer the chance to prove herself even at the tender age of 16. Jenifer found the simple administrative task of collecting senior leader signatures on cheques as a way to increase her personal brand within the organisation. Once Jenifer found herself a role within the buying department of M&S when the swinging 60's started to take shape with the likes of The Beatles, Twiggy, Mary Quant and Vidal Sassoon as London proved to be the epicentre of it all.  Jenifer, when moved to the skirts department, she suggested the trial of the mini skirt and before she knew it her career exploded as the mini skirt became synonymous with the era. Jenifer always appreciated the interaction, communication and humility of the M&S senior leaders combined with their ability to embrace risk and opportunity.  Jenifer left M&S in 1973 following a series of personal life decisions which led to her start J & J in Newcastle when Ted Heath was Prime Minister and the three day week was imposed during to the strikes. J & J was to become the UK's largest privately owned women's clothing manufacturer . During Christmas 1975, Jenifer lost her second husband having already lost her father. This had a huge impact on Jenifer who was now responsible for the leadership and growth of J & J.  Jenifer met her third husband who ended up merging with J & J which in turn led to a business with 3,000 people and 12 factories across the UK. That business was sold in 1992. Jenifer was on the receiving end of many accolades and offers of appointments at this point and she realised that life was for living as opposed to sitting back on past successes. Today, Jenifer is passionate about the Heart Cells Foundation founded in 2004 with her third husband (Ian) who later died from heart failure, however his life had been extended for three years after stem cell therapy treatment originally located out of Germany. Heart failure is currently the number 1 killer in the UK and one person dies every three minutes.  The charity focuses on the ability to use a person’s own Stem Cells to repair their heart and it is revolutionising the practice of medicine. Their goal is to make this treatment readily available to everyone. Jenifer is responsible for raising millions of pounds for the Foundation and her passion for helping others is insatiable. www.heartcellsfoundation.comWatch & Subscribe: 👀 https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videosListen & Subscribe: 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5NSnRyHzPmyY5OWhGzKU5Pwww.leadersenigma.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Mark Goulston was a professor of psychiatry at UCLA for over 25 years. He is the author of multiple books including 'Just Listen' which has been translated into 28 languages and has become the world's leading book on listening. He is currently one of Marshall Goldsmith's 100 coaches and recently discovered that he is suffering from a terminal illness. This episode is deeply personal, powerful and inspiring. Mark contemplates his own mortality in this episode as he reflects, hopes and inspires. Mark outlines the extent of his current condition, medical treatment and desire to share with the world some of his most powerful life lessons. Mark's specialist area during his professional career was death and dying and that gave him a front row seat of what makes a good death and what makes a bad death. He used to do house calls to help people, especially those with suicidal tendencies. Mark remembers a very powerful conversation with a patient who had seen great success in his life and who said to him 'I have all the love money can buy, however everything I thought was important isn't and everything I thought wasn't important is and i've run out of time to fix and I don't like that.' Mark himself is at peace because he has lived his entire life to his core values of kindness, generosity, service and curiosity. Too many people climb a ladder all their life only to discover it's on the wrong wall. Mark's criteria for a good death is to avoid pain and suffering but surround himself with a good team of both family and medical experts. Mark wants to be with the right people not necessarily the smartest people. He wants to consider the human being not just the human doing. Mark's condition has required him to be emotionally honest with those he loves the most. These conversations has taught Mark the power of connection, authenticity, humility and compassion. True vulnerability is not a sign of helplessness but a sign of courage and absolute human connection. The reality is that we have very few 'raw' emotional conversations with those that we love. Mark urges all leaders to emotionally know the people that they love and really connect with the people that they lead. It is an honour and not a burden to really care. Mark explains that if you can identify a feeling you are having and you just allow yourself to feel it, it dissipates in 90 seconds. However 99% of people will get emotional and run from those feelings. Mark's model for coaching leaders is for them to engender trust, confidence, respect, safety, admiration and inspiration, it also helps to be liked by those you lead! Three areas where leaders need to make good judgement calls are strategy, people and crisis. Visionary leaders do not see the unknown as a danger to be avoided and feared but an adventure to be dived into and lived. They define reality, declare their intentions to make it so and decide on a strategy to make it happen. Please enjoy on the most powerful episodes to date. Mark has created a series of 'I'm dying to tell you' videos on YouTubewww.youtube.com/@ImdyingtotellyoudrmarkWatch & Subscribe: 👀 https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videosListen & Subscribe: 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5NSnRyHzPmyY5OWhGzKU5Pwww.leadersenigma.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Iain Sinnott is Head of International Carrier Sales for Enreach. Iain was an audience member during our recent live event with Tim Creswick (CEO of Vorboss) at The Everyman Theatre in central London. He was the winner of the raffle to randomly pick a guest and uncover that each and every one of us has a leadership propose and story to share with the world.  Iain was born and grew up in a small village in Scotland and has always been passionate about investing in others. He remembers fondly how he had three very powerful and supportive role models in his life, all of whom were former WW2 soldiers and their guidance helped  frame his outlook on life. As Iain has become more established, successful and influential in life, so he has turned his attention to how he can support others to thrive. Iain leads people with a heightened sense of care and is genuinely interested in people which for many of the younger generation is exactly what they want as part of the personal leadership they seek. Iain is focused on trying to help a very specific group of people, those who leave the UK care system, which is actually how Iain connected with Vorboss after seeing the good work they are doing within the London area.Iain passionately focuses on being the best adventurer he can be for his granddaughter Millie who suffers from upper limb difference and lives the motto "don't focus on what people can't do, focus on that they can do."This is a deeply personal and human episode which requires all of us how we can make a difference in the world. https://reach.org.uk/Watch & Subscribe: 👀 https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videosListen & Subscribe: 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5NSnRyHzPmyY5OWhGzKU5Pwww.leadersenigma.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Kingl is a global educator, keynote speaker and author of 'Sparking Success -  Why every leader needs to develop a creative mindset.'Adam highlights that as technology evolves exponentially, management and leadership has been fairly stagnant for decades.  People require their leaders to be a force for good in the world and all leaders are work in progress. About 5 years ago Adam saw 2 independent pieces of research. One (from BCG) which stated that CEO's of top 200 global companies listed the need for innovation and creativity as one of their top 3 priorities 79% of the time. However, another piece of research (McKinsey) studied the rank and file and asked how good their organisations were at innovation and creativity and 94% stated that they were awful at it. As a result, Adam asked himself a question. 'Is there a larger gap in corporate life today between aspiration and reality? This began the birth of 'Sparking Success!Adam's research began by exploring neuroscience in order to understand behaviour change. The brain is the most energy using component of our body and has different brain states from deep sleep to hyper focus and each of those states are measured in hertz and so Adam explains what it means for us to be 'in flow.' In order for us to be creative and innovative we have to train the brain and practice the skillset on a regular basis, just as we would train our muscles. Sparking Success focuses predominantly on a number of creative industries which reflects Adam's original career and passion for theatre. He explored Jazz and quotes Thelonious Monk who said 'there are no wrong notes' which is an excellent metaphor for our historic fear of failure in organisations. Leaders who are good at creativity explained to Adam that all their original ideas  originated from bad ideas which as they explored and developed it became the good idea. Adam also discovered that Jazz musicians biochemically tended to shut down  two parts of their brain whilst performing; self judging and social judging so they were in a complete state of acceptance and exploration. This is also why improv teams use 'Yes,And' instead of 'Yes, But.'Adam also explores the realm of writing and he spoke to the writers of 'Friends.' In the US, a typical sitcom season is 24 episodes and the writers only write a few episodes and then rely on writing simultaneously as the previous episode is aired. One of the Executive producers of 'Friends' ran a team of 12 writers and said that they need 20 mediocre ideas for one good idea to make it into an episode of Friends. His goal was therefore not to pressure the team for a singe good idea but encourage everyone to come up with ideas whatever the quality. He also let others go first to avoid the HiPPO (Highest Paid Person's Opinion) syndrome. Another area explored was culinary arts as Adam collects cook books. He looked at highly successful chefs who are always trying to create the highest quality but also create the latest and newest culinary innovation. Here is where Adam describes the three C's which corresponds to the investment of time and energy to invent. Another area of focus for Adam was art and imagery in which the ability to explore new realities is an incredible transferable skills for the corporate leader. It's time for all leaders to uncover and rediscover humility and curiosity.  When working with your teams for new ideas remember to separate out the three tasks of Ideation, Evaluation and Selection. This episode is packed full of incredible research, insight and learning. www.adamkingl.comwww.amazon.co.uk/Sparking-Success-Develop-Creative-Mindset/dp/1398609587/Watch & Subscribe: 👀 https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videosListen & Subscribe: 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5NSnRyHzPmyY5OWhGzKU5Pwww.leadersenigma.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Atif Sheikh and Darren Ashby are co-founders of Business Four Zero (a Heidrick & Struggles company) and authors of 'Every Team Actually Doing Business Better' We explore the sweet spot between Culture, Purpose and Strategy and how these are more than just buzz words but essential components for any business to align their people around something important  as a force for good in a chaotic world. Atif Sheikh is a family man, raised as the son of an entrepreneur who started with corner shops which led to the creation of the retail and wholesale empire known as 'BestWay'. Growing up he explored studying sociology and psychology which is perhaps a clue as to why he started Business Four Zero. One of Atif's greatest challenges was being asked to advise his father's business empire (which at the time was a multi billion pound organisation) and suggesting his father (Truth to Power) step down as CEO and become the Chairman. Darren Ashby describes himself as 'not a business man.' He was always interested in how and why people came together to drive change and thought he would be an academic, however his career moved into consulting when he met Atif and they immediately bonded around their passion for businesses to drive transformational change through people. Business Four Zero was created to help big businesses to become a force for good and challenge mainstream consulting models in helping these businesses understand their resources, their influence and their obligation to positively impact people lives beyond their products and services. As Darren explains, his excitement is helping business find the sweet spot in "societal, environmental impact and commercial growth, as we can't have businesses failing, we are reliant on them for what they create.....otherwise our whole social infrastructure crumbles." Their book and day to day focus is helping leadership teams truly understand how to deliver a great product or service but also actually make things better. People want their work to matter and they want to make themselves and their families financially secure, yet with a stark appreciation that not all are equal in both opportunity and outcome. The integration of Purpose (your impact on the world, how you are unique), Strategy (the plan for doing it) and Culture (how we need to behave) are essential. For many businesses these components are isolated, complex and detached. Atif and Darren strive to help those organisations create their 'Blueprint' and not simply try and tell or sell their plans through a comms cascade. This is a high energy, authentic, progressive, thoughtful and highly entertaining episode that will challenge your thinking and consider questions such as........ What is the role of the role model? What conversations do you need to have within your business? What is collective leadership? What is Purpose? How is your plan supporting your Purpose? What culture do you need for success? What is the true power of brining people together? The power of the Agora? What is emotional commitment? Leaders lead businesses and it's what businesses do in the world that really matters.  Actually Doing Business Better is available from Amazon: www.businessfourzero.comWatch & Subscribe: 👀 https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videosListen & Subscribe: 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5NSnRyHzPmyY5OWhGzKU5Pwww.leadersenigma.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Selva Ramasamy KC (King's Counsel) is a senior barrister, joint head of QEB Hollis Whiteman Chambers and an elected Master of the Bench for Inner Temple.   As a King's Counsel, Selva is one of the most senior barristers responsible for conducting some of the most serious and complex cases in the country. Selva was actually the first non white member of his Chambers in its history and now they are one of the most diverse groups of barristers in the country. Selva explains growing up in a mixed race background, spending much of his early childhood abroad until coming back to the UK and attending a boarding school at aged 11. He remembers learning quickly to persuade and influence when clearly different to all those around him and his early experiences of racism have led him to become an advocate for inclusion and diversity within the legal profession. We both remember our early years as student barristers and the small red handbook issued to us all titled 'Learning the Law' by Glanville Williams in which it suggested that women and those from ethnic minorities might consider choosing a different profession due to the difficulties of 'getting on' if not from the standard background and upbringing. Those words continue to provide Selva with the motivation to keep driving change and role modelling a more modern approach at the Bar. Selva's day to day life requires him to deal with people immersed in the most extreme of human emotions with liberty at stake, managing multiple stakeholders and communicating across abilities, cultures and agendas. Selva is very proud of the work being done by Inner Temple and the Sutton Trust to increase social mobility within the profession. Selva tells me that by 'looking different' he is able to dispel certain myths as regards who is and who could become a barrister. The Bar continues to make huge step changes including wellbeing in order to assist barristers cope with the graphic and often brutal nature of the cases they are dealing with day to day, week to week and month to month. This episode provides a unique insight into one of the most intriguing professions, often portrayed in TV and film for it's bizarre and dramatic moments. The reality is a profession of individuals working tirelessly to Bridge the Justice Gap for all of us. We also enjoy a moment of celebration as Selva and I recently won The Hargreaves Cup together which since 1950 has been awarded to the winning Tennis team between the four Inns of Court. Enjoy this episode. Watch & Subscribe: 👀 https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videosListen & Subscribe: 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5NSnRyHzPmyY5OWhGzKU5Pwww.leadersenigma.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rupert Jones CBE (Commander of the Order of British Empire) is UK Defence's former Standing Joint Force Commander having served and led in many high stakes environments such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Bosnia and Northern Ireland. He was the youngest Major General at the time and was decorated twice for overseas operations. Among other roles, he now works as an advisor to start-ups.Rupert was always going to embark on a military career as his father served with the Parachute regiment and tragically lost his life during the Falklands War. Rupert was only 13 at the time of his father's death, who posthumously received the Victoria Cross which is the highest award for gallantry. This episode can best be framed by an article Rupert write for LinkedIn.  Today we live in a confused leadership landscape with politicians who are often binary, confrontational, divisive and populist. Outside of politics the trend seems to be towards monochrome and socially constrained leadership. Do we therefore have the leadership culture to thrive given today's geopolitical landscape? Another interesting question during this episode is why the military begin leadership training so early for those attending the Royal Military College at Sandhurst with the motto 'Serve to Lead.' as opposed to the corporate world which seems to isolate leadership training for the experienced and senior. Rupert outlines that leaders must lead with resilience, courage and authenticity which is proving very difficult in the current culture and social media age we live in. Best in class does not mean best leader and the military provides a constant opportunity for leaders to emerge at any level and age. Rupert outlines the 'readiness culture' within the military with an ability to mobilise within 4 hours notice. That idea of a readiness mindset is necessary for corporates navigating a constant VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) landscape. Enjoy this episode. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rupertthjones/Watch & Subscribe: 👀 https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videosListen & Subscribe: 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5NSnRyHzPmyY5OWhGzKU5Pwww.leadersenigma.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rachele Focardi is a leading expert on the multi generational workforce, author and  LinkedIn Top Voice. One of the main questions in this episode is whether 'purpose' remains the great divide or the great connector post pandemic? A quick guide to the Generations: The Silent Generation: Born before 1946Baby Boomers 1946 - 1964Gen X: 1965 - 1980Millennials: 1981 - 1995Gen Z: 1996 - 2010A leader who can harness diversity of thought and multi generational working across their workforce will see an enhanced competitive advantage. Rachele describes Purpose as something that is inherently owned by the younger generations who strive for change and want to experience the workplace as an enabler for positive change. We saw Millennials rise up especially after incidents such as 9/11 and the financial crisis and they drove the debate for change as they had seen their parents struggle with work being a pay check as opposed to a meaningful individual and collective sport. They also took a huge amount of criticism for this rising up and Rachele saw an opportunity to start to study these dynamics.  Resilience is a big cause of generational conflict, the reason being a lack of understanding of the others experiences and the difference in parenting styles we were exposed to.  Cultural differences have  exacerbated these feelings and Rachele describes the differences between hardship and psychological safety. Rachele carried out the post pandemic workplace study and discovered that the four main ingredients for people feeling purposeful at work were1. Helping others 2. Making impact 3. Growing and feeling fulfilled 4. Being recognised and appreciated by your colleagues. 42% of employees feel that the only way for them to feel enabled to experience purpose in their job is to change employers. To view a copy of the results and its impact on purpose visit: www.xyzatwork.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/rfocardi/Watch & Subscribe: 👀 https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videosListen & Subscribe: 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5NSnRyHzPmyY5OWhGzKU5Pwww.leadersenigma.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris Caldwell is the CEO of United Renewables, having previously been an investment banker and corporate lawyer. Chris vividly remembers an incident which forced him to reconsider a life that required huge family sacrifices and so he left finance, stepped off the hamster wheel and decided to create a new company as an entrepreneur seeking finance for his idea to make a difference in the world in sustainability. Chris saw a niche in Northern Ireland linked to small wind turbines and a favourable regulatory policy which resulted in him raising £6 million having only expected to raise half a million. Chris built 34 separate wind farm locations and then broke out into different forms of energy too. Chris explains the climate issue facing the world as 'we are the first generation that is feeling the pain and the last generation that can do anything about it.' Recent world weather phenomena are examples of climate issues that are escalating for us all. Just a small difference in global temperatures (.1%) can create increased frequency of dramatic global events that lead to loss of life. The planet will survive, it's the humans that will struggle. Chris clearly explains some concrete examples in this episode that will cause you to stop and think! All is not lost, but we are at a point where positive action is non-negotiable. Chris also explains the concept of 'leap frogging' and how he has experienced this in African nations for huge benefits to the local populations. Sustainability is important to all leaders especially in relation to the purpose of the organisation and Chris outlines a simple step by step plan for leaders to engage with. 42% of Millennials and Generation Z are prepared to sacrifice pay for purpose and also 20% of the same demographic think it is equal, which highlights the important focus point for your workforce and your consumers. This is a powerful and sobering episode which still focuses on hope and progress, however each and every leader must play a part. Use Linkedin to connect with Chris Caldwell.Conversation on Climate is Chris's podcast. Find it on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@conversationsonclimateWatch & Subscribe: 👀 https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videosListen & Subscribe: 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5NSnRyHzPmyY5OWhGzKU5Pwww.leadersenigma.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stuart Cash is the CEO and co-founder of Y TREE. This episode explores the meaning, value, purpose and myths surrounding money. Stuart grew up in London and studied law at Cambridge University spending a short period as a lawyer to then moved into investment banking as this fuelled his insatiable curiosity to know why businesses did things in certain ways.  During his early years with financial services, Stuart had the chance to speak to senior executives and understand their motivations. He was actually working  in New York very close to the Twin Towers when the two planes struck during 9/11. He vividly recalls the events after the collapse and the human impact it had on the entire city.Stuart is one of three people who co-founded Y TREE and his previous experiences within asset liability management focused his attention on how people could use their money to live their best life for the duration of their lives. Together with his co-founders, Arik Peretz and Johnnie Hampel, Y TREE was created which is a business that sits on top of the wealth management industry able to provide transparency over all financial services providers to give individuals a more complete view across all their financial services providers whilst creating efficiency and insight. Data is collected using a whole range of technologies integrated with over 40 of the largest wealth manager firms which as a non product provider is all about customer centric insight and understanding. Stuart explains that 1% of the global population is over 50% of the wealth, probably greater today after inflation. Most people are considering how they exist from day to day which is expense management and debt consolidation. Y TREE is operating for approximately 600,000 people in the UK with over £1 million to invest and turn their investment into an enabler for positive life experiences. Y TREE is focused on helping individuals and their families plan and have the confidence to meet their life  and legacy aspirations. One of Stuart's reflections is that people's psychology surrounding money is fascinating and highly individual but nearly always rooted in personal values. This in turn has led Stuart and his co-founders to consider the Y TREE values in depth. Today, those values are Time, Togetherness and Responsibility. As Y TREE grows, Stuart is morphing as a CEO. He believes candour is important and feels comfortable to have very open conversations with people which includes feedback for himself to learn and grow each day. When we experience change we also experience growth and Stuart and his co-founders hope that they continue to experience both for some time to come as they help more people become fully conscious of what their wealth can do to create a world better for all. www.y-tree.comWatch & Subscribe: 👀 https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videosListen & Subscribe: 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5NSnRyHzPmyY5OWhGzKU5Pwww.leadersenigma.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.