The Fulfilled Leader with Jean Balfour

Explore the importance of self-reflection and planning in your career journey. Discover how to prioritize personal goals over societal expectations, and learn about the non-linear nature of career paths. Uncover a three-stage process for effective career planning that involves reflecting on your past, assessing your present, and envisioning your future. Align your personal values with your career choices to boost job satisfaction, with practical strategies for developing a fulfilling professional life.

For some of us strategic thinking comes naturally - for others it is something we have to learn. In this episode Jean Balfour is joined by Stacy McCarthy. Stacy is a business advisor, executive coach and board member.Stacy McCarthy has spent a lot of her career developing strategy for one of the world's big brands. In this podcast she and Jean Balfour talk about The importance of stepping out of your comfort zone in your careerThe connection between purpose, values and resilienceHow to plan time for strategic thinkingWays to ‘triage’ your time and what you prioritiseHow to link global and regional strategies and to influence bothLeading large teamsHow do empower people to take risksStacy has over 25 years of experience across a really broad range of things. She has worked as an international executive, a military officer, and as a board director. Her career has had her living and working in nine countries where she led regional infrastructure operations for a fortune 500 company from across the Asian and India, Middle East and Africa regions. In the Asian region, she transformed the team into an energised high performance organisation that supported 22% growth in the region with a reduction in operating costs whilst achieving 91% employee engagement score. She's led strategic planning for a defence business helping to identify and make a large shift in product lines and capabilities. She's also been an investment banker, a professional staffer on the US Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and was a commander in the U S Navy with two command tours.You can find Stacy at Aesara Partners and on Linkedin.https://www.aesarapartners.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacy-mccarthy-pcc-gaicd-1ab96a5/Cal Newport’s Workhttps://www.calnewport.comMichael Porterhttps://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6532https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/407999.Competitive_StrategyPeter Schwartz - The Art of the Long Viewhttps://www.amazon.com/Art-Long-View-Planning-Uncertain/dp/0385267320The Economisthttps://www.economist.com/Wired Magazinehttps://www.wired.com/The Artist’s Wayhttps://juliacameronlive.com/ Sign up to my weekly newsletter. Book a free strategy call: https://calendly.com/jean-balfour/30min Learn more about my work: https://jeanbalfour.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanbalfour/

What is it about managing up that seems so challenging?Some people do it with ease, but most of us have difficulty with it at some stage in our career. There's a good reason for this. We were often raised not to promote ourselves, or to respect the hierarchy.The challenge is that if we don’t build good relationships up as well as down the line, then we may miss out on opportunities for new roles or even promotion. In this podcast episode Jean willIn this episode Jean shares Insights into why we find this so difficultHow we can shift our mindset  Practical ways to manage upwards without compromising our values. Looking for a coach - you can find Jean herehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanbalfour/https://baileybalfour.com/If you would like a regular update on podcast episodes you can sign up to Jean’s email list.https://jeanbalfour.com/Caroline Webb - How to Have a Good dayhttps://carolinewebb.co/ Sign up to my weekly newsletter. Book a free strategy call: https://calendly.com/jean-balfour/30min Learn more about my work: https://jeanbalfour.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanbalfour/

Inclusive Leadership is shown to have a big impact on both business outcomes and employee engagement - as well, of course, as being the right thing to do. And yet we don’t see enough leaders being inclusive.In this podcast Jean talks with Pierre Cheung who puts inclusion at the heart of his leadership approach. Pierre is Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) for Kreed Entertainment Inc - the first inclusive K-Culture entertainment firm focusing on Kpop academy, NFT community, and IP management with a purpose to raise youth mental awareness.In this episode he sharesThe importance of positive energy in having a successful careerThe role purpose plays at workHow we are not born to be inclusive - we have to learn itUntil recently Pierre was SVP and General Manager for Viacom CBS Networks Asia business including  Greater China, Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia. This included digital media, programme sales, consumer products. He also led the charge for the company’s VIS (Viacom International Studios) business in Asia to drive local content creation.  He moved to Viacom CBS from BBC Worldwide where he worked for 14 years, latterly as Vice President and General Manager for Greater China where he was in charge of BBC Worldwide’s channel, content distribution, consumer products, local production, and brand development activities across China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.You can find Pierre herehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/pierre-cheung-933b7026/The programme for the BBC in Chinahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_ChinaThe Freakonomics information  https://freakonomics.com/You can find Jean herehttps://jeanbalfour.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanbalfour/Interested in training as a coachhttps://baileybalfour.com/ Sign up to my weekly newsletter. Book a free strategy call: https://calendly.com/jean-balfour/30min Learn more about my work: https://jeanbalfour.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanbalfour/

Those who know me well that for much of my working life I have been plagued by self doubt, over thinking and worry - even anxiety. It impacted my work, my experience of work, and often left me feeling depleted. About 15 years ago I decided it was time to change. This led me on a journey of discovery of the best approaches to managing negative thinking and low confidence.In this podcast I share with you what I have learnt and introduce practical and easy to use strategies which you can start applying today!You can find me herehttps://jeanbalfour.com/Martha Beckhttps://marthabeck.com/The Happiness Trap Bookhttps://www.actmindfully.com.au/product/the-happiness-trap/The Happiness Trap Coursehttps://thehappinesstrap.com/ Sign up to my weekly newsletter. Book a free strategy call: https://calendly.com/jean-balfour/30min Learn more about my work: https://jeanbalfour.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanbalfour/

The most common topic people ask Jean to talk about is Toxic Work Cultures. In this episode Jean is joined by Liz Bingham. Liz shares her insights on this along with sharing her career journey. Liz began her career straight from school with BDO Stoy Hayward in 1981, joining Ernst & Young in 1986.She went on to have a long and illustrious career with EY. As well as an outstanding career as a restructuring expert, she held a number of positions of responsibility in the firm. This included her role as Managing Partner of the UK and Ireland Board where she led the development and delivery of the firm’s extraordinarily successful strategy for employer brand, talent development and Diversity and Inclusion.    She is an avid campaigner for diversity and inclusiveness in the workplace, for non-graduates, for women, for parents, for flexible workers and for LGBT+ people and this resulted in Liz being recognised by HM Queen with the honour of OBE for services to equality in the workplace.Liz has received numerous awards and honours throughout her career including being ranked in the top 20 of the FT Top 50 Outstanding in Business List. She also both appeared in and later judged the BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour 100 Power List. She holds an Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration from BPP University.Jean and Liz talk aboutHow it takes a community for someone to have a successful senior career. Research on how high performing teams often function as inclusive communitiesCreating a ‘swarm’ to support you when you are experiencing a toxic work environmentHow leaders can be aware of their own toxic behaviours  when they are derailed and get back to equilibrium. The Athena Doctrine https://www.johngerzema.com/books/athena-doctrine Sign up to my weekly newsletter. Book a free strategy call: https://calendly.com/jean-balfour/30min Learn more about my work: https://jeanbalfour.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanbalfour/

In this episode Jean is joined by Soo Yee Leong. Soo Yee is an entrepreneurial corporate leader who enjoys working with people to create the future through innovating, solving problems and seizing opportunities, Soo Yee's energy, and her entrepreneurial spirit led her to becoming the first Asian member of the global executive team of the UK based ACCA (The Association for Chartered Certified Accountants). Over her 20 years of experience Soo Yee worked on a huge range of things, including business strategy, P & L management, enterprise growth, business, and digital transformation, marketing, strategic partnerships, and government relationships. She’s worked across many sectors, including professional educational, banking, insurance, quick service restaurants and energy.She is passionate about the power of technology, particularly digital on improving lives and uplifting communities. She's also a strong advocate of inclusion and diversity and environmental sustainability. In addition to all this Soo Yee is a mentor on the look up mentor club, a mentoring platform that connects aspiring women professionals with industry leaders.In this podcast Jean and Soo Yee talk aboutThe importance of vulnerability in leadershipHow to make career transitions from expert to generalist and how to move sectorsLearning about how to break through glass ceilingsYou can find Soo Yee herehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/soo-yee-leong-928bb721/Adam Grant’s Websitehttps://www.adamgrant.net/Give and Take - Adam GrantThe Originals - Adam Grant#vLookUpMentorClubhttps://www.vlookup.ai/Jean can be found herehttps://jeanbalfour.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanbalfour/ Sign up to my weekly newsletter. Book a free strategy call: https://calendly.com/jean-balfour/30min Learn more about my work: https://jeanbalfour.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanbalfour/

Explore the essential yet often overlooked realm of workplace politics. Discover how navigating organizational dynamics can boost your career. Learn about the fox, sheep, and owl framework to better understand political behaviors. Jean Balfour shares nine strategies to become more politically savvy while maintaining integrity. Personal stories highlight the impact of ethical engagement on career advancement. Balance collaboration with strategic insight to thrive in a complex work environment.

In a world of increasing specialization, Andrew has consciously sought a broad base of experiences - from organic farming and Shiatsu massage in the UK to printing money in the USA and developing sales service and leadership skills in clients, colleagues and himself.Singapore based for the past 18 years, he is currently an executive facilitator and master coach with a human capital constancy and in private practice as coach to young and emerging leaders. A lover of learning and science fiction, Andrew is a connector of dots and frequent blogger on leadership, self awareness and self care.In the podcast Jean and Andrew discussWhat is lifelong learning?Why does it matter to engage in lifelong learning? The research behind why it mattersHow to do it?You can find Andrew here:http://www.andrewjcalvert.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewcalvert/Happy Mind, Happy Life Podcasthttps://drchatterjee.com/11-powerful-tips-to-help-you-live-longer-and-better/Write a letter to the futurehttps://www.futureme.org/You can find Jean herehttps://baileybalfour.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanbalfour/ Sign up to my weekly newsletter. Book a free strategy call: https://calendly.com/jean-balfour/30min Learn more about my work: https://jeanbalfour.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanbalfour/

Are you on the tiredness/exhaustion/burnout continuum?A recent McKinsey study suggested that over 50% of us at work are exhibiting signs of burnout.In this episode Jean Balfour shares her own very personal story of Burnout and what she learnt from it. She goes on to shareSigns and symptoms of exhaustion and burnoutPossible causes from our working livesHer approach to recoveryA call to action to leaders and organisations to take exhaustion seriously. She ends on a high note - sharing how fully recovery is possible - bringing back enjoyment and meaning in work. The Way of Integrity by Martha Beck https://marthabeck.com/the-way-of-integrity/Singapore Botanic Gardens https://www.nparks.gov.sg/sbgMindfulness and Meditation appshttps://insighttimer.com/https://www.headspace.com/Cal Newport on ways of working - https://www.calnewport.com/You can find Jean Balfour here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanbalfour/If you are interested in training as a coach - https://baileybalfour.com/ Sign up to my weekly newsletter. Book a free strategy call: https://calendly.com/jean-balfour/30min Learn more about my work: https://jeanbalfour.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanbalfour/