Curious Leadership with Dominic Monkhouse

What if you had to radically transform your business, change the culture, improve the percentage of A-players, drive staff engagement, and roll out a purpose and core values, all without raising salaries or changing the team? Well, that’s what our guests this week have done in their organisation. And all whilst improving the education delivery and striving to change the lives of the children in their schools. This week on The Melting Pot, we learned from Hazel Pulley and Jonathan Smart, CEO and Deputy CEO at Excelsior MAT, a multi-academy trust, currently with six primary schools in innercity Birmingham in their portfolio. ExcelsiorMAT is one of the teams that we’ve worked with at Monkhouse & Company, and we’re deeply proud of their amazing transformation over the past few years. Hence why we wanted them to join us on the show to share with us the keys to their incredible success.  In this episode, we hear from Hazel and Jonathan about their journey applying the Scaling Up framework and how it radically transformed their organisation. They also dived into how they managed to change the business without raising salaries or changing the team. This episode is a true testament to great leadership, making the right decisions and building an amazing culture.  A fascinating and exciting episode, download and listen to learn more! On today’s podcast:  What is a Multi Academy TrustCan Scaling Up be applied in Education?Changing lives through teachingCultivating existing talentThe importance of happiness at work Follow Hazel and Jonathan: ExcelsiorMAT websiteJonathan Smart LinkedInHazel Pulley LinkedInExcelsiorMAT TwitterExcelsiorMaT LinkedIn Book Recommendations: Finding Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Trusted Leader by David HorsagerLincoln on leadership by Donald T. PhillipsBelonging by Owen Eastwood Enjoyed the show? Leave a Review

What comes to mind when you think about innovation? Creating something new from nothing. But does the word innovation push people away from doing it, thinking they don’t have the skills? Our guest on the podcast thinks so, and that’s why he uses the word reinvention instead. And that, reinventing, is exactly what he did with his own career after retiring from professional rugby. Today, we hear about his fascinating journey.This week on The Melting Pot, we learned from the author of Undisruptible, and host of The Innovation Show, Aidan McCullen. Formerly a professional rugby player, Aidan now works as an Executive Coach and Innovation Consultant.In this episode, Aidan talked about his journey as a rugby player and how he shifted from that to a career in innovation, and became a podcast host and innovation consultant. He also explored the cultural differences between some of the teams he played with, and he dived into the Butterfly metaphor that he uses in his book Unsdisruptable to explain the life cycle and how it applies to businesses. Make sure to download and listen to this fascinating episode day. On today’s podcast: Writing UndisruptableThe cultural difference between rugby teamsThe Butterfly metaphorFrom professional rugby to innovationThe impact of self-talk on mental health Follow Aidan McCullen: LinkedInBookBlogPodcast – The Innovation ShowBook recommendationsThe Heart of Business by Hubert JolyThe Biology of Belief by Bruce H. LiptonChange Your Paradigm, Change Your Life by Bob ProctorHow Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton ChristensenWhy Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers by Robert M. SapolskiThe Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru EmotoBuilt from broken by Scott H. HoganEnjoyed the show? Leave a Review 

How do you find enough qualified people to deliver on the revenue opportunities that your business comes across? This is a problem that might be familiar to many professional services organisations, particularly within the cloud space. Our guest this week Neil Marley, came across that challenge whilst he was working at New Signature. Neil is the Managing Director at Qualyfi. He's also former UK MD and EMEA lead at New Signature, an IT Services Management company that grew from 8 to 300 people in the UK and twice won the prestigious Microsoft UK Partner of the Year award (2014, 2019), before being acquired by Cognizant in 2020. We know Neil since 2017 when New Signature started coaching with us. During the course of our time working together, they grew from about ten people to 350. From a revenue perspective that’s around 48% compound annual growth rate.  There are two things that Neil is excited about. The first is helping people build an exciting new technology career, regardless of their background or previous opportunities; the second is building long-term partnerships with growth organisations, offering services to help fuel their growth. He has now taken his experience doing that to make Qualyfi a positive force for the world. In this episode, he shares his journey working in public cloud technologies with Microsoft, moving from working in a big organisation to a small team, and he and his small team managed to become one of the leading partners for Microsoft. He also talked about the challenges the business faced along the way, the secrets to New Signature’s success and the impact coaching had on the team dynamics. Download and listen to learn more. On today’s podcast: A journey of growth in MicrosoftLeading a successful partnership with MicrosoftNew Signature and Winning Microsoft UK Partner of the YearThe importance of business coachingQualyfi and placing new cloud tech talent Follow Neil MarleyQualify websiteLinkedIn Book recommendations: Radical Candor by Kim ScottWhat got you here won't get you there by Marshall GoldsmithCEO Excellence by Scott KellerAwaken The Giant Within by Anthony Robbins Enjoyed the show? Leave a Review

Hiring top talent –the right talent– is crucial to growing a business. Yet, so many companies get their recruitment process wrong. Clarity on what an A-Player looks like, and transparency with candidates in the process are just some of the missing elements that our guest this week noticed in many companies after falling into the world of recruitment. This week on The Melting Pot, we learned from Ross Lauder, founder and CEO at Single Focus Talent. Before becoming the talented headhunter he is today, Ross was a tech sales manager, working for big firms like Dell and Hubspot. Today, he recruits salespeople across Europe and North America. In this episode, we wanted to learn more from him about sales, and how the role of a salesperson has changed over time. Ross also shared his approach to recruitment and how he’s helping candidates in their careers. Also, what are people thinking about returning to the office, remote and hybrid work, and what's happening in the labour market. Is the tech world awash with talented people after the big tech layoffs? A great conversation. Make sure to download and listen today! On today’s podcast: How the sales process has changed over the yearsMoving from sales to recruitmentA transparent and honest approach to recruitmentWhat's going on in the current labour marketRemote or office? What candidates prefer Follow Ross Lauder: WebsiteSingle Focus Talent podcastGlobal Tech Leaders podcastLinkedInRoss on YouTube Book Recommendations: Brain Hacks by Keith BarryUnlimited Power by Anthony RobbinsAwaken The Giant Within by Anthony RobbinsThink And Grow Rich by Napoleon HillRich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki Enjoyed the show? Leave a Review

Building trust is at the heart of a high-performing team and a great culture. Sometimes, that trust comes from allowing vulnerability and honesty into the room and acknowledging our flaws, as well as our geniuses. Our guest this week is a huge advocate of using that vulnerability to strengthen the relationships in leadership teams.On this week's episode of The Melting Pot, we learned from Ronan Harrington, an expert in the neuroscience of resilience. After receiving a Master in Public Policy from Balliol College, Oxford University, Ronan then became one of the youngest executives in the City of London, as Director of Futures and Strategy at RPC. At the age of 24, he authored a report on the world of 2030 and how the British Government should respond.In this fascinating episode, Ronan shared his views on what it takes to develop a great business culture, how allowing vulnerability can help build trust in teams, and how power can impact cultural change in an organisation. He also talked about his experience working with Extinction Rebellion and how ethical power plays work in politics and business. Download and listen to learn more. On today’s podcast:Developing a conscious cultureHow competing commitments affect cultureBuilding trust through vulnerabilityWorking for Extinction RebellionDefining resilience and dealing with burnout Follow Ronan:WebsiteLinkedInTwitterYouTube Book recommendations15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer and Diana ChapmanFortitude by Bruce DaisleySmalls things like these by Claire KeeganFoster by Claire Keegan Enjoyed the show? Leave a Review

The definition of value creation is giving something valuable to receive something else that’s more valuable to you. In today’s fast-paced economy, every business owner should strive to make his company as valuable as he can, and optimize wherever possible to provide value.Isn't it all about profit? It may be true for large company stockholders, but it is less true for small business owners. A major corporation's stockholder may be exclusively concerned with earnings. It's part of their investment portfolio, and its sole purpose is to increase their wealth. However, a small company would be more interested in communicating a mission and vision that attracts the world, creating a product or service that adds value to both customers and shareholders, and creating value through optimizing processes and finance. Some investors have advanced to impact investing because they seek more than just profits from their investments. As a result, B-corporations are becoming increasingly common. Impact investment and B-corporations seek to maximize financial returns while also providing a public benefit and creating long-term value.Today, on the Melting Pot, we are joined by Patrick E. Donohue, an expert in valuation, business angel, and financial advisor for entrepreneurs. He started his adventure at a very young age when he showed interest in stock shares and making money at only 10 years old. His passion lies in helping small businesses grow in a way that generates value and has a lasting impact on the community. He firmly believes that business owners shape the world by providing solutions to the complexities of human life. In his book “Breakout Valuation”, he breaks down complex financial concepts and shares them in plain easy English. His aim is for every leader to be able to understand financial intelligence and apply it in actionable plans to drive sustainable growth. In today’s episode:Business Valuation For BeginnersHow to Define a Sustainable Level of GrowthInsights from “Breakout Valuation”Business Design That Drives ValueEvery Business Has A Special Talent That Makes It More InvestableWhat Patrick E. Donohue WishesHe’d KnownEarlier Links: WebsiteLinkedInTwitterBook Book Recommendations: Aiden McCullen - UndisruptableMike Michalowicz -Profit FirstGreg Crabtree – Simple Numbers 2.0Patrick E. Donohue – Breakout ValuationRyan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman – The Dialy StoicAnthony De Mello – AwarenessJames Nestor - Breath

Having travelled to every country in the world, Scott Keller, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, New York Times best selling author of Beyond performance 2.0 and CEO Excellence, was looking for a new challenge. And he found it during lockdown. Along with his fellow authors, he sought to uncover what makes the best CEOs of this century the best. They combined extensive quantitative analysis with in-depth interviews with today’s top CEOs to understand what sets exceptional leaders apart.And they found the best CEOs have to master six core things to become great. Because, and Scott uses the analogy of Ashton Eaton, the greatest decathlete of all time here - no decathlete is the best 100 metre runner in the world or the best Javelin thrower, they have to not suck at anything, while being amazing at everything.In this episode of The Melting Pot, Scott shares the methodology they used to narrow down their list of CEOs from 7,800 to the 67 they interviewed, before discussing the six things they found were the core of every great CEO. On today’s podcast:Why we need to own our goalsHow hard it is being CEOGreat CEOs have humilityThe decathlete analogyThe six core elements of the CEO roleThe link between mindset and CEO excellenceLinks:Book - CEO ExcellenceTwitter – @Linked_nameLinkedIn – Scott KellerWebsite – McKinsey & Company

If your business is struggling to innovate, or is in fact resisting innovation all together, then don’t miss Anthony Rose, founder and CEO of SeedLegals on this week’s episode of The Melting Pot. Who better to learn from about how to incorporate, raise funds and grow your business, than the founder of the startup that one in six of all early-stage startups in the UK are using in their funding rounds. Widely known as “The man behind BBC iPlayer”, Anthony ran the iPlayer and other BBC services from 2007 to 2010, taking the iPlayer from pre-launch to a major success story. In this episode, Anthony talks about the jobs that only the CEO should do, including the CEO’s role in innovation, building company culture, getting to product market fit, and why, when you’ve got product market fit, the most important job of a CEO is to then manage culture. This is a truly insightful episode and a must listen for all leaders of startups looking to grow and build their companies. Book recommendations:The Mom Test - Rob FitzpatrickHistory of Western Philosophy - Bertrand RussellOn today’s podcast:Making lawyers redundantThe CEO’s role in innovationHow to innovateWhy CEOs are responsible for cultureLinks:Twitter – @anthonyroseLinkedIn – Anthony RoseWebsite – SeedLegals

Hard decisions are part of every aspect of our human life. In business, these are what shape the future of a company and what define its success if done right. We often praise the hiring process in a company, as it constitutes a decision based on precise forecasting and analysis. However, we often brush off the equally important decision of letting someone go, as we generally believe it should be done as easily as this: take a  subjective decision, have an end-of-contract meeting, and empty a desk. What we don’t realize is that letting go of an employee should be subject to the same amount of well-thought analysis, as it is as strategic for the company as hiring. Today, on the Melting Pot, we are joined by Annie Duke, an ex-professional poker player and author of two books called “Thinking in bets” and “Quit”. The first makes a parallel between poker and business and covers ways in which we could bring the critical decision-making process from gambling into our entrepreneurial adventure. The second book is a gem that helps us know when to call it quits. More specifically, it helps decision-makers discover the neuroscience behind firing people, and how to do it right. She proposes a precise methodology to know when an employee is not a good fit anymore, and how to let them understand that it is time for them to quit. After earning the title of “The Duchess of Poker”, she now focuses on cognitive-behavioural decision authorship and coaches businesses in making the right decisions in their environment. Listen and download this fascinating episode in which Annie shares the journey that got her into coaching decision-makers and interesting concepts such as loss aversion, and aspects of the human cognitive bias that can affect our forecasting.  In today’s episode: The way our mind works when it comes to quitting thingsThe loss aversion bias in decision makingSpecificity vs. Sensitivity in decision makingThe ‘Thinking in Bets’ book and playing pokerThe role of luck in success Links: Annie Duke's WebsiteQUIT - The Power Of Knowing When To Walk AwayAnnie's Other BooksYoutube ChannelLinkedinTwitter Book recommendations: Phillip E.Tetlock and Dan Gardner- Super ForecastingBrian Christian and Tom Griffiths- Algorithms to Live ByAlex Sangha- The Modern ThinkerMichael J. Mauboussin- The Success Equation: Untangling Skill and Luck in Business, Sports, and InvestingDaniel Kahneman- Thinking Fast and SlowRichard H. Thaler- NudgeKaty Milkman- How to change Enjoyed the show? Leave Us a Review

Leadership development is not about studying leadership, but about practising leadership in an intentional way, in a culture and environment that enables learning.For over 20 years, Cameron Herold has been the mastermind behind hundreds of companies’ exponential growth and his passion for coaching and mentoring others earned him the reputation of THE CEO Whisperer.His career in business coaching started with College Pro Painters, a house painting franchise he joined at the age of 21. This franchise turned out to be the perfect breeding ground for an entire generation of entrepreneurs and businesses.By the age of 35, Cameron built his first two 100 Million Dollar companies and in just six years of being the COO for 1-800-GOT-JUNK? he transformed it into one of the most successful new business ventures of the last decade, with a spectacular growth from $2 Million to $106 Million in revenue.In 2016 he founded the COO Alliancewith one simple goal in mind: to provide COOs with the same professional development and growth opportunities CEOs have enjoyed for many years.In this episode, Cameron shares how he discovered his passion for mentoring leaders, his beginnings in the College Pro Painters franchise, and the strategies that CEOs should use to achieve alignment in their organisations.We also dive in and talk about his 5 books, a truly powerful resource on leadership and growth solutions for companies. In today’s episode:Where it all started- The College Pro Painters franchiseNurturing tomorrow’s business leadersBuild real teams and achieve company alignment1-800-GOT-JUNK?What’s the difference between a CEO and a COOCameron’s fabulous booksLiving the nomad life  Links:Website - cameronherold.comInstagram- @cameron_herold_cooallianceLinkedin - Cameron HeroldFacebook - Cameron HeroldPodcast - Second in CommandYoutube - COO AllianceCameron Herold - Published booksCameron's solution to breeding high-performance leaders -  Invest In Your LeadersCameron and his wife’s travel channel -  @EverWanderTravel