Leading Professional People

What are the parallels between the worlds of espionage and professional services? Laura and Tony talk to David Bickford, previously General Counsel to MI5 and MI6, about his role as the agencies’ Legal Director and Under Secretary of State. They explore how to build trust when professionals are working remotely, how to collaborate when knowledge is shared on a need-to-know basis, and how to stop powerful professionals from going rogue. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katherine White, the first Chief Talent Officer of Spencer Stuart, talks about the challenges of leading professionals in senior roles and how she discreetly brought about change. They discuss the importance of HR expertise in professional firms, establishing credibility, and the growth of the leadership field. She also shares her experience of being an outsider in an organization and the importance of building credibility and understanding the culture.

Gianpiero Petriglieri, a top management thinker, discusses the importance of addressing hidden emotions in professional organizations. They explore the blending of professionalism and emotional expression, the impact of post-COVID workplace dynamics, grief and anger in the workplace, psychological dynamics of professionals, and the importance of authenticity in leadership.

June Sarpong, the BBC's Global Director of Creative Diversity, discusses disruptive change, quick decision-making in a slow environment, and the impact of an outsider perspective in leadership. She highlights the importance of data-driven decisions, adding diverse voices to key decision-making bodies, recognizing different leadership styles, and embracing diversity to drive organizational change.

Former Senior Partner of Slaughter and May, Chris Saul, delves into the use of subtle power in leadership. Topics include building consensus, maintaining independence, navigating loneliness in leadership roles, shaping board meeting agendas in soft industries, firm identity and strategy, and exploring consensus in leadership dynamics.

Laura and Tony speak to Steve Varley, EY’s first Global Vice Chair for Sustainability. They find out how he was inspired by Greta Thunberg to try to build a bridge between environmentalism and capitalism, and the skills he used to make this happen.  He explains how he created this role in EY to place sustainability at the heart of the firm’s business, and how he mobilised both colleagues and clients to build a significant sustainability practice.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Leading Professional People, the podcast that explores the most crucial leadership questions currently facing professional organisations. For this third series, Professor Laura Empson, who has dedicated almost 30 years to researching professionals and professional service firms, will be joined by a new co-host, Tony Hall, Lord Hall of Birkenhead, the former Director General of the BBC. Laura and Tony’s guests include a fascinating selection of senior leaders from professional organisations, including EY, Slaughter & May, Spencer Stuart, INSEAD, the BBC, and MI6.Join them to explore the challenges, confusions, frustrations, and elations that make professional organisations so difficult to lead and so fascinating to understand. Follow this podcast so you never miss an episode. Find out more at lauraempson.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Empson & Morley speak to Tony Hall, Lord Hall, about his time as Director General of the BBC, and his many other high-profile roles. They examine what it is like to lead complex organizations with multiple groups of stakeholders under intense public scrutiny. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you build better leaders in a professional service firm? Empson & Morley speak to Russ Hagey, Worldwide Chief Talent Officer of Bain. They explore Bain’s self-reinforcing leadership development system, and the way “insurgency” is both encouraged and controlled to strengthen the system. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why do professionals do bad things? Empson & Morley speak to Professor Brooke Harrington of Dartmouth College, in the USA. They explore the factors which drive some professionals to behave unethically, and the organizational and societal factors which encourage it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.