

Leading Professionals
Laura Empson
Welcome to Leading Professionals. Join Professor Laura Empson as she talks to senior leaders from some of the world’s most successful professional organisations about the crucial issues they are currently facing.Each episode reveals the realities that lie beneath the ‘professional’ veneer these highly successful organisations, and their leaders, present to the outside world. Laura uses insights from her lifetime of researching and advising professional organisations to uncover and make sense of the complex, messy and surprisingly emotional challenges of leading professionals, and to identify key learning for all professionals.If you are a professional in a leadership role – or if you simply want to understand your work and your organisation better – then you have come to the right place. Be ready to explore new ideas, challenge your assumptions, and learn to see your world a little differently.Click the subscribe button and to be the first to get episodes of Leading Professionals as soon as they drop. About Professor Laura EmpsonLaura is widely recognised as one of the foremost thinkers in the fields of leadership and professional service firms. She has been conducting academic research into professional organizations for more than 30 years and acts as an advisor to the leaders of many of the world’s most successful professional organizations. Her focus is always on turning academic insights into practical action.She is Professor in the Management of Professional Service Firms at Bayes Business School, University of London, and Professor of Leadership and Organization at Copenhagen Business School. She also holds Research Fellowships at Harvard Law School and Cambridge University. Her most recent book is Leading Professionals: Power, Politics, and Prima Donnas (2022).Website: https://www.lauraempson.com/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LeadingProfessionalsLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/professor-laura-empson-69820773/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 14, 2021 • 34min
Extreme collegiality
What is collegiality and how does it work in practice? Empson & Morley speak to Jill Ader, Chair of executive search and leadership advisory firm Egon Zehnder. They examine how to create an environment of mutual support, cultural consistency, and equality among peers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 31, 2021 • 35min
Leadership duets
Barry Devereaux and Catherine Deane, Managing Partner and Chair of leading Irish law firm, McCann Fitzgerald, discuss the effectiveness of dual leadership structures in professional firms. They highlight the importance of having a support system, the significance of dual roles in leadership, and navigating leadership during the pandemic. They also provide advice for firms transitioning to a dual structure and emphasize the importance of conflict resolution and role dynamics in leadership partnerships.

May 17, 2021 • 30min
Post-pandemic Professionalism
How can leaders help their professionals prepare for the challenges and opportunities of post-pandemic professional work? Empson & Morley explore this theme with Nick Owen, Chair of Deloitte UK. They consider how hybrid working is calling into question some well-established “truths” about the nature of professionalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 22, 2021 • 35min
Collaboration in a Cold Climate
How do you create and sustain collaboration when you no longer meet each other face to face? Empson & Morley discuss this with Kirsten Edwards-Warren, Executive Vice President EMEA for Compass Lexecon. They examine the distinctive culture, systems, and structures the firm has developed to encourage collaboration and how it continued to thrive during the pandemic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 8, 2021 • 33min
Global versus Local
Philip Davidson, Global COO of KPMG, discusses achieving alignment in a global organization. They explore the tension between autonomy and belonging, referral and quality issues, the role of a global COO in a federated partnership, and mechanisms for consistency and accountability.

4 snips
Feb 22, 2021 • 42min
Partnership versus Corporate
Sir Ian Davis, former Global Managing Partner of McKinsey and now Chairman of Rolls-Royce plc, discusses the differences and similarities between leadership in partnerships and corporations. Topics include the challenges of growth and scale in partnerships, hiring and culture in professional firms, balancing autonomy and management in partner relationships, the power of informal and formal power, seeking feedback, and debating growth versus shrinkage in professional management consulting.

Feb 8, 2021 • 34min
Ambition versus Reluctance
Professional people can be notoriously reluctant to see themselves as leaders. Empson & Morley explore what can be done to support professionals making the transition from full-time fee earner to leader. They examine the myth of “authenticity” with Professor Herminia Ibarra, of London Business School, globally renowned expert in leadership identity and career transitions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 25, 2021 • 30min
Leadership in crisis
Empson outlines how a crisis changes the balance of power in professional organisations, but only temporarily. Morley explains the importance of adapting your leadership style as a crisis ebbs and flows. They interview Wim Dejonghe, Global Senior Partner of global law firm Allen and Overy, to find out how he has dealt with the Covid crisis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 11, 2021 • 25min
Paradoxes of Leadership
Empson gets a call at midnight from a client asking for advice as a potential leadership coup gathers momentum. Morley & Empson discuss the paradoxes of leading professional people, including the paradox of autonomy and control. When your “followers” don’t like being told what to do, how do you get them to do anything? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dec 17, 2020 • 1min
Welcome to Leading Professional People
Professor Laura Empson and David Morley introduce their new podcast series ‘Leading Professional People’. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.