Perspicacity: Recent Episodes
Project4 Learning Lab
In this series we talk with a number of leaders who have inspired us in some way. We will learn from their experience of leading in different contexts and explore their personal insights and reflections on their journey.
In this episode we catch up for a second time with Peter Hill and this time we have a fascinating discussion around purpose. As ever, Peter has some great stories on how we might find a deeper connection with others as we seek to find out more about what each of us stand for. We explore how powerful this exploration can be in unlocking unexpected potential..."What illogical miracles would you like to see in other people?" Peter also turns the table on us to find out about our purpose and gives us some homework!
We talk with Teresa Payne in episode 6 of season 2 about the role that businesses can play in creating a progressive and inclusive economy that benefits local communities. Teresa is Managing Partner at the law firm Parfitt Cresswell and is a published author.
This is a really insightful conversation exploring the benefits of thinking about business differently, what it has meant for Teresa personally and the importance of leaving a positive legacy for future generations.
We talk with Sarah Walker-Smith in episode 5 of season 2 about murmurations of starlings and the parallels with organisations that demonstrate agility. Sarah is the CEO of Ampa. She is the first female, non-lawyer CEO in the legal top 60 and was named the UK’s most influential legal CEO on social media.
In an entertaining conversation we explore the power of transparency, trust, purpose, empowerment and alignment in unlocking agility. Sarah shares her personal experience of working with these concepts and what she has learnt from doing so. It's a real treat for anyone interested in business agility.
In this episode we chat with Susan Popoola about the topic of inclusion, the imperative for increasing it across a wide range of contexts and how it might be achieved without inadvertently excluding others. One of Susan's superpowers is her ability to create a safe space for conversations on difficult topics without fear or judgement, which is such a fundamentally important skill if we are to make even more progress towards a fairer, more inclusive society.
In this episode we talk to Pete Colby, founder of Pragmatism UK Ltd. Pete is a mediation specialist and his organisation help guide individuals, teams and organisations to resolve disputes.
Pete talks about some of his personal experience of conflict management and the power of communication in building relationships. He also shares some fabulous stories and practical examples of how we might better deal with conflict.
We talk with Dimitar Karaivanov about what he has learnt about strategic planning and execution in an uncertain world, drawing from his experiences as CEO of Kanbanize as the business has grown and developed.
We explore the critical role that scientific thinking and data driven experimentation can play in navigating uncertain terrain and the side benefits that can often arise from this. Dimitar shares some fascinating insights into how a different way of thinking can help organisations to prosper in the medium to long term.
We talk with Annabel Berry in the first episode of season 2 about her experiences of leading through a global pandemic. Annabel is an influential leader in the Information Security sector through her role as Chief Executive of Sapphire and is also a Non-Executive Director and award nominated podcaster.
In the conversation we discuss the role of authenticity, trust, self-care and generally being more human as leaders, topics that feel more relevant to effective leadership than perhaps ever before.
In this episode we talk with Graham Hopkins and Apurva Sinha about their experiences in Product Development and the critical role that data plays in the delivery of excellent products and programmes. They explain the importance of enabling collaboration and trust across the whole value chain and how the application of purposeful data management practices can deliver higher quality products, more quickly and at lower costs.
Graham is a renowned expert in Product Development and the design of complex products. He was formerly the Group Safety, Technical & Quality Director at Network Rail and Executive Vice-President of Component Engineering at Rolls-Royce plc. Apurva is an expert in Innovation Management, Data Operations, Systems Engineering and Robust Design. He is currently a Director at Cognizant, having previously worked as a Chief Technology Officer in Hitachi Vantara and Head of Innovation and Information Management at Network Rail.
In this episode we talk to Chris Barkey about creating alignment and engaging teams in large organisations, the importance of trust and the futility of micro management.
In this episode we talk to Mike Denison about his passion for leading with questions, why he believes so passionately in this approach and he shares some great stories and practical steps we can all take to continue to improve as leaders.
In today’s episode we talk to Paul Healing about the DNA of a Lean Leader. As always Paul is very open with us and shares his experience as well as reflecting on his own learning. He has a great way of combining storytelling and structure to bring clarity to any subject and this comes across in today’s podcast.
In today’s episode listen to Luke Logan share his perspectives on the future of work. He talks about how COVID has impacted this and accelerated certain ways of working. We also explore with Luke some perspectives on leadership vulnerability and how this can contribute to creating a more inclusive environment for our team.
In this episode we talk with Krysia Hudek and Pete Ashby about how we often feel compelled to be people pleasers to build relationships. We explore some of the reasons that might be driving us to act in this way and the missed opportunity if we are unable to tame our people pleaser. Krysia and Pete share some great stories from their experience of having worked with leaders helping them to realise their potential.
In this episode we talk with Ryan Ramsey about his experiences of working in and leading teams.
We explore what makes teams great and the actions that we can take as leaders to cultivate a working environment that might allow our teams to flourish.
In this episode we talk with Peter Hill about creating the conditions necessary to stimulate innovation in teams or organisations by challenging the status quo. In doing so we conclude that a little bit of authorised anarchy can unlock significant potential and might even be fun sometimes.
Peter has a track record of delivering disruptional innovation, driven by a curiosity about the way things work. Despite his vast experience Peter says “I still make mistakes – but new mistakes.”
In this episode we talk with CEO of Project7 Consultancy Gareth Lewis about using visual performance management to engage organisations in identifying problems earlier and motivating them to take action to deliver results and accelerate learning.
Ian Ritchey is a former Group Chief Engineer at Rolls-Royce and is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. In this episode Ian shares his insights relating to leading New Product Development programmes from his long and distinguished career. In a broad-ranging discussion we explore the importance of context when considering topics such as Failing Fast vs Right First Time, Agile vs Waterfall programme management and the importance of retiring risk as early as possible in a programme.
Listen to Phil Crowle talk about his experience leading teams through creating alignment and engagement. Phil recalls the ambivalence he has seen in teams where there is no real emotion or connection to the work they are doing…”The fact we have introduced some emotion, some energy back into the business, some of it negative when things don’t go your way but a lot of it positive has meant we get a lot more engagement, the passion is there to come to work and do the very best you can”.
Phil has a wealth of experience leading complex cross functional teams and shares his learning that has shaped him as a leader.