Grow to Great

Culture in many companies is viewed as “this is the way we do things around here” but as Justin Bodill points out in this Grow to Great interview, culture comes from tangible inputs that need to be intentionally crafted and built through behaviour. Culture forms through the doing. In this episode, you will learn practical strategies and skills as a leader to create culture in your company, and to keep it alive and evolve it - both when everything seems to be going well and most especially when it is not. Justin Bodill works as a Learning and Development Programme Manager for a large retail company. He has spent the last 15 years in the corporate world of Learning and Development, holds an Honours Degree in Organisational Psychology from the University of Cape Town and is a qualified Coach. He has a passion for individual and team development, leadership and culture work in business and in sport. Follow Justin on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinbodill/details/experience/ Learn more about the LeadMe leadership and wellbeing programme at www.leadme.academy

In this episode, a few of the LeadMe coaches share their top tips and strategies for engaging in coaching conversations to empower and motivate your team as a manager. While you listen to these coaching tips, we invite you to put your ego aside along with any feelings you have that you should know everything as a team manager. If you want to learn more coaching and communication skills to exercise within your team, visit our website: www.leadme.academy or email us at [email protected]

Being an entrepreneur requires you to learn, unlearn and relearn over and over. In this episode, we chat with Robert Paddock on the lessons he’s learned while building multiple businesses. From the startup phase to scaling up, you’ll gain practical advice from one of our most successful entrepreneurs in South Africa on everything from how the tough times can be viewed as an invitation to explore and understand yourself more, the importance of communication and critical conversations to build organisational culture, and why you should expose your humanity as a leader to connect with your team.  Robert Paddock is the Co-founder of GetSmarter, an online education company that has educated over 200,000 working professionals from 154 countries around the world. In 2019, Rob founded and is currently CEO of Valenture Institute, which offers fully-supported online high school programmes and pre-college certificates. Follow him on Linkedin or at: https://www.robertpaddock.co.za

Two years into the pandemic and remote work, and we are continually learning how best to navigate the various work models adopted by companies. From creating a sense of belonging and community among teams to setting up better technology and providing in-office perks, there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. In this episode, we talk with Sarah Rice on reimagining culture in a hybrid work model and how best to lead, manage and retain your people right now when they aren’t in one place. Sarah Rice is the Chief People Officer at Skyanmo in Cape Town, South Africa. Skynamo is a leading field sales tracking platform helping businesses increase their revenue and hit their targets. Before turning her focus to people, work cultures and supporting teams, Sarah spent 20 years in public relations and communications in the South African technology environment. She worked with numerous clients in various company sizes and gained an understanding of the intricacies and nuances that come with working with people. Follow Sarah Rice on Linkedin.

Sleep affects our entire wellbeing no matter what age we are at. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Sarah McKay, Australian-based neuroscientist and educator on why you need to stop and prioritise your sleep today. She shares the science behind our shut eye, what happens to us if we don’t sleep well (it’s far more detrimental than just being grumpy!) and tips on how to get a good night’s rest. Dr. Sarah McKay is director of The Neuroscience Academy and author of The Women's Brain Book: the neuroscience of health, hormones and happiness. You can follow her at: https://drsarahmckay.com

Quicket went from its highest performing month on record in February 2020 to a 90% drop by April 2020. In this episode we talk with James Tagg, a founder and director at Quicket, about the many challenges and pivots the company has tackled in the ticketing and events industry during the pandemic. When it comes to leadership during uncertain times, James says, “it’s about having vision and courage, for yourself and for your team.” Founded in 2011 based on the need for a self-managed ticketing system, Quicket is now running in over 35 countries providing people with the ability to create their own events and sell tickets online quickly. Even with the pandemic, the mission remains undeterred at Quicket - to create a single, unified, pan-African (and beyond!) ticketing platform that empowers people to connect and host amazing experiences wherever they are. Start your event today at www.quicket.com

One in every four people will struggle with a mental health concern in their life (WHO). In this episode we talk with Navlika Ratangee, clinical psychologist and director at ICAS, on normalising mental health in the workplace. We discuss how leaders have a critical role in creating a culture of care and an environment for employees to thrive, the cumulative effect stress and anxiety has on us, and why we need to destigmatise discussions of mental health in order to prevent burnout and breakdowns. One of our favourite reminders from Navlika, "We need to be kind to each other." Learn more from Navlika in her new book, Improving Mental Health in the Workplace, available here at kr.co.za/product/mental-health-in-the-workplace/ and through Exclusive Books soon.