Ambition Unleashed

Change is moving faster than ever, but great leadership is still fundamentally human. Brigid Siegel joins Gemma Toner to explore what it takes to lead through uncertainty, embrace new technology and bring people with you through change.From experimenting with AI to making decisions without having all the answers, Brigid shares lessons from a career spent navigating transformation and explains why curiosity, trust and human connection matter more than ever.

What if our fear of failure is the very thing holding back our potential?In this episode of Ambition. Unleashed., Gemma sits down with educator, neuroscientist and leadership advocate Katie Wiens to explore what happens when we stop treating failure as something to avoid and start seeing it as a pathway to growth.From her upbringing in rural Kansas to her work developing future leaders, Katie shares powerful lessons on resilience, confidence, neurodiversity and the importance of creating environments where people feel safe to learn, experiment and thrive.It's a conversation about leadership in its most human form: believing in people before they believe in themselves, embracing different ways of thinking, and creating the conditions for others to succeed.

What really makes a leader? According to serial entrepreneur and industry pioneer Naomi Ballantyne it isn't a title, status or authority. It's whether people choose to follow you. In this episode, Naomi shares lessons from a lifetime of building businesses, overcoming adversity, leading with authenticity, and finding the courage to keep going when the path ahead is uncertain. A powerful conversation about leadership, resilience, compassion, and what truly matters in the end.

After a short hiatus, Ambition. Unleashed. returns with a conversation that couldn't be more fitting for our relaunch.Our first guest is Julia Robertson, former Group CEO, Chair, NED and trusted advisor to organisations navigating growth, change and uncertainty. Together, we explore what ambition really means, the role of trust in leadership, how cultures are built (and protected), and why the future of leadership may be more human, not less.Julia shares candid reflections from a career leading complex organisations through transformation, offering practical wisdom for leaders at every stage of their journey.If you're interested in leadership, culture, influence, AI, or simply becoming a better leader, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

In this episode of Ambition. Unleashed. Sara Moore and Guest host Justin Temblett-Wood look into how leaders can take an approach of seeking exploration over the need for certainty. A willingness to believe in planning, but not plans, will free leaders from self-imposed prisons that restrict their ability to act and react in uncertain times. It requires bravery to step away from apparent certainty, and insight to understand that certainty is built on context and interpretation rather than reality. If leaders can throw off these shackles and embrace exploration and experimentation, then they will be well-equipped to prepare for, and benefit from, the unexpected and thrive rather than just survive in volatile times.About the guestToday’s guest, Dr Margaret Heffernan produced programmes for the BBC for 13 years. She then moved to the US where she spearheaded multimedia productions for Intuit, The Learning Company and StandardPoors. She was Chief Executive of InfoMation Corporation, ZineZone Corporation and then iCast Corporation, and was named one of the Top 25 by Streaming Media magazine and one of the Top 100 Media Executives by The Hollywood Reporter.The author of six books, Margaret’s third book, Wilful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril was named one of the most important business books of the decade by the Financial Times. In 2015, she was awarded the Transmission Prize for A Bigger Prize: Why Competition Isn’t Everything and How We Do Better, described as meticulously researched, engagingly written, universally relevant and hard to fault.Her TED talks have been seen by over fifteen million people and in 2015 TED published Beyond Measure: The Big Impact of Small Changes. Her most recent book, Uncharted: How to Map the Future was published in 2020. It quickly became a bestseller and was nominated for the Financial Times Best Business Book award, was one of Bloomberg’s Best Books of 2021 and was chosen as the Medium Best of the Best Business Book.She is a Professor of Practice at the University of Bath, Lead Faculty for the Forward Institutes Responsible Leadership Programme and, through Merryck Co., mentors CEOs and senior executives of major global organizations.She also chairs the board of DACS and has advised the Casey Review into the culture and standards of the Metropolitan Police and the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse led by Alexis Jay. In 2023 Margaret was inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame.She is a frequent broadcaster on BBC Radio 4 and the author of many broadcast plays and programmes.Further readingMargaret's Book: Wilful Blindness : Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril Margaret's Book: A Bigger Prize: Why Competition Isn't Everything and How We Do BetterMargaret's Ted Talks: TED Talks Margaret's Book: Beyond Measure: The Big Impact of Small ChangesMargaret's Book: Uncharted: How to map the futureBlog: Don’t hesitate to declare a sustainability breakthrough (achievebreakthrough.com)Blog: Why you might not succeed at sustainability: Enrolment vs. engagement(achievebreakthrough.com)Blog: Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable (achievebreakthrough.com)Blog: The Power of the Open-Ended Answer (achievebreakthrough.com)Website: Achieve Breakthrough

In this episode of Ambition. Unleashed. Sara explores how leaders can embrace setbacks and ultimately create a culture where failure is productive. Leaders are beginning to come to terms with the fact that setbacks are inevitable. ‘It’s okay to fail’ is a good starting point, but that attitude alone is not enough to reconnect us to the sense of high possibility that a breakthrough commitment requires. In principle, we know that if we’re going to take a car on the road, we can’t drive it forever without needing new parts. Too often, though, we’re still letting breakdowns lower our expectations of how far we can travel. When the wheels fall off in our organisation we’re faced with a choice; we can go down the path of least resistance – ignoring the problem, justifying it or assigning blame - ultimately lowering our expectations of what’s possible. Or we can acknowledge the breakdown, declare it and resolve it with the right people.In this episode meet someone who has dedicated their professional life to facing setbacks to deliver world-class medicines to patients all over the world - Sylke PoehlingAbout the guestSlyke Poehling is Senior Vice President and global head of Therapeutic Modalities for Research and Early Development at Roche. She is most definitely a curious scientist, systems and imaginative leader, who likes to thrive on activating people’s pioneering spirit to push the boundaries of drug discovery and expand the ‘druggable target space’. Sylke is a passionate champion for DEI, with a particular focus on gender parity for women in STEM and has nurtured and fostered the career advancement of key scientific talent and senior leaders.Show notes, links and further readingHBR article: Innovation Isn’t All Fun and Games — Creativity Needs Discipline (hbr.org)McKinsey article: Embracing the obligation to dissent | McKinseyBlog: Leadership Behaviours that Build Momentum from Breakdowns(achievebreakthrough.com)Blog: Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable (achievebreakthrough.com)Blog: Breakthrough Thinking Practice 8: Powerfully declare and resolve the inevitablesetbacks with the right people (achievebreakthrough.com)Blog: Creating a future of opportunity in a world of uncertainty (achievebreakthrough.com)Website: Organisational & People Development | Behaviour | Achieve Breakthrough

In this episode of Ambition. Unleashed. Sara looks into how often we catch ourselves saying “things have gone well considering the circumstances”. Blaming circumstances, the competition, the people around you or even just bad luck are all indicators that a victim mindset is lurking. Victim is a bold word. We are not talking about victims of crime, or abuse, or health conditions – these are true victims with whom we must stand and support. The leaders’ victim mindset is the acceptance of a lack of agency. It is a trap that is all too easy to fall into. But agency is a choice, and we will discuss how you can start making this choice today.To look into this important shift, Sara met with Jo Corbishley, an improvement coach, TEDx speaker and author opening up about a very personal set of circumstances when she found out she was unable to have children. She is now the founder of a business that helps people of all ages to explore their value and embracing what we all offer the world despite what is thrown at you in life.Abou the guestSenior Leader and Identity Coach, Jo Corbishley, IS an authority on helping people to find out who they are so they can perform at their very best and find their place in life.Hitting 40 and finding out she couldn’t have children was a devastating blow to the previously successful businesswoman who believed that hard work and determination got you everywhere in life.Jo uses her own experience to help others find their place, passion, and purpose, helping her clients to feel alive on more. Jo works organisationally to support clients to find their competitive niche in the marketplace, build powerful teams and how to harness positive change in businesses, along with marrying this with her wealth of experience in project management. Jo juggles all this with running a farm of ever-expanding family of goats along with writing her wonderful children’s book: Sweet Haven Home and the Pony Who Wanted to Prance.Show notes, links and further readingWebsite: Jo Corbishley | TEDx Speaker| Improvement CoachAmazon: Sweet Haven Home and the Pony Who Wanted to PranceBlog: Are you really playing to win – or just trying to avoid losing?Blog: Your knitting is who you are, not what you doBlog: Why it's worth being 100% responsibleWebsite: Organisational & People Development | Behaviour | Achieve Breakthrough

In this episode we introduce two profiles of human consciousness: “reactive” and “creative.” Todays world is calling for the ambitious to be less reactive and more creative in our way of “being". Seeing ourselves AS our identity versus simply HAVING an identity is often what gets in our way because if we are our identity we need to preserve it to survive instead of play full out.Wayne and Sara explore this topic with Liberto Perada to find out how we can make this sometimes-difficult separation, and why it is important to unleash the full potential of not only yourself but of everyone around you.Liberto is Managing Director of Leadership Circle Europe, and also founder and facilitator at the consultancy Kanvio (for vitality) working with clients all over the world. Liberto is passionate about evolving a world based on trust and personal power. Where challenges, are references, and not obstacles. Where we use diversity to grow and change our reality from the self and throughout all his work is sourced from a belief that within each of us there is a creativity, power, wisdom and courage.Bought to you by Achieve Breakthrough – a leadership development, transformational change, and workplace culture consultancy to Fortune 500 organisations. Hosted by Sara Moore and Wayne Alexander, both Strategic Leader Consultants at Achieve Breakthrough.Please email us with any questions, coaching you need or to share your personal breakthrough stories or aha moments as we guide you through the mindset shifts. Twitter: @Achieve_BT #AmbitionUnleashedFurther reading/linksLeadership CircleHome - Kanvio (for vitality)Review of Robert Putnam’s "The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again" | History News NetworkThe Upswing: Robert Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett - Bing videoBlog: Acts of Bravery – Part 1Blog: Acts of Bravery – Part 2Blog: Getting comfortable with being uncomfortableBlog: Unlearn your Winning MovesBlog: Stay quiet, stay safe for a pay cheque.Blog: Breakthrough Thinking Practice 8: Powerfully declare and resolve the inevitable setbacks with the right people

In this episode of Ambition. Unleashed. Sara and Wayne discuss the natural tension we all hold as humans between staying safe and striving for a bolder vision, mission or purpose. Lots of commentators talk about “leading with purpose”, but this is easier said than done. Striving for our true purpose often comes with inherent risk – livelihoods, relationships, our sense of identity, our ego. This leaves many of us “playing not to lose” versus “playing to win.” It can be toxic to the soul to only ever stay safe, but what can we do to bravely take steps towards living more purposefully?To help them answer this, Sara and Wayne sit down with Bob Anderson, a true pioneer in the field of leadership development and research. Bob has dedicated his career to exploring the intersections between leadership and personal mindset mastery and is the founder of The Leadership Circle Profile (LCP), an integrated and innovative leadership assessment tool used by Fortune 500 organisations to develop transformational and more conscious leaders.He's a very profound guy, and as a result their conversation was far reaching – but we encourage listeners to stay tuned, because the insights he offers are extraordinary.Bought to you by Achieve Breakthrough – a leadership development, transformational change, and workplace culture consultancy to Fortune 500 organisations. Hosted by Sara Moore and Wayne Alexander, both Strategic Leader Consultants at Achieve Breakthrough.Please email us with any questions, coaching you need or to share your personal breakthrough stories or aha moments as we guide you through the mindset shifts. Twitter: @Achieve_BT #AmbitionUnleashedFurther reading/linksLeadership CircleBlog: Acts of Bravery – Part 1: AuthenticityBlog: Acts of Bravery – Part 2: Willing to be at stakeBlog: Consciously Choosing CreativityLeadership Circle booksLeadership circle white papershttps://beyondthecourse.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/Leadership-Circle-Spirit-Of-Leadership-1.pdfFind out more about Robert Kegan 

In this episode of Ambition. Unleashed. our hosts Sara Moore and Wayne Alexander dive into the mindset shift of ‘Knower to Learner’ They are joined by Beatrice Bigois of EDF Trading, a female Chief Executive in the male dominated wholesale energy sector who has made this belief core to her leadership philosophy to deliver phenomenally successful business turn arounds.Together they explore why loosening the grip of “knowing” to endlessly cultivate “curiosity”, in yourself and if you are a leader of people in your teams, is critical to unleash ambition and be successful in bringing to life a seemingly impossible future, idea or innovation you may be dreaming of creating.Bought to you by Achieve Breakthrough – a leadership development, transformational change, and workplace culture consultancy to Fortune 500 organisations. Hosted by Sara Moore and Wayne Alexander, both Strategic Leader Consultants at Achieve Breakthrough.Please email us with any questions, coaching you need or to share your personal breakthrough stories or aha moments as we guide you through the mindset shifts. Twitter: @Achieve_BT  #AmbitionUnleashedFurther reading/linksCarole Dweck keynote on developing a Growth MindsetCarole Dweck's book: Mindset: Changing the way you think to fulfill your potentialWonderbag (Founded by Sarah Colins): a social enterprise tackling the climate crisis and empowering communities Blog: Knowing is the enemy of growthBlog: How leaders can open up new possibilitiesBlog: “Yeah, I know. Now what did you want to tell me?”Blog: The Power of the Open-Ended AnswerBlog: Diversity and performance: Why they are inseparableBlog: Unlearn your Winning Moves