When does leadership start? - Guy Bloom & Jamie MacPherson

In this episode, Guy Bloom sits down with long time colleague Jamie MacPherson for a conversation grounded in real leadership experience. This is not theory. It is what leadership looks like in practice when expectations are high, pressure is real, and people are watching. Together, they explore:  The gap between knowing and doing in leadership  What shows up under pressure  The behaviours that build trust and the ones that quietly erode it  The reality of leading peers, not just teams  Why experience does not always equal effectiveness This is a conversation shaped by years of working in and around leadership, not observing it from a distance. If you are serious about your impact as a leader, there is something in here for you.00:00 Introduction to Leadership Dynamics01:03 Defining Leadership: What Does It Mean?04:11 The Spectrum of Leadership: Big L vs. Small L10:02 Contextual Leadership: When Position Doesn't Matter14:02 The Role of Followership in Leadership19:48 The Essence of Being a Leader29:47 Conclusion: When Does Leadership Truly Start? To find out more about Guy Bloom and his award winning work in Team Coaching, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching click below.The link to everything CLICK HEREUK: 07827 953814Email: [email protected] Web: www.livingbrave.com

In this episode of Leadership Bites, I sit down with Gary Clarke, Group Head of Learning and Development at Qatar Airways, based in Doha. Gary leads group wide learning across a 65,000 person organisation, with a team of around 80, covering everything from operational training that keeps aircraft flying, to leadership and capability, learning tech, digital content, and vendor partnerships. Along the way, we get into what it really takes to run an internal learning function like a business, build credibility fast, and become the supplier of choice inside a complex, high pace, multi subsidiary organisation. We talk about leading in a multicultural reality, the tension between standards and psychological safety, why bland harmony is a risk, and how to create a community of practice that pulls people together without forcing compliance. We also touch on AI and learning, not as a shiny distraction, but as a tool, while the real edge remains human connection, trust, and leadership craft. If you care about culture in the real world, not the poster on the wall, this one will land. Connect with me at livingbrave.com Subscribe for more episodes and share this with someone who cares about doing leadership properly. Chapters 00:00 Intro and welcome 00:29 Gary Clarke and Qatar Airways context 02:51 Scale, growth, and operational pace 05:03 What learning covers in an airline 08:57 Supplier of choice mindset for internal L and D 10:43 Quality, credibility, and Brandon Hall Awards 12:14 Centralised vs federated learning models 14:19 Building community through internal conferences 21:17 Multicultural leadership, standards, and integration 33:04 Clear standards, clear intention 34:03 Human centred leadership and psychological safety 49:13 AI, generational gaps, and learning strategy 57:12 The next few years and what matters most To find out more about Guy Bloom and his award winning work in Team Coaching, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching click below.The link to everything CLICK HEREUK: 07827 953814Email: [email protected] Web: www.livingbrave.com

In this episode of Leadership Bites, Guy Bloom sits down with Dr Steven Farmer DBA MPhil MBA, Chief Executive Officer of Alconex Infrastructure and Solutions Ltd, author of Soft Skills, Hard Numbers. Steve leads a multi utilities business delivering gas, water and electric connections to homes, while expanding into energy transition work across data centres, battery energy storage and solar. Steve shares a straight talking leadership philosophy that blends soft skills with hard numbers. He talks about rising from an apprenticeship and life on the tools, to senior leadership and board level accountability, then pushing himself through an MBA and a doctorate while working full time. The conversation moves into what servant leadership really means when performance dips, why poor behaviour is a fast route to the exit, and how leaders can build psychological safety without lowering standards. They explore the human reality leaders are dealing with right now, a workforce arriving already anxious, the importance of being excellent at receiving bad news, and the practical power of one simple principle: do not make life worse for people at work. Steve also unpacks his doctorate research into values based recruitment in construction, and why the industry needs a new story if it wants young talent to choose trade and craft over debt and drift. Expect clear thinking, grounded experience, and leadership that respects people while still hitting the numbers. Key moments and ideas • The route to CEO, and why effort beats talent when talent coasts • Doctorate level work while leading a business, what it really takes • Values based recruitment and making construction a cause people want to join • Servant leadership without softness, command without control • Psychological safety and performance, do not shoot the messenger • Bad news is like fresh bread, better when it is new • High performance, low tolerance, high nurture, the leadership balance • Creating workplaces where people do not get the Sunday scaries • One leadership book Steve would still recommend: Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People GuestDr Steven Farmer DBA MPhil MBAChief Executive Officer, Alconex Infrastructure and Solutions LtdAuthor, Soft Skills Delivering Hard Numbers HostGuy BloomLeadership Development, Executive Coaching and Team EffectivenessLiving Brave LeadershipLeadership Bites podcast To find out more about Guy Bloom and his award winning work in Team Coaching, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching click below.The link to everything CLICK HEREUK: 07827 953814Email: [email protected] Web: www.livingbrave.com

In this extended studio conversation on Leadership Bites, Guy Bloom sits down with Danny Nelson, MD WINVIC, Industrial & Logistics who has grown with a construction business from its early days into a billion pound organisation. This is not a polished leadership story. It is a real one. Danny talks openly about starting out as an apprentice, learning the craft from tough early experiences, and what changes when you move from being good at the job to being responsible for people, culture and long term performance. Together they explore what trust actually looks like when you stop micromanaging, why accountability is not about blame, and how letting go becomes one of the hardest disciplines of senior leadership. The conversation goes deep into lived culture. Not values on the wall, but how standards are set, how people are treated, how suppliers are paid, and how consistency builds credibility over time. They discuss succession, stepping into ownership, recalibrating peer relationships, and why leadership maturity often comes through discomfort, feedback and reflection rather than confidence or charisma. This episode is for leaders who have grown inside an organisation, who feel the weight of responsibility, and who know that leadership is less about being right and more about learning, trust and sustained behaviour over time.  00:08:56 From apprentice to boardroom learning leadership through craft 00:15:40 Growing inside one organisation what you learn that outsiders do not 00:17:38 Where culture really comes from standards not slogans 00:20:02 Doing it right why credibility is built through behaviour 00:23:56 What culture feels like when it is working 00:26:23 What got you here will not get you there 00:28:50 Leadership maturity learning through reflection 00:30:28 Trust versus control why micromanagement kills leadership 00:32:10 Letting go without letting things fall apart 00:33:37 Accountability without blame owning performance properly 00:35:14 The John Terry effect leadership without needing the spotlight 00:36:53 Succession without ego stepping into ownership 00:39:09 Recalibrating peer relationships at senior level 00:42:05 Getting honest feedback when you are at the top 00:44:21 Why senior leaders hear less truth over time 00:46:03 Trusting each other enough to challenge properly 00:48:11 Why perfection is not the goal in leadership 00:49:21 Advice to younger leaders what really matters 00:51:18 Growth comes from facing into discomfort 00:52:39 Learning from leaders you do not want to become 00:54:10 Leadership is not meant to be easy To find out more about Guy Bloom and his award winning work in Team Coaching, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching click below.The link to everything CLICK HEREUK: 07827 953814Email: [email protected] Web: www.livingbrave.com

In this first ever Leadership Bites conversation between Guy Bloom and Jamie MacPherson, two long time colleagues finally press record and get into what sits underneath the glossy talk of culture. They explore a blunt question: can the promise of a great culture ever meet expectations, or does it always fall short once real people, real pressure, and real leaders show up. They unpack the gap between the marketing story and the lived experience, the hidden corridor culture that never makes the posters, and the reality that most organisations do not have one culture at all but many, shaped by local leaders and daily interactions. Jamie frames culture as the aggregation of every interaction and offers three simple tests that cut through the noise: do interactions leave people clearer, more interested, and learning. Guy adds a hard edge to that with survival versus contribution, where people are either performing to stay safe or showing up with enough trust to offer half formed ideas, challenge, and honesty. They also tackle the uncomfortable truth of culture programmes: if you raise awareness and set a standard, you create a new lens people will judge the organisation by. If leadership cannot live it, the disappointment gets louder. Great culture is not Nirvana. It is averages, peaks and troughs, small behaviours done consistently, and the craft of leadership at senior level, where the work is granular, deliberate, and owned from the top. A candid, funny, reality based conversation about what culture really is, what it is for, and why the promise only becomes real when leaders have the courage to be specific, accountable, and human. 00:00 Introduction to Leadership Bites03:22 Exploring Culture and Performance06:25 The Promise of a Great Culture09:10 Defining Culture and Its Purpose12:27 Interactions Shape Culture15:15 Survival vs. Contribution in Culture18:26 Navigating Fear and Anxiety in the Workplace21:05 Setting Realistic Expectations for Culture24:36 The Pursuit of Realistic Standards25:54 Understanding Happiness in High-Performance Cultures29:46 The Difference Between Enjoyment and Satisfaction31:06 Reevaluating Expectations in Organizational Culture33:29 The Importance of Listening in Leadership36:39 Managing Expectations and Reality in Culture Change40:02 Crafting a Culture of Continuous Improvement43:03 Defining Specific Behavioral Expectations48:51 Embedding Change for Sustainable CultureTo find out more about Guy Bloom and his award winning work in Team Coaching, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching click below.The link to everything CLICK HEREUK: 07827 953814Email: [email protected] Web: www.livingbrave.com

In this episode of Leadership Bites, I interview Guido Palazzo, Professor of Business Ethics,  University of Lausanne, who explores the dark side of corporate behaviour and the systemic issues that lead to ethical failures. We discuss Guido's background, the concept of his brilliant book 'The Dark Pattern: The Hidden Dynamics of Corporate Scandals' in corporate scandals, and the importance of understanding the systems and cultures that allow unethical behaviour to thrive. The conversation delves into the psychological aspects of corporate culture, the slippery slope of ethical compromise, and the need for organisations to create environments that promote ethical decision-making. Ultimately, we highlight the importance of awareness and proactive measures to prevent ethical failures in business.TakeawaysGuido focuses on the absence of ethics in business.Corporate scandals often involve good people making bad decisions.Systems, not just individuals, drive unethical behaviour.Leadership plays a crucial role in shaping organisational culture.Group dynamics can lead to conformity and ethical blindness.The slippery slope of compromise can lead to significant ethical failures.Survival instincts can overshadow ethical considerations in the workplace.Creating a 'bright pattern' can help organisations avoid ethical pitfalls.Awareness and proactive measures are essential for ethical business practices.The importance of having a court jester to provide honest feedback in organisations.Key Moments & Chapters00:00 Introduction to Ethics and Corporate Responsibility03:03 Guido's Background and Academic Journey05:37 Understanding Ethics in Business08:49 The Role of Systems in Ethical Failures11:45 Exploring Corporate Scandals and Dark Patterns14:35 The Impact of Leadership on Organizational Culture17:41 Group Dynamics and Ethical Decision Making20:30 The Combination of Dark Patterns in Corporations23:28 Survival and Ethical Compromise in Business26:12 Conclusion: The Human Element in Corporate Ethics26:42 The Dark Patterns of Corporate Culture29:39 The Slippery Slope of Compromise33:16 The Illusion of the Messiah in Leadership40:13 The Disconnect Between Leadership and Reality44:11 Finding the Bright Pattern in Dark TimesTo find out more about Guy Bloom and his award winning work in Team Coaching, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching click below.The link to everything CLICK HEREUK: 07827 953814Email: [email protected] Web: www.livingbrave.com

In this episode of Leadership Bites, host Guy Bloom engages with Peter Cappilla & Ranya Nehmeh, authors of 'In Praise of the Office: The Limits to Hybrid and Remote Work.' They discuss the evolving dynamics of work in the post-pandemic world, exploring the challenges and benefits of remote and hybrid work models. The conversation delves into the importance of social interactions, the generational divide in workplace culture, and the critical role of leadership in navigating these changes.The episode emphasises the need for organisations to adapt and find a balance between remote flexibility and the inherent value of in-person collaboration.TakeawaysThe pandemic forced a massive experiment in remote work.Social interactions are crucial for innovation and collaboration.There is a generational divide in workplace culture.Employees value flexibility but also miss in-person connections.Leadership must model the behaviors they want to see.The media often exaggerates the tension between employees and employers.Organizations need to create intentional connections in the office.Remote work can lead to social isolation and stress.Measuring productivity in remote work is complex and nuanced.The future of work requires a balance between remote and office environments.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Leadership Bytes02:55 Meet the Guests: Peter and Ranya05:54 The Concept of Office Work08:54 The Impact of the Pandemic on Work Dynamics11:41 Challenges of Remote Work14:29 The Generational Divide in Workplace Culture17:48 The Tug of War: Employees vs Employers20:40 The Role of Leadership in Hybrid Work23:34 The Importance of Social Interactions26:39 Measuring Innovation and Collaboration29:41 The Future of Work: Balancing Remote and Office32:28 Conclusion and Key TakeawaysTo find out more about Guy Bloom and his award winning work in Team Coaching, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching click below.The link to everything CLICK HEREUK: 07827 953814Email: [email protected] Web: www.livingbrave.com

This with Jeanne Hardacre conversation explores Jeanne's book The Culture Trap the profound impact of emotions on behavior change, emphasizing that while knowledge and beliefs are important, it is ultimately our feelings that drive transformation. The discussion delves into how understanding behavior and the role of emotions can lead to more effective change strategies. TakeawaysWhat we think and know is important, but actually the change comes from what we feel.Emotion is the energy that leads to behavior change.Feelings are crucial for transformation.Understanding behavior is key to change.Knowledge alone isn't enough for change.Belief shapes our actions and reactions.Energy from emotions fuels our decisions.Transformation requires emotional engagement.Our emotion drives our actions.The interplay of emotion and knowledge is vital for effective change.00:00 Introduction to Leadership and Power Dynamics02:52 Jeanne's Journey: From Baby Manager to Independent Consultant06:12 Challenging Authority: The Cost of Speaking Truth to Power09:08 The Shift to Independence: Embracing Freedom in Consultancy11:59 Patterns of Power: Perpetuation vs. Interruption14:54 The Courage to Change: Self-Reflection and Accountability17:56 The Role of Culture in Leadership20:54 Learning from Experience: The Importance of Humility23:54 Martial Arts and Leadership: The Art of Letting Go33:49 The Humility of Martial Arts and Leadership37:45 The Culture Trap: Understanding Workplace Dynamics46:28 The HUMAN Approach: Transforming Organizational Culture55:54 Invitational Change: Empowering Teams to Evolve01:02:55 Emotional Connection: The Key to Behavioral ChangeTo find out more about Guy Bloom and his award winning work in Team Coaching, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching click below.The link to everything CLICK HEREUK: 07827 953814Email: [email protected] Web: www.livingbrave.com

In this episode I sit down with author, entrepreneur and thought-leader Margaret Heffernan to explore two of her seminal ideas: the hidden dangers of conforming to systems that blind us to obvious truths (from her book Willful Blindness) and the vital importance of embracing uncertainty, especially through the lens of writers, artists and creatives (from her latest work Embracing Uncertainty). We talk about how organisations and individuals get stuck in the comfort of predictability, why innovation is not merely incremental improvement, what creative people can teach business leaders about sensing the future and navigating chaos, and the critical role of agency, curiosity and courage even when outcomes are uncertain. It’s a conversation designed for senior leaders, coaches, team-effectiveness practitioners and anyone who wants to see beyond the status quo.  00:00 Introduction & technical note 02:15 Who is Margaret Heffernan: career, context and influences 08:45 Exploring Willful Blindness: what it means, in business and culture 17:20 Why systems and institutions encourage willful blindness 23:30 The trigger for the next book: from Uncharted to Embracing Uncertainty 29:08 Join to second recording – framing the shift to artists, music, creativity 31:00 What does “embracing uncertainty” really mean in today’s world 38:40 COVID, anticipation and why the future unsettled so many organisations 45:50 Creatives, artists and the ability to sense the future ahead of others 52:12 Divergent thinking vs incremental improvement: defining “innovation” 56:22 Leadership and agency when certainty is not possible 01:03:15 How context, character and culture interact in enabling creative agency 01:10:00 Practical take-aways for senior leaders and coaches 01:15:30 Closing thoughts: system change, individual mindsets, human skills To find out more about Guy Bloom and his award winning work in Team Coaching, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching click below.The link to everything CLICK HEREUK: 07827 953814Email: [email protected] Web: www.livingbrave.com

In this episode of Leadership Bites, Mita Mallick shares her journey from being a bullied child to becoming a champion for inclusion in the workplace. She emphasizes the importance of consistency and discipline in achieving success and discusses how creating inclusive cultures starts at home. Mita highlights the need for respectful conversations in the workplace and the role of leaders in fostering psychological safety. She also introduces her new book, 'The Devil Emails at Midnight,' which explores the archetypes of bad bosses and encourages self-reflection among leaders.TakeawaysMita is on a mission to fix what's broken in workplaces.Consistency and discipline are key to success.Everyone has experienced a time when they didn't belong.Creating inclusive cultures starts at home.We need to disagree with kindness and respect.Psychological safety is crucial for open conversations.Leaders must take ownership of their impact on others.Understanding intent versus impact is vital in communication.Self-reflection is necessary for effective leadership.Mita's new book explores bad boss archetypes and encourages growth.Sound bites"I'm on a mission to fix what's broken.""Consistency is my underrated superpower.""We all have one toxic habit."Chapters00:00 Introduction and Background02:58 The Importance of Consistency and Discipline05:53 Mita's Origin Story and Journey09:03 Creating Inclusive Cultures Starts at Home11:52 The Hijacking of Inclusion Conversations14:38 The Need for Kind and Respectful Conversations17:40 Psychological Safety in Conversations20:20 The Role of Leaders in Inclusion23:19 Understanding Intent vs. Impact26:24 Mita's New Book: The Devil Emails at Midnight29:27 Exploring Bad Boss Archetypes32:26 The Importance of Self-Reflection in Leadership35:30 Conclusion and Final ThoughtsTo find out more about Guy Bloom and his award winning work in Team Coaching, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching click below.The link to everything CLICK HEREUK: 07827 953814Email: [email protected] Web: www.livingbrave.com