I worked with Karen Blincoe when she led Schumacher College at Dartington, Devon. Karen invited me to join her, and Programme Director Toni Spencer, in co-creating and facilitating the Schumacher Certificate in Sustainable Education.
We had a wonderful group from all over the world, and it was a joy to work with Karen on that programme.
Karen has done so many rich and wonderful things, in the UK, Denmark and beyond. This is a lovely conversation, and I do hope you enjoy it.
Karen has provided some links to her work and to references she makes during the conversation, and these are below.
Links and Credits:
Photo: SILVERS: Yolanta C. Siu
https://www.schumachercollege.org/
Professor Patricia Riddell is a neuroscientist. She teaches and consults widely, and is a coach and author too. She spends a lot of her time dispelling the many airport management book myths and overclaims about brains and how they work.
Tricia brings science to centre stage, helping leaders to get clearer on what we do know, what we don’t know, and why each of these matters. She does all of this in a wonderfully clear and engaging way, making brain science practical and applicable to leaders and coaches.
I loved our conversation and Tricia’s generosity in sharing her links and inspirations too. I do hope you enjoy this one as much as I did.
Links:
University profiles
https://www.henley.ac.uk/people/professor-patricia-riddell
https://www.reading.ac.uk/pcls/staff/patricia-riddell
NeuroEffective Leadership book
Neuroscience of Leadership Coaching book
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/neuroscience-of-leadership-coaching-9781472911124/
The course I run with Ian McDermott at ITS on Applied Neuroscience
https://itsnlp.com/applied-neuroscience-programme/
I first met Isabel when she came on a certificate programme at the legendary Schumacher College, where I was teaching with Chris Seeley and Toni Spencer. Isabel was already a highly accomplished leader and pioneer, particularly in the arts and education, and it was a delight to see her take her talents into a new field.
Over the past ten years she’s co-created and led the South Devon Bioregional Learning Centre, which is now a flourishing and influential hub and part of an international network and shared learning spreading the practices and ideas.
It’s a fascinating podcast, I hope you get as much from the episode as I did, and from Isabel’s links via the bioregion web page here : www.bioregion.org.uk
I have known Dr Barbara Banda for many years - since we worked together at Ashridge (we started around the same time and had many opportunities to work together).
I’ve admired Barbara all that time, and was delighted when she wrote her book The Model Black, which is packed with stories and insights. I was delighted to feature Barbara and her book on a GameShift pop-up event back in December 2022.
This is a more personal conversation, about the book and about the life experiences and journey behind it. Barbara’s energy and passion leap out in this podcast. I loved recording it, and I hope you’ll enjoy it every bit as much as I did.
Links to the book, the previous podcast and to Barbara’s own webpage are below.
The Model Black:
The December 2022 Podcast:
https://gameshift.co.uk/how-to-have-a-good-conversation-about-race-at-work/
Barbara’s webpage:
I first met Charlie Calkin a few years back working on a project together, and I was simply bowled over by how good she is. Charlie is one of the leading UK practitioners in restorative justice, and restorative practice more generally. Her work is in demand more and more in organisational settings, and in social and political and policy circles, and I can’t think of much that’s more important than this.
It’s a wonderful, rich and timely conversation. I do hope you enjoy it, and enjoy this connection to Charlie and her work.
I came across Professor Sarah Williams through social media, when she posted a comment about her aspiration that the international strategy of BNU (Buckingham New University) would be a decolonial one, setting it apart from many traditional university international strategies. This fascinated me, and I immediately asked Sarah to come on the podcast to say more about this. It was a fascinating topic too - but we didn’t limit ourselves to that one theme. In the end we explored Sarah’s personal story, how she became an academic in the first place, and how she moved into leadership roles.
This episode will be of interest to anyone with a keen eye on what universities are doing to create difference, from the past and from each other. It’s also a great one for folks interested in how people grow into leadership roles and continue to learn once they’re in them.
I really enjoyed meeting Sarah, and I hope you do too.
I only recently met Professor Laura Peters. We met when I heard about her move to West Dean, and knew I had to invite Laura onto the series because of the unique nature of West Dean and her role there. I fully confess my bias here - I think West Dean is terrific, does such amazing work in arts and conservation, and is a stunning beautiful place as well. So when I had the chance to talk to Laura I was delighted.
It’s a lovely episode, featuring the story of West Dean, but also Laura’s personal story as a senior academic leader, what shapes her leadership and how she came to lead in the way she does. She also shares insights into making a move from one top role to another, which will be of interest to leaders on the move anywhere.
I was thrilled to do this one, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
I worked with Dr Margaret Gearty on the wonderful MSc in Sustainability and Responsibility when it moved from Bath to Ashridge, and I have respected and loved her work on “learning histories” ever since.
This is a terrific episode, tracing Margaret’s personal journey from being one of the very few women designing micro-processors in Silicon Valley in the boom years, to becoming an action researcher in ecology and organisations, to becoming a poet and more.
It’s personal, gentle and full of insights - and Margaret generously mentions many of her current and past inspirations and has provided links to her writings where you can follow up as deeply as you wish. Delightful stuff, I do hope you enjoy it.
I’ve known Miles Cherry for a long time. He’s the founder of React, Acting for Business, and I started working with Miles and his team of actors during my Ashridge time, as much as 25 years back.
Working with these actors has been transformational for me - seeing the power of rehearsing conversations first hand, and also the visceral experience of people facing their fears and learning to overcome them and flourish. In this podcast Miles tells his own story, of being an actor and discovering the impact of role play in leadership development. It’s a tremendous story full of leadership and entrepreneurial insight. Wonderful stuff, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Link to the React website:
Derek Walker has a job he loves and a role that is as rare as it is vital and radical. He’s the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, with the role of holding to account the entirety of the Welsh government in its responsibilities to consider the interests of future generations.
I first met Derek at Anthropy 2025 at the Eden Project, and knew that he’d be a fascinating guest on About Time - after all, he has taken on one of the most long term thinking roles anywhere.
This is a terrific conversation with someone passionate about the role they do and the importance of doing it well for a future much bigger than himself. I hope you enjoy it.
Here’s a link to the webpage of the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner: https://futuregenerations.wales/
I’ve know Beccy Speight since her time at the National Trust. Since then she’s been CEO of The Woodland Trust and now leads the RSPB - one of the largest nature focused charities in Europe. Beccy is a leader who lives and breathes her passion for the work she does. This episode explores how she came into the role, and how she leads this astonishing organisation, which has a far broader portfolio of work than many of us will realise. It’s a fascinating conversation with a prominent leader of a major charity. I hope you enjoy it.
There are so many links between this episode and others in this series including the Rob Sexton one, the Sue Pritchard one, and the Future Fit episode with Giles Hutchins, and many more.
Link to RSPB Video on YouTube: Return
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl8QdQ9ZaBT65tF1yOmbMBQ
I’ve rarely worked with Peter Reason, but his work has been hugely influential on me and my life.
As one of the pioneers of participatory methods of inquiry, in organisational life and elsewhere, Peter was a co-founder of the Bath MSc that I later co-led at Ashridge, and also of the doctoral action research centre there.
Since retiring from Bath, Peter has focused on writing. He has made long and remote voyages in his small yacht, inquiring into his relationship with the more than human world, and currently focuses his work on conversations with rivers, asking what it is to meet rivers and other bodies of water as sentient beings.
This is a lovely and wide ranging conversation, digging deep into Peter’s life, work and inspirations. Peter generously shares his writings via his webpage, to which there is a link below. I hope you enjoy this episode.
The writing is available at peterreason.net
I first met Abbot Christopher during the pandemic when he asked me to facilitate a conversation for a group of monks. It turned out to be one of those wonderful and rich experiences that become woven into the fabric of our lives. I have since worked with several communities of monks, and have gained huge respect for the Brothers and their life and work.
Abbot Christopher is the inspiration behind the BBC series The Monastery, now 20 years ago. The community invited 5 laymen to experience 40 days of monastics life. It was a wonderful experiment and a great programme. Abbot Christopher also wrote the book, Finding Sanctuary. I think he, his work, and the Rule of Benedict has a lot to say about many issues in modern organisational life, and in society more widely.
I loved having this conversation and I hope you find it fruitful.
I’m thrilled to release this episode of About Time with Narendra Laljani. Narendra was a continuous influence during my years at Ashridge. It’s fair to say I learned the practice of strategy on many places, but I learned the teaching of strategy from Narendra. He was also the first person I knew to take a professional doctorate - his work on developing strategic leaders remains a powerful contribution to the work of growing top level strategic capability.
This episode reflects the influences on Narendra’s work, and its impact and importance today. I do hope you enjoy it as much as as I did.
Dave Petley is VC of Hull, and alongside his leadership role he maintains an active academic life in the field of landslides. He’s about to move - towards the end of the year - to become VC of one of the UK’s largest universities, NTU.
I was delighted to get this chance to talk to Dave at this point in the year, as he prepares to leave his existing role well, to arrive well into the new organisation, and to handle conflicts of interest in the interim. It’s a fascinating conversation, about Dave’s background and what makes him who he is as a leader. He talks about how he’s led major changes at Hull, and built the right team to do it. He also talks about the importance of education and of the often unseen and under-appreciated complexity of being an academic leader.
It’s a really fascinating chat - of value to everyone wanting to understand university leadership, and to folks interested in organisational leadership more broadly. And we take a look at landslides too, and what we can learn from them about organisational life. I hope you enjoy this one.
I’ve worked with Megan for years: we ran a brilliant simulation together and that experience was a period of growth and exploration for both of us.
Since then, Megan has written some of the most amazing research and books, with co-authors like Michael Chaskalson and John Higgins, who have both been guests in this series. She is sought after as a speaker, facilitator and consultant, and I admire her greatly.
I am delighted that we had the chance to do this episode before she went off on a summer break. It’s a lovely exploration of her research and writing, its roots and why it all matters so much to her. I do hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
I love Steve’s work. He’s an artist, a workshop creator, a facilitator and so much more.
I’ve known Steve for his constant exploring of new edges and new experiments.
This is such a rich episode that I can’t give it a summary. I just want to say that this is one of my absolute favourites so far.
A rich life story, the power of finding people who support and develop you, the courage to stand on stages and not know what comes next … not to mention an amazing podcast series of total silence.
If Steve is already in your world you’ll love this. And if he isn’t someone you’ve come across, please do dive in and follow up the links. He really is an amazing human and I am delighted to know him.
Here’s some links to Steve’s work:
Shop: shop.canscorpionssmoke.com
Website: www.canscorpionssmoke.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/stevexoh
Substack: https://stevexoh.substack.com/
Jon Alexander is author of the book Citizens (https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/citizens-jon-alexander/7315064?ean=9781912454884) - a book that has captured the imagination of people all around the world. I’ve known Jon for a long time, and I’ve been impressed by all he does. Which is why I am so excited about this podcast, which finds Jon right at the start of the next frontier … a new role at Harvard, a new book in the early stages of germination, and new forms of participation as Jon moves more into his role as a political theorist and societal catalyst.
It’s a lovely, inquiring, exploring episode. I was delighted to have the chance to do it at this moment in the development of a new set of ideas and actions. I hope you enjoy it.
Rob Sexton is CEO of Yeo Valley, the west country based organic food producer, a family business based on sites near to its roots on a Somerset farm.
Regenerative work is right at the heart of what this brand is about, and Rob is the real deal when it comes to pursuing the meaning of regenerative farming into the wider food system. He comes from a farming family and his links to the land runs through everything he does. At the same time, he’s worked in the corporate world, including a spell at Enron, and carries with him lifelong lessons that run through his leadership and values.
I’ve known Rob for many years now, and was delighted when he agreed to do this episode. This is a wonderful conversation, with a CEO with deep purpose in his heart, and a radicalism deeply grounded in the power of connection and place. I hope you enjoy it.
I’ve been a follower of Buckingham New University’s VC Damian Page ever since I started to see his crystal clear and provocative posts about leadership on LinkedIn. He’s someone who talks very openly about how he leads and his aspirations for the kind of university he wants BNU to be. I’ve also taken part in Damian’s on-line group for working class leaders in the sector, and through that saw his commitment to facilitating change by getting the best from people, whatever their origins.
In this episode Damian talks in his characteristic open style about coming into the VC role, about the team and culture and how it works, and about his pragmatic preparation to create a university and a leadership team that can deal with whatever emerges as the next strategic challenge. It’s a fascinating and generous episode and I was delighted that Damian took the time to do this.