The Habit of Working Out Loud: Celebrating Success and Leading with Transparency

The Habit of Working Out Loud: Celebrating Success and Leading with Transparency

by | Aug 21, 2026 |

Every Friday, I write a LinkedIn post, reflecting on my week. I’ve been doing this for the last few months. It’s a good habit to form and reminds you of just how much you’ve achieved. It also lets you celebrate your small wins and develop your transparency and ‘working-out-loud- skills. I realised that if you’re my Substack subscriber, you may never have stumbled on my posts. So, here’s a collection of reflections about leadership, my world of work and being people centric.

Walking the Floor: Where Strategy Meets Reality

Walking the Floor: Where Strategy Meets Reality

by | Jul 13, 2026 |

Every Friday, I write a little LinkedIn post, reflecting on my week. One of the things I wrote about on Friday, was the importance of leaders getting out and about, visiting frontline staff and talking to them about what’s going on, and meeting service users. In this week’s blog, I wanted to talk to you about the research behind my advice to leaders to go out, go visit and get talking.

Leadership: Build a network and you’ll never be lonely

Leadership: Build a network and you’ll never be lonely

by | Jul 1, 2026 |

Hello KSKOers You may remember my ranty blog from February 2024. If you’re finding leadership a lonely place, you’re just doing it wrong. Well, now felt like a good time to reiterate my rant and add that developing a network and finding your tribe is a critical way to...

The Ages of Man and the Leaders of People

The Ages of Man and the Leaders of People

by | Jun 26, 2026 |

Hello KSKOers On the 5th December, my grandfather would have been 124 years old. What was the world like when he was young? What was work like and what were leaders like? When I joined the Gloucestershire AiSpire Network a few week ago, we talked about how we’re...

Navy Narnia: The Leadership Lessons Hiding in My Wardrobe

Navy Narnia: The Leadership Lessons Hiding in My Wardrobe

by | Jun 20, 2026 |

Over the last year, I’ve been gradually transitioning my wardrobe to navy. Plain navy, dark navy, light navy, stripy navy and ‘will go with navy’. What started as a practical decision slowly became a moment of reflection, one of those everyday choices that quietly...

Tenacity Beats Talent: What Really Gets You Through Big Work

Tenacity Beats Talent: What Really Gets You Through Big Work

by | Apr 5, 2026 |

You’ll remember that ‘tenacity’ is one of my watchwords for 2026. It’s made me think about the whole doctorate thing and what’s really happening when people are doing study through research. Join me in this week’s blog where I share my thoughts on why almost anyone can do a PhD or any Big Work, with a bit of tenacity and why I think it’s more about persevering than being a genius.

Wiring the Leadership Brain for 2026

Wiring the Leadership Brain for 2026

by | Mar 29, 2026 |

Wiring Your Brain for Positivity It’s 2026 and the new year has begun in earnest. Time and tide waits for no man, but before we’ve really got going, we’re already telling ourselves stories about what this year will be like. Busy. Hard. Uncertain. Our new year’s...

Recognising Your Impact on the Blinds, Rationals, Shapeshifters and Haters

Recognising Your Impact on the Blinds, Rationals, Shapeshifters and Haters

by | Mar 17, 2026 |

The Gods of analytics were clearly looking down on me the other day. An article from the British Medical Journal from 2022 – yes, ‘22 – appeared in my social media feed. Why that should have happened, I have no idea, but it was clearly the universe at work. So, rather than look a gift horse in the mouth, I grasped the opportunity to learn more. And do you know what? It made for very interesting reading. Join me in reflecting on the BMJ article all about Blinds, Rationals, Shapeshifters and Haters by Dr Partha Kar and how that links with my 3 layer definition of self-awareness and getting feedback from good people.

Red Flags and Rude Awakenings: Recruitment is a Two Way Street

Red Flags and Rude Awakenings: Recruitment is a Two Way Street

by | Mar 3, 2026 |

Right now I’m looking for a new job and like lots of other people, finding the recruitment process brutal. The competition is fierce and the process feels like it’s lost its humanity. Today’s blog is inspired by Nick Thomas from Charisma Charity Recruitment who shares some great advice and puts a little bit of heart back into the process. Join me in sharing my experiences of recruitment and that reminder that actually, you’re checking them out in the same way they’re checking you out. And if you’re not, you should be!