This is a milestone episode of Get Out of Wrap – and a meaningful one.

For episode 250, I’m joined by Niki Ignatiou and Julia Rosell Jackson from ActionAid, an international charity working alongside women, girls and communities to tackle injustice at its roots.

In this conversation we explore:

• How ActionAid works differently by putting communities in the lead

• Why adolescent girls are often invisible – and how they’re changing that

• Real examples of girls influencing policy, education and social norms

• The role of women’s movements in humanitarian crises and conflict

• Why lasting change doesn’t come from systems imposed on people

This episode is about justice, dignity, resilience – and listening to the people closest to the problem.

If you care about leadership, humanity and impact, this one’s worth your time.

You can support Action Aid at https://www.actionaid.org.uk/get-involved

You can also donate for my London Marathon run raising money for Action Aid at

https://www.justgiving.com/page/runwithmart?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

I sat down with my good friend Sham Aziz to talk about something that feels uncomfortable but necessary.

- Flags on lampposts.
- Protests outside hotels.
- Intimidation & Fear dressed up as patriotism.

But this wasn’t a political conversation, it was a human one.

Sham spoke about growing up British and Muslim, being “othered”, parenting through uncertainty, and finding strength in faith without needing to preach.

We talked about intention vs impact.

About how silence can feel like complicity.

And about why contact centres of all places quietly get inclusion right.

If you’ve felt uneasy but unsure how to articulate it…
If you believe we have more in common than we admit…
If you still think conversation matters…

I’d really encourage you to listen and I hope it's a hopeful episode, I certainly felt hope after chatting with Sham.

A bit of a different episode this week, this time it was me as the guest and the host was Rob Wilkinson of CX Today and all round awesome human.

In this CX Today interview, I explain why the role of Team Leader is so demanding, why burnout is often invisible, and what organisations can do right now to better support their team leaders.

This episode covers:

• The reality of becoming a team leader with little or no preparation

• Why team leaders say yes to everything — and the cost of that

• Coaching, prioritisation, emotional intelligence and workload

• The power of peer support and shared experience

• Real success stories from the community

• Practical advice for contact-centre leaders heading into 2026

And of course I talk about the founding of The Team Leader Community which I founded in February 2023.

This Christmas special episode of Get Out of Wrap is a moment to pause, reflect, and reconnect.

I bring together voices from across the contact centre and CX community to look back on 2025, share honest views on AI, leadership and frontline reality, and talk openly about what really matters heading into 2026.

You’ll hear:

• Real reflections on a tough but meaningful year

• Insightful perspectives on AI, quality, fraud, and customer expectations

• Why people, not technology, remain the beating heart of contact centres

• Festive fun, community interaction, and a live quiz

• Messages of solidarity, hope, and gratitude from across the industry

This episode isn’t about predictions for the sake of it — it’s about learning, humanity, and recognising the people who keep the industry moving.

A perfect end-of-year listen for anyone who believes contact centres are about more than KPIs.

This episode of Get Out of Wrap brings you an energy-filled, funny, honest and inspiring conversation with Cally Heads, a standout leader who has risen through the ranks of the contact centre world by staying completely, unapologetically herself.

We talk about what it really takes to thrive in sales today, why culture is the heartbeat of any operation, and how great leaders build teams where people laugh, grow and want to stay.

Cally also gets real about managing friends, dealing with pressure, and why she believes personality and authenticity will always outperform the “traditional” management stereotype.

A brilliant episode for:
• Team leaders
• Operations managers
• Anyone in outbound sales
• Senior leaders thinking about culture and performance
• People who just want a reminder of why this industry is so special

The frontline has spoken — and the results are eye-opening.

In this episode, Martin is joined by Ed Creasey, VP of Solution Engineering at Calabrio, to break down the newly released Voice of the Agent 2025 research. Now in its second year, this study captures the real experiences, pressures, and motivations of over 540 contact centre agents across the UK and US.

We explore:
• Why agent pride remains so high — and why that matters
• Career path confusion: half of agents don’t know what roles exist beyond the phones
• The complex relationship agents have with AI — fear meets opportunity
• Empathy: why 75% of agents feel confident… while leaders think it’s the biggest skills gap
• The stress factor: now as influential as pay in whether people stay
• Scheduling frustrations, fairness, autonomy and the “silent delta” between leaders and frontline colleagues
• What leaders can action today to close the gap

Ed also shares fascinating stories from the field — from analysing live conversations to real examples of empathy breakdowns — and gives practical, grounded insight into where the industry is heading.

This is essential listening for contact centre leaders who want to keep their teams proud, supported, motivated, and future-ready.

One of my favourite types of episodes, getting to speak directly with the people who make contact centres what they are.

In this episode, I sat down with a brilliant group of agents from SSCL Sopra Steria to hear what life is really like on the frontline — the highs, the challenges, and the moments that make it all worth it.

They share candid insights about:
💬 What makes a great team leader
💬 How they stay motivated and connected
💬 What customers don’t always see
💬 Why teamwork matters more than ever

It’s a reminder that every KPI, every dashboard, and every customer experience starts with people.

In this episode, Martin talks to Dan Schlenzig, who leads the CX Sales team at Cisco across 22 countries. Dan shares his journey from helpdesk beginnings to managing international teams and gives a fascinating insight into how Cisco is driving innovation in the AI and CX space.

🎙️ Topics covered:

• Dan’s career journey and leadership lessons

• Cisco’s transformation from on-premise to cloud CX

• The AI phone booth demo coming to the Contact Centre Expo

• The future of voice AI and multilingual challenges

• Building guardrails and AI quality management

• How Cisco is helping customers build and train their own AI bots

Dan also shares a glimpse of what’s next for AI, how Cisco is empowering customers to innovate safely, and what makes the company such a great place to work.

👉 Subscribe to Get Out of Wrap for more conversations with the people shaping our industry.