This episode of the People Performance Podcast features an interview with Endurance Swimmer Lewis Pugh, focusing on the concepts of purpose, mindset, and performance under pressure.

Drawing on his experiences as an extreme endurance swimmer including iconic challenges in the North Pole and Mount Everest, Pugh discusses what it takes to survive and succeed in high-consequence environments.

Key takeaways include:

• Mindset for Success: The importance of an "unrelenting pursuit of excellence" and adopting the mentality of a "realistic optimist."

• Adaptability and Change: The necessity of quickly adapting to conditions, epitomised by the mantra, "You change or you drown."

• The Future: A discussion on major challenges facing future generations, including climate change and societal polarisation, and the vital role of listening in bridging divides.

  
  

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This episode of the People Performance Podcast features host Martin Johnson and guest Sean Royce, a long-serving business leader.

The conversation covers Sean's career journey, his transition from where he started as a graduate trainee and rose to become the Managing Director and essentially CEO. He also discusses his more recent work with the high-growth company Quick Line.

Key Takeaways:

• Leadership Style: Sean describes his style as a "collegiate type leader" who believes that "leadership is shared, it's not imposed. So you've got to earn that respect."

• Hiring Philosophy: He emphasises looking for potential hiring for "tomorrow as well as today" prioritising drive and attitude over immediate competence.

• Business Vision: He advocates for building businesses that are sustainable for "decades," which requires establishing the right culture, environment, and leadership from the outset.

• Leading Through Crisis: He stresses the importance of a leader maintaining confidence during difficult times, as "confidence breeds confidence" in the wider team.

In this episode Tracy Roberts is joined by Introverted Finance Leader Jane Playle. They deep dive into two transformative areas of professional development: Introverted leadership and Self-development.

They challenge the traditional view of leadership, highlighting how an individual's "quieter style" can actually be their most profound strength and tool for influence.

They explore practical strategies for success, tackling common challenges like networking and public speaking, and offering advice for both introverts and the managers who lead them to make space for all personality types.

More broadly, the discussion centers on a powerful mindset shift: learning how to view limitations not as roadblocks, but as opportunities for innovation. The core message is one of reframing personal obstacles by saying, "I won't do it like that, but what I can do is do it like this."

Tune in to learn how to capitalise on your unique way of thinking, leverage your natural strengths, and capture every opportunity for self-development in your career.

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In this Leader Lounge episode, Martin talks about what it means to have a growth mindset.

A growth mindset is defined as the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication, effort, and learning, as opposed to being fixed or innate.

The episode delves into five key elements of a growth mindset, including:

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  Thinking Big: The process of visualising an ambitious, optimistic future outcome the "flag on the hill" that requires challenge and sacrifice but offers a significant reward.

  
  

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  Resourcefulness: The ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome obstacles and challenges, using only what you currently have rather than what you'd like to have.

  
  

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  Bouncing Back from Setbacks (Resilience): The ability to return to one's baseline emotional and mental state after a triumphant or traumatic event, an attribute people with a growth mindset display in abundance.

  
  

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  Focusing on the Controllables: Managing and influencing the factors within a situation to achieve a desired outcome, which helps the individual feel back in control.

  
  

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  Critical Thinking: The process of analysing facts, evidence, and arguments to make informed choices, which critically involves recognising and challenging one's own underlying biases, assumptions, and worldviews.

  
  

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In this episode Martin and Bernice, describe the strategic stack as a pyramid with different layers that, when properly implemented, give an organisation the greatest chance of success.

Lack of clarity is the number one reason for an organisation's failure and that the strategic stack is the key to providing that clarity and direction.

They break down the three main elements of the strategic stack:

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  Mission: The mission is the organisation's "message to the world" and its external statement of purpose. It should be simple, punchy, impactful, and describe what the organisation is trying to achieve in 12 words or less.

  
  

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  Vision: The vision is the internal goal for the organisation, describing how the mission will be achieved.

  
  

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  Goals: Goals are the measurable, tangible milestones and outcomes that an organisation wants to achieve each year to advance its mission and vision.

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In this episode, Martin is joined by Gareth Webb, Managing Director from Fair Ways, a charity that provides a range of services for children, including fostering and education.

The conversation is centred around Leadership within the charity sector, fostering and the development of children, and people in general, flourish in environments that provide a crucial balance.

Martin and Gareth emphasises that while children need unconditional love and care to feel safe and secure, this must be paired with discipline, boundaries, and clear expectations.

A key highlight of the episode is Fairways' "Fostering Initiative", which aims to bridge the gap between businesses and the fostering community. The goal is to encourage companies to adopt "Fostering Friendly Employer" policies. This initiative is designed to support employees who are also foster carers by providing them with practical benefits.

These include flexible working arrangements and paid time off for things like training and helping a new child settle into their home.

Gareth presents this initiative not only as a socially responsible act for businesses but also as a way to significantly improve the lives of vulnerable children.

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In this episode, T2 consultants Scott Morrison and James Cooper discuss the topic of meetings. The conversation focuses on effective meetings, when they are necessary, and what to do within them to make them productive.

Scott and James break down and describe six different types of meetings:

• Information Exchange Meeting: The purpose is to share critical information, like a press conference, with a clear agenda.

• Status Update Meeting: This meeting is a quick "pit stop" to keep a project on track with a structured format, focusing on what has been done, what will be done, and any potential blockers. The focus is on quick updates, not a person's life story.

• Team Build Meeting: This type of meeting is for strengthening relationships, building trust, and fostering human connection and collaboration within a team. These sessions can include icebreakers and informal discussions to create a safe space for communication.

• Blue Sky Session: These are creative, mind-mapping sessions where there are no judgments or constraints, and no ideas are considered "bad". The goal is to think differently and challenge the norm.

• Big Decision Meeting: The purpose of this meeting is to make significant, high-impact choices. It involves reviewing options and analysing data that has been provided beforehand. The speakers use a jury deliberation as an analogy for this type of meeting.

• Problem Solver Meeting: This meeting is for a team to collectively identify the root cause of an issue and develop solutions. The focus is on getting to the root cause, analysing the issue, and collaboratively designing a solution.

This episode also provides tips for effective meetings, including:

• Creating and sharing a clear agenda and expectations.

• Inviting only the necessary people.

• Designating a facilitator to keep the conversation on track.

• Establishing ground rules, such as no phones or distractions.

• Practicing good time management.

• Concluding the meeting with clear next steps, assigning ownership, actions, and timeframes (OAT).

  
  

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In this episode Tracy is joined by special guest Carly Killen, Menopause strength & Breath-work Coach.

She shares her personal journey from being a dietitian in the NHS to becoming a personal trainer and later discovering breath-work after experiencing burnout.

This episode focuses on the importance of self-care, particularly breath-work, for improving both personal and professional life.

Carly highlights how burnout and stress can be a result of constantly being on a "hamster wheel" of work. Tracy and Carly discuss how integrating practices like breath-work can help regulate the nervous system, improve productivity, and even enhance self-confidence and assertiveness.

Carly also debunks the myth that slowing down is a waste of time, stating that a short break can lead to a significant increase in productivity.

Carly also emphasises that while breathing techniques can be used for calming, they can also be used to energise and activate the body. Carly provides a practical example of a "coherence breath" that can be used to stay calm in stressful work situations and a "breath of fire" technique to increase energy and focus.

Follow us on social media to watch Carly demonstrate these breathing exercises!

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