#19 The Leadership Growth Helix

I’m joined by Rick Lee, Chief People Officer at Willmott Dixon to talk about the case for decency in the leadership.

Rick and his team are focused on attracting, retaining, developing, and promoting the best people and ensuring that they enjoy the career of a lifetime at Willmott Dixon. He is passionate about diversity and is a member of the Government’s Women’s Business Council. He was awarded an OBE in 2021 for services to business and equality.

Willmott Dixon is a privately-owned contracting and interior fit-out group, that values collaboration, sustainability and people. Founded in 1852, Willmott Dixon is dedicated to leaving a positive legacy in our communities and environment. Willmott Dixon is accredited with Investors in People – Platinum, and, in 2022, was named the best big company to work for in the UK by Best Companies.

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If you’d like to find out more about how to develop Enterprise Leadership in your Executive Team, or to find out more about the work that we’re doing with executive teams more generally, you can reach out here: https://waldencroft.com/contact/

Or sign up for the newsletter here: https://waldencroft.com/newsletter/

In this episode of the podcast I speak with Uzair Qadeer, the Chief People Officer of the BBC about Enterprise Leadership and how this works in an organisation that not only makes the news, but often is the news.

We talk about the work he has been doing with the BBC Executive Committee to develop and enhance their Enterprise Leadership and how he is driving the BBC’s people strategy, cultural transformation and organisational change.

If you’d like to find out more about how to develop Enterprise Leadership in your Executive Team, or to find out more about the work that we’re doing with executive teams more generally, you can reach out here: https://waldencroft.com/contact/

Or sign up for the newsletter here: https://waldencroft.com/newsletter/

Here’s some more information about Uzair.

Uzair joined the BBC as Chief People Officer in February 2023. He oversees the full spectrum of global human resources capabilities across the BBC Group and is responsible for driving the BBC’s short- and long-term employee experience, cultural transformation, and organisational change through the people agenda.

Prior to joining the BBC, Uzair worked in a range of senior executive positions. He was previously Chief People Officer at Carbon Health, a US healthcare provider, where he built and oversaw a first-class HR function to lead the company through a dynamic period of transformation. Prior to joining Carbon Health, Uzair was with Alexion Pharmaceuticals where, as Alexion’s first Chief Diversity Officer and member of the company’s executive committee, he built a global function that elevated employee engagement, created an inclusive environment, and drove innovation for customers through a sophisticated use of diversity and inclusion insights.

He has held numerous additional leadership roles, including in Deloitte’s Human Capital Consulting practice where he advised clients across various industries and geographies on a variety of human resources topics, and at Bristol Myers Squibb Company where he worked in various roles of increasing responsibilities both in the U.S. and in Italy.

Uzair has been a featured public speaker and thought leader on the topics of employee experience, inclusion, and the future of human resources. He received his Master’s degree and Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees from Pennsylvania State University.

This episode explores Ethical Leadership and what it is to run a commerically successful busienss that has social value at its heart.

Aidan McQuade is a writer and independent human rights consultant. He was director of Anti-Slavery International from 2006 to 2017. Prior to that he worked extensively in development and humanitarian operations, including from 1996 to 2001 leading Oxfam GB’s emergency responses to the brutal civil war in Angola. He holds a PhD from the University of Strathclyde, and is a recognised expert on forced labour and trafficking on which he regularly advises businesses, international and non-governmental organisations. He is the author of three books: Ethical Leadership: moral decision-making under pressure, and two novels: The Undiscovered Country, and Some Service to the State.

Aidan's publisher, De Gruyter, have kindly offered our listeners a 30% discount on his book, Ethical Leadership. Here's the link and at checkout add the podcast code AEL. Enjoy!
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110745849/html?lang=en

Nicola Parkinson is the Group Head of People at Eric Wright Group, and has previously worked in a variety of purpose driven businesses in the Housing, Childcare, FMCG and Education sectors. Nicola has diverse and extensive experience in Leadership, Organisational Development, Employee Engagement, and Human Resources spanning over two decades. With a passion for working with ethical organisations who have a real social purpose Nicola’s aim is to make the world of work a better place for future generations.

Nicola is a Charted Fellow of the CIPD, has a Master of Science (MS) degree in Human Resources Management from Edinburgh Napier University and is an Executive Coach.

“The Post Office scandal has exposed Britain as a hotbed of cronyism and corruption”.

In this episode, I explore the Post Office scandal in the UK and the lessons that leaders can learn from this abysmal example of executive leadership.

Welcome to Season #2 of the Advanced Executive Leadership podcast.

Connect with the host, Dr Jacqueline Conway, on LinkedIn for updates, and reminders… and a sneak preview of what’s to come this season. You can find Jacqueline here.

Or if you're interested in the work that Jacqueline and the team at Waldencroft does, you can can find out more at waldencroft.com

It’s widely accepted that in a successful executive team, the members must feel comfortable being vulnerable enough to admit mistakes, ask for help, share tasks and work together effectively.

And when this trust is absent, it leads to negative team politics, protectionism, and friction.

These issues not only make the work environment unpleasant — they can also prevent productive work from getting done.

If you’ve ever been in a team with low levels of trust - and who hasn’t - then you know it’s a pretty miserable place to be.

But developing trust is done in some counter-intuitive ways.

That’s what I explore in this week’s podcast.

Imagine being a CEO or senior leader and having the opportunity to step out of the business for 4 months to travel and recuperate.

That's exactly what Matthieu Hue, CEO of EDF Renewables is currently doing. But just before he left, Matthieu took the time to sit down with me to talk to me for the latest edition of the podcast.

In it, Matthieu explains what it's been like creating an exceptional executive team that are up for the challenge of rapidly growing the business in a world that has finally realised that renewable energy is the way forward.

If you are in a high growth industry, this episode is not to be missed!

There's disruption and turbulence facing many companies and industries. But that disruption is probably most acute in the real estate sector. The dual challenge of the impact of online shopping on our high streets alongside what hybrid working means for office space in town and cities means that as an industry, it’s grappling with deep uncertainty.

So I’m thrilled to be able to welcome Mark Allan onto the podcast. Mark is the CEO of Landsec plc a FTSE 100 real estate business that’s getting ahead of the curve on the disruption.

Tune in to find out what it means for Mark and his Executive Team as they lead in an age of disruption.

There are two habits of mind that stops us from fully embracing the future and seeing what might be around the corner.

What are they? The Tyranny of Short-Termism and a Poverty of Imagination.

They prevent us in developing our anticipatory skills and engaging in strategic foresight.

Being Futures Fluent isn't just about being agile and responsive to a future that hasn't yet emerged. It's also about shaping that future - in whatever way we can - so we help to bring the world we want to see into being.

Perspective-taking breaks a golden rule: to treat others as we’d like to be treated and turns it on its head… to treat others as they’d like to be treated. I wonder the impact on leadership if we were to do this more?