Mind Your P's: The Purposeful Leader's Guide

If one quote helps to sum up this episode, it’s: ‘You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar’. Join us for this episode of Mind Your P’s, where we’re joined by Martin Mason, Founder and CEO of Unleashed, which offers (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) consultancy and training. Martin tells us about growing up gay in an ex-mining community and how that presented him with a choice: rail against discrimination or try and change people’s minds. And that’s just what Unleashed has set out to do. Founded in 2020, their mission is to help businesses’ to unleash the potential of their people. They help organisations break down barriers and unconscious biases, consulting on everything from strategic decision-making, to recruitment processes and meetings. He tells Caroline about how he uses commonality, humour and frankness to help clients relate to people with different lived experiences. But removing barriers is no small feat, they chat about the reality of achieving equity in the workplace, and his top tips on building a culture where inclusion is at the forefront. Other topics discussed were the role that technology plays when it comes to recruitment, how it has the potential to create hidden barriers for applicants and one clever idea on how to avoid this.

Claire Russell is Founder, Speaker and Trainer at Mental Health in Business. Launching 4 years ago, MHIB has been delivering vital mental health training to businesses and employees in the UK.Their client list includes names like Under Armour, Ministry of Defence, Chartered Insurance Institute, and the O2. MHIB offers mental health first aid training for team leaders, resilience toolkits for: men, women and non-binary people and also offer 1-2-1 coaching to help upskill business leaders to cope with the increasing pressure on the mental health of workers around the UK. Her career began in insurance, and starting off her own brokerage at age 20 and building a successful business before selling it on. Claire shares her dealings with her own mental health issues and how that led her to change careers and launch MHIB 4 years ago. In this episode, she highlights the importance of psychological safety at work, and what you need to integrate into your culture to achieve it. She also shares hands-on advice for what to say when you don't know what to say. In the hybrid world that we're all now accustomed to, the ability to spot if a team member is struggling with their mental health is even harder in a remote setting. Claire describes some of the key things to look out for to spot if one of your team might be struggling, and how to start that conversation. Let us know who you'd like us to speak to on the show, or tell us your thoughts on Twitter @sgconnect1. We'd love to hear your two cents!Episode transcript and links at: socialgoodconnect.org/podcasts/claire-russell-mental-health-in-business/

Energy, enthusiasm and self-reflection. When it comes to these 3 things, you could say Gavin is an expert. He's a six-time author, keynote speaker, Managing Director and owner of Tree of Knowledge, working with brands such as Nike, NHS, Shell, British Gas and more.Gavin kicked off his career on the comedy scene, gigging across the world and creating bonkers sketches with his friends. With a Fringe award in his back pocket, he married up his love of comedy with his teacher training, and has been delivering inspirational talks and events with Tree of Knowledge since 2004, later leading a management buy-out in 2009. Since then, he's inspired tens of thousands of school children across Scotland and the UK and continues to share his story about the definition of 'making it', managing anxiety and making the most of the journey along the way.If you liked this episode, leave us a rating and let us know your thoughts!For links to the episode transcript, Gavin's socials, and all sorts of other lovely stuff go to https://socialgoodconnect.org/podcasts/gavin-oattes-tree-of-knowledge/Follow us on Twitter: @sgconnect1LinkedIn: Social Good Connect

James Routledge is the co-founder of Sanctus, best-selling author and mental health advocate. His business, Sanctus, offers 1-2-1 mental health coaching for employees. From starting his first business in university, to dropping out and starting again, James shares his journey through entrepreneurship and how that's led him to discover the roles that are right for him. Listen to this episode to hear James' down-to-earth perspective on why he stepped down from CEO of his company to explore what made him feel fulfilled. Find the show notes, links to socials and where to buy James' book at socialgoodconnect.org/podcasts/james-routledge-sanctus/.What's something you struggle to give yourself permission to do? Tell us on Twitter @sgconnect1.Thanks for listening!

Season 2 is back with a bang, and we're kicking off with none other than Masami Sato, founder and CEO of B1G1. Since B1G1's launch in 2007, they've helped business create over 230 million giving impacts. From clean water projects to gifting meals for families, Masami has adopted the mantra of 'the power of small' to create big changes for communities across the globe. Listen now to hear Caroline and Masami chat about her journey from being a chef to a social impact advocate, a 2x TEDx speaker and bestselling author. Also covered in this ep: how we're limited by our own personal experiences and how to start a culture conversation internally.Find the show notes, transcription, links, and all that lovely stuff at socialgoodconnect.org/podcasts/masami-sato-b1g1If you liked this episode, remember to subscribe and leave us a 5* review, or let us know what you thought of it @sgconnect1 or using the hashtag #MindYourPs

And that's a wrap! As we finish up our very first season, Caroline looks over some of the best bits, and gives her thoughts on what our guests had to say about purposeful leadership. We've discussed the highs and lows of leadership, what purpose looks like in practice, and dropped the P-bomb in more ways than we can count! Listen to hear some of the advice our guests had, and the things that really made us think. Never miss a beat: make sure to subscribe to our podcast updates at socialgoodconnect.org/podcasts.Please like, subscribe, share, and review - your feedback is so important to us, and we want to deliver the kind of content that can help shape the business world into a more purposeful, kinder place. So let us know what you want to hear more of at info@socialgoodconnect.org.

Fanchea Kelly is the CEO of Blackwood Homes, and has led her team for 7 years. With over 1,500 homes in Scotland, Blackwood Homes provides accessible homes for people with assisted needs that are as beautiful as they are functional. Fanchea tells us about Blackwood's mission to help their customers live independently and how she goes above and beyond to deliver that purpose, with their customer at the heart of every decision they make. They chat about asking your employees for help, plus, Fanchea and Caroline chew the fat over their favourite P of all: Prosecco. They discuss their love for fizz and get interrupted by a mischievous cat. Show notes at: https://socialgoodconnect.org/podcasts/fanchea-kelly-blackwood-homesIf you liked this episode, subscribe, leave a rating & review, and listen to our other brilliant guests.

Josh Littlejohn, MBE, is the co-founder and CEO of Social Bite Group, a social business dedicated towards helping to end homelessness in Scotland. Josh tells us about how his purpose came to him by chance, as it all started when a young man dealing with homelessness walked into his cafe and asked for a job. Josh and Social Bite have a chain of cafes in Scotland that employ people from homeless backgrounds and a village of pre-fab homes for people struggling with homelessness. Listen to hear about how he was awarded an MBE, his big plans to expand and provide more homes, and how Social Bite used their philanthropic might to help the needy during the pandemic. Show notes and resources at: https://socialgoodconnect.org/podcasts/josh-littlejohn-social-bite