Unlocking Aliveness in Leadership

Andy and Frances are delighted to be back in conversation with our podcast, Unlocking Aliveness in Leadership. Today’s special guest is Marie Linquist, SVP Northern Europe for Legends Global. Having spent her entire career within the Travel and Tourism and Entertainment Sectors, she notices that these roles are all about delivering the best possible service and experience to customers. This feels as if it is in her DNA. Marie says that leadership is about giving people a sense of why, by articulating clear purpose and expectations. Once done, the leader’s role revolves around ensuring that the team are empowered to achieved, making sure that everyone has the relevant resources and tools to do their jobs. Leaders also need to stand up and be accountable when things are not heading in the right direction. Marie is motivated by building things. She sees her role as an enabler to allow others to deliver to their best abilities. She feels alive as a leader when she is in flow; when things are heading in the right direction; and when she is building towards something. It is great to see the result of the effort that goes into the process - It makes her love what she does. Her top tips for future leaders, as well as everyone who wants to achieve their objectives and have fun at work are: 1.   Invest in your Relationships: Get to know your colleagues: their drivers and motivators; what they like; what they don’t like; and what their triggers are. Expand your network and build those relationships. Spend time in Fika 🎂.2.   Get to know yourself. Understand your own drivers, motivators and triggers so that you don’t get surprised by your own responses to situations.3.   Surround yourself with a team that knows more than you. Have a team that can challenge you and help you learn as a leader.4.   Choose your battles. Don’t waste your energy on pettiness. Think before you commence battle - is it worth it?5.   Ask questions and don’t provide answers.6.   Trust your capabilities (especially women). You don’t have to know everything and have 100% knowledge about a project. Take a leap of faith and trust yourself.7.   Don’t take yourself too seriously – it is just a job!

Is it OK to be myself at work or do I need to be somebody I’m not In this podcast episode Andy and Frances are discussing what does it take to bring your whole self to work and is that even possible. They use the source from Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic who has written a book “Don’t Be Yourself: Why Authenticity is overrated (and what to do instead)”. As leadership coaches they talk a lot about unlocking aliveness in leadership and have a belief that this means being you, in all its glory, your thoughts, understanding, questions and curiousness. When you are hired; you are hired for who you are, and what you stand for and not someone who leaves their whole self at the door. Chamorro-Premuzic tells a story of one direct report, a 20 something, who came to his performance review wearing a T-shirt with “Just be you, they will adjust” emblazoned on it. “If we all wore that T-shirt, we would have total anarchy”, he says. “You get a lot of egotistical, self-indulgent, narcissistic entitlement masked by or disguised under the authenticity mantle, and it’s very unhealthy”. He goes on to say, “It’s important to help people to understand that there are very few instances in which your right to be you overrides your obligation to others, and that work is not a place that invites you to impose or unleash your unfiltered or uncensored self.” Frances and Andy got quite excited in this conversation about what does it take to be a human being at work rather than a human doing, and where the line is drawn on authenticity. In their experience work is about bringing as much of yourself as possible, and not hiding that away, that’s where the aliveness is. We think that it’s worth a listen. 😃 

Andy Rogers and Frances Armes are very pleased to share the first episode of Season Four of our podcast Unlocking Aliveness in Leadership.In today’s episode we are in conversation with Zarina Ward, a Chief People Officer. Zarina spent the early part of her career in recruiting before moving into HR. Most of her career has been in professional.Zarina candidly talks about being a commercial HR leader, understanding what the organisation needs to achieve commercially and managing the workforce to achieve those goals. She shares her experience of linking commerciality with empathy and humanity, which she openly admits is a tough line to walk.When talking about what leadership means to Zarina, her answer of shaping the conversation and create followship, felt a very natural follow on from the discussion around being a commercial leader and Zarina shared a great quote from John C Maxwell “he who thinks he leads but has no followers, is only taking a walk”.When talking about her leadership purpose, Zarina was very clear, to leave everyone she works with better off, with some more skills, or something more than when she met them and some of her proudest moments came from developing great successors ‘making life a little bit easier for the people that are walking in your shadows and behind you’.As far as regrets, Zarina recalled a point in her life when she considered retraining as a life coach, and after discussion with those around her, decided to continue on the more traditional people focused career path and her reflection was she shouldn’t have listened to the naysayers.Zarina’s aliveness comes from seeing the tangible impact of her work, she also sees this in the pro-bono work as a trustee for an organisation that supports people who have experienced homelessness and how that real work impact makes her feel energised and engaged in something really worth while.One of the issues top of mind for Zarina at the moment is how being human at work is at odds with the commerciality piece and she sees people being treated as disposable assets rather than people who can be nurtured and developed. In today’s world she sees opportunities for velocity vs redundancy, but in practice people tend to focus on redundancy rather than velocity.Zarina’s top tips for leaders are:·     Hone your feedback skills, both delivering and receiving·     Adopt the mindset that you are never finished as a leader and keep learning from your experiences·     Make leadership a real one to one experienceMany thanks to Zarina for sharing her leadership thoughts with such candor and aliveness.

In this final episode of Season 3 of the podcast Unlocking aliveness in leadership Frances and Andy are discussion about what it takes to change.They introduce to the listeners the change formula (yes there is such a thing) and talk through some personal examples from their own history that bring this formula alive.The Change Formula ExplainedD × V × F > RWhere:D = Dissatisfaction with the current situation.People must feel that the current situation is not acceptable.V = Vision of the futureA clear and compelling picture of what the future will look like.F = First steps (or Feasible first actions)Clear, practical actions that show how to begin.R = Resistance to changeThe natural human tendency to resist change.In their discussion, Frances and Andy delve deeply into the theme of personal transformation, highlighting the importance of examining each aspect of the change formula through honest self-reflection. By considering where we stand with our dissatisfaction, vision, and first steps, the conversation encourages us not only to recognise what actions are needed but also to identify any obstacles or resistance we might face in the process of change. We hope that you enjoy😀

Welcome to 2026 and our first Unlocking Aliveness in Leadership Podcast In this podcast Frances and Andy are looking at the year ahead, discussing what it takes to be more intentional and deliberate about who you want to be, and what you stand for. We use Seth Godin’s blog More like itself as inspiration for our discussion. More Like ItselfEvery year, on the first weekend of the year, it’s probably worth replacing the dried spices in your pantry. The best, freshest spices still taste like the spice that’s on the label, but they taste more like themselves.That’s what successful brands and freelancers do as well. They relentlessly do the work to act more like themselves.First, we have to figure out what we are, what we stand for, and what people expect.Then we get a chance to be more like that.How do we become more like our true self this year? 

In this episode Frances and Andy are in conversation together continuing the theme of Christmas reflection and in our last podcast of 2025, we take some time to look back on the year that is coming to an end and the year ahead.We answered three questions, sharing our thoughts on our work and lives with openness and Vulnerability in this recording.·     What did you achieve in 2025?·     What didn’t go to plan and why?·     What are you working towards in 2026?We often get caught in New Years resolutions over the festive season and can overlook what we have achieved and celebrating that. You may notice patterns on what didn’t go according to plan, and this can be an opportunity to try something new, a different way.As you look ahead to the New Year, what are you working towards? These words bring the sense of putting time, effort and energy into something. A different quality to setting a new year’s resolution, which is all about the decision to do or not do something. We learnt a new expression when talking about this, the “hush” period, the time between Christmas and the New Year, which feels like the perfect time to reflect, professionally and personally.Thank you for listening to our podcast and we wish you all the best for the holiday season and look forward to continuing the conversations in 2026.

Andy and Frances are in conversation this week with Elpida Trizi about her unique journey in Leadership.Elpida says that in much of her career she didn’t see herself as a leader, but she was always able to connect with people, which she realises is the common thread that spanned every role. She describes herself as having had a career in human centred communication.Having had different roles and capacities in corporate communications Elpida made a leap of faith in moving to take a role in Germany, having to learn the language and culture as she went along.Elpida says that “being a leader is nothing to do with position”, and she defines leadership as “going beyond the fear”.Elpida describes her purpose as “a deep dive to know something”, and this manifests in her work as having the ability to “make space for the wonder to emerge”. She knows that this is a counter cultural because most of the world is about the equation, the more I act, the more I do therefore equals my worth. She turns this equation on its head.She quotes Socrates, “Wisdom begins with wonder”. Elpida is proud of the connections, listening and presence that she has offered over the years to colleagues. For her, it’s not about the tasks achieved, it’s all about the relationships that she has been able to form.Elpida’s top tips for leaders are: -·     Do more of what you love·     If you don’t feel the love or appreciated, you have the agency to make a shift·     Leadership is going beyond the fear, it’s about courage

In this episode of our podcast, Unlocking Aliveness in Leadership, Andy and Frances are in conversation with Nikki Ayliff, Care consultant. Nikki started from the ground up in care roles, soon realising that this is an area that she loved.  She has progressed through many different roles in the care sector, becoming a team leader and then a manager. Subsequently she just kept going, experiencing a wide range of differing care environments where she eventually became an operations director in the elderly care sector. More recently she has set up as a care consultant, working for various companies advising on care. Nikki defines leadership as “enabling people to thrive in their role.” She continues by also suggesting that leadership is all about building the connection with individuals and watching both them, and their teams grow. Nikki also adds that leadership is about being courageous enough to make tough decisions - it is not all plain sailing. Her leadership purpose she expresses as simply being “to build and sustain human connections”, and in doing, so she is able to “watch people thrive.” Proud of herself for taking the leap into setting up and running a successful care consultancy, Nikki is aware that this is something she could only dream about a few years ago. Whilst she has had many milestone moments in her career, she takes pride in the feedback she receives in her role as a consultant - “making a difference” - and she believes she is most alive when around other people and making a difference. This makes her heart sing. Although a leader full of heart, drive and determination, Nikki is also still human. She describes how she doesn’t have a great sense of direction and often arrives at venues with her cardigan inside out! She says she is an all-in girl - someone who can laugh at herself. 😃 Finally, Nikki shares her top tips for other leaders with us: ·     Always be courageous and show up (even on a bad day)·     It’s ok to be vulnerable with people who you are working with·     Be human and not something that you’re not. It was a real pleasure to spend time with Nikki who is a wholehearted leader, making a difference in the Care Sector.  We hope you enjoy listening to this conversation as much as we did being in it.