Podcasts

Sarah Stones is a Motivation Specialist, speaker, and founder of Plain Sailing Motivation. With over 20 years’ experience in HR, she helps people understand what drives their energy so they can think clearly, perform at their best, and protect their wellbeing. Her work brings practical insight into motivation, helping people move forward with confidence, clarity, and purpose. The conversation with Sarah Stones dives deeper into the critical aspects of motivation, its impact on mental health and engagement, and the importance of understanding individual motivation styles. Sarah shares personal experiences and insights, emphasising the need for leaders to take action and create conditions for self-motivation. The discussion highlights the significance of motivation in both work and personal life, ultimately showing the value of pursuing what one loves.

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In this solo episode, host Jackie Handy discusses the nature of change and the human experience of change. She shares the importance of leaders supporting their teams through change and provides practical tips for doing so.

Takeaways

• Change is unsettling and constant
• Leaders need to support their teams through change

Chapters

• 00:00 Supporting Teams Through Change

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Ian Hawkins, a speaking and storytelling coach, joins host Jackie Handy to share insights on the impact of fear on speaking and storytelling, the importance of speaking in leadership, the role of storytelling in corporate presenting, finding stories in everyday decision-making, the power of stories in changing perspectives, and key principles of speaking and storytelling.

Takeaways

• Fear is a significant factor that affects speaking and storytelling.
• Authenticity and understanding the audience are key principles of effective speaking.
• Stories play a crucial role in changing perspectives and driving change.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction and Background
• 06:05 The Importance of Speaking in Leadership
• 12:38 Finding Stories in Everyday Decision-Making
• 17:38 The Power of Stories in Changing Perspectives
• 23:20 Key Principles of Speaking and Storytelling

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In this solo episode, host Jackie Handy discusses the importance of good leadership communication, common mistakes made in leadership communication, factors affecting communication, and strategies for improving leadership communication. The key takeaways include the importance of effective communication in leadership and the tendency to over-communicate information while under-communicating its meaning.

Takeaways

• Good communication in leadership is measured by what people hear, understand, and feel able to act on.
• Leaders often over-communicate information but under-communicate the meaning behind that communication.

You might want to revisit Episode 8 - Why Listening Feels So Difficult And How To Do It Better

Chapters

• 00:00 The Importance of Good Leadership Communication
• 06:41 Factors Affecting Communication

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Today's episode introduces Karen Mills, a Business Psychologist, entrepreneur and academic based in the West Midlands, UK. Karen brings a powerful combination of psychological expertise and real-world leadership experience, particularly in the social care sector.

She’s Director of Business and Strategy at the Psychology Business Incubator, where she helps psychologists around the world turn their expertise into impactful and sustainable businesses, while championing collaboration across the profession.

Alongside this, Karen leads KPF Services, a consultancy focused on quality improvement and leadership development in adult social care, and she also works directly within services supporting individuals with complex physical and mental health needs.

Karen is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Wolverhampton, researching dual diagnosis in substance use and mental health — work aimed at improving support systems for people who are often overlooked.

Our conversation covers the challenges of workplace wellbeing, the messy middle of leadership, the passion and purpose in adult social care, leadership challenges and stagnation, addressing addiction and stigma, creating value through acknowledgment, and reflection and growth. Key takeaways include the importance of workplace wellbeing and the challenges faced by leaders in managing the messy middle of leadership.

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The episode discusses the Gallup State of the Global Workplace Report 2026, highlighting the decline in global workforce engagement and the impact on managers. It discusses the importance of managerial engagement and its impact on team engagement, as well as the concept of the four zones of work. The episode concludes with a call to action for listeners to continue to focus on what matters in their organisations.