The Inspired Leader Podcasts

The Inspired Leader podcast series shares interviews with people from many fascinating walks of life, exploring what we can learn from the ways they discover and maintain their personal inspiration as leaders.

So far, for this series, Andy has interviewed:

• Commodore Jerry Kyd, commanding officer of HMS Queen Elizabeth
• Pip Jamieson, founder of The Dots
• British politician and leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Vince Cable MP
• British business woman Martha Lane Fox CBE, also known as Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho
• English actor, writer and comedian Neil Mullarkey.

We release these in batches each month, so please do feedback to us. We're keen to hear if you like this series and want to hear more. You can listen to the podcasts via SoundCloud below, or alternatively subscribe to the series on iTunes.

Katie Walker

Katie was the winner of the Prince’s Trust ‘Young Achiever’ prize in their prestigious annual Pride of Britain Awards. A survivor of several personal traumas and horrific domestic violence, Katie has set up a successful beauty salon in Liverpool and now provides inspirational support to thousands of other victims through social media and unique salon sessions.

• How has Katie found the strength to overcome a series of devastating personal setbacks?
• How has she combined her business interests with a charitable service for victims of domestic abuse?
• What have her experiences taught her about leading other people?

Pip Jamieson

Pip is Founder and CEO of The Dots, the rapidly growing professional networking platform for people in the creative industries. Pip is a champion of diversity and was recently named by The Sunday Times as one of the UK’s top disruptive entrepreneurs.

• What values and beliefs are driving Pip’s efforts to shake up the world of work?
• How is she coping with the highs and lows of life as a pioneering female entrepreneur?
• How has she learned to handle the challenges of dyslexia?

Commodore Jerry Kyd

Jerry is the commanding officer of HMS Queen Elizabeth, the new aircraft carrier which is the biggest ship ever commissioned by the Royal Navy. His career also includes roles as captain of HMS Ark Royal and HMS Illustrious, as well as commander of the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth.

• How does Jerry handle the responsibility and pressure of leading such a high profile warship?
• How does he manage the spirit and motivation of the crew on board?
• What else has he learned about leadership from a lifetime’s experience in the navy?

Sir Vince Cable MP

'It was only when I got into the Cabinet, surprisingly enough, that I discovered that I had real leadership qualities.'

Sir Vince became an MP surprisingly recently in 1997. He went on to become Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in the recent coalition government and is now, in his mid 70s, the Leader of the Liberal Democat Party. Renowned for his straight-talking style, Vince has even found time in recent years to write a novel and to compete as a ballroom dancer.

• From where does Vince draw the motivation and energy to continue serving in such a high profile public role?
• How did his earlier career unfold and what impact has this had on his outlook on life?
• What has he learned about leadership from the experience he had serving in the Cabinet?

Baroness Martha Lane Fox

'There's an energy and a self-awareness that grows when you push yourself into places that you didn't think you could cope.'

Martha rose to fame as a digital pioneer through her role as Co-Founder of Lastminute.com. She has since served as the government’s digital inclusion champion and now leads the think tank Doteveryone. She also serves on various boards, including Twitter and M&S, and became the youngest woman in the House of Lords in 2013.

• How has Martha built on her early business success to broaden her social role and impact to such a significant extent?
• What has she learned about herself and life in general from pushing herself outside her comfort zone?
• How has she found the courage to cope with the crippling effects of the road accident she suffered in 2004?

Neil Mullarkey

'What we call management now, in 100 years’ time, they'll call shouting.'

Neil set up the Comedy Store Players with Mike Myers 32 years ago and is still going strong. A comedian who has made regular TV appearances, he also brings the agility and innovation of improvisation theatre to the world of business. Focused on encouraging communication and creativity, he has recently authored a book called Seven Steps to Improve Your People Skills.

• What are the secrets behind brilliant improvisation?
• What has inspired Neil to continue performing with the Comedy Store Players, week in week out, for such a long time?
• How has he gone beyond his role as a comedian to make the most of his talents in a business environment?

Further reading
Andy's book, The Inspired Leader: how leaders can discover, experience and maintain their inspiration is available to buy now.