The Courageous Leaders Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Former professional footballers Mollie and Rosie Kmita and now founders of The Powerhouse Project join me for one of the most authentic leadership stories we’ve had on the podcast.

This episode is packed with real leadership stories you rarely hear: the setbacks, the identity shifts, the emotional toll, and the courage it takes to keep showing up when things don’t go your way.

Mollie and Rosie openly share:

• What it took to succeed in a male dominated world
• How to lead through failure after two businesses didn’t work out
• How they learnt to slow down without losing ambition
• How they have evolved their identity from footballers to business owners
• The impact people-pleasing had on their leadership decisions
• How they have had to learn to lean into conflict

Mollie and Rosie show what success after repeated failure actually looks like - the mindset resets, and the quiet self-belief you need to keep going.

​​These are everyday leadership stories delivered with humour, honesty and heart, the kind that remind you anything is possible when you focus, put the work in, and back yourself.

We Cover: 

00:00 – Introduction

01:12 – Growing up in boys’ football and learning to belong

05:04 – Why young women in sport need better pathways

09:31 – Finding confidence in environments not built for you

14:42 – How childhood trauma shapes your drive

20:50 – Coping with loss while still showing up

26:19 – When resilience turns into survival mode

33:08 – The guilt behind always saying yes

38:12 – “We haven’t sat still for 16 years”

46:54 – Rebuilding identity beyond football

52:33 – Learning to slow down without losing ambition

58:48 – What leaders can do to create real change

01:00:31 – A message for leaders and organisations that want to make real change

Don’t miss out on this powerful episode. 

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What would you risk to do the right thing?

In this episode of The Courageous Leaders Podcast, I sit down with Zelda Perkins, Co-Founder of Can’t Buy My Silence and the first woman to break an NDA with Harvey Weinstein.

Zelda’s story isn’t just about one man. It’s about the system that silences victims and protects abuse. She speaks openly about how she fought back, how breaking her NDA changed UK law, and what leaders and businesses must do now to stop misconduct being hidden behind confidentiality.

We Cover: 

00:00 – Introduction

01:26 – Why Zelda broke her NDA after years of silence

03:37 – What really happens when you speak up against power

05:18 – The moment the system, not the perpetrator, broke her trust

09:23 – How signing an NDA changed her life overnight

12:54 – Taking her story to Parliament and pushing for legal reform

17:09 – What it really took to start Can’t Buy My Silence

24:43 – When she realised she was self-bullying 

28:57 – Why speaking up must be seen as normal, not “brave”

33:11 – Creating safer, more transparent workplaces

40:57 – How the new UK legislation will protect victims and change culture

56:26 – Zelda’s advice to anyone ready to start their own fight for change

Don’t miss out on this powerful episode. 

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Are you midlife and feel like it’s too late to start over?

Jane Evans has just two words for you…

In this week’s Fast & Curious, Jane Evans brings unapologetic honesty, razor-sharp wit, and just the right amount of “don’t-mess-with-me” energy:

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll find:
⚡ The one book that turned her approach to leadership upside down
⚡ Why post‑menopause might be the best phase of life
⚡ Dogs, 80s nostalgia, and the quickest way to kill a brilliant idea
⚡ Her brutally honest response when a midlife woman says, “It’s too late for me”

It’s not just fun and fast—it’s fearless, relatable, and perfectly timed.

📺 Jane’s full Fast & Curious episode is now live on YouTube. While you’re there, be sure to check out her full Courageous Leaders interview too.

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In this week’s episode of the podcast, I’m talking about the art of backing yourself as a leader. This is a topic that is very close to my heart and I wanted to spend some time discussing it today.

I’m debunking the myths surrounding self-assurance and arrogance and why backing yourself isn’t arrogance, it’s actually caring for yourself, celebrating what you're able to do, and loving who you are.

I also discuss why you have to learn to empower yourself through investing in you and building that trust with yourself and what you’re capable of.

Key takeaways include:

● Sharing my personal journey with low self-confidence
● Exploring the craving for external validation and its implications
● Embracing the highs and lows of confidence in leadership roles
● Recognising the tendencies of leaders lacking self-backing
● Encouraging personal growth through stepping out of comfort zones
● Elevating performance by setting higher standards for oneself

Follow Joanna Howes and The Change Creators:

website: https://www.thechangecreators.com
linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannahowes/

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In episode 98 of the podcast, I speak with Conrad Persons, President of Grey, London.

Join us as we discuss the importance of sharing your ideas with your team first to make sure they’re on the same page as you and want to jump out of the “plane” alongside you. He also shares the hard lessons learned from when your team stays on the plane instead of following you.

Conrad also discusses how we spend our time as leaders and the necessity for candid
reflection and prioritisation when managing our time.

Key takeaways include:

● The power of focusing on the smaller interactions instead of grand gestures to motivate people
● Dealing with defensiveness when ideas are contested
● Why you need to separate personal identity from ideas
● Managing your emotions and having strategic patience
● The danger of overplanning when stepping into a new role
● Understanding both individual and group mindsets
● The impact of your daily decisions on productivity

Conrad is an entrepreneur and current President of Grey, London. Conrad leads the flagship London studio, which is home to award-winning work, partnering with iconic clients P&G, Haleon, Kellogg, and Arla.

Follow Joanna Howes and The Change Creators:

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In this week’s episode of the podcast, I’m going solo to discuss the topic of excessive
resilience—a challenge I've personally grappled with, nearly breaking me in the process.

Join me as I delve into the seven components of resilience and offer some helpful insights into cultivating resilience for yourself or your team members.

I'll also be sharing my own experiences of placing immense pressure on myself to be the hero in others' lives, and how this has influenced my perspective as a leader.

Key takeaways include:

● The impact of excessive resilience on personal health
● Experiencing false hope syndrome and its impact
● The impact of worrying about what other people think
● Toxic work environments with public humiliation
● Recognising if you are reaching for unattainable goals

Follow Joanna Howes and The Change Creators:

website: https://www.thechangecreators.com
linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannahowes/

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In episode 96 of the podcast, I speak with Melissa Chapman, CEO of Jungle Creations.

Join us as we discuss how to effectively overcome resistance to change within your
organisation by approaching it in a way that makes people feel like you are all in it together.

Melissa also discusses the challenges of having ADHD when it came to her habits as a leader and why giving herself permission to be her authentic self allowed her to fully embrace who she is as a leader.

Key takeaways include:

● How courage is being willing to break the norms and focus on the future
● The blend of courage and guardian leadership in an organisation
● The pros and cons of transitioning from Co-CEO to CEO
● Practicing patience and valuing different working styles within the team
● Utilising stress and challenge as a catalyst for growth
● The importance of saying no and managing expectations with the team
● Why we need a balance of optimism and pessimism to grow
● Managing measured risk and the importance of timely decision-making
● The fine line between resilience and recognising when to let go
● Why you must recognise your worth and ask for what you feel you deserve

Melissa Chapman is CEO at Jungle Creations, a leading social publisher and agency, where she sets the overall business vision and growth strategy. Melissa was Jungle's first employee in 2014 and since has scaled Jungle's owned audiences from 1M to 140M+, working with clients including MLB, PepsiCo, and Red Bull.

Follow Joanna Howes and The Change Creators:

website: https://www.thechangecreators.com
linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannahowes/

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In episode 95 of the podcast, I am diving into the need to understand other people.

Have you ever found yourself getting frustrated with others for not understanding what you’re trying to say? It may make perfect sense to you but they just aren’t getting it. This is because we all think differently and the way you understand things isn’t necessarily the way other members of your team do.

When we take the time to not just know each other, but really understand each other, we can achieve deeper connection and increased performance.

Key takeaways include:

● The key to a successful team
● The impact of ego on team connection
● How you can enter the world of others to improve performance
● How too many assumptions are being wrongly made due to a lack of understanding
● The fastest way to build trust with those around you

Follow Joanna Howes and The Change Creators:

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In episode 94 of the podcast, I speak with Sarat Pediredla, CEO of hedgehog lab.

Join us as we discuss the importance of recognising that everyone has their strengths, but some people are just not right for your company. While it can be tempting to people please and get curious about how you can fix poor performance from team members, investing in the wrong people can inevitably be a risk to your organisation.

We also delve into the power of building a culture of psychological safety amongst your team and why this is an important measure of the team’s overall success.

Key takeaways include:

● The challenges of navigating the acquisition of a company and building a new C-suite
with a 20% downturn
● The realities of having at least 50% of the current decisions being unpopular and how
to respond to this
● Being challenged over focusing on culture at the expense of business
● The key to creating a strong leadership team is knowing and understanding each other in and outside of work
● The danger of believing that asking for help is a weakness and how much time that can cost you
● Surrounding yourself with the right people is the best way to navigate challenges.
Sarat, once bound to be a brain surgeon, shifted to software engineering and moved to the UK.

With hedgehog lab, he aspires to lead the world’s biggest and best digital product
consultancy.

Follow Joanna Howes and The Change Creators:

website: https://www.thechangecreators.com
linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannahowes/

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In episode 93 of the podcast, I’m exploring how you can make sure that you are putting the right part of you in charge of your business and leadership.

This idea comes from Internal Family Systems, which was created by Dr. Richard Schwartz. It’s the idea that we as humans are all made up of a system of protected parts that we can manage and use when needed. Think of it like your own internal leadership team.

It’s risky not to have the right part of you in charge, so join me as I explore how you can make sure you have the right part in the driver’s seat of your leadership.

Key takeaways include:

● Understanding your internal world in order to self-lead
● How to identify the different parts of you
● Tips for managing your own internal board of directors
● How G.I. Jo and Hippie Jo help champion me

Follow Joanna Howes and The Change Creators:

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