Leadership Letters – Details, episodes & analysis

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Leadership Letters

Lizzie Bentley Bowers

Business

Frequency: 1 episode/35d. Total Eps: 38

This is Leadership Letters, the podcasts reflecting on all things leadership!

Presented by Lizzie Bentley Bowers, a professional coach to brilliant people for more than a decade, a special leader shares their own 'Leadership Letter'. It could be to someone they admire, or not, a letter to a historical leader or even someone that they lead. This will kick off a conversation that will give real insight into how successful leadership works.

In the sister podcast 'Towards Leadership', Lizzie will then dive a little more deeper on a theme from that podcast, using the tools, exercises and thinking that she shares to help her clients become the best leaders they can be. They'll also be something else to listen too, watch, and read. All with the aim of challenging you to be a better leader.

Who would you write a ‘Leadership Letter’ to or want to hear from in this podcast? Lizzie would love to know! Get in touch on Instagram LinkedIn or lizziebentleybowers.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Apple Podcasts

🇨🇦 Canada - management
19/05/2026
#87
🇨🇦 Canada - management
18/05/2026
#62
🇬🇧 Great Britain - management
09/06/2025
#94

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https://www.thecausewaycoaching.com/leadership-letters
18 shares
https://www.anythingbutfooty.com/
16 shares
https://www.towardsleadership.com/towards-leadership-blog/i-would-love-your-help
6 shares

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RSS feed quality

Good

Score global : 84%

Publication history

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Towards Leadership #12

Season 4 · Episode 8

Monday, April 15, 2024 • Duration 12:44

In this episode, we are reflecting on our conversation with author of Revolting Women: Why Midlife Women Are Walking Out And What to Do About It, Dr Lucy Ryan. You can learn more about Lucy here and find her on LinkedIn.

Inspired by Lucy's work, we offer you some questions to prompt your thinking as a leader about the extent to which you, and your organisation, are aware of, and meeting, the needs of individuals in your organisation in midlife.

The role of love in leadership also features, as well as resources for reflecting on and considering what people might be experiencing in midlife, as well as what you might have underestimated about them!

Lastly, in light of the extraordinary piece of history that Lucy shared, we wrap up the season by thinking about the act of writing letters, why they matter in leadership, and why you might like to write your own Leadership Letter.

REFERENCES AND RECOMMENDATION LINKS:

Reflections on Connections
A blog post about Assumptions
My Leadership Letter - Lizzie Bentley Bowers' Leadership Letter, Season 1
Revolting Women: Why Midlife Women are Walking Out and What To Do About It by Dr Lucy Ryan
Lunchtime Learning For Leaders by Dr Lucy Ryan
Leading from Love newsletter and podcast by Helena Clayton
Never, ever give up TED Talk by Diana Nyad
Nyad and The Other Shore: The Diana Nyad Story on Netflix
The Mid Point with Gabby Logan podcast

See you next time for more ideas, inspiration, tools and resources to support and challenge you to go towards all that leadership asks of you. We'll be hearing from guests again in the autumn, and will share some additional episodes with some extra food for leadership thought in the meantime so keep your ears peeled for those.

If there's anything else you heard and would like to know more about, please add a comment below or get in touch.

And while you're here, we would love to know what topics and guests you would like to hear on this podcast, so please do send your suggestions!

Leadership Letters, and Towards Leadership, are produced by Anything But Footy.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Lucy Ryan

Season 4 · Episode 7

Thursday, March 28, 2024 • Duration 34:36

Our guest in this episode, Dr Lucy Ryan holds a PhD in Organisational Behaviour and an MSc in Positive Psychology. Her most recent book ‘Revolting Women: why midlife women are walking out and what to do about it’ is an important and highly engaging call to action to pay more attention to multi generational workforces and in particular the challenges and biases faced by women in Mid Life. She is the author of two other books, including one recommended previously on this podcast, ‘Lunchtime Learning for leaders’ and she has worked with leaders from a range of organisations including the BBC, Siemens and UNICEF. Lucy shares an extraordinary letter written by her grandfather to his brother during World War II.

During our conversation, we talked about:

Compassion and strength
Autonomy
Working for entrepreneurs
Managing with strengths in mind
Multi-generational organisations and leadership.
Taking it seriously without taking ourselves too seriously
Defining, and redefining, ‘hard work’
Gender equality
Sabbaticals
Midlife check ins
Love in leadership
Loneliness in leadership
The power of pause
The impact of a letter
‘Revolting Women: why midlife women are walking out and what to do about it’ by Dr Lucy Ryan
Working Identity by Herminia Ibarra
Diary of a CEO by Stephen Bartlett
Operation Judgement: The Battle Of Taranto

LUCY’S LETTER + QUOTES

We’re honoured that Lucy shared a letter written by her Grandfather, Captain Denis Boyd, to his brother in the aftermath of one of the most extraordinary events of World War II, the Battle of Taranto. It was deeply moving to hear the words of a leader from so long ago, navigating such dire circumstances. We went on to talk about love in leadership, the power of pause, and the act of writing a letter.

Towards Leadership #6

Season 3 · Episode 15

Sunday, June 4, 2023 • Duration 14:59

Welcome to Towards Leadership from Leadership Letters.

In this episode we take more of a dive into some thoughts and ideas arising from talking to Performance Director of Boccia UK, Greg Baker, in our most recent episode of Leadership Letters.

Hover over the pause button during this episode - we have a lot of reflective questions for you in this episode! Our starting point is the question Greg talks about always asking himself as a leader: Am I doing the best job for the individual in front of me? We begin by offering you questions to support your reflection on how well you know the individuals around you so that you are both up to date with, and know how to accommodate, their needs, how to support them and how to challenge them in the most useful ways.

We go on to discuss and offer further reflective questions around:

Headspace and time to think: “Thinking is the work.”
Your priorities
The extent to which your calendar reflects your priorities and your need for Headspace - and how to make sure it does.
Culture and environment
Preparing for challenges and pressures
Embedding your strengths in order to leverage them.

RECOMMENDATION LINKS:

The Book The Strengths Stacker Journal by Lizzie Bentley Bowers
The Video Why Culture Matters by

Greg Baker

Season 3 · Episode 14

Monday, May 15, 2023 • Duration 32:02

Our guest in this episode is Greg Baker.

Greg was instrumental in the success of British Para Table Tennis achieving multiple medals at the London 2012 Paralympic games, and securing record breaking results in both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, helping Great Britain secure 2nd place in the overall medals table.

As an ex-England International table tennis athlete, former National Coach, Head Coach and current Performance Director at Boccia UK, he has successfully competed and worked in elite sport performance leadership and management positions for over 20 years. As a certified executive coach working in all sectors, he believes in leadership responsibility at all levels within an organisation and brings his values of trust, respect, honesty and togetherness.

During our conversation, we talked about:

Seeing wellbeing as a performance advantage
When not to change the plan
The responsibility of the leaders to create the environment for others to be at their best
Knowing the individuals in your team and adapting to their needs
Essential headspace
Comfort zones and consciously moving out of them in order to understand ourselves under pressure
Doing vs being
The importance of asking yourself what you are avoiding
Constantly tweaking
Jacinda Ardern, Ernest Shackleton and Winston Churchill
Endurance by Alfred Lansing
Belonging by Owen Eastwood
Turn The Ship Around by David Marquet

Do join us on our sister podcast, Towards Leadership, where we look in more detail at tools, reflections and practical application of the ideas, insights and inspiration we get from our guests on Leadership Letters. An episode focused on Greg’s insights will be coming soon. If you are already subscribed to Leadership Letters, look out for it in your podcast feed.

Towards Leadership #5

Season 3 · Episode 13

Wednesday, April 26, 2023 • Duration 14:10

Welcome to the latest episode of Towards Leadership from Leadership Letters.

In this edition, we take more of a dive into some thoughts and ideas arising from talking to theatre director Sean Turner in our most recent episode of Leadership Letters.

Sean talked about the importance of casting – which for you might be the interview so we start there, with a look at the leaders’s role as the audience in an interview.

We go on to look at:

Being a receptive and supportive audience
Inclusive interviewing
Forced fun, awkwardness and connection
Why connection matters
Ways to increase connection
Psychological Safety
Trust
Collaboration

RECOMMENDATION LINKS:

The Book The Fearless Organization by Amy Edmondson
The Talk How Do We Heal Medicine by Atul Gawande
The Podcast Sideways with Matthew Syed
The Article How To Build Real Relationships at Work by Gorick Ng

And if you know of anyone who might benefit from the work we’re doing, please do check out our new Towards Leadership website, and invite them to follow Leadership Letters or Towards Leadership on or .

Sean Turner

Season 3 · Episode 12

Wednesday, March 15, 2023 • Duration 35:38

Our guest in this episode is Sean Turner.

Sean is Associate Director on the West End and UK Touring productions of the hit comedy The Play That Goes Wrong, and has directed numerous productions of the show across the

globe. He has recently completed a tenure as Artistic Director of Trinity Theatre in Tunbridge Wells and he trained at the National Theatre as well as in Devising with Complicite.

On top of directing shows at venues like the Bush Theatre, Soho Theatre and Trafalgar Studios, Sean was responsible for unearthing the script of Arthur Miller’s first play, No Villain, he then directed the World Premiere at the Old Red Lion and later transferred the production to the West End. Last year Sean’s first foray into film work won an NME Award (Best Music Video, 2022) when he co-directed the video for ‘Wake Me Up’ by the band ‘Foals’.

During our conversation, we talked about:

Connecting and bonding a team both at speed and authentically
Transient teams
Navigating artistic differences
Managing feelings
Kindness and treating people well
The importance of casting
Trust
Letting people fail
Being present
Having to deliver disappointing news
National Service: Diary of a Decade at The National Theatre by Richard Eyre

Do join our sister podcast, Towards Leadership, where we look in more detail at tools, reflections and practical application of the ideas, insights and inspiration we get from our guests on Leadership Letters. An episode focused on Sean’s insights will be coming soon. If you are already subscribed to Leadership Letters, look out for it in your podcast feed.

The Leadership Letters Podcast is produced by Anything But Footy.

Towards Leadership #4

Season 3 · Episode 11

Monday, February 20, 2023 • Duration 14:29

Welcome to Towards Leadership from Leadership Letters. This episode builds on some of what we heard from Karen Eber, taking more of a dive into storytelling for leaders, and some ways to reflect on and become more confident in your use of stories as a leader.

We begin with a look at how we tell our stories, and thinking about and connecting with our audience.

“If the facts are the engine of the story, what matters to you and your audience is the fuel.”

We share prompts and reminders about:

How we can transfer the storytelling we do socially to the stories we tell at work
Connecting with the audience, whether it’s 1 or 1000 people
Using feedback
Recording yourself
Busting the myth that you are either a naturally good storyteller or you’re not.
The importance of recognising the impact our visibility as leaders has on energy.

“There is no doubt that being constantly visible and knowing that your words have impact, uses up resource.”

RECOMMENDATION LINKS:

The Book How To own the Room by Viv Groskop
The Talk Everyday Leadership by Drew Dudley
The Podcast The Moth

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Karen Eber

Season 3 · Episode 10

Monday, February 6, 2023 • Duration 33:43

Our guest in this episode is a global leadership consultant and keynote speaker, Karen Eber, who’s talk on TED.com: How your brain responds to stories – and why they’re crucial for leaders has almost 2 million views and is one I have shared hundreds of times, including through this podcast.

As the CEO and Chief Storyteller of Eber Leadership Group, she helps companies reimagine and evolve how they build leaders and teams, transform culture and tell stories - and excitingly is publishing The Perfect Story: How to Tell Stories That Inform, Influence, and Inspire with HarperCollins in 2023.

She and I share a passion for the power of stories, and for equipping people to tell them so I was delighted to have the opportunity to listen and learn alongside all of you as we talked all things leadership, and listened to the Leadership Letter that Karen wrote to her niece and nephew.

Karen is publishing The Perfect Story: How to Tell Stories That Inform, Influence, and Inspire with HarperCollins in 2023 and you can find and connect with her at https://www.kareneber.com and on LinkedIn.

During our conversation, we talked about:

Storytelling
The importance of establishing a reflection habit early in your career
Questions as the most powerful tool of leadership
How you land on others, versus how you think you are landing
Who you are ok disappointing
Amplifying other voices
Immersion: The Science of the Extraordinary and the Source of Happiness by Paul J Zak

Towards Leadership #3

Season 3 · Episode 9

Tuesday, January 17, 2023 • Duration 16:57

Welcome to Towards Leadership from Leadership Letters

I thought I would start 2023 by delving into past blogs and Leadership Letters archives for some of the conversations, resources and writing we have shared, and maybe even add in a few new ones for good measure!

I’ve gathered them together under the theme - the C's of Kind Leadership.

RECOMMENDATION LINKS:

Rising Strong by Brené Brown

“Why Compassion Matters”

Brené Brown again! Blog post

Dr Bill George,

Here’s a reminder of how we can all become better listeners.

The Authority Gap

Tanya Marwaha on the Leadership Letters podcast

Rebel Ideas

This blog post highlights the work of Jane Dutton

Towards Leadership #2

Season 3 · Episode 8

Wednesday, December 7, 2022 • Duration 14:44

Welcome to Towards Leadership from Leadership Letters

For me, an effective, curious, compassionate, decisive, resilient and successful leader is able to serve the needs of their organisation, their community, themselves and indeed the wider world in a way that is about thriving and about sustainability in both the individual energy sense, and a global sense. It is leaders that are equipped to go towards anything and everything their world of work presents to them with that will contribute to better, happier, sustainable and empowered workplaces and it’s our mission to help you do that.

We promised you more on ADHD at the end of last month. In our most recent Leadership Letter, Katie Friedman wrote to the leader she was before she was aware of her ADHD, and the leader she is now post diagnosis. It’s a letter that offers layers and layers of experience, insight and food for thought for all of us listening. In this episode of Towards Leadership I reflect on my own experiences of preparing for Katie’s episode in which I catch myself being less inclusive than I would hope to be, share some of my own experiences of ADHD and offer an exercise I, and clients, have found useful time and again as a way of reflecting on conversations, and noticing what we could be doing differently when it comes to meeting needs, including our own.

“I had been a leader who unconsciously saw need as negative because I didn't understand my own.”

I also share some of my own recent lived experience of ADHD as an insight for leaders around the moment when someone discloses something about themselves, and share an exercise that is useful for reflecting on any aspect of conversation, including our levels of inclusiveness. You can find the corresponding blog post here.

In our resources section I reflect on the distinction between ‘the truth’ and ‘a truth’ when talking about ADHD and share a great TED talk offering insight and questions reflection on the intersection of ADHD with other characteristics.

Leadership Letters – Details, episodes & analysis

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Leadership Letters – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other99+

LinkedIn15

Apple Podcast6

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other99+

LinkedIn15

Apple Podcast6