A Brilliant Gamble

I really don't like getting feedback. I don't naturally respond well! So I've had to learn some techniques for receiving it, given that I think it's actually really important to know what people think and how your messages (intended and unintended) are being received. In this week's podcast I talk through some practical ways to react to feedback even when it isn't given in the most skilled manner. I'd love to know how you have learnt to respond better to feedback and what you take on board (versus what you decide not to take on board). Stay in touch via instagram (@blairelyspalmer), twitter (@blairepalmer), email ([email protected]) and don't forget to sign up to the newsletter on our website (www.thatpeoplething.com). If you like this podcast please rate it and leave a review as that pushes it up the ranking and means more people get to know about it. Thanks!

There's a lot of talk in business about engagement and employee satisfaction and "leaders" spend a great deal of time (and money on leadership development courses) trying to work out how to get a more "turned on" workforce. Join me this week for a great archive episode! Behaviourist Jez Rose is a is a broadcaster, bee farmer, award-winning author and speaker, with a passion for improving cultures. Quintessentially British, he also has an obsession with tea. In this interview, we speak about Jez's Good Life Project, an innovative research initiative, evidencing the cognitive and emotional impact of nature on human health, wellbeing and behaviour, seeking to understand what nature does to our brain and specifically which activities have the greatest positive impact on us.

But what if 'a turned on workforce' really isn't that complicated? What if the answer doesn't lie in fancy techniques and sophisticated models? Perhaps we just need to feel connected with the natural world.

In this interview, we talk about Jez's research (present and past, carried out over many decades) which shows that when we connect with nature our motivation, our wellbeing and our productivity all improve. Sounds crazy right? But it makes sense when you think about how even an image of nature can change your perspective on life. I hope you enjoy the episode!

If you want more information about Jez's work you can visit his website or the Good Life Project website For the free wildflower seeds we talk about in the episode, click here.

You can follow Jez on Instagram, Twitter and you can also follow the Good Life Project on Instagram. This interview was first broadcast in May 2017.

If you want insights and support as you change your life - A Brilliant Gamble Online is for you! This online programme is self-paced which means you do it as your own speed. Videos and exercises guide you through the thinking and planning stage and then support you as you learn and grow and make stuff happen in your life. You can find out more here.

For an inside look at our next Brilliant Gamble, our smallholding, stay in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter as well as the website.

Wherever I go, senior people tell me they wish their people would step up and take ownership of their job. So in this week's episode I talk to Mark Fritz who is all about ownership! I his keynote speeches and workshops he explores how to create a sense of ownership amongst your people and what that requires of leaders. I loved talking with Mark who is full of easy to remember concepts and tips. I'm confident you'll take a lot from it too. Stay in touch with me on twitter (@blairepalmer), instagram (@blairelyspalmer) and email ([email protected]).

I'm a leadership futurist which means I'm looking for business trends and how they will impact how we need to be to lead. But often the trends seem really BIG. Yes, you like the idea of Agile or Teal or AI but how can you make an impact when these concepts seem to require a massive change at the heart of business? In this episode I talk through some of the trends I've been nattering about lately and then how you, as an individual, can start to make a difference by turning your attention inward. That's where all change begins anyway. AND - Can you find the odd man out in the photo for this week's episode? Look carefully, something or someone is hiding in there... Stay in touch on twitter (@blairepalmer), instagram (@blairelyspalmer) or email ([email protected]). Check out our facebook page and visit us at www.thatpeoplething.com

This will be the last A Brilliant Gamble podcast for a while. As you may know I run another business specialising in leadership coaching and I speak about the future of leadership.

Recently my Mum became ill and this, combined with running my other business, being a single mum, home educating and keeping on top of our smallholding has meant I’m spread a little too thin.

The archive of past shows will still be here for you and I’m leaving the A Brilliant Gamble Facebook Page and Corporate Escapees Facebook Group open so you can access the resources there AND the incredible insights of the other members.

Plus, of course, the courses to help you make your transition out of corporate life and in to the next chapter are still available, plus all the free resources on the website.

We will continue to offer support to anyone who signs up to these programmes so if you’re planning to make your Brilliant Gamble this year all those resources and courses are still ideal to help you.

I will really miss doing the show. I love meeting the guests and being inspired by their stories. And I love connecting with you through social media and your emails to me. But, as my guest this week illustrates, sometimes you have to acknowledge your own limits.

Silvina Marchisio talks about her year long journey with depression and anxiety. She shares her personal experience of dealing with burnout in a foreign country and how visual thinking and visual metaphors help her share her own thoughts along her journey back to the world.

Today she’s embarking on a new business as a Graphic Facilitator and is helping others suffering burnout to get themselves better, with the help of the lessons she learnt and the beautiful inspiring images she’s producing.