S1: Leading the Sober Curious Movement with Clare Pooley

06/01/21 • 74 min

Six years ago Clare Pooley was drinking about 90 units of alcohol a week. Fast forward to today and she’s a successful author, fulfilling her life’s dream. We talk to Clare about how alcohol works as a drug, and how our tolerance to it builds over time, bringing with it- issues of poor sleep, reduced creativity and anxiety. We talk about Clare’s previous career as a senior leader in the booze advertising industry, and how her recklessness while drinking nearly cost her her job. We Discuss the idea of ‘sober curiosity,’ and how people interested in having time without alcohol might reassess their relationship with it. This conversation provides thought provoking insight into a relationship many Brits have with alcohol that they’re not aware of, and how taking a more mindful approach to consuming alcohol can make you a better leader, and provide many with the opportunity to uncover their full potential. Tips for leaders about being more inclusive in the workplace about team bonding without the booze:

Ask your team what they’d like to do - don’t assume
Rethink networking and bonding opportunities that are richer in experience - running, walks, health club, theatre trips, afternoon teas, bakeoffs
Be mindful of what you role model. Boozy leaders tend to attract and hire boozy teams which can be an issue in itself for productivity and diversity of thought.

Clare’s Leadership Essentials:

1. Take a break - Ideally take a 100 days break from all alcohol to give you and your body time to decide mindfully what relationship you want to have with alcohol, rather than the relationship you have fallen into 2. Set yourself rules - once you’ve decided the relationship you’d like to have with alcohol, set strict rules and stick to them 3. Keep an eye on it - Be mindful about why and when you are drinking. If you can’t stick to step one you might want to reconsider the benefits of quitting.
Useful Links:

You Tube: https://www.ted.com/talks/clare_pooley_making_sober_less_shameful Website & Book: https://clarepooley.com/

Ask your team what they’d like to do - don’t assume
Rethink networking and bonding opportunities that are richer in experience - running, walks, health club, theatre trips, afternoon teas, bakeoffs
Be mindful of what you role model. Boozy leaders tend to attract and hire boozy teams which can be an issue in itself for productivity and diversity of thought.

Previous Episode

40: #40 Purpose & Well-Being at Work

In this week’s podcast we reflect on what we learnt from our last 3 guests; Adrian Hawley, Melanie Weller, and Simon Town who are very in touch with the mind, body, and environment connection.

We reflect on the often elusive yet alluring life purpose, and chat about how to combat the detrimental effects of modern life and our ways of working. In particular we think about what leaders can do for their employees that can have dramatic results for the organisation and its people, and doesn’t cost the earth.

Our Leadership Essentials:

1. It can take years to find your life purpose – keep going, it’s really never too late

2. The power of storytelling and meaning making on mind and body. We’re all connected mind, body and environment and our bodies reflected the archetypal stories we tell ourselves

3. Don’t get comfortable being uncomfortable. If we make some minor adjustments to our daily lives, we can massively improve our personal future health and wellbeing.

In The Coaching Approach we catch up with our fictional organisation Safina has introduced George to fellow CEO Andrew Thomas at Better You and he’s keen to learn more about the benefits of offering his employees a free Vitamin D level test. John is pleased to be back in the office showing off with his new Postural exercise regime, and we find everyone in good spirits where employee wellbeing has never felt so good.

Next Episode

S1: Becoming Crisis Proof with Jonathan Hemus

In this episode of the podcast John and Rachael talk to Jonathan Hemus - founder and managing director of crisis management consultancy Insignia. He is also the award winning author of ‘Crisis Proof’ - ‘How to prepare for the worst day of your business life’ written for executives who have responsibility for crisis management thrust upon them. We discuss a proactive approach to Crisis Management and the many benefits it can bring to an organisation - even if it never ends up facing a crisis. Jonathan shares examples of historical exceptional and poor handling or crisis, making this conversation super insightful for leaders and executives who are considering the need for crisis management interventions.
Jonathan talks through a summary of his twenty-five years’ of crisis management experience so business leaders can successfully prepare for and handle their worst business nightmares. We discuss the relevant skills required when communicating during a crisis to journalists, stakeholders, and team members; skills which are also transferable into having difficult conversations in daily leadership life. Tips for leaders leading through a crisis:

The importance of responding quickly
Staying open to information from all levels of the organisation for crisis prevention
Communication in a crisis is everything - it needs to come from a place of values
Getting all of the relevant information - seeing others perspectives
Rehearsing in advance, so people know what to do
Looking after your team in a crisis, but also yourself as well.

Jonathan’s Leadership Essentials: 1. Be true to your values - both yours and the organisations. Those that suffer most in a crisis act contrary to their values 2. Be courageous in making decisions - if you don’t make good early decisions the crisis will manage you, rather than you managing the crisis 3. Look after yourself and look after your people
Links from the show:
Website & Book: https://jonathanhemus.com/
Crisis Management Training: https://insigniacrisis.com/