Start The Week With Lorna & Lottie

Episode 26: Lorna Flies Solo

Join Lorna for a shorter than usual episode trialling a new format in between our fortnightly Monday morning joint adventures. 
This episode Lorna reflects on the topic of Courage in Leadership and Organisations. Why it's needed, how to cultivate it and in doing so manages to share a long list of the brave/stupid life decisions she has taken along the way.
With reference to this HBR article on Courage in Organisations 

Episode 25: Is Gareth the new Taylor?

How can Lottie top Lorna's obsession with La Swift? By going big on her obsession with Gareth Southgate, despite confessing to knowing sweet FA about football (see what we did there?).
After 10 days of a new UK government, culminating in sporting sorrow for one of the nations and probably jubilation for the other three, Lorna and Lottie reflect on how to lead through change - especially when you are new in role. 
Specifically: what should new leaders do/not do in their first days to drive change? 
Seasoned players of Start The Week podcast bingo: eyes down!

Episode 24: Shrinking Giants

With homage to John Amaechi OBE, join Lottie and someone called Nigel as they explore why seeking therapy as a leader is just the right thing to do. Expect to hear their personal reflections on therapy, male mental health, hayfever and (obviously) Taylor Swift. 

Episode 23: The Pursuit of Happiness

Join Lottie, Lorna and special guest Matt Phelan from The Happiness Index as we explore how we define Happiness at work, why it matters, how come so many leaders are inadvertently bad at it and what you can do.
Also witness Matt's shameless bid for Lorna's spare Taylor Swift tickets.
The Happiness Index helps organisations understand employee engagement and happiness drivers to power their people strategy. 

Episode 22: You Have (Too Much) Mail

Join Lottie and Lorna as they explore their different attitudes to the form of communication that everyone loves to hate, ponder on why we behave so badly when at the wheel of Outlook, 'fess up to their worst ever email crimes and see how Lottie's Dutch is getting on.

Episode 21: We Are (Not) Family

Join Lorna and Lottie to discuss whether referring to your business as a family is a good thing or not, what happens when leaders and employees inadvertently fall into unhelpful patterns of behaviour and why Lottie has had a Sister Sledge ear worm all weekend. Live-ish from the Greek islands. Well, for one of us. 

Episode 20: But What Can I Do?

Join Lottie and Lorna as they waltz through a fundamental of getting Culture right in 30 (ish) minutes: how do you nail your organisational values? 
Expect a couple of expletives, an errant magpie, the key rules for making sure values live and breathe through everything you do and why leaders need to be all in on the endeavour. 

Episode 19: The Great Mismatch

Join Lottie, Lorna and a SECOND special guest, Culture and Comms genius Jo Coxhill, as they get rather cross about the state of flexible working in organisations. Where is the trust? Where is the love? Where is Lorna's last Easter Egg? Answers to these important questions and more in 32 minutes of start the week madness...

Episode 18: Filling the Void

Why did a Royal communication void send the the nation (world?) batshit crazy?
What can leaders during change take from this collective madness?
How has Lorna managed to bring Donald Rumsfeld into all this? Did Lorna and Lottie just have their first on-air tiff? Answers to all these questions and many more. 

Episode 17: Yes, And Then We Got Creative

Join Lorna and Lottie fresh from Lorna's improvisation workshop. Reflecting on how a cynical man from the Netherlands became a genius comic artist, why creativity needs certain conditions to thrive at work and the small things everyone can do to help it on it's way. (Pretending to be a dog poo and calling colleagues from the bath not mandatory).