The HOW of High Performance

Sally Henderson with Andrew Powell on why high stakes always comes down to people and the leadership lesson the Special Forces taught him that still holds

Andrew Powell joined the British Army at 16, spent six years with the Special Forces and walked away at 27 to start again in business. Now Group Chief Commercial Officer at Robert Walters, he has led across private equity, corporate, start up and scale up environments. In this episode of The How of High Performance he shares what happened when he was handed a global restructure affecting several hundred people's livelihoods and why the way he approached it with total transparency still defines how he leads today. Andrew talks about being always on stage as a leader, surrounding yourself with people who are better than you, and why his advice to fellow senior leaders comes down to something deceptively simple that not everyone has the courage to do. About the Show The How of High Performance is a podcast hosted by Sally Henderson, High Stakes Leadership Mentor, Author, TEDx and Keynote Speaker with 26 years of experience mentoring senior leaders. Why you lead gets all the attention, but it's HOW you lead that makes the real difference, especially when the stakes are high and the pressure is permanent. Every episode, Sally talks with a leader who has been tested in leadership and in life, with guests spanning C-suite business, Olympic sport, academia and the military, and asks them to share what they learned about their HOW under pressure. Please follow or subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts - it helps other senior leaders find the show. Sally's book The How of High Performance is available at amazon.co.uk and from all good bookshops. Visit sallyhenderson.co.uk or connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sally Henderson with Rebecca Hirst on what leading through intensity at Coca Cola, Samsung and EY taught her about the one thing most senior leaders sacrifice first when the stakes are highest

Rebecca Hirst is the Global Brand, Marketing & Communications leader for EY Global Consulting, with a career spanning Kimberly Clark, seven years at Coca Cola, marketing director at Samsung and five years across EY's UK and now global operation. In this episode of The How of High Performance, she shares what it was like to step onto one of Samsung's biggest global stages to present a product launch to the world and how she prepared herself when the pressure was at its most visible. Rebecca talks about the high stakes of choosing to uproot everything and move countries when there's never a good time to do it, why she believes you only ever need to take one step forward to know if you're heading in the right direction, and the one thing she's learned about leading through intensity that most senior leaders overlook until it's too late. About the Show The How of High Performance is a podcast hosted by Sally Henderson, High Stakes Leadership Mentor, Author, TEDx and Keynote Speaker with 26 years of experience mentoring senior leaders. Why you lead gets all the attention, but it's HOW you lead that makes the real difference, especially when the stakes are high and the pressure is permanent. Every episode, Sally talks with a leader who has been tested in leadership and in life, with guests spanning C-suite business, Olympic sport, academia and the military, and asks them to share what they learned about their HOW under pressure. Please follow or subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts - it helps other senior leaders find the show. Sally's book The How of High Performance is available at amazon.co.uk and from all good bookshops. Visit sallyhenderson.co.uk or connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sally Henderson with James Williams on leading Coca Cola through the Olympics during a pandemic and the photo that changed how his team trusted him

James Williams spent 16 years at Coca Cola, the last ten leading their Olympic and Paralympic sponsorship from London to Rio to Tokyo. In this episode of The How of High Performance, he shares what happened when spectators were pulled just 11 days before the postponed Tokyo games and the photo he put in front of his team the next morning that said more than any strategy deck could. James talks about why he walked away from one of the most enviable roles in global marketing to come home and start again on his own terms, and the two things he learned across three very different cultures that he says every senior leader needs to get right. About the Show The How of High Performance is a podcast hosted by Sally Henderson, High Stakes Leadership Mentor, Author, TEDx and Keynote Speaker with 26 years of experience mentoring senior leaders. Why you lead gets all the attention, but it's HOW you lead that makes the real difference, especially when the stakes are high and the pressure is permanent. Every episode, Sally talks with a leader who has been tested in leadership and in life, with guests spanning C-suite business, Olympic sport, academia and the military, and asks them to share what they learned about their HOW under pressure. Please follow or subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts - it helps other senior leaders find the show. Sally's book The How of High Performance is available at amazon.co.uk and from all good bookshops. Visit sallyhenderson.co.uk or connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sally Henderson with Jon Dutton on what to do when the plan you've spent six years building collapses two months before delivery

Jon Dutton OBE has spent 30 years in senior leadership across sport, from the European Golf Tour at 22 to the Rugby League World Cup and CEO of British Cycling. Since this conversation was recorded he will be moving into the role of CEO at Team GB in July this year. In this episode of The HOW of High Performance, he shares what happened when key partners pulled out of a major global event just two months before it was due to go live, the board decision that followed, and why he offered his resignation that same evening. Jon talks about the three words that got him through the most pressurised day of his career, why he says he's at his best when he metaphorically gets punched in the face, and his one piece of advice that he wishes more leaders in boardrooms would remember. About the Show The How of High Performance is a podcast hosted by Sally Henderson, High Stakes Leadership Mentor, Author, TEDx and Keynote Speaker with 26 years of experience mentoring senior leaders. Why you lead gets all the attention, but it's HOW you lead that makes the real difference, especially when the stakes are high and the pressure is permanent. Every episode, Sally talks with a leader who has been tested in leadership and in life, with guests spanning C-suite business, Olympic sport, academia and the military, and asks them to share what they learned about their HOW under pressure. Please follow or subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts - it helps other senior leaders find the show. Sally's book The How of High Performance is available at amazon.co.uk and from all good bookshops. Visit sallyhenderson.co.uk or connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sally Henderson with Colin Burgess on what a military career and running operations at BAFTA taught him about training every day for the moment you hope never comes

Colin Burgess is Executive Director of Operations at BAFTA, but his career started at Sandhurst at 17, took him through infantry tours in Northern Ireland, helicopter flying in Central America, two years as equerry to the Queen Mother, and senior roles at Sky Studios before landing in the world of film and television. In this episode of The How of High Performance, he shares what happened when a soldier was bitten by a spider deep in the Belizean jungle and the numbness started spreading, and why the way he communicated in that moment changed how every person around him responded. Colin talks about security at the BAFTAs with A listers and royals in the room, being made redundant four times including once when he lost everything, and the difference between how civilian and military pilots are taught to deal with the worst case scenario — a distinction that has shaped every leadership decision he's made since. About the Show The How of High Performance is a podcast hosted by Sally Henderson, High Stakes Leadership Mentor, Author, TEDx and Keynote Speaker with 26 years of experience mentoring senior leaders. Why you lead gets all the attention, but it's HOW you lead that makes the real difference, especially when the stakes are high and the pressure is permanent. Every episode, Sally talks with a leader who has been tested in leadership and in life, with guests spanning C-suite business, Olympic sport, academia and the military, and asks them to share what they learned about their HOW under pressure. Please follow or subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts - it helps other senior leaders find the show. Sally's book The How of High Performance is available at amazon.co.uk and from all good bookshops. Visit sallyhenderson.co.uk or connect with Sally on LinkedIn.