Whose Book is it Anyway? A conversation with Karen Dobres, author of Pitch Invasion, and Trevor Davies, Commissioning Editor and Publisher
What does it take to truly collaborate?
How can leaders create environments where diverse perspectives are valued, trust is nurtured, and meaningful conversations drive innovation?
Finding Your Collaborative Edge™ is a podcast for leaders, teams, and professionals who want to grow their capacity for genuine, human-centred collaboration in their organisations and lives.
Hosted by Anni Townend and Lucy Kidd, co-founders of Collaboration Equation™, this show explores the essential elements of psychological safety, inclusive dialogue, and diversity of thought and feeling, helping you cultivate a mindset of curiosity, care, and courage.
Each episode delves into real-world leadership challenges, expert insights, and powerful stories from those who are finding their Collaborative Edge™. Whether you’re a senior leader, team manager, or someone passionate about creating human-centred workplaces, this podcast will inspire you to build connections, embrace difference, and lead with authenticity.
Join the conversation and start your journey towards more impactful, collaborative leadership.
Find out more at: www.collaborationequation.com [http://www.collaborationequation.com/]
Follow us on LinkedIn: Collaboration Equation [https://www.linkedin.com/company/collaborationequation/?viewAsMember=true]
ABOUT THIS EPISODE:
FROM THE PITCH TO THE PAGE
Karen Dobres didn't set out to write a book. She set out to change a football club. Pitch Invasion is the story of how she became a board director at Lewes Football Club, and what she discovered about leadership, belonging and collective ambition along the way.
In this episode, Karen joins us alongside Trevor Davies, the Commissioning Editor and Publisher, who helped shape her story into the book it became. Together, we explore the partnership and collaboration behind the writing itself: the conversations, the trust, the decisions about what to include and what to leave out.
What does it take to truly collaborate - not just in a boardroom or on a pitch, but in the creative process of making something together? And what can the story of one woman, one football club, and one book teach us about the conditions that allow diverse perspectives to be heard, valued and turned into something lasting?
TOGETHER THEY EXPLORE:
The art of the pitch Karen and Trevor each had to pitch to the other before this book existed. That mutual act of persuasion - making the case, being heard, being believed - became the foundation of their trust and shared ownership of the project. It's a quietly powerful echo of the title Pitch Invasion itself: collaboration, it turns out, starts with someone being brave enough to make the ask.
Balancing authentic storytelling with commercial value How do you honour a deeply personal story and shape it for the widest possible audience? Karen and Trevor explore the creative tension at the heart of their partnership, and how a shared sense of purpose helped them navigate it - together.
Mission as fuel Having a clear why - giving voice to underrepresented women in football, championing gender equality - provided energy, focus, commitment and courage when the work got hard. Purpose isn't just motivating. It's directional.
Outsider value and gentle activism Karen didn't come from the football world. That outsider perspective became one of her greatest assets at Lewes FC - asking the questions others had stopped asking, disrupting accepted norms with care and persistence. Positive disruption, done with respect, is how cultures change.
Football as community - and what gets lost Football creates genuine communities of belonging. This episode explores what happens when that gets forgotten, and what it looks like when a club chooses unity over division - and means it.
The power of real listening Not just listening to each other's stories, but to your own reactions. Paying attention to your own process and the impact you're having on others. Karen and Trevor both spoke about this - and it shows in the book.
Collaboration builds confidence Mutual respect and genuine support grow courage in both directions. When someone really listens to you, you find you have more to say than you thought.
THREE ENCOURAGEMENTS FROM KAREN AND TREVOR:
1. Respect where each other are coming from - collaboration doesn't require agreement, it requires genuine regard for each other's perspective and experience.
2. Really listen - to others, and to yourself - pay attention to your own reactions. They're telling you something.
3. Enjoy it - when collaboration works, it's genuinely energising. Let yourself feel that.
MORE ABOUT KAREN DOBRES:
Karen Dobres is the author of Pitch Invasion and a former board director at Lewes Football Club. A passionate advocate for gender equality in sport, she speaks regularly on equity and inclusion and is one of the UK's leading voices in women's football.
CONNECT WITH KAREN:
1. LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-dobres-07a54b176/]
2. Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/karendobres/?hl=en]
3. https://lewesfc.com/about-us/our-ethos/ [https://lewesfc.com/about-us/our-ethos/]
MORE ABOUT TREVOR DAVIES:
Trevor Davies is Commissioning Editor and Publisher at Cassell/Octopus Books. Cassell seeks to break new ground in publishing voices who entertain and enlighten, from high-impact sports narratives to humour and TV treasures.
CONNECT WITH TREVOR:
1. LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-davies-193b9913/]
2. https://www.octopusbooks.co.uk/imprint/octopus/cassell/page/cassell/ [https://www.octopusbooks.co.uk/imprint/octopus/cassell/page/cassell/]
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING
Finding Your Collaborative Edge™ is produced by Brown Bear Studios, with marketing support from SHMOGUS Media and Penny Writing.
Please share, rate, and subscribe - and continue exploring how curiosity, care and courage can lead us to more creative, collaborative leadership.
Explore more at www.collaborationequation.com [https://www.collaborationequation.com/]
Follow us on LinkedIn: Collaboration Equation [https://www.linkedin.com/company/collaboration-equation]
