Unf*cking Work Work Pirates

In this podcast, we managed to get the authors of some amazing books in the same place, at the same time, after much wrangling! Jon Alexander and Sam Conniff join James Eves and Michelle Minnikin.
We talk about:
Realising the limitations of power and influence in creating positive change. Consumerism, disillusionment, and finding a new story.  Embracing uncertainty and collaboration in leadership. Ideas, teapots, and democratising workplace innovation. Jon Alexander is the author of CITIZENS: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us - a book that seeks to reframe the moment in time we're living in as one of huge civic opportunity, not just crisis and collapse, and in doing so opens up a world of possibility for organisations and leaders across sectors and across the world.
He also co-founded the New Citizenship Project, a strategy and innovation consultancy that aims to shift the dominant story of the individual in society from Consumer to Citizen. 
Jon’s Links -
https://www.jonalexander.net/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-alexander-11b66345/
 
Sam Conniff is the author of Be More Pirate and co-author of How to be more Pirate.
His current passion is his social experiment - Uncertainty Experts. His work revolves around:
Turning Uncertainty into Opportunity Inspiring Innovative Leadership And Navigating Change; Making & Breaking Rules Sam’s Links -
https://www.samconniff.com/links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/samconniff 
We've also bagged a 15% off discount code for our community with the code UFWPOD -Unf*cking Work x Uncertainty Experts
 
You can also watch this podcast on Youtube - Watch this on youtube - https://youtu.be/EZFB8Cg4Nck
 
Find out more about us at www.workpirates.com 

Rebecca Cullum is a consultant working with leaders and teams to rewrite and build innovative and future-focused team culture. Her heart is for courageous, human, and creative leaders with engaged and thriving teams.
Rebecca has two decades of experience in industry-leading tech and telecoms organisations. Her experience ranges from managing high-profile projects, supporting executive teams, building leadership teams, and leading culture change.
For the last 8 years, she has worked directly with leadership teams on building culture, engagement, and performance. Her experience has given her a passion to re-imagine our ways of working, challenge expectations and disrupt the status quo.
Being both strategic and action-orientated in her approach, she has a track record of turning workplace challenges into specific, achievable goals. As a trained counsellor she also brings a valuable level of insight into her client work. She is a unique mix of energy, passion, challenge, determination and compassion.
Rebecca brings an entrepreneurial spirit into her consultancy work. Before her corporate career, she was the co-founder of a coffee shop at the age of 22. She successfully bid for funding, managed a building re-fit and established the coffee shop as a hub in the community.
 
We talk about:
The need to future-proof teams by focusing on building behaviors and mindsets, rather than just technical skills.
Why building a learning culture is crucial for future-proofing teams.
How creating an environment where failure is celebrated rather than punished fosters a culture of experimentation and continuous improvement.



Find out more about Rebecca:
https://www.rebeccacullum.co.uk/ or on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-cullum/ 
 
Remember, if you want to hire a Work Pirate, get started at https://www.workpirates.com or follow us @WorkPirates.
Find out more about Good Girl Deprogramming at https://www.michelleminnikin.com/ and the book is available to buy now in all major book retailers.
 

Paula Gardner of Scarlet Thinking is a business psychologist, Human Givens psychotherapist and executive coach working with businesses and their employees around visibility, stress, overwhelm and getting needs met in the workplace. With a background of previously running her own PrRand marketing company, Paula advises and consults around creating businesses where everyone feels visible, vital and valued. 
We talk about:
The importance of recognising and addressing human needs in the workplace
The nine key human needs and the significance of understanding and fulfilling these needs for employee well-being and engagement
Creating a fulfilling and productive work environment
 
Find Paula
On her website - https://www.scarletthinking.com/human-givens-consultancy/

 
Remember, if you want to hire a Work Pirate, get started at https://www.workpirates.com or follow us @WorkPirates
 

#18 Alex Barker Alex Barker is a speaker, facilitator, writer and community builder. And a Pirate Captain. 
She’s the Co-Author of How to Be More Pirate, the sequel book to Be More Pirate,  and Captain of the ever-growing community.
She’s also an advocate of helping women find their voice, to become more influential, powerful and effective speakers, negotiators and decision-makers. 
We talk about:
How she advocates for empowering women to enhance their influence, power, and effectiveness in various roles, including as speakers, negotiators, and decision-makers.
Disconnection between an organisation's stated values and true motives often leads to organisational gaslighting.
The significance of rest as an initial step when facing workplace challenges, as taking a break can help individuals gather their thoughts and energy.
Find Alex
On her website - https://alexbarker.co.uk/
On Be More Pirate - https://www.bemorepirate.com/ 
On Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-barker-46745471 
On Twitter - https://twitter.com/AlexandraBarke1 



Remember, if you want to hire a Work Pirate, get started at https://www.workpirates.com or follow us @WorkPirates
 

#17 - Vanessa Raath - Unf*cking Work
This month James and Michelle speak to Vanessa Raath about unf*cking work.
Vanessa is globally renowned for her contributions to the international Sourcing Community. She has delivered Keynotes across three continents and has trained teams based from Auckland to Seattle. 
Vanessa launched her Talent Sourcing Training business in early 2019 and has not looked back. She is a qualified teacher with experience in both agency recruiting and internal talent acquisition (she loved both roles!). She now gets to combine her love of empowering others to do better, with her passion for recruiting through her own Online Academy. 
She loves it when her training delegates experience that ‘light bulb’ moment as she knows that she has just changed someone’s career, for the better. 
When Vanessa is not doing research for her training, recording content or delivering a Keynote, you can find her at the Beach or in the South African Bushveld, taking photographs.
 
In this episode we talk about:
The need for companies to consider individual preferences and circumstances when determining work arrangements.
Why managers should possess the skills to effectively manage remote teams.
The need to embrace and learn how to use AI tools rather than fearing their impact on job security
 
Find Vanessa
On LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessaraath/
On Twitter - https://twitter.com/Van_Raath
On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/van_raath/
On YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Van_Raath
On Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.raath.3/
On her website - https://academy.vanessaraath.com/
Read Vanessa's Guest Blog - https://www.workpirates.com/post/unfucking-work-with-vanessa-raath 
Remember, if you want to hire a Work Pirate, get started at https://www.workpirates.com or follow us @WorkPirates
 
 

#16 - Matt Ballantine - Unf*cking Work
This month James and Michelle speak to Matt Ballantine about unf*cking work.
Matt is a sociologist and technologist who has worked managing and leading technology teams in organisations across the public and private sectors for the last 30 years, including the BBC, Microsoft and Reuters.
Since June 2022 he has been an Engagement Manager at Equal Experts. He usually also has at least a couple of side projects on the go at any given time.
 
In this episode, we talk about:
The lie that all problems can be solved by technology
Human-sized organisations and all the things that go wrong when people increase beyond that number.
And why performance management processes are the devil incarnate! 
Find Matt and PlayCards here: https://stamplondon.co.uk/, Matt on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattballantine/ and Equal Experts here: https://www.equalexperts.com/ 
Matt's Blog on the Work Pirates Website - https://www.workpirates.com/post/unfucking-work-with-matt-ballantine 
Find out more about the Milgram experiment - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment 
 
Find out more about Human - https://www.we-are-human.co.uk/ 
 
Remember, if you want to hire a Work Pirate, get started at https://www.workpirates.com or follow us @WorkPirates