Life Beyond The Numbers

Susan Ni Chriodain
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What really makes work-life fulfilling? Through stories, reflections and insights from leaders, thinkers and creatives, we shine a light on the invisible forces that shape our work lives — what it means to be human. This isn’t just something to tune into — it’s something to attune to. Hosted by award-winning author Susan Ní Chríodáin, Life Beyond the Numbers is for people who care about people. Because while numbers matter — people matter more.

  1. Are You Listening? A solo episode

    2D AGO

    Are You Listening? A solo episode

    "There's a lot more that hasn't been said. A lot of the book is about voice and not leaving things unsaid. And I sometimes realise that I don't use my voice as much as I could. I can retreat from things. In a way, that's what writing the book does. It brings things to the surface that wouldn't otherwise come through. I don't think that's done. I just think there's a lot of creativity still waiting to emerge." Susan   This is a solo episode to mark 2 years since the publication of Leading Beyond the Numbers. It begins with a poem written on a the side of the street in London and moves through what it has been like to live alongside a book in the world. I explore what it means to uncover or recover our dreams, and what stands between us and acknowledging them. Tim Gallwey's formula: Performance = Potential – Interference surfaces alongside a mishearing that reframed interfere as inner fear: the way our most protective thoughts can be the most cleverly disguised. I cover the shortlisting party I nearly talked myself out of attending and a moment afterwards, a hug from a fellow author who hadn't made the shortlist, that turned out to matter most. And underneath all of it: outsourcing worth to outcomes, mistaking thinking for reality and what changes when we start listening to what's actually here. Are you Listening? Susan is a facilitator, coach, writer and speaker and the host of Life Beyond the Numbers. Her work sits at the intersection of leadership, emotional intelligence and the human experience of work, helping people see more clearly, speak more honestly and move forward in a more grounded way. Her book Leading Beyond the Numbers, published in May 2024, draws on her work, her research and the conversations that shaped this podcast. It won Highly Commended in the Leadership Category at the 2025 Business Book Awards.   Connect with Susan: On LinkedIn Through her website: Beyond the Numbers Read Leading Beyond the Numbers: How accounting for emotions tips the balance at work Follow her writing on Substack: The Whole Equation Resources Mentioned: The Inner Game of Tennis by Tim Gallwey Practical Inspiration Publishing Business Book Awards David Whyte Rob Lawrence Season of Blood by Fergal Keane

    37 min
  2. More Interesting Stuff - Ben Legg

    APR 28

    More Interesting Stuff - Ben Legg

    "I'm going to get rid of the day job because it's getting in the way of doing more interesting stuff." Ben Legg   Ben Legg and I talk about what it actually takes to build a portfolio career and why the people drawn to it tend to share a particular kind of independent bloody mindedness. Ben brings his own journey from the Royal Engineers to McKinsey to Google to founding the Portfolio Collective, a 16,000-strong global community for portfolio professionals. He's a pragmatic optimist about the trade-offs: the freedom, the loneliness, the accountability and the discipline of thinking of yourself as a business of one. We get into what makes work fun, what the army taught him about staying calm when no one's actually dying and why he thinks the biggest shift ahead isn't AI itself but the move from doing to orchestrating. We close with one eye on the future of work, of education, of what a good life might look like when the drudgery falls away and human ingenuity gets to do what it does best. Ben Legg is the former COO of Google Europe. As a board member and advisor across multiple industries, he is heavily involved in building disruptive businesses, as well as advising Wall Street investors and governments on AI strategy, realities and digital disruption. Ben’s career has been defined by high-stakes leadership, turnarounds and hypergrowth. From serving as a British Army Officer during the Siege of Sarajevo to running the turnaround of Coca-Cola India to defining and leading hypergrowth at Google, he brings a unique "warrior-to-boardroom" perspective. Connect with Ben The Portfolio Collective: https://portfolio-collective.com/profile/ben-legg/ On LinkedIn

    47 min
  3. Everything is up for Grabs - Faris Aranki

    APR 14

    Everything is up for Grabs - Faris Aranki

    "Everything is up for grabs. The good thing is the world doesn't care." Faris Aranki   Faris Aranki and I talk about what it really takes for teams to perform and why the thing standing in the way is rarely strategy or intelligence. Faris talks us through his equation (Success = IQ × EQ × FQ) based on 20 years of watching some brilliant organisations fail to execute on perfectly good ideas. We get into resistance and how it shows up in the kids who walked into his maths classroom certain they couldn't learn and in the boardrooms where groupthink is found. We talk about fixed belief systems and biases. There's a lot of practical wisdom here about listening for what people leak, sharpening language and how his formula for success comes to life in an organisation. And we end on the two-metre radius around each of us and what becomes possible when we simply look after that well.   Faris Aranki is the CEO of Shiageto Consulting, an innovative consulting firm blending strategy and emotional intelligence; we will discuss how Faris went from high school teacher to CEO and all the skills he picked up along the way. Having spent over 20 years delivering strategic change for businesses around the world, Faris has experienced first-hand the fine differences between success and failure. He came to realise what hinders institutions from achieving their goals isn’t the quality of their ideas; it’s their ability to get engagement and focus around those ideas; aspects he is an expert in. To build on this passion he set up Shiageto Consulting in 2019 to help businesses and individuals improve their strategic effectiveness and they now work with some of the top organisations in the world. On top of leading Shiageto, Faris is now an accomplished speaker, writer and contributor for a variety of outlets.   Connect with Faris Through his website www.shiageto.com On LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/farisaranki   Resources Mentioned John Amaechi https://linktr.ee/itsnotmagic  Shiageto: the Japanese word for a sharpening stone.

    41 min
  4. A Full Spectrum Life - Jess Goyder

    MAR 28

    A Full Spectrum Life - Jess Goyder

    “It’s called being alive. It’s what kind of life do you want? Do you want a slightly muted shut down life, or do you want a full spectrum life?” Jess Goyder   Jess Goyder and I explore grief as part of everyday human life, not just something linked to death or bereavement. We talk about loss, change, identity, leadership, and what it means to be fully alive. We talk about how grief is often misunderstood, sidelined or treated as disruption. Jess speaks about the cumulative nature of loss, the ways grief can show up as over-functioning, shutdown, numbness and the importance of having containers, spaces, people and places where what is real can be felt and named. We also talk about how grief shows up in the workplace. Jess shares why grief belongs in conversations about leadership - grief work is leadership work - and how unresolved grief is visible in the fabric of an organisation.    Jess Goyder knows grief – and how to build a life you can love alongside loss. A licensed Grief Recovery Specialist® with a Postgrad (Cert) in Psychodynamic Studies from Oxford, she trained with leading grief psychotherapist Francis Weller. Jess helps people from all walks of life – especially leaders and high performers – navigate bereavement, major transitions, illness, and other significant losses. Her work goes far beyond traditional counselling, guiding clients from coping to clarity, emotional resolution, and renewed engagement with life. With over a decade’s experience coaching executives at Adobe, Nestlé, Ogilvy, and Deutsche Bank, Jess also delivers powerful talks and workshops on recognising and addressing the personal and organisational effects of unresolved grief.   Connect with Jess: Through her website: https://griefisnatural.com On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jess-goyder   Resources Mentioned: The Grief Recovery Method: https://www.griefrecoverymethod.com/ Leader as Healer by Nicholas Janni David Whyte

    53 min
  5. Surprised By What They Can Do with Mike Porteous

    MAR 14

    Surprised By What They Can Do with Mike Porteous

    "And if I can coach in a way where someone is really attuned to what's happening in their mind and body as one, not as two separate things, then I think, well, I've found it. It's just magical... They would kind of find themselves at their best. They go on to do things where they're, the phrase I like to use is, they're surprised by what they can do." Mike Porteous   Mike Porteous is an endurance sports coach and author of Beyond Belief: The art of confidence-centred coaching. But this episode isn't only about sport. It's about what happens when we stop trying to fix people and start paying attention to what's actually going on for them in their bodies, in the space between coach and athlete, in the moments before an event. Mike describes confidence not as a thing someone has or doesn't have, but as something much more. He speaks about thrill and anticipation, control and uncertainty, fluency and the kind of in-the-moment experience where we can lose and find ourselves at once. We talk about what it means to coach from presence and why the question "how did it feel?" matters far more than "how did it look?" There is also unexpected theme we touch on through this episode: beauty. We talk about being captured by something in front of us, feeling fully alive and the wonder that can arise when someone surprises themselves with what they can do. Mike Porteous has zigzagged between various careers and life changes: from academia (DPhil research in Brazil); to government (leading major change programmes for business); and now to the world of sports coaching. He runs a private endurance coaching business, ZigZag Alive, alongside developing Confidence-Centred Coaching for coaches of all sports - captured in his recently published book Beyond Belief: the art of confidence-centred coaching. He mentors triathlon coaches, teaches disabled children swimming and is a co-host for monthly Wellbeing Dips in the sea. His personal philosophy starts with openness: to others, experiences, ideas and learning. Connect with Mike Through his website: www.zigzagconfidence.com On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-porteous-11754235/   Resources Mentioned: Beyond Belief: The art of confidence-centred coaching Steven Rollnick and Motivational Interviewing  Alison Jones and Practical Inspiration Publishing

    50 min
  6. Connect with Yourself - Caroline Harvey

    FEB 28

    Connect with Yourself - Caroline Harvey

    “Communication is all about connection, right? And getting your message across to your audience. And to do that effectively, you have to first connect with yourself….” Caroline Harvey   Caroline Harvey and I explore why impactful communication starts with connection. Caroline shares how “communicate better” can sound simple until you realise it asks something more personal: being connected to who you are and what matters to you because that’s what your audience feels, and responds to. We speak practically about starting with your audience, your objective and the message you want to get across whether you’re speaking up in a meeting, presenting or writing an email. We also speak about the role of preparation and practice and what it looks like to stop hiding behind a professional persona and speak as yourself. Caroline brings in story, metaphor, voice and presence -  including her reflections on “voice and essence”, imposter syndrome and why trusting your story matters, especially in a world of AI. Caroline Harvey is a communications mentor on a mission to help women leaders speak up, stand out, and spark change — in their careers, their companies, and beyond. She works especially with women in STEM, where too often brilliant work goes unseen, and voices go unheard. For Caroline, communication isn’t just a skill — it’s a powerful catalyst for recognition, empowerment, and impact. Originally from Wales, she’s lived and worked across Europe and in Japan, and now calls Barcelona home. Connect with Caroline www.carolineharvey.me  www.linkedin.com/in/caroharvey  Postcards with Presence podcast   Resources Mentioned Episode 209 I Back Myself with Julie Smith Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges by Amy Cuddy

    40 min
  7. Healthy High Performance - Sheila Walsh (From the Archives)

    FEB 14

    Healthy High Performance - Sheila Walsh (From the Archives)

    "We're really focused on the core fundamentals of organisational clarity, communicating that clarity, over-communicating that clarity, minimising confusion and politics. And when that's present, then you have the good stuff. And for me, the good stuff is that you're creating that environment for people to flourish and thrive." Sheila Walsh.    Sheila Walsh takes me through the tumultuous year in a tech company in the travel sector. We talk about keeping teams engaged when everyone is remote working and about the lack of spontaneity in a remote environment. Sheila talks about what it is like to work in a people-centric organisation that is driven by the Leadership Team and cascaded down - the LT have a team coach and no chance to get comfortable or complacent. She shares that CarTrawler has upgraded its high-performance focus to 'healthy high-performance'.  We talk about finding meaning and purpose, rabbit-holes, pixie-dust, growth mindset, learning and more.     Sheila Walsh was Chief People Officer at CarTrawler at the time of recording. A hands-on and motivated HR professional, Sheila has a broad range of experience across many sectors including; software, telco, publishing, healthcare and not-for-profit. She strongly believes that the provision of meaning and purpose within the workplace results in engaged employees who live and breathe the behaviours that support sustained business success. She holds an MBS in Business Practice from University College Cork, is an accredited Life Coach & Lifeskills Consultant and is an associate member of CIPD.     Connect with Sheila: On LinkedIn   Resources: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Patrick Lencioni

    33 min
  8. To Be Heard - Deirdre de Bhailís

    JAN 28

    To Be Heard - Deirdre de Bhailís

    "So it's just giving people multiple ways to feed into this and to be heard. To be heard is the most important thing, is what I've learned." Deirdre de Bhailís   Deirdre de Bhailís and I talk about what it really takes for change to happen in communities — and why being heard matters so much when people are navigating uncertainty, sustainability, and the future of the places they live. Prompted by the Dingle Peninsula being named Ireland’s Greenest Place, our conversation explores local action on climate, food, transport and livelihoods and how community-led work connects policy with lived reality. Deirdre shares examples from the Dingle Hub, including quiet lanes, cycling, food waste, renewable energy, and the role of trust in making change stick. We also discuss the role of leadership in communities, the importance of pacing change and creating spaces where difficult conversations can be held without fear. From coastal resilience in the Maharees to sustaining livelihoods on the Dingle Peninsula this is a conversation about people taking responsibility for the long-term future of the places they live.   Deirdre de Bhailís is a nationally-recognised leader in social enterprise and community-led innovation, with a comprehensive knowledge of strategic and operational development. Skilled in multi-stakeholder and community engagement, she contributes significantly to advancing Ireland’s transition to a low-carbon society by empowering citizens and communities to co-create practical, scalable solutions. Her work spans sustainable mobility, circular bioeconomy initiatives, and climate resilience—bridging policy, technology, and grassroots action. Deirdre brings a systems-thinking approach to energy transition, ensuring that community voices shape a more reliable, efficient, and sustainable energy future. She is a frequent speaker at national and international forums on climate action, rural development, and energy innovation. Deirdre holds a degree in Electronic Engineering from NUIG and a Masters in Engineering Science from UCC. Connect with Deirdre www.dinglehub.com On Instagram: dingle_hub On LinkedIn: Dingle Hub; Deirdre de Bhailís   Resources Mentioned: The Irish Times article The Dingle Hub  Ireland’s Greenest Place Award  Quiet Lanes - Campaign to Protect Rural England Samsø, Denmark — example of community-led renewable energy The Maharees coastal conservation Creative Ireland  Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) / Sustainable Energy Communities Initiative Solar Beo — local solar PV provider on the Dingle Peninsula ESB Networks / Electric Ireland

    46 min
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About

What really makes work-life fulfilling? Through stories, reflections and insights from leaders, thinkers and creatives, we shine a light on the invisible forces that shape our work lives — what it means to be human. This isn’t just something to tune into — it’s something to attune to. Hosted by award-winning author Susan Ní Chríodáin, Life Beyond the Numbers is for people who care about people. Because while numbers matter — people matter more.

Information

  • Creator
    Susan Ni Chriodain
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    225
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2020 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Life Beyond The Numbers