Dare Be Podcast

Gregoire Lemaitre
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Get inspired by people who found fulfilment and joy in their career. Learn how they identified their vocation. Hear the courageous changes they made to follow their passion and purpose. It is hosted by Grégoire Lemaitre who is on a mission to help people start on their own path to meaningful success. A journey he has himself embarked on after 15 years in a career that had the usual markers of success but lacked purpose and joy. Greg is a career and leadership coach. He co-founded Dare Be, which delivers the 6-week Find Direction Course (www.darebe.me/course).

  1. 12/08/2022

    #20 Managing the mess of life, from Harvard to politics to startup

    A warm welcome to the Dare Be Podcast where I interview people who have followed their passion and mission. My guest in this episode is Guillaume Liégey, an entrepreneur. He co-founded eXplain, a startup to combine his passion for politics and his desire to work with great people.While at the Harvard Kennedy School, he witnessed how data-driven and field-focused Obama's campaign was. So he decided to bring back to France this best practice. He did it with the French Socialist party in 2012. He then worked closely with Emmanuel Macron to create and launch the En Marche party which won the French presidential election in 2017. Preferring to focus on his business he made the tough decision to withdraw from the campaign and to pivot the business.In this episode Guillaume also talks about the joys and struggles of being an entrepreneur, such as the many nos entrepreneurs have to receive in fundraising, about balancing ambition and ego, about learning humility as a Parisian consultant in a factory in Marseille and much more. I think you'll enjoy this conversation!

    43 min

  2. 09/30/2022

    #19 From art enthusiast at school to a successful jewellery brand

    A warm welcome to the Dare Be Podcast where I interview people who have followed their passion and mission. My guest in this episode is Anna Molinari, founder of the jewellery brand Atelier Molinari. She shares the pivotal moments in her story of falling in love with art at school and being challenged for it; of the magical trip to the Gem Palace in Jaipur India when she instantly knew she was meant to become a jewellery designer; of the sacrifices she’s had to make for 6 years; of her long, underground learning journey through Jaipur, Paris, London and New York; of the crazy day when the buyer of one of the most prestigious retail stores in the world offered to sell her own jewellery creations. I hope you get inspired by her courage and determination to pursue her dream and make it happen. [00:03:32] Two things she loves most: drawing and picking stones [00:05:19] Getting in the zone of limitless possibilities when drawing rings [00:06:57] A ring is a like a little sculpture, unlike earrings and necklaces which move [00:07:37] Her first rings were made of cigarette packs and the metal piece holding champagne corks [00:08:10] The story of her first ring that also started the design of her entire collection [00:09:56] Exploring the idea of creating lace out of gold in her art studies at Central Saint Martins [00:11:25] Selecting stones: like being a kid in a candy store [00:12:57] The jewellery industry is all about trust [00:15:46] The emotions stones can generate [00:18:00] The start of her journey: made to feel not good enough at school except in her Friday afternoon art lessons [00:18:49] Anna:"I wanna do art. That's what makes me feel alive!" Headteacher:"This is a big problem." [00:19:47] Getting her parents' support [00:21:05] The power of having people believing in you [00:21:24] Preparing her portfolio was the first time she enjoyed working [00:21:47] Being surrounded and inspired by people who want to make it through their passion [00:23:35] The enchanted encounter with the world of jewellery in India [00:24:43] Jewellery for the exploration and enjoyment of it [00:25:58] The gentle arm twist of a famous jewellery designer to have her move from New York to Jaipur, India [00:27:04] Selling a necklace of muscle-like diamonds to Diane von Furstenberg [00:27:44] Making the scary move to Jaipur [00:29:22] Living in the enchanted Jewellery world and in simple conditions far from her family [00:30:52] First move out of India to Paris: hated it [00:31:30] Who can hire me to stay in New York and see the upcoming Met's jewellery exhibition? [00:32:04] Next steps in Paris, London, New York, India: who can teach me import? Client relationships? Invoicing? [00:33:02] Her 6 year project to launch her brand [00:33:40] The moment Bon Marché's buyer in Paris wants to work with her [00:34:45] Disbelief, fear of failing and ... calling for help [00:36:44] Struggling to sell her own creations (I relate!) [00:37:32] Selling stories instead of her creations [00:38:39] Crushing through Bon Marché's secret target and being called by Fortnum and Mason [00:39:49] The 6-year struggle with no option but to continue [00:40:49] Believing in the value of work that matters to you [00:41:17] Being part of the engagement stories [00:42:03] Her most expensive versus the most valuable piece of jewellery she's held [00:43:33] The art of celebrating and giving [00:44:20] Learn from every single experience!

    47 min

  3. 07/15/2022

    #18 From Unilever to lead roles in London’s musicals

    In this episode I talk to Grant Aylward who, after a successful sales career in the consumer goods industry, decided to become an actor in London’s West End. It’s been a long journey and he made it all the way to getting lead roles in major musicals such as Mama Mia.  Grant also used his experience as an actor to help business people communicate more effectively. This led him to found High Impact, a leadership and communication consultancy. He then gave up his acting career to dedicate all his attention to the business. I really enjoyed my conversation with Grant and I hope you do too!  SHOW NOTES [00:01:45] What Grant does: CEO of High Impact a leadership development consultancy [00:03:33] High Impact is about helping leaders peel off layers to get to emotional connections [00:06:14] Like in acting, what matters in any interaction is the emotional connection that it creates [00:07:26] The actor's journey: getting as close to the truth of your character by getting under his skin  [00:09:06] The importance of the spiritual dimension in leadership: leaders need to know why they are doing what they're doing.  [00:09:45] His mission: enable leaders to be all that they are, all that they have been and all that they can be [00:11:09] Your emotional state as a leader determines your impact in your interactions - how can you shift it?  [00:12:16] Many leaders believe managing employees' emotional states is none of their business. They are wrong.  [00:13:42] His experience of becoming aware of his need to shift his emotional state [00:17:52] The adventure that helped him shift his emotional state from grumpiness to clarity and determination [00:23:43] The moment he deeply connected to what was important to him and had a dream vision of acting in London's West End [00:25:35] Aligning with his wife before making his career jump [00:26:45] Signs of the universe? His first child was born the day he graduated from Guildford Drama School - after struggling to conceive  [00:27:47] His actor's journey to reaching his dream of playing in London's West End, singing "tell me it's not true"! [00:29:16] Being determined to achieve your dream is just the starting point - accepting help along the way is also necessary [00:30:43] It's when he let go of trying to be a star that success emerged [00:31:14] Proving his father he could be creative was a driver in his journey [00:31:33] His actor's journey destroyed many beliefs: the sense of one's own importance [00:32:07] Auditions are a powerful opportunity to learn to deal with rejection [00:34:12] Hitting a crossroads in his acting career when he was offered the lead role in Mama Mia's world tour [00:35:11] How he got fired by his agent  [00:36:25] How he decided to focus on the world of business using his hybrid experience  [00:38:57] The exploration to understand what Charisma is made of and how to develop it through human qualities [00:40:43] His biggest lesson from his journey: standing up to something that you believe in  [00:41:16] What's been most rewarding? Seeing others become their powerful selves [00:42:04] He grew the most when his 10-year old daughter allowed him to be himself with his new wife's children [00:43:41] Among the people who've inspired him most is Renault's chairman Jean-Dominique Sénard [00:46:14] Practical ways to shift your emotional state to create emotional connections  [00:47:56] What may appear as him plugging his business in the conversation was actually plugging himself and what matters to him!

    49 min

  4. 06/09/2022

    #17 From Morgan Stanley to Regenerative Agriculture

    In this episode I talk to Chuck de Liedekerke, an investment banker at Morgan Stanley in London turned entrepreneur in regenerative agriculture . I enjoyed learning about regenerative agriculture, how it is a solution to climate change and the difference with organic agriculture.  SHOW NOTES [00:02:21] What gives him the most satisfaction in his job? The team, the impact and making an idea successful [00:04:05] Regenerative agriculture versus extractive agriculture [00:06:04] There is no trade-off between environment and profit [00:07:04] Farmers' methods follow the food we buy [00:07:57] How regenerative agriculture helps to reduce carbon emissions and enhance resilience in our food system  [00:10:20] How he focused on solving climate change in the first 9 years instead of solving problems for the real agents of change: the farmers  [00:11:08] The difference between regenerative agriculture and organic agriculture [00:12:47] When he walked into his boss office to quit and he said "Sure, life's too short, but ask yourself this one question: What do you want to do?" [00:14:00] It felt good not to know what he wanted to do [00:15:09] The Ted Talk binge to answer the question [00:16:08] The Ted Talk that clicked everything into place [00:18:33] The many happy coincidences as confirming signs [00:19:30] Saving the world and making money scales and can last [00:21:36] The calling for creating an operational relationship with nature [00:22:52] It took him 1.5 years to actually resign [00:23:34] Looking for a business partner who actually knows this stuff [00:25:07] The first business idea that never happened: create an investment fund  [00:27:44] The emotional ride of the beginning  [00:28:42] Doubting the business model and adapting but never doubting the regenerative agriculture focus [00:29:34] The first investment opportunity that made them pivot away from investing [00:30:25] From land investors to farmland managers [00:31:41] Learning and then looking to scale their knowledge and impact  [00:33:17] From feeling free and pivoting to committing to a plan and a team of 28 [00:37:03] Acknowledging his weakness and looking for people to compensate for it [00:38:06] Didn't create the business with friends, became friends through the business [00:38:37] Inspired by Patagonia's founder for working for a purpose [00:40:25] Importance of religion - leaving every room better than when you arrived [00:41:21] His most important lesson? Love to be wrong, to capture what's true around you [00:43:21] His greatest reward: having built a team that would function without him [00:45:25] The power of vulnerability at work [00:46:16] Biggest challenge? At the beginning the lack of credibility, today the pace of change in science and policy  [00:47:16] If you're not tackling the world's meaningful and urgent problems, you're part of the problem I also really enjoyed listening to his story. From the evening when he walked into his boss' office to quit to now as CEO of a business with 28 people... A LOT has happened. I was struck by his self-awareness and humility. There are important learnings for all of us. I hope you enjoy it!

    49 min

  5. 03/21/2022

    #16 From VP at Twitter to author and podcaster

    Bruce Daisley is the author of the Sunday Times best seller The Joy of Work, host of the number 1 business podcast eat sleep work repeat, a workplace culture expert and an award-winning speaker. He used to be the most senior employee at Twitter outside NA. He worked at Google where he ran YouTube in the UK. I wanted to talk to him because I like the work he does and his takes on workplace culture and also because I was interested in his journey from media and Big Tech to what he does now.  I hope you enjoy my conversation with Bruce where he shares insights into what makes a high-enjoyment and high-performance work culture. You will also hear about his transition, writing a book and launching a podcast while having a high-profile role in a fast-paced organisation like Twitter. SHOW NOTES [00:03:20] How come big tech companies still don't know how to adapt to a hybrid approach to work  [00:04:48] You can never "nail" the culture in a company  [00:05:14] Leaders embody what's acceptable and what's not acceptable in a business. They create the identity of the team and the critical sense of "us".  [00:06:28] The missteps Uber took in building their culture was may have been the reason they have been so successful  [00:09:00] The myopia of feeling like you have a good culture because it fits you [00:09:16] How the work hard play hard cultures can be exclusionary [00:10:56] How he tried to create an environment where people would say this was their favorite job  [00:12:21] How understanding what makes cultures tick became his obsession [00:12:47] How he became a popular podcast host and came to write a book on culture  [00:13:13] What made him jump from top job in Big Tech to become a podcaster, writer, consultant [00:15:08] What are the symptoms and causes of burnout? [00:17:16] Our fear system operates in direct opposition to creativity [00:19:39] How the tyranny of email and meetings prevents organisations to tap into the creative power of their people [00:21:10] Why many companies are looking at their middle-management to create differentiation in a world where hybrid is the norm  [00:22:27] Calling out the important part of luck in making his career a success [00:23:23] What his experiences as a barman and working in fast fod restaurant taught him about the workplace  [00:24:32] How he created a "student union bar" culture within the prevalent "consultant" culture at Google [00:26:47] How fun became a way for him to make time pass by faster in his low-paid jobs [00:27:50] How to make playfulness the driver for high-performance [00:29:47] How laughter can be a powerful coping mechanism to deal with great difficulty [00:30:40] How your sense of connection to your team and the strength of your support network helps you deal with trauma  [00:32:49] How growth mindset is a charming theory but not backed up by research  [00:34:21] How a sense of togetherness generates resilience, like in Ukraine now  [00:36:55] How companies can promote a sense of connection by creating a diverse set of communities  [00:39:15] What's been most rewarding on his journey? Regular moments of laughter [00:41:08] What's been most challenging on your journey? Bad and new bosses.

    44 min

  6. 02/28/2022

    #15 From Headhunter to LinkedIn Top Voice and Changemaker

    Listen to the story of Andrew MacAskill, a LinkedIn Top Voice. He is also part of LinkedIn's Changemaker Programme set up to help make work a better place. Andrew is also the founder of Executive Career Jump, a career coaching company with the mission of ending career-based misery. In the past two years, he's worked with over 500 people to help them find jobs that are more aligned with who they are.  Andrew's mission is complementary to what I do: as a career coach I help people clarify what they want to do, Andrew helps on the critical step of helping people get the job they want.  We first talk about the state of the workplace, the role LinkedIn is playing in this and then we dive into his story. You will learn about what it feels like to lose one’s job, about what it takes to become an influencer, about starting a passion project as a side hustle and making it your main income, about leveraging LinkedIn when you are job-hunting or recruiting.

    45 min

  7. 02/09/2022

    #14 From boredom in Finance to passion as a pastry chef

    An emotional conversation with Emilie about her passion for food, about her childhood memories cooking with her grandmother and about her challenging and successful journey to pursue it.  Emilie changed her career from being in Finance in Paris to working in the food industry. She's now the pastry Executive Chef in a luxury gastronomy brand in Germany.  She explains how her love for food was transmitted as an heritage from her grandparents in her family house in the South of France. She also explains what makes a perfect pain au chocolat.  And of course she tells the story of her transition. She shares what she called her revelation that she got while attending a class at the famous Ducasse school.   How she quit her job to become a pastry teacher herself, the difficulties she had to overcome and the years it took to clarify how she could do what she really wanted to do in food and in pastry.  SHOW NOTES [00:02:34] Grew up in a family where every meal should be a celebration [00:03:21] Her emotional memories of the preparations and the meals with her grandmother and grandfather [00:04:39] How she cooked with her grandmother recipes elaborated by her great-great grandmother [00:05:44] Growing up tasting all the different flavours, products given by her grandmother [00:07:26] Her love for eating comes from the emotions it triggers in her [00:08:54] Her passion in her job today comes from being able to express herself through pastry [00:09:27] Big Gap - 2'57[00:09:27] How she expresses herself through her pastry: the right recipe & the right product and respecting the process [00:11:36] Improving versus accepting that your recipe is "perfect". [00:12:21] Scaling perfection is a very challenging [00:13:00] What makes a perfect pain au chocolat? The 5-sense test [00:14:54] Not going into food because of her not seeing her restaurant owner father much [00:16:02] Dreading going to work, bored at work, feeling like she was missing something. Started cooking to fill her void. [00:17:51] She got a Revelation while attending a half-day pastry course at the Ducasse School [00:19:39] After 10 years of cooking as a hobby, made the jump to doing her pastry exam [00:20:47] Getting into business partnership with her pastry teacher [00:22:05] the hardest part was not the beginning of her new journey, but after two years with lots of fear [00:23:01] Wearing many hats as a small business owner made the experience very uncomfortable [00:25:52] Moved to Germany with her 2 girls to be with her partner [00:27:02] Starting her pastry business in Germany from her kitchen thanks to serendipitous encounters [00:28:26] Organically growing her business in Germany [00:29:53] Hitting a wall of fear as she got pregnant and working really hard [00:30:49] Video Clip [00:30:49] Video clip - The big storm of life that she went through [00:32:33] She knew that she could bring value - but struggled to convince people that somebody with hybrid profile can help. Asking for help! [00:33:56] How it feels when you are full of fear and still have dreams [00:35:14] What to do when things get difficult in a career transition?

    37 min
  8. #13 From denying to accepting who you are to make the right career decisions

    01/24/2022

    #13 From denying to accepting who you are to make the right career decisions

    In this deep, open and rich conversation, Deri Hughes shares how he learnt to take conscious decisions instead of being led by unconscious drivers. He shares some practical tools and techniques. This has deep implications for our careers and our lives.  Deri Hughes has had a rich and diverse career with a focus on strategic consulting. He graduated from Oxford University with a first class degree in organic chemistry. He even went all the way to doing a PhD there. He then started his career at Bain, founded a short-lived company and continued with a few free-lance consulting roles. He then moved on to become the CFO and COO in a strategic consultancy. After this he founded his two companies HoneyComb PS and Explore Consulting where he helps leaders of consulting firms to recruit, train, and develop their teams.  A few months ago he wrote a post on LinkedIn where he very openly talked about his personal difficulties and how he has been working through them. This was a beautiful example of daring to be, daring to show up, with his strengths and vulnerabilities.  SHOW NOTES Deri’s LinkedIn profile. 03’46 - Doing a PhD in organic chemistry at Oxford because his father also had a PhD… but actually not liking it. 05’01 - Had the option to stop his PhD despite, but he decides otherwise because of his self-judgement. 06’09 - Key learning: fear of judgement unconsciously driving decisions in himself and observing this pattern in many people. 07’30 - Key learning: Not just sticking with something because you've started it, but having that conscious decision that it's the thing you want to do to continue. Tool used by Bain Partner: every year goes to ⅔ interviews externally to always make a positive decision to stay at Bain.  08’35 - The signs that his PhD was not for him: difficulty focusing, booms and busts of energy, dragging himself to the lab. Not getting enjoyment or motivation from his tasks.  10’30 - At the time, he did not accept that he did not like his PhD. Probably had undiagnosed depression at that time in an unsupportive environment.  12’27 - Becoming the President of the university Sports Club, running it as a small business. Getting his energy from it.  13’33 - Joined Bain and did very well there thanks to a strong strengths and cultural fit.  14’37 - His technique to get into a mindset to be fully present and ready to perform at his best in critical situations - using visualisation to know what he needs to do and how he needs to feel to focus on the effort and avoid being distracted.  18’17 - Getting into the right emotional state to perform to his highest possible level in key moments by focusing on the importance of the event for him.  20’42 - His sense of mission, aligning his business activities with it enables him to stay focused and motivated and to do the things that are difficult.  21’51 - Focusing your personal mission on what is difficult, because it gives you a constant reminder to focus on what you want to grow into.  21’56 - Explains his personal mission statement: “I am here now creating a world of golden connections by shouting my joy and hearing its echo.” 26’29 - The Mankind Project has been hugely helpful to him - groups of men to help bring about positive masculinity and helping men understand themselves better.  27’00 - Developed his mission based on what he wanted and needed as a child and did not get. These are typically the things that you want to give out the most but are difficult to give. 28’23 - An example of the way he expresses his mission statement in business situations, as a trainer. 29’26 - The prospect of becoming a father as a consultant and an honest conversation with his wife made him leave his job at Bain.  31’19 - Being surprised by the number of people who were jealous of him leaving, but in the end all of them stayed.  33’20 - Differences in people's risk tolerance may make them more or less prone to change jobs, industry or careers.  35’07 - In SAAS, people say you need to see a 5-10 times difference in the value or ROI that you get to switch to a new solution. Maybe that also applies to how we make our career decisions. See this post on the change equation.  36’22 - He switched lifestyle before he got to the point of being trapped by high run rate costs commitments. 36’54 - “Naively” started his own business. Failed and stopped after 6 months.  38’34 - Solving the wrong problem (feeling the need to be in teams) by being employed again. Then realised and accepted that he did not need to be part of a team.  42’08 - How to know what you truly want fast? By building your self-awareness, particularly with someone holding up the mirror.  44’16 - Possible techniques to reduce or eliminate our addictive behaviours (don’t take this for mental health advice!). Give yourself compassion and sit with the discomfort of the emotional need.  50’17 - His perspectives on the world of work that is likely to emerge in the next few years that could give more freedom, opportunities and choices for people in their work.

    55 min
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About

Get inspired by people who found fulfilment and joy in their career. Learn how they identified their vocation. Hear the courageous changes they made to follow their passion and purpose. It is hosted by Grégoire Lemaitre who is on a mission to help people start on their own path to meaningful success. A journey he has himself embarked on after 15 years in a career that had the usual markers of success but lacked purpose and joy. Greg is a career and leadership coach. He co-founded Dare Be, which delivers the 6-week Find Direction Course (www.darebe.me/course).

Information

  • Creator
    Gregoire Lemaitre
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2022
  • Episodes
    19
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    Dare Be Podcast