Leadership BITES

Guy Bloom | Living Brave Leadership

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Welcome to ‘Leadership Bites’, with your host Guy Bloom. I have conversations with amazing people who impact on the world around them . Always about leadership and hopefully in such a way as to reinforce the good you do and to bring challenge to the things you might be able to calibrate. All links for Guy: www.livingbrave.com

1d ago

Failure Is An Option | Mike Grossman | Silcon Valley CEO & Author

Mike Grossman shares his journey of running early stage technology companies in Silicon Valley, reflecting on the challenges, successes, and the importance of people in business. He emphasizes the need for emotional intelligence and understanding the context of business, particularly in relation to people and financial aspects. Mike also discusses the significance of having the right people in the right places and the challenges of managing and dealing with people as a company grows. The conversation covers topics related to leadership, team dynamics, hiring, company culture, and the impact of technology on business. It also delves into the importance of radical honesty, mental health, and managing expectations in a business environment. The conversation delves into the roller coaster ride of business environments, the importance of emotional resilience, and the challenges faced by entrepreneurs. It also explores the motivation behind writing a book and the evolving nature of decision-making in the tech industry. Takeaways Silicon Valley CEO Mike Grossman shares insights on running early stage technology companiesThe importance of people and financial context in businessChallenges and successes of managing and dealing with people as a company grows Trust and role modeling are essential for fostering effective communication and team dynamics.The focus on input rather than outcome, radical honesty, and managing mental health are crucial for navigating the challenges of running a business. Emotional resilience is crucial in navigating the ups and downs of business environments.The decision-making criteria in the tech industry is evolving, and the pace of change is accelerating. Chapters 00:00 The Journey of Running Early Stage Technology Companies03:10 The Role of People in Business08:42 Managing and Dealing with People as a Company Grows17:08 Fostering Effective Communication and Team Dynamics18:07 Challenges of Hiring and Company Culture18:32 Adapting to Small vs. Large Organizations20:26 Managing Expectations and Radical Honesty21:12 Defining Success and Societal Expectations22:05 Navigating Business Pressures and Mental Health23:00 Focus on Input and Managing Expectations24:31 Navigating Business Challenges and Results25:19 Maintaining Equilibrium and Managing Expectations32:06 Impact of Technology on Business35:34 Navigating the Roller Coaster36:46 Emotional Resilience and Professionalism37:16 Mental Health and Decision-Making40:07 Motivation for Writing a Book50:54 Evolving Decision-Making in Tech
Aug 23

Talking Psychometric Assessment | Peter Rhodes

Psychometric assessments can provide significant insight, but they should never be mistaken for a definitive answer. In this episode of Leadership Bites, I speak with occupational psychologist Peter Rhodes about what psychometric assessments can genuinely tell us, where their limitations sit and why every result needs to be explored, tested and corroborated. We discuss personality, resilience, conscientiousness, ambition, emotional intelligence and the handling of anxiety. We also consider what these characteristics might mean when recruiting senior leaders, assessing potential or building an effective leadership team. Peter shares examples from his work with pilots, chief executives, public authorities and senior appointments, including what happens when ambition is not matched by conscientiousness and why somebody can be socially capable without being emotionally attached. The profile creates the evidence and the questions. The real value comes from the quality of the conversation that follows. To find out more about Guy Bloom and his award winning work in Team Coaching, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching click below. The link to everything CLICK HERE UK: 07827 953814 Email: guybloom@livingbrave.com Web: www.livingbrave.com
Jul 22

A Journey Of Consultancy Growth | Marc Jantzen

Marc Jantzen, Founder of The Consultancy Growth Network, joins Guy Bloom to explore what it really takes to build, grow and lead a successful consultancy. Marc reflects on selling Blue Sky, taking time away from work and eventually returning to build something new in The Consultancy Growth Network. He shares how he tested his proposition, launched with only six members and adapted the business when lockdown made its original model impossible. The conversation explores the value of mentors, the importance of testing ideas with the market and why consultancy leaders need people around them who understand the journey. Guy and Marc also discuss the impact of AI on consulting, the move from charging for time to pricing around value and the changing shape of consultancy firms as technology replaces more junior analytical work. They close with an honest discussion about leadership, motivation, transparency, vulnerability and why being a decent human being matters, but is not always enough. There are moments when leaders must step forward, create belief and have the conversations others may prefer to avoid. To find out more about Guy Bloom and his award winning work in Team Coaching, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching click below. The link to everything CLICK HERE UK: 07827 953814 Email: guybloom@livingbrave.com Web: www.livingbrave.com
Jul 7

Why Legacy Matters with Sharath Jeevan OBE

In this episode of Leadership Bites, Guy Bloom speaks with Sharath Jeevan OBE, legacy expert, Oxford lecturer, author of Inflection: A Roadmap for Leaders at a Crossroads, and founder of the Generational Success Lab at Saïd Business School. Sharath describes legacy not as something leaders think about at the end of their career, but as the mark they are choosing to leave right now. The conversation explores why legacy matters in a world of uncertainty, AI, pressure, private equity, short term targets and constant organisational change. Guy and Sharath challenge the idea that leadership is just task, output and performance management. They discuss why leaders need to think more deeply about meaning, contribution, significance and the experience they create for others. Sharath shares how his own background, from being an Indian immigrant to becoming a social entrepreneur, adviser, author and OBE, shaped his thinking on preservation, reinvention and impact. He also explains why legacy is not only for CEOs or people nearing retirement, but for anyone who wants their work to matter. This conversation looks at legacy through the lens of individuals, teams and organisations. It asks how leaders can build institutions, develop people, create ideas and shape cultures that continue beyond them. A key theme is that legacy is not a soft idea. It is a strategic lens. It helps leaders stay grounded, make better decisions, hold long term intent alongside short term pressure, and create work that has meaning beyond the immediate task. If you are leading a team, shaping a business, working through an inflection point, or asking what your leadership is really leaving behind, this episode will give you plenty to think about. To find out more about Guy Bloom and his award winning work in Team Coaching, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching click below. The link to everything CLICK HERE UK: 07827 953814 Email: guybloom@livingbrave.com Web: www.livingbrave.com
Mar 23

When does leadership start? - Guy Bloom & Jamie MacPherson

In this episode, Guy Bloom sits down with long time colleague Jamie MacPherson for a conversation grounded in real leadership experience. This is not theory. It is what leadership looks like in practice when expectations are high, pressure is real, and people are watching. Together, they explore: The gap between knowing and doing in leadership What shows up under pressure The behaviours that build trust and the ones that quietly erode it The reality of leading peers, not just teams Why experience does not always equal effectiveness This is a conversation shaped by years of working in and around leadership, not observing it from a distance. If you are serious about your impact as a leader, there is something in here for you. 00:00 Introduction to Leadership Dynamics 01:03 Defining Leadership: What Does It Mean? 04:11 The Spectrum of Leadership: Big L vs. Small L 10:02 Contextual Leadership: When Position Doesn't Matter 14:02 The Role of Followership in Leadership 19:48 The Essence of Being a Leader 29:47 Conclusion: When Does Leadership Truly Start? To find out more about Guy Bloom and his award winning work in Team Coaching, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching click below. The link to everything CLICK HERE UK: 07827 953814 Email: guybloom@livingbrave.com Web: www.livingbrave.com
Feb 21

Gary Clarke, Qatar Airways: Leading the way in Talent & Leadership

In this episode of Leadership Bites, I sit down with Gary Clarke, Group Head of Learning and Development at Qatar Airways, based in Doha. Gary leads group wide learning across a 65,000 person organisation, with a team of around 80, covering everything from operational training that keeps aircraft flying, to leadership and capability, learning tech, digital content, and vendor partnerships. Along the way, we get into what it really takes to run an internal learning function like a business, build credibility fast, and become the supplier of choice inside a complex, high pace, multi subsidiary organisation. We talk about leading in a multicultural reality, the tension between standards and psychological safety, why bland harmony is a risk, and how to create a community of practice that pulls people together without forcing compliance. We also touch on AI and learning, not as a shiny distraction, but as a tool, while the real edge remains human connection, trust, and leadership craft. If you care about culture in the real world, not the poster on the wall, this one will land. Connect with me at livingbrave.com Subscribe for more episodes and share this with someone who cares about doing leadership properly. Chapters 00:00 Intro and welcome 00:29 Gary Clarke and Qatar Airways context 02:51 Scale, growth, and operational pace 05:03 What learning covers in an airline 08:57 Supplier of choice mindset for internal L and D 10:43 Quality, credibility, and Brandon Hall Awards 12:14 Centralised vs federated learning models 14:19 Building community through internal conferences 21:17 Multicultural leadership, standards, and integration 33:04 Clear standards, clear intention 34:03 Human centred leadership and psychological safety 49:13 AI, generational gaps, and learning strategy 57:12 The next few years and what matters most To find out more about Guy Bloom and his award winning work in Team Coaching, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching click below. The link to everything CLICK HERE UK: 07827 953814 Email: guybloom@livingbrave.com Web: www.livingbrave.com
Feb 8

Dr. Steven Farmer, CEO, Alconex- Soft Skills, Delivering Hard Results

In this episode of Leadership Bites, Guy Bloom sits down with Dr Steven Farmer DBA MPhil MBA, Chief Executive Officer of Alconex Infrastructure and Solutions Ltd, author of Soft Skills, Hard Numbers. Steve leads a multi utilities business delivering gas, water and electric connections to homes, while expanding into energy transition work across data centres, battery energy storage and solar. Steve shares a straight talking leadership philosophy that blends soft skills with hard numbers. He talks about rising from an apprenticeship and life on the tools, to senior leadership and board level accountability, then pushing himself through an MBA and a doctorate while working full time. The conversation moves into what servant leadership really means when performance dips, why poor behaviour is a fast route to the exit, and how leaders can build psychological safety without lowering standards. They explore the human reality leaders are dealing with right now, a workforce arriving already anxious, the importance of being excellent at receiving bad news, and the practical power of one simple principle: do not make life worse for people at work. Steve also unpacks his doctorate research into values based recruitment in construction, and why the industry needs a new story if it wants young talent to choose trade and craft over debt and drift. Expect clear thinking, grounded experience, and leadership that respects people while still hitting the numbers. Key moments and ideas • The route to CEO, and why effort beats talent when talent coasts • Doctorate level work while leading a business, what it really takes • Values based recruitment and making construction a cause people want to join • Servant leadership without softness, command without control • Psychological safety and performance, do not shoot the messenger • Bad news is like fresh bread, better when it is new • High performance, low tolerance, high nurture, the leadership balance • Creating workplaces where people do not get the Sunday scaries • One leadership book Steve would still recommend: Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People Guest Dr Steven Farmer DBA MPhil MBA Chief Executive Officer, Alconex Infrastructure and Solutions Ltd Author, Soft Skills Delivering Hard Numbers Host Guy Bloom Leadership Development, Executive Coaching and Team Effectiveness Living Brave Leadership Leadership Bites podcast To find out more about Guy Bloom and his award winning work in Team Coaching, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching click below. The link to everything CLICK HERE UK: 07827 953814 Email: guybloom@livingbrave.com Web: www.livingbrave.com
Jan 10

Danny Nelson - The Winvic Way

In this extended studio conversation on Leadership Bites, Guy Bloom sits down with Danny Nelson, MD WINVIC, Industrial & Logistics who has grown with a construction business from its early days into a billion pound organisation. This is not a polished leadership story. It is a real one. Danny talks openly about starting out as an apprentice, learning the craft from tough early experiences, and what changes when you move from being good at the job to being responsible for people, culture and long term performance. Together they explore what trust actually looks like when you stop micromanaging, why accountability is not about blame, and how letting go becomes one of the hardest disciplines of senior leadership. The conversation goes deep into lived culture. Not values on the wall, but how standards are set, how people are treated, how suppliers are paid, and how consistency builds credibility over time. They discuss succession, stepping into ownership, recalibrating peer relationships, and why leadership maturity often comes through discomfort, feedback and reflection rather than confidence or charisma. This episode is for leaders who have grown inside an organisation, who feel the weight of responsibility, and who know that leadership is less about being right and more about learning, trust and sustained behaviour over time. 00:08:56 From apprentice to boardroom learning leadership through craft 00:15:40 Growing inside one organisation what you learn that outsiders do not 00:17:38 Where culture really comes from standards not slogans 00:20:02 Doing it right why credibility is built through behaviour 00:23:56 What culture feels like when it is working 00:26:23 What got you here will not get you there 00:28:50 Leadership maturity learning through reflection 00:30:28 Trust versus control why micromanagement kills leadership 00:32:10 Letting go without letting things fall apart 00:33:37 Accountability without blame owning performance properly 00:35:14 The John Terry effect leadership without needing the spotlight 00:36:53 Succession without ego stepping into ownership 00:39:09 Recalibrating peer relationships at senior level 00:42:05 Getting honest feedback when you are at the top 00:44:21 Why senior leaders hear less truth over time 00:46:03 Trusting each other enough to challenge properly 00:48:11 Why perfection is not the goal in leadership 00:49:21 Advice to younger leaders what really matters 00:51:18 Growth comes from facing into discomfort 00:52:39 Learning from leaders you do not want to become 00:54:10 Leadership is not meant to be easy To find out more about Guy Bloom and his award winning work in Team Coaching, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching click below. The link to everything CLICK HERE UK: 07827 953814 Email: guybloom@livingbrave.com Web: www.livingbrave.com

5

out of 5

2 Ratings

Great podcast!

10/26/2020

BreOks

I really enjoyed the episode I listened to with Jack Zenger. Great host and valuable conversations.

Welcome to ‘Leadership Bites’, with your host Guy Bloom. I have conversations with amazing people who impact on the world around them . Always about leadership and hopefully in such a way as to reinforce the good you do and to bring challenge to the things you might be able to calibrate. All links for Guy: www.livingbrave.com

Creator

Guy Bloom | Living Brave Leadership
Years Active

2020 - 2026
Episodes

165
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© 2026 Guy Bloom | Living Brave Leadership
Show Website

Leadership BITES