Samatha (Sam) Emery is a formidable change agent - a genuine "force of nature" within the financial services industry in the UK and beyond. Having held prominent positions at RBS, the FCA, Lloyds Banking Group and Swift, she is a frequent speaker at many of the financial services events I attend, and from the very first time I saw Sam on stage, I've wanted to get her on this podcast.

I knew that in order for her to achieve what she has done so far, she would have have faced what most people would consider insurmountable barriers and obstacles - just have a listen to the first 5 minutes of this show to see why I say that!

In the true spirit of the show, Sam not only shared the Monsters and Myths (the barriers and obstacles) that she has encountered on her innovation, change and transformation journey to date, but also the Mayhem (the impact) these cause in organisations and the Magic (the solution / approach) that she has successfully applied to conquer them.

We discussed:

• The Comfort Cocoon - that lulls people and organisations into complacency and inhibits change and transformation
• The Fragmented Labyrinth - of the financial services landscape
• The Meritocracy Mirage - the myth that hard work will get you ahead (acutely experienced by underrepresented minority groups)

You can follow Sam's journey on LinkedIn here and don't pass on an opportunity to see her on stage - you won't regret it!

Click here to find out more!

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How do you cross the yawning chasm of lack of context in today's remote-first, distributed working environment? If you're in a management position, you might not even be aware of it or even worse, you might be dealing with it in a way that alienates your employees!

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Leda's weekly articles tagged as #ledawrites on LinkedIn. It doesn't matter what industry you work in, her stories resonate with everyone who has ever worked or still works in a corporate environment. As a result, her writing is also a huge source of material for this show as she shines a light on the biggest barriers and obstacles that get in the way of getting things done - precisely what this show is all about!

And so it was that an article about shoes sparked a conversation about how the concept of an "owner's manual" inspired by CPO Supremo Arthur Leung might go a long way in helping to cross The Context Chasm.

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This episode of the show saw a departure from the the usual format, but I should have expected nothing less from the CEO and Founder of a company called Unconventional Ventures.

Theo is saddened, angry and frustrated by the very real Monsters she has encountered as a woman in the workplace over the last three decades.

Sadly the solutions put forward so far have all been Myths - there has been no Magic to dispel them.

Awareness has increased.

But behaviour has not changed much.

The stories she shares will make you feel uncomfortable at best.

At worst, they will be relatable.

This is a deeply personal account that is difficult to summarise in the way that I normally do, but this is the essence of this show - to expose the biggest barriers and obstacles that get in the way of getting things done.

And these do:-

1. The Predator
2. The Policy Myth
3. The Wrong Incentives

These are not up for debate. Their existence cannot be denied. This is her lived experience.

It's up to us. All of us to conjure the "magic" required to banish these from the workplace, and society at large, in order to leave the world a better place than we found it.

** Read the blog post by Leda Glyptis that gives me a glimmer of hope for the future

And to hear more from Theo, you can find her One Vision Podcast here.

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Well it was bound to happen sooner or later on a show that hosts changemakers - Ajit Chambers turned the concept on its head and took a contrarian view of who the Monsters are and how manufacturing Myths can help you to achieve your goals.

Ajit is a seasoned Banker (but please don't hold that against him!), consultant and entrepreneur who shared life lessons from the front lines of making change happen.

There is no summary or spoilers for this episode, you'll just have to kick back and watch / listen

You can find Ajit on LinkedIn here and more about the opportunity he spoke about here and you can watch his appearance on Dragon's Den here.

And more about the concept behind the show here

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Thea Loch has significant experience of driving change and transformation from "both sides" of the fence - initially as a consultant and currently as the Head of Group Optimisation at Lloyds Banking Group in the UK. She's seen, and overcome, a myriad of Monsters and Myths in her time and undoubtedly will conquer many more in her quest.

In this session, she shines a light on

1. The Wrong Monster
2. The Person with the Right Job Title
3. The Cult of Success ......

To get the detail, you'll have to listen / watch the show on the links below as I'm not giving any further spoilers

You can find Thea at:-

LinkedIn:- https://www.linkedin.com/in/thea-loch-3775a51/

and watch / listen to the show below or on your favourite channels on the links.

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The problem with ideas is that they're not really useful if you're solving the wrong problem in the first place! That's just one of the many insights shared by Nikolas (Nik) Venios, Founder of The Ideas Agency, in this session.

As a fellow change maker / disruptor / innovator, Nik has faced a myriad of Monsters and Myths while working with clients of all sizes from global multi-nationals, to solopreneurs and everything in between. In his experience, the most common of these are the problems with ideas and he shares:-

1. The Two Headed Imposter Monster
2. The Myth of Atlas and The Weight of The World
3. The Idea Monster

To get the detail, you'll have to listen / watch the show on the links below as I'm not giving any further spoilers

You can find Nik at:-

The Ideas Agency :- https://www.theideasagency.com/

LinkedIn:- https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolasvenios/

Instagram:- https://www.instagram.com/the_venios/

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Transformation is tough - there, I've said it! People are naturally resistant to change and when a transformation project is announced, many people will immediately hide behind their barriers and throw obstacles in the path of change.

I saw a tweet thread a while back that called on people to list 5 topics they could speak about with zero preparation - it was fun discovering a few wacky things things I never knew about my Twitter friends but one tweet stood out for me. It wasn't the 5 topics that interested me as much as the follow on statement of "and the mistakes I've made and the lessons I've learned from them" - BOOM!!

The tweet came from Louise (Lou) Smith and I knew I had to invite her on the show to share her insights and lessons learned.

Lou is the current Chair of Innovate Finance. She is also Fintech Envoy to HM Treasury and amongst her previous roles she was Chief Digital Officer for Lloyds Bank - I was sure that she had encountered MANY Monsters and Myths in her career and I wasn't wrong!

She shared:-

1. The Myth that transformation is about the end result
2. The Monster of Missed Things
3. The Steamy Windows Monster

To find out more, you'll have to watch / listen to the show and you can find out more about her on LinkedIn here:- https://www.linkedin.com/in/louise-smith-70b72a14/ or follow her on twitter here https://twitter.com/itslousmith

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Have you encountered the Imposter Syndrome Monster yet?

Have you ever felt that your skills and experience are simply "not enough" for you to open your mouth and provide an opinion in front of your peers? Or perhaps you've passed up the opportunity to apply for a promotion or ask for a raise at work because you think that you don't have what it takes (even though you probably do)? Have you sat in a room thinking "what am I doing here, I feel like a fraud"?

As a professional public speaker, I've frequently faced this monster.

I've felt like a fraud walking out on stage in front of experts in their field who have all come to listen to me deliver a keynote. It's not a confidence thing - people who know me know I don't lack confidence and people that have seen me on stage never believe that I have to frequently overcome this obstacle.

So I was intrigued and excited to be introduced to Tara Halliday, an Imposter Syndrome Specialist and Author who helps people conquer the Monster of Imposter Syndrome that rears its head in so many different situations and prevents them from achieving their goals.

In this interview she shares the "magic" to overcome:-

1. the Myth that "Imposter syndrome is a personal flaw"
2. the Myth that "Imposter syndrome affects women more than men"
3. the Myth that "Imposter syndrome is a confidence issue"
4. and a bonus Monster of "asking for what you want"

Find out if YOU have Imposter Syndrome by doing this free quiz from Tara http://bit.ly/ImpostorQuiz

And you can find out more about her here:-

LinkedIn :- https://www.linkedin.com/in/tara-halliday-phd/

Website:- https://www.completesuccess.co.uk/

Twitter:- https://twitter.com/tarahalliday1

And don't forget to ask for what you want ....... (hint:- some help from Tara!!!)

Click here to find out more!

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