What does it really mean to “be more strategic”?

And why are so many talented leaders told they need this skill - without being shown how to develop it?

In this episode I’m joined by Charlie Curson, strategy consultant, leadership coach, and author of Be More Strategic. Together, we unpack why strategy so often feels intimidating, how it’s different from planning, and how leaders can build the confidence to think and act more strategically - even in uncertainty.

In this episode, we explore:

1. Why “be more strategic” is such common (and unhelpful) feedback for leaders
2. The difference between strategy and planning — and why confusing the two causes problems
3. How creativity plays a vital role in strategic thinking (even if you don’t see yourself as “creative”)
4. Practical ways to manage uncertainty — without needing all the answers
5. Why future-focused thinking doesn’t come naturally to everyone (and how to develop it)
6. Decision-making styles, procrastination, and how to make better calls with imperfect information
7. Charlie’s four-level framework for becoming more strategic — from self-awareness to scaling impact

This is Influence & Impact for Leaders, the podcast that helps leaders like you increase your impact and build a happy and high performing team. Each episode delivers focused, actionable insights you can implement immediately, to be better at your job without working harder.

Work with Carla:

1. 1:1 Leadership Coaching with Carla – get support to help you get your voice heard at work, lead with confidence and develop your career. Book a discovery call

About Charlie Curson

Founder of Mandarin. Strategic advisor, investor, facilitator and accredited leadership coach with 25+ years across 250+ organisations (including VISA, McDonald’s, Unilever, Experian, Volkswagen Group, L’Oréal, Barclays). Lifelong “tinkerer” obsessed with making things faster, better, smarter, who challenges assumptions and turns clarity into action. He helps leaders and teams build strategic capability and momentum.

Author of Be More Strategic: 12 Essential Practices to Build the

Life and Career You Want. Find out more, and get your copy

Take the Be More Strategic Quiz

In this episode I’m joined by leadership expert, speaker and author Helen Beedham to explore what really keeps people in organisations.

Helen returns to the podcast to talk about her new book, People Glue, and the research behind it. We dig into how to create a working environment where people feel able to do their best work, stay engaged, and choose to stay — even when other options are available.

In this episode, we explore:

1. What People Glue really means
2. The paradox at the heart of retention: why giving people more freedom often makes them more likely to stay
3. The four freedoms people want at work
4. How to tell if your team or organisation is truly “sticky”
5. Practical, low-risk ways leaders can offer more freedom while maintaining clarity and accountability
6. What leaders can do to protect morale and people glue during restructures and periods of change
7. How individuals can reflect on their own experience of freedom at work and take more control of their careers

Helen also shares practical examples from organisations that are getting this right, including simple leadership practices that build trust, psychological safety, and connection - without losing focus on results.

This is Influence & Impact for Leaders, the podcast that helps leaders like you increase your impact and build a happy and high performing team. Each episode delivers focused, actionable insights you can implement immediately, to be better at your job without working harder.

Work with Carla:

1. 1:1 Leadership Coaching with Carla – get support to help you get your voice heard at work and develop your career. Book a discovery call

About Helen Beedham

Helen Beedham, MA Cantab, is an organisational expert, business book author, speaker and host of The Business of Being Brilliant podcast. Her first book 'The Future of Time: How ‘re-working’ time can help you boost productivity, diversity and wellbeing' was named People, Culture & Management Book of the Year at the Business Book Awards, and her second book 'People Glue: Hold on to your best people by setting them free' was published in January 2026.

Helen advises business and HR leaders on creating a positive culture that fuels growth; helps teams to deliver more and have more fun; and coaches executives to become their sharpest, brightest best. She speaks publicly about the future of work and is regularly featured in national, business and HR press including the FT, Financial News, Forbes, FastCompany and HR Review.

Helen's website

Helen on LinkedIn

The Business of Being Brilliant podcast

Link to buy 'People Glue'

In this episode, I’m joined by Joe Lalley, author of Question to Learn, to explore why questions are one of the most underrated — and misused — leadership tools.

We talk about curiosity, influence, and what really happens when leaders feel they’re supposed to have all the answers.

In this conversation, we explore:

1. Why most of us stop asking good questions as our careers progress
2. The subtle ways workplace culture rewards answers and punishes curiosity
3. The different motives behind questions — and why some shut people down
4. How questions can build influence without needing certainty
5. What leaders can learn from children, improv, and discomfort
6. Why “I don’t know” might be one of the most powerful things a leader can say
7. The role curiosity plays in a world increasingly shaped by AI
8. Joe’s favourite question — and why it opens doors most people miss

This is Influence & Impact for Leaders, the podcast that helps leaders like you increase your impact and build a happy and high performing team. Each episode delivers focused, actionable insights you can implement immediately, to be better at your job without working harder.

Work with Carla:

1. 1:1 Leadership Coaching with Carla – get support to help you get your voice heard at work and develop your career. Book a discovery call

About Joe Lalley

Joe Lalley is a writer, speaker, and workshop facilitator who has spent much of his career leading innovation workshops for companies of all industries, shapes, and sizes.

Joe has published multiple articles ranging from how to use curiosity to navigate remote work in the pandemic to how to fix the endless cycles of bad, inefficient meetings.

In 2011, Joe completed the Stanford d.school Design Thinking Bootcamp, an intensive program that draws executives from Fortune 500 companies worldwide. As part of a team with peers from Google and Cisco, he worked directly with JetBlue to redesign the passenger ground experience at San Francisco International Airport. Through field research, interviews, and rapid prototyping, Joe and his team presented innovative solutions to JetBlue executives—a transformational experience that helped shape the next chapter of his career.

Joe has held leadership roles at Columbia University, MTV/Viacom, WWE, PwC, and his own consultancy, Joe Lalley Experience Design. His client portfolio spans global brands and organizations such as Meta, Pfizer, Cisco, Chegg, General Assembly, Match Group/Tinder,

Latham & Watkins, and Lam Research, as well as mission-driven groups like the American Physical Society, Optica, Banyan Global, and CAQH.

In October 2025, Lalley released ‘Question to Learn: How Curiosity Can Transform Your Career, Team, and Organization.’

Website

LinkedIn

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