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Hosted by Lesley Hunter
Today’s leaders must be experts in emotional intelligence, skilled in the art of persuasion and masters of motivation. Whether you run a multi-million dollar company, lead a team on a sports field, are a leader of learning in a classroom, or are simply taking your dog for walk, being a leader is so much more than simply grasping the principles of leadership. In fact, there are many lessons human leaders can learn from dogs. Pack leadership is contingent on social interaction, engagement and the development of trust – sound familiar?
On Leadership Unleashed we’ll bring leaders and experts across the spectrum of business, sports and education to take a unique look at the on-going evolution of modern leaders. Along the way, you’ll hear hints and tips that will translate into practical applications in the workplace to help you develop your identity, confidence, skills and performance as a leader.
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Syd Niven, managing director of Northern Growth Academy, is passionate about developing leaders and believes that building leadership capacity is crucial for any organisation to survive. So how do you do this? In this show, Syd talks about his experience of working with leaders and the importance of developing relationships and handling conflict. It’s not about titles, positions or qualifications but is about stepping outside your comfort zone, accepting that there is always something new to learn and releasing your potential.
Lesley is an expert in authentic leadership and leader behaviour. She is an international conference speaker and coach whose unique approach combines over 25 years experience of working with leaders in businesses and schools across the globe with her passion for dogs, and one in particular – Kee’no a boisterous and strong willed German Shepherd that came into her life in 2005.
Her career began in education culminating in 12 years as a school inspector in the UK and the formation of a business that specialised in developing leaders in schools and the public sector. This successful company expanded into international work in Spain, Hong Kong and Gibraltar and gave her an insight into how crucially leaders can affect the performance of an organisation. In 2005, Lesley left this business and started her current company, Pack Leader International, where she specialises in helping managers make the transition to become effective leaders in practice. This work builds on her first book, Who Put You in Charge? that takes a unique approach based on the metaphor of learning to be a ‘pack leader’ with her dog to lessons that business leaders can learn and translate into the workplace.
Lesley recent doctoral research has produced a signature coaching model and behavioural framework for developing effective leaders. She is currently a visiting lecturer and module leader on MBA and MSC programmes at Edinburgh Napier University and is an Associate of The Edinburgh Institute of Leadership & Management Practice. As a Fellow of the Professional Speaking Association (UKI) and a Member of The Global Speakers Federation, Lesley speaks at conferences worldwide and challenges her audiences to think seriously about what human leaders can learn from dogs.