Life Beyond The Numbers
218 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingAre you curious about having a more fulfilling work-life? Do you believe in putting people first and in purpose; not profit at any cost? If so, this podcast is for you. We place a lens on the human side of work-life.
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Episodes
#133 At Our Best - Susan
June 24, 2023 08:44 - 29 minutes - 24.9 MB"It's about who we can be and how can we be the best version of ourselves, and we owe that to ourselves. You are the only one who truly knows how you feel, how you think, and why you act the way you do. And increasing our own self-awareness is the greatest gift we can give to ourselves. Taking an honest look at ourselves, our thinking, our feelings, our behaviour, and asking ourselves when are we at our best?" Susan In this episode I reflect on the impact of stress in a work-life experie...
#132 Inner Development Goals (IDGs) - Katharina Moser
June 17, 2023 08:48 - 48 minutes - 35 MB"The whole idea around the IDGs emerged a few years ago with a few institutions in Sweden sitting together looking at the current status of the world and wondering why it is that we are not really progressing further and faster towards the SDGs and why crisis are to the contrary getting bigger and bigger and more complex and everything seems to be just more daunting." Katharina Moser Katharina Moser and I talk about the importance of inner work for outer change. She introduces the IDGs, ...
#131 Our Expectations - Paul Karvanis
June 10, 2023 08:52 - 35 minutes - 25.6 MB"How do we start to understand ourselves enough that we can say our expectations might be realistic to the situation we're in, but they mightn't be the optimal expectations that we could have of ourselves." Paul Karvanis Paul Karvanis and I talk about how to have a good life well lived. A former corporate lawyer, Paul shares his journey from feeling unhappy with his life to pursuing a satisfied and contented one. We delve into the concept of personal potential and how it's already within...
#130 Do the Right Thing - Dan Foley
June 03, 2023 08:56 - 46 minutes - 34.3 MB"Doing the right thing probably starts when you go into the organisation rather than when you leave it. Because at that stage, you may not have actually have the chance to do the right thing." Dan Foley Dan Foley and I discuss the importance of doing the right thing in business and the role of values, leadership, and collaboration in driving positive change. Dan shares his experience of working with a leader who had a who had a significant impact on his leadership style and introduced hi...
#129 Team Engagement
May 27, 2023 09:00 - 32 minutes - 27.6 MB"Brian was in charge of team engagement. And it was interesting because he said 30 plus years ago, Brian was talking about things like empowerment, self-motivation, involvement, personal responsibility, voice and alignment." In this episode, I relay the remarkable story of Derek Redmond, a former 400-meter sprinter turned business coach, and his experience preparing for the Olympics in 1992. I talk about the importance of teams and team engagement, expanding your comfort zone, making sma...
#128 Alignment - Ana Bernardes
May 20, 2023 06:27 - 47 minutes - 34 MB"For me this concept of embodiment is very related to being in alignment. So an alignment between what I feel, what I think and what I do." Ana Bernardes Ana Bernardes and I discuss the concept of embodiment and how it relates to being in alignment with our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Anna shares her personal experience of discovering her superpower through an embodiment exercise, where she explored different shapes and movements of her body. We explore ways for listeners to start e...
#127 The Performance Paradox - Kerry Cullen
May 13, 2023 06:29 - 49 minutes - 33.7 MB"That's the performance paradox at play. It's through dedication. We're trying to do the best that we can, but it's just so easy to let go of what we know restores us and gives us energy in that quest to keep going. And the more we do that, the more disconnected we are from what gives us energy. That's what I mean by the performance paradox." Kerry Cullen Kerry Cullen explains the concept of "the performance paradox". To break the performance paradox, she suggests bringing awareness to ...
#126 Slowing Down - Professor Giana M. Eckhardt
May 06, 2023 06:29 - 40 minutes - 29.9 MB"Engaging in activities like walking as compared to faster forms of transportation or doing yoga or things that really slow down the body are important but it's active things that slow down the body. In other words, not just laying on the sofa, which we all like to do at the end of a hard day of work, but it's active slowing down." Giana Eckhardt Giana Eckhardt and I chat about some of her research into the concept of deceleration or people's desire to slow down. Giana explains that dece...
#125 Insights - Dr. Susanne Evans, David Lee and Me
April 29, 2023 06:31 - 1 hour - 56.8 MB"Let's say somebody listening to that, is like, wow, I do that too. And that helps them develop their insights. So listening to people's stories is another wonderful way of developing insights." David Lee In this episode Dr Susanne Evans, David Lee and I discuss the importance of finding work that aligns with one's values and interests. We share personal experiences of how our childhood interests and mentors influenced our career paths. We chat about the importance of being self-aware a...
#124 People Success - Kellie Lucas
April 15, 2023 07:00 - 37 minutes - 27.7 MB"There is a huge shift in thinking from being customer success to being people success. Because if you look after your individual people as well as the people in your customers, whether that's B2B or B2C, then you are going to be the most successful and impactful that you can." Kellie Lucas Kellie Lucas discusses the importance of a people-first approach to business. We talk about balancing extreme capitalism with a more supportive approach to work, the impact of purpose and culture on i...
#123 If It Makes You Happy - Susan Ni Chriodain
April 01, 2023 07:00 - 33 minutes - 28.3 MBDid you know that genetics account for 50% of our happiness? And our life circumstances 10%? That means we have the power to influence the other 40% through our actions and habits. In this episode, I explore the concept of happiness and how it is perceived differently by individuals. I discuss the relationship between mood and emotions and how they affect our overall well-being. I share some research on happiness, talk about happiness at work. I also share three practical ways to "chase...
#122 What Matters Most? - Susan Ni Chriodain
March 11, 2023 07:59 - 36 minutes - 30.7 MB"...and each time I would attempt to do something, I would stop and stare out the window and wonder what matters. I began to ask variations of this question: What matters here? What actually matters? Does this really matter? What matters most?" Susan Ni Chriodain In this solo episode I share on a life-changing family event. And explore what it means to have your world change in an instant, discovering what matters most and having the courage to go after that. This episode is dedicated t...
#121 Courage - Robbie Swale
February 18, 2023 07:25 - 45 minutes - 37.8 MB"If instead you just take small action, you not only get the rush of courage from having taken the action and the satisfaction that you've actually done something, but you have negated that building of resentment and regret. So it's a double benefit if you take the tiny action today." Robbie Swale Robbie Swale explains that courage is a key part of achieving our goals. And with small, repeated actions you can overcome fears, conquer resistance or procrastination and make progress. And o...
#120 Reconnecting - Sam Allen
February 11, 2023 07:27 - 44 minutes - 32 MB"Gradually I was shrinking, because this is such a big thing in me. So my process was, during that time, reconnecting to that creativity and taking seriously that need in me." Sam Allen Sam Allen provides an insight into how creativity can be used for healing and inspiration. She explains how she reconnected with her own creativity during a particularly tough period of her life. Sam writes poetry about topics such as truth, freedom, pleasure, self-love, and love. Her poems can be deep an...
#119 Serial Entrepreneur - Kevin Ashley (From the Archives)
February 04, 2023 07:24 - 41 minutes - 31.8 MB"Within the first year of the aviation business is when we started doing the coffee business. So I was suddenly involved and being the executive director of the aviation business and the executive chairman of the coffee shop business at the same time. So I was suddenly the serial entrepreneur, it was crazy." Kevin Ashley Kevin Ashley is one of the founders of Java House, an East African coffee house and diner. He attributes his success to staying flexible and having a passionate purpose ...
#118 Happiness with Sashenka Milston
January 21, 2023 07:30 - 43 minutes - 32.3 MB"Happiness is enjoying that journey. Carving out that 15 minutes of pleasure. Happiness then increases our performance and our achievement and makes it easier to achieve success." Sashenka Milston Sashenka Milston and I discuss happiness and how we can achieve it. She explains that the research shows that it's not actually how much time you have it's what you do with it that matters to your happiness. What counts is whether we spend the time passively or on personally enriching experienc...
#117 Your Career - Javed Bobat
January 14, 2023 07:31 - 49 minutes - 36.6 MB"There's always merit and value in being proactive when it comes to making changes within your career and not sleepwalking into a situation where your career's flatlining or you’re not achieving and getting the satisfaction and the enjoyment that you want within a particular job." Javed Bobat Javed and I talk about the importance of taking a proactive approach when it comes to making changes within your career. He encourages regular reflection on what you are looking for within your care...
#116 Challenges - Diego Adame
January 07, 2023 07:35 - 55 minutes - 41.2 MB"One of the challenges this year that I loved was one of my friends created a book and she had 40 questions and I had to answer each question with a picture. And really good questions about reflecting about life, about my past, about my present, about where I want to go." Diego Adame Diego Adame turned 40 during 2022 and decided to take on 40 challenges with friends and family as a way of celebrating the year. This included a variety of physical, fun and creative challenges, like skydiv...
#115 Work-Life Highlights with Previous Guests
December 31, 2022 07:39 - 38 minutes - 29.2 MBSeven work-life snippets from 2022 guests make up this compilation episode. David Lee, Episode 102, Human Nature Kirsty Ritchie, Episode 91, Mental Fitness Pete Bearder, Episode 109, Collective Joy Natasha Tomlinson, Episode 103, Just Go For It Kris Lantheaume, Episode 111, Success Dougal Freeman, Episode 92, A Common Goal Robyn Harris, Episode 108, The Answers Are Inside Wishing all my listeners a joyful and fulfilling 2023 Resources Mentioned: Episode 90 The Way You Ma...
#114 What’s Another Year? Susan Ní Chriodain
December 24, 2022 07:41 - 40 minutes - 34.2 MB"How did you feel about this year as a whole? And if you were to title this past year as a chapter in your story, what would it be? So, I've put together some thoughts on this year." The years seems to go by so quickly and can seem like they all roll into one. It can be easy to think well 'what's another year'. In this episode I reflect on the year and explore 2022 around four main themes - self-expression, nature, community and the inner world. Connect with Susan On LinkedIn Thr...
#113 Psychological Safety - Dr. Susanne Evans, David Lee & Me
December 17, 2022 07:30 - 52 minutes - 39.9 MB"....isn't that true of so many issues in organisations that it's just because people don't speak to each other and they don't listen to the other side. And that for me is the root, if we're talking about psychological safety, that is at the root. It's the willingness on all sides to be open and to listen." Dr. Susanne Evans Does psychological safety have an impact at work? In this episode Dr Susanne Evans, David Lee and I explore the concept of psychological safety and the impact it has...
#112 Go Outside - Caitlin Cockerton
December 10, 2022 07:30 - 43 minutes - 32.9 MB"Keep it simple. It's free. Go outside. There are so many reasons to do it. It's so funny we love to complicate things. Our human brains are like, surely we should be paying for this meeting room and if only we could be doing some weird technical thing as part of our team bonding experience, then we'll be doing the right thing. But no, let's get back to basics". Caitlin Cockerton Caitlin Cockerton is an avid advocate for spending time, including work time, in nature. She explains that n...
#111 Success - Kris Lantheaume
December 03, 2022 07:33 - 44 minutes - 33.6 MB"Success for me now is trusting myself and being patient enough to see what emerges rather than rushing to create some version of success that makes sense to other people." Kris Lantheaume Kris Lantheaume learned to find safety in success from a young age. After years of being "successful" at work she found that there was this internal restlessness that would come and go and a voice saying is this really where you wanna be putting all your time? Always focusing on accolades and the next ...
#110 Four-Week Streaks - Susan Ni C
November 26, 2022 07:36 - 33 minutes - 28.7 MB"So instead I thought, well, what about four weeks? What if I do it in four weeks? And actually that works out perfectly because there. 13 sets of four ... 13 fours is 52." Susan I turned 49 a couple of weeks ago and so began my 50th year on this planet. This led to some reflections on the last 49 years as well as thinking about the future and setting an intention for the next year. I wanted a system that might work for me so rather than thinking for the whole year I broke my year into s...
#109 Collective Joy - Pete Bearder
November 19, 2022 07:40 - 46 minutes - 36.2 MB"If you consider we're living through a mental health epidemic, there is an urgent need for us to pioneer new ways to create collective joy and collective ecstasy, the very things which are an antidote to loneliness." Pete “the Temp” Bearder Pete “the Temp” and I begin our conversation talking about laughter and the role of laughter in our lives: as a healing modality, as a way to release tension, the giggles and the practice of laughter yoga and meditation. We delve into the culture th...
#108 The Answers Are Inside - Robyn Harris
November 12, 2022 07:38 - 49 minutes - 36.6 MB"You can't find the answers out there. The answers aren't out there. The answers are inside. And until you look inside and find your own answers, answers that you have from outside won't work." Robyn Harris Robyn Harris explains that our bodies don't make mistakes. We explore a more conscious approach to wellbeing, the language we use when speaking about illness, the body's ability to heal and the learning we are offered when we are sick. Robyn shares how she learnt to take to back her p...
#107 Be in the Room - Ellen Leith
November 05, 2022 07:30 - 47 minutes - 35.2 MB"You have to be in the room. You've got to be a part of the conversation." "If you're not talking to each other and you're not in the room where it's happening then you are a step behind others who are thinking differently." Ellen Leith Ellen Leith loves to connect people has also been interested in areas of business, or life, that is fundamental to people. And a key facet for all of us throughout our lives, Ellen says, is the aspect of paying for something or being paid for something. T...
#106 Time to Rest with Previous Guests
October 29, 2022 07:31 - 41 minutes - 32.3 MB"I think you can only build that inner resilience if you do actually accept that we do all need rest and recovery, not just the annual long holiday, but actually building that into everyday life." Sue Rosen The last weekend in October is the weekend the clocks change and here in the UK that signals winter is on the way. This made me think about hibernating. But also the importance of rest, pausing, stopping and taking breaks and holidays. So, I've put together a compilation of snippets f...
#105 Create the Content You Want to See in the World
October 22, 2022 06:01 - 34 minutes - 29.3 MBIn this solo episode I talk about creating the content we want to see in the world. This was inspired by the International Women's Podcast Awards 2022. And by my recent commitment to writing a book. Connect with me: On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter Resources Mentioned: Episode 87 and Episode 60 of Life Beyond the Numbers International Women's Podcast Awards Alison Jones and Practical Inspiration Publishing How Emotions are Made by Lisa Feldman Barrett The Answer to How ...
#104 Your Intention - Katie McLaughlin
October 15, 2022 06:00 - 48 minutes - 36 MB"Your intention has a huge impact .... the impact of what you say or do may not match up with your intention. And so that's where we have to, as leaders, continue to be emphasising that intention through our words, through our actions..." Katie McLaughlin speaks to me about how she uses her background in theatre to facilitate transformation at work. Katie says we need more artists in the world of business as there's less of a science to business and more of an art. We talk about how your...
#103 Just Go For It - Natasha Tomlinson
October 08, 2022 06:01 - 34 minutes - 24.6 MB"....it was really, really difficult to walk away from a very solid career. And I think I wanted from the life coach validation, just someone to say, go for it, you're not being stupid, you're not being crazy, just go for it." Natasha Tomlinson Natasha Tomlinson stepped away from a 20 year career in accounting to pursue her passion. Tasha studied psychology in university and when offered a job in accounting she took it. She got to the point where in her heart of hearts she knew she wante...
#102 Human Nature - David Lee
October 01, 2022 06:00 - 54 minutes - 42.4 MB"...the more you understand human nature, the more you bring out the best in people." David Lee David Lee and I talk about our workplaces today are unhuman friendly and that they are largely transactional as opposed to relational. We talk about understanding human nature at work. And David explains 'downshifting', the 'reptilian brain' concept as well as polyvagl theory or, as he calls it, 'cool, calm and connected.' We also talk about how we as humans make meaning and that sometimes we ...
#101 Looking Forward - Susan Ní Chríodáin
August 16, 2022 07:55 - 43 minutes - 30.5 MB"We are all people. We are all different and unique. We think differently, work differently, process differently, but we are all human. If we work off the premise of people are just people first and foremost, and different from me is okay, can we actually make the world a better place?" Susan Ní Chríodáin Life Beyond the Numbers is on a break and will be back in early October 2022 with episode 102. Part 3 of the trilogy is future focused. I talk about what my purpose in life is, at...
#100 My Present Journey - Susan Ní Chríodáin
August 09, 2022 07:51 - 34 minutes - 24.4 MB"I'm becoming the person I'm becoming. I'm following my inner, personal route." Susan Ní Chríodáin Welcome to episode 100. This is the second in the trilogy of past, present and future. In this episode I talk about my the present and where I am in my journey as well as some of the paths I am exploring. Is there a line you remember from a poem or short story in school that still fascinates you to this day? I talk about one I remember. Do you ever wish you had more space to be and not ...
#99 Looking Back - Susan Ní Chríodáin
August 02, 2022 07:27 - 49 minutes - 33.3 MB"And we're all human. And I think that's the main message that I try to bring out in this podcast - it's human stories for human listeners. We are all people. We are all doing our best. And it's wonderful to know that others have been where we are or think like we do or are going where we want to go or can show us things we didn't know." Susan Ní Chríodáin To celebrate getting to 100 episodes I opted to do a trilogy for episode 99, 100 and 101. In episode 99 I take a look back over the l...
#98 The Best Deal - James Meads
July 26, 2022 08:09 - 44 minutes - 36.7 MB"It's about working together based on your strengths to be able to get the best deal out of the supplier or to get the best relationship out of the supplier." James Meads James Meads is a location-independent digital nomad. We chat about his choice from a cost-of-living perspective. And James asks why wouldn't we, given a choice, live somewhere where rent/mortgage and taxes are lower without risking any detriment to your quality of life? Of course you also need a professional background ...
#97 Your Preferences - Becca Brighty
July 19, 2022 05:35 - 46 minutes - 35.5 MB"I think there should be some sort of law that before you leave compulsory education, you have to do a psychometric on your preferences and how you respond to pressure." Becca Brighty Becca Brighty is an organisational psychologist and we talk about some approaches, behaviours and preferences that are common in the workplace. First we cover failure. Becca promotes a fail fast culture and has developed her own 'Fail for Good' model based on the Kaizen (change for good) model. And she shar...
#96 Feeling Different - Siun Prochazka
July 12, 2022 05:40 - 46 minutes - 37.3 MB"Basically you grow up feeling different or knowing you're different - it's not something that other people always pick up around you and it might come across as, 'oh, they're a bit slow' or 'they don't care' or 'they're a daydreamer' or, all of that. And those messages you pick up on them because you're wired to fit in." Siun Prochazka Siun Prochazka talks to me about people who are neurodiverse with a particular focus on ADHD. Siun spent a large part of her career working with people ...
#95 Lessons Learned - Julian Roy
July 05, 2022 05:34 - 45 minutes - 33 MB"a lot of the research ... was based around lessons learned. And one of the key things that came out of it is businesses, organisations, almost have a blueprint now. They've got something in place whereby if something did happen again, they would be prepared." Julian Roy Julian Roy joined me to chat about research he undertook for his MBA thesis on the challenges faced by leaders during the pandemic. The common thread running through his research is empathy. Some leaders were forced into...
#94 This Feelings Business - Steve Haines (From the Archives)
June 28, 2022 05:31 - 37 minutes - 24.9 MB“Feelings aren't a beacon of eternal truth. They're a negotiation. They're always real because they are a perception inside of you, but it doesn't mean that they are accurate, useful, or true they're things that need to be negotiated. We can reframe them and construct them differently.” Steve Haines Steve Haines takes us in-depth on the transformative power of learning to connect with our bodies with the use of some great metaphors. He explains that the biggest decision we're making in a mo...
#93 Jet Lag - Emily Brown
June 21, 2022 05:33 - 51 minutes - 38 MB"I grew up with a family myth about jet lag. We're Italian, my father's Italian 100 percent. And we would sit around the dinner table and just like chat and he would always tell the story of my foster brother, who the summer of 1971 was kidnapped and travelled non-stop Intercontinental for about four months. And then his grandmother suddenly died during the journey in a luxury hotel in Amsterdam." Emily Brown Emily Brown had a love-hate relationship with her last job - she had a lot of p...
#92 A Common Goal - Dougal Freeman
June 14, 2022 05:43 - 53 minutes - 39.2 MB"And the tension sometimes in the office was palpable. And to get things done you had to start to think about how to keep people on a common goal, despite some of the rivalry or politics that people brought with them to the office." Dougal Freeman Dougal Freeman was working in Iraq during the second Gulf war and narrowly escaped the Canal Hotel bombing in 2003. Based in Jordan with Care Australia he talks about some of the realities of humanitarian work and about the kidnapping and subs...
#91 Mental Fitness - Kirsty Ritchie
June 07, 2022 05:37 - 43 minutes - 33.7 MB"We chose the term mental fitness because in our mind, it's positive because we think of it in connection with our physical fitness. And our hope is that one day we consider going to a psychotherapist in exactly the same way as we wouldn't think twice about going to a personal trainer." Kirsty Ritchie Kirsty Ritchie and I chat about mental fitness. Kirsty says our ability to be the best person we can be requires autonomy and our own self power. We chat about how living our values is key ...
#90 The Way You Make Me Feel - Guests from ’22
May 31, 2022 05:35 - 44 minutes - 34.3 MB"And I've no doubt that these stories and indeed the stories that all guests share, evoke different memories, emotions, and feelings for you. And I always love to hear them. So please feel free to send me your thoughts. What were your favorite snippets? What were your favourite episodes? Who would you like to hear more from?" Susan This is a compilation episode and includes snippets from the following guests 7:30 Dr. Susanne Evans on the impact of change (Episode 83) 9:00 Travis L. Sco...
#89 Permission - Antonia Taylor
May 24, 2022 05:33 - 47 minutes - 33.8 MB"This week I found myself .... I don't know if I was having a reflective moment ... but I've realised that I'm still in the habit of seeking permission and I was thinking about if I wasn't always looking elsewhere for permission I wonder what I would have achieved?" Antonia Taylor Antonia Taylor left the corporate PR agency world 10 years ago to work for herself and in this episode she reflects on this journey - one of freedom and possibility. We chat about - what was hard to let go of...
#88 A Lifeline - Paul Wright
May 17, 2022 13:02 - 42 minutes - 32.3 MB"A pacemaker is not a death sentence or even a life sentence, it's a lifeline. My role is to send the ladder down for other people. And that gives me a lot of satisfaction. Whether that's heart health, helping people who are going through the trauma of looking for work or people who've failed exams I've been there." Paul Wright Paul Wright and I talk about finding purpose and how it might not always be something you are aware of early in your career. Paul had a pacemaker fitted in 2018 a...
#87 Susan Speaks - Susan Ni Chriodain
May 10, 2022 05:33 - 30 minutes - 20.8 MB"I have wanted to do a solo episode for I don't know how long now. And it's something that I've really, really struggled with or battled with and found daunting." Susan In this first solo episode I focus on voice, the gift of voice. I open up about my own thoughts around using voice, particularly in the service of others. I talk about the tension between the desire to do something and the challenge of doing it. And I share some of my writings on voice and the importance of speaking up, s...
#87 Susan Speaks with Susan Ni Chriodain
May 10, 2022 05:33 - 30 minutes - 20.8 MB"I have wanted to do a solo episode for I don't know how long now. And it's something that I've really, really struggled with or battled with and found daunting." Susan In this first solo episode I focus on voice, the gift of voice. I open up about my own thoughts around using voice, particularly in the service of others. I talk about the tension between the desire to do something and the challenge of doing it. And I share some of my writings on voice and the importance of speaking up, s...
#86 Bodily Intelligence - Madelaine Golec
May 03, 2022 05:35 - 56 minutes - 40.5 MB"We don't have enough social practices or social norms around how to deal with our emotional and bodily intelligence. It's not something that is integrated in the way that we are being. And we are seeing on one side a great awakening where people are beginning to understand, wow, there's so much here that I didn't see, feel, connect with." Madelaine Golec Madelaine and I begin this conversation exploring a quote from Thomas Hübl: "Movement is intelligence in action." We are both curious ...
#85 Letting Go - John Purkiss (From the Archives)
April 26, 2022 05:35 - 54 minutes - 41.3 MB"I realised, okay, so I've done all this left-brain clever stuff like accounting, finance, languages, strategy, marketing, dah, dah, dah. I feel suicidal. So clearly I am missing something. My father was in sales, my brother is in sales and I realised there were people who were far less academic than me who were leading much happier lives and were not trying to kill themselves." John Purkiss. John Purkiss finds himself drawn to anything that helps change the world in a positive way incl...