Starts at the Top Podcast

Episode 7 - Vicky Charles, Shelter UK - The secrets of successful remote working

We were thrilled to chat to Vicky Charles, Assistant Director of Technology & Data at Shelter UK.

Vicky shared her thoughts on how to start a new job during lockdown, how to bring remote teams together whilst managing wellbeing, why staff need to feel that they have a stake in digital and what organisations can learn from how they’ve adapted during COVID-19.

Paul and Zoe discuss what the new BBC social media guidelines could mean for your organisation and how Chrissy Teigen has opened up an online discussion about a difficult subject.

 

Notes and links -

The BBC’s new social media guidelines

https://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidance/individual-use-of-social-media

Chrissy Teigen’s Medium essay

https://chrissyteigen.medium.com/hi-2e45e6faf764

Please follow us on Twitter @startsatthetop1

Email us with your questions and ideas for future episodes startsatthetop@gmail.com

And please leave us a review if you enjoy what you hear!

Editing by Paul Thomas and production from Alexey Sibikin

Music by Joseph McDade https://josephmcdade.com/music

Episode 6 - Rhodri Davies, How charities can tackle big tech ethics

Welcome back! In our first episode of Season 2 we are thrilled to speak to Rhodri Davies, Head of Policy & Programme Director, Giving Thought at Charities Aid Foundation.

We talked about how to create your own virtual watercooler when working remotely, how charities can navigate the ethics of big tech and the Facebook boycott, why charities need to take action on digital exclusion, fundraising trends and what the future of civil society could look like.

Zoe and Paul talk digital skills and why leaders need to think like community managers.

 

Notes and links -

RSA event with Bruce Daisley on remote working

https://www.thersa.org/video/events/2020/10/making-remote-work-good-work

CBI report on digital skills

https://www.cbi.org.uk/articles/learning-for-life-funding-a-world-class-adult-education-system/ 

CAF’s Giving Thought podcast

https://www.cafonline.org/about-us/blog-home/giving-thought/podcasts-from-giving-thought

The Digital Human podcast from the BBC

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01n7094

Please follow us on Twitter @startsatthetop1

Email us with your questions and ideas for future episodes startsatthetop@gmail.com

And please leave us a review if you enjoy what you hear!

Editing by Paul Thomas and production from Alexey Sibikin

Music by Joseph McDade https://josephmcdade.com/music

Episode 5 - Darshan Sanghrajka, Founder & CEO at Super Being Labs

In our Season 1 finale, we were so lucky to be joined by Darshan Sanghrajka, Founder & CEO at Super Being Labs.

We talked about what leaders can learn from stand up comedy, how to innovate during the crisis, getting comfortable with failure, why traditional leadership is over and how we can rebuild it, and what a digital first future could look like. We also discussed how to create more diverse teams. Finally, we chatted about cake.

Zoe talks about The Charity Digital Skills Report and what she thinks it means for the sector, and she and Paul share their observations on how the arts and music industry are using digital to create new relationships with fans.

Notes and links -

The Charity Digital Skills Report

http://report.skillsplatform.org/charity-digital-report-2020/

Nick Cave’s The Red Hand Files

https://www.theredhandfiles.com/

Please follow us on Twitter @startsatthetop1

Email us with your questions and ideas for future episodes startsatthetop@gmail.com

And please leave us a review if you enjoy what you hear!

Editing by Paul Thomas and production from Alexey Sibikin

Music by Joseph McDade https://josephmcdade.com/music

Episode 4 - What do leaders need to do now?

Paul and Zoe reflect on the digital trends they’ve seen during lockdown - and what these mean for leaders.

This week we take stock of the big digital changes we’ve seen during lockdown, and discuss their long term implications.

We discuss how leadership is changing, managing risk, recruiting for digital skills, and adapting your organisation to the new normal. We spoke to Richard Brooks, CEO at translation business K International, and Jane Lambert, CEO of ECG Training to find out how they are dealing with these developments.

We also discuss what to do when small children invade your video call, and how to handle online meeting presenteeism.

Please follow us on Twitter @startsatthetop1

Email us with your questions and ideas for future episodes startsatthetop@gmail.com

And please leave us a review if you enjoy what you hear!

Editing by Paul Thomas and production from Alexey Sibikin.

Music by Joseph McDade https://josephmcdade.com/music     

Episode 3 - Louise Macdonald, CEO, and Kirsten Urquhart, Digital Services Director at Young Scot

This week Zoe and Paul speak to Louise Macdonald, CEO, and Kirsten Urquhart, Digital Services Director at Young Scot.

Relationships between CEOs and digital leaders can be a marriage made in heaven - but they can also go wrong. Louise and Kirsten have achieved huge amounts together at Young Scot and we wanted to find out what makes their relationship tick. They told us how they put young people front and centre of what they do, getting digital skills onto boards, why staff need to be empowered to innovate and why digital offers reason for hope in dark times.

In their roundup of tech news, Zoe and Paul talk about video call overload and the Facebook boycott campaign.

 

Notes and links –

Young Scot  https://young.scot/

Arundhathi Roy article ‘The pandemic is a portal’

https://www.ft.com/content/10d8f5e8-74eb-11ea-95fe-fcd274e920ca

Video call overload

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/zoom-fatigue-video-conferencing-coronavirus/

Facebook boycott campaign

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53225139

Please follow us on Twitter @startsatthetop1

Email us with your questions and ideas for future episodes startsatthetop@gmail.com

And please leave us a review if you enjoy what you hear!

 

Editing by Paul Thomas and production from Alexey Sibikin

Music by Joseph McDade https://josephmcdade.com/music           

Episode 2 - Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, Head STEMette

This is the second episode of Starts at the Top, a new podcast hosted by Zoe Amar and Paul Thomas. It’s about how leaders from all sectors are using digital to
navigate uncertainty and forge a path to the future.

This week Zoe and Paul are joined by Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, Head
STEMette, visiting Professor at the University of Sunderland, keynote speaker and a
renowned champion and inspiration for women looking to find a role in the world of
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

We talked about diversity and inclusion, gender and leadership, the role of tech
during and after COVID-19, getting young people into STEM and the ethics of big
tech. Anne-Marie was incredibly thought provoking on these issues. She also shares
her recommendations for books and TV shows in an extra segment hidden after the end music.

Notes and links – 

STEMettes https://stemettes.org/

Sadia Khan’s interview about leadership and mental health (paywall)
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/interview-sadiq-khan-on-his-struggles-during-
lockdown-in-london-8msxm0rd2

How To Fail podcast interview with Matthew Syed
https://howtofail.podbean.com/e/how-to-fail-matthew-syed/

Please follow us on Twitter @startsatthetop1 

Email us with your questions and ideas for future
episodes startsatthetop@gmail.com 

And please leave us a review if you enjoy what you hear!

Editing by Paul Thomas and production from Alexey Sibikin
Music by Joseph McDade https://josephmcdade.com/music

Episode 1 - Simon Blake, CEO of Mental Health First Aid England

This is the first episode of Starts at the Top, a new podcast from Zoe Amar and Paul Thomas. It’s about how leaders from all sectors are using digital to navigate uncertainty and forge a path to the future.

This week Zoe and Paul are joined by Simon Blake, CEO of Mental Health First Aid England who they spoke to at the beginning of May at the height of the Lockdown from his partner’s dental surgery!

The conversation covers Simon’s take on the shift that all of us have experienced under lockdown - the new ways that he and his team have had to approach work and the new digital skills he has had to develop as a leader. Simon also talks passionately about mental health and how this pandemic is affecting us all now and into the future. 

Notes and links - 

Simon’s blog post - https://mhfaengland.org/mhfa-centre/ceo-blog/ten-things-coronavirus-lockdown-simon-blake/

If ‘Black Lives Matter’ to brands, where are your black board members https://www.marketingweek.com/mark-ritson-black-lives-matter-brands/

(Please bear with us - the shift to online recording means that there are some variations in sound quality on this episode)

Please follow us on Twitter @startsatthetop1 

Email us with your questions and ideas for future episodes startsatthetop@gmail.com 

And please leave us a review if you enjoy what you hear!

 

Editing by Paul Thomas and production from Alexey Sibikin

Music by Joseph McDade https://josephmcdade.com/music