Diary of a CLO

Danny Seals - Listening, designing, experimenting

Danny Seals is king of all things employee experience and founder of innovation agency Knot who specialise in transforming work environments and cultures. In this conversation Danny shares how his own experiences led him to where he is today, why employee listening is so important to instigate change, and why it's essential to bring an outside pair of eyes and ears into a business to observe and experiment. Danny runs an awesome newsletter Get Knotted, a down-to-earth podcast Mindchimp, and he's author of The Insightful Innovator: How to level up your employee experience. Enjoy.
 
Get Knotted
The Insightful Innovator
Knot
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Ben Williams - Embracing Ai

In this episode, I’m joined by Ben Williams an ex-Royal Marine Commando, author of ‘Commando Mindset’, and co-founder of Loopin and Omni. Ben brings a fresh perspective to how we develop ourselves and those we lead, by thinking like a commando and being trained - in certain ways - like one too. And of course in this conversation, we dig into Ai, its impact and opportunities because Loopin has been ahead of the game for a while on this front so there are some interesting perspectives shared. Enjoy.
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Nick Holmes - Creating meaningful employee experiences

In this episode, I’m joined by Nick Holmes who is the VP of employee experience at Fishawack Health. If you’re interested in how to create meaningful, well-connected workplaces then listen up, as Nick shares what you need to be thinking about with some really practical, thought-provoking and valuable insights. Enjoy.
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Iliana Montauk - Diversifying tech talent

In this episode, I’m joined by Iliana Montauk, Co-founder and CEO of Manara, who are revolutionising the way companies hire diverse tech talent, specifically from the Middle East and North Africa, and who promote communities of connection for individuals looking for a new or next role. They really are paving the way as the only company doing what they do in this space. Absolutely one to pay attention to. Enjoy.
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Manara

Alex Hales - Rebuilding trust

In this episode, I’m talking to England cricketer Alex Hales, who has bought his career back from breaking point in 2019, when he was dropped from the England World Cup squad for failing a recreational drugs test. We chat about that, how he’s fought back from it, where he’s at now and hear his advice for anyone experiencing setbacks in their life. Enjoy!
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Lavinia Mehedințu - Offbeat but on track

Lavinia Mehedințu is everything good there is about L&D and she’s on a mission to provide access to useful information and research for L&Ders across the world. As the founder of Offbeat, a platform for L&D professionals to accelerate their career growth, Lavinia is really helping the industry upskill and practice what they preach. We chat about why creating Offbeat was important, learning and the importance of reflection as part of practice. Enjoy.
Offbeat
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Sally Gunnell - Knowing when to ask for help

Sally Gunnell is a household name in athletics after an illustrious career on the track. No other woman has held Commonwealth, European, World, and Olympic track titles concurrently and although her world record has since been broken, Sally Gunnell is firmly planted as one of the greatest female athletes of all time. Now the founder of Sally Gunnell Health and Wellbeing, Sally is using the knowledge and skills she established during her athletics career, to help guide others to make better and more informed lifestyle choices. In the episode Sally shares how she got close to burnout before she realised she needed help, how confidence doesn’t always come naturally and why focusing on your mental and physical health is so important. It’s a great conversation. Enjoy.
Sally Gunnell health and wellbeing
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Lauren Waldman - Joining forces with your brain

You may know Lauren Waldman as the Learning Pirate. She's pushing the industry in the right direction to help us focus on how people learn before we consider what they should be learning. Lauren de-bunks myths left right and centre, and puts the focus back on research and translating science into action. She is qualified in multiple areas, with foundations or certificates in a range of subjects mostly centred on neuroscience and adult learning, so she's an all-round guru. In this episode, we discuss all of that but also consider how we can all contribute to pushing the L&D industry in the right direction. Enjoy!
Joining forces with your brain
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Monique Carayol - Being brave in the boardroom

In this episode, I’m joined by Monique Carayol who is a leadership coach and motivational speaker, who cofounded Bravey in the Boardroom just over a year ago to turn the dial on inclusive leadership and talent development. She also set up Your New Avenue a leadership and talent development consultancy. Monique’s energy is infectious, and she’s pushing authentic and brave leadership forward for everyone. We chat about all that and more in this episode. Enjoy.
Be yourself, back yourself, and make it happen
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Frank Smith - A knockout CEO

Frank Smith is the CEO of Matchroom, a global sporting event promotions company founded by English entrepreneur Barry Hearn and run by him and his son Eddie Hearn, who you may have heard of. Smith joined the business at 16 and has grafted his way to CEO. In this episode, he shares how his grit and attention to detail got him to where he is today, and how he leads with care and trust. Enjoy.
Matchroom
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