The Good Listening To Show: Stories of Distinction & Genius

Leadership Reflections: Stories of Deep Listening, Transformation & Leadership with Susy Roberts, 'The Queen Bee' of Coaching & People Development

• Chris Grimes - Facilitator. Coach. Motivational Comedian

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Delighted to welcome Susy Roberts “The Good Listening To Show"  for a special ‘Leadership Reflections’ episode, also recorded as a LinkedIn LIVE.

https://vimeo.com/chrisgrimes/susyroberts

Hunter Roberts, with the ultra experienced Susy Roberts at the helm, are experts in leadership and people development, specialising in change agility. They focus on executive management coaching, organisation design, creating an excellent customer experience and team learning. In an approach that helps people and teams to realise full potential, achieve goals and enhance performance”

Susy is an acknowledged industry expert on developing talent and driving business performance through coaching. With Hunter Roberts, Susy has worked with senior leaders in globally recognised brands including Accenture Dior Dr. Martens plc Centrica Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Levi Strauss & Co. Specsavers O2 (Telefónica UK) The Peninsula Hotels, HSBC & many more.

Have you ever found pure joy and inspiration in the tales of life's unexpected journeys? Susy Roberts of Hunter Roberts joins me for a conversation that is as enlightening as it is heartwarming, sharing the serenity she finds in her Cotswolds cottage and the profound impact her career in coaching has had. Together, we embark on a nostalgic trip through our overlapping histories, revealing the pivotal moments that shaped Susy's path from her beginnings at the Oxford Group to the thriving success of her own company. She opens up about her decision to chase what she loves, a sentiment that echoes throughout our discussion on personal fulfillment and professional triumph.

Reflecting on her career trajectory, she offers up stories of overcoming the hurdles of the job market and the unexpected advantages of an Oxford connection. The episode is sprinkled with anecdotes of international adventures and the wisdom of embracing cultural diversity, from coaxing smiles out of Japanese hospitality workers to conducting training sessions across many a border. The narrative pays tribute to the mentors and role models who've sculpted her professional ethos, underscoring the importance of passion-driven choices in carving a successful career path.

As we close, the conversation turns to the enduring influence we impart through leadership and genuine connections. Susy imparts pearls of wisdom on the subtleties of team communication, sharing experiences that highlight the significance of understanding individual strengths and team dynamics. 

With her leadership baton passed to her daughter, we ponder the power of good listening and the introspective journey it can prompt, celebrating the stories and insights that come to light when we truly hear one another. Join us on this episode where the beauty

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

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Thanks for listening!

Speaker 1:

Welcome to another episode of the Good Listening To Show your life and times with me, Chris Grimes, the storytelling show that features the Clearing, where all good questions come to get asked and all good stories come to be told, and where all my guests have two things in common they're all creative individuals and all with an interesting story to tell. There are some lovely storytelling metaphors a clearing a tree, a juicy storytelling exercise called 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, some alchemy, some gold, a cheeky bit of Shakespeare and a cake. So it's all to play for. So, yes, welcome to the Good Listening To Show your life and times with me. Chris Grimes, Are you sitting comfortably? Then we shall begin, and we shall indeed begin. Welcome, LinkedIn. If you're watching here as a LinkedIn live, I'm absolutely thrilled and delighted to welcome to the Good Listening To Show Stories of Distinction and Genius for a special Leadership Reflections series, strand episode. If I may call you the queen of coaching ladies and gentlemen, min, min, min, with your lovely backdrop of Rosemary Sage.

Speaker 1:

Where's Parsley? And the other one. Welcome, susie Roberts, from Hunter Roberts to the clearing. You're extremely welcome. How are you, susie? How's morale? What's your story of the day, please?

Speaker 2:

My story of the day. I'm having a great day sat in my cottage in the Cotswolds. My husband has been planting all the bedding plants I bought yesterday and I've been out with my 93 year old neighbour to get her friend a birthday present. I've been out with my 93-year-old neighbour to get her friend a birthday present.

Speaker 1:

So having a great day so far. That's a great day and Mitch is being the number one assistant. He's just shut down all the programmes in the background that might ping at us, and you also get him to shut the door on his way out.

Speaker 2:

Yes, my own IT expert.

Speaker 1:

So you're very, very welcome. This is a show format that could be crafted in your honour from a leadership reflections point of view because, as I've already alluded, you are the queen of coaching, founder of Hunter Roberts, circa 2001. You've also got a long history, as we do too. I'm not trying to age us both when I tell you that, but I met you back in the day when you were at the Oxford Group, and I've even been round your house at Christmastime to do some drama-based team-building exercises for your party once, many, many thousands of years ago, making me sound old, chris. I'm making myself sound old, but anyway, it's the wealth of experience you have within the leadership realm. I'm particularly interested in getting us on the open road with. So yes, with your permission, then I'll get you on the open road.

Speaker 1:

There's going to be a clearing a tree, a juicy storytelling exercise called 5-4-3-2-1. There's going to be some alchemy, some gold, a couple of random squirrels, a cheeky bit of Shakespeare and a cake. So it's all to play for and, as I've already mentioned, we're doing a sort of leadership reflection of the series strand. Just to blow a tiny bit of extra happy smoke at you. Hunter Roberts are with you at the helm, expert in growing and improving talent and focusing on improving business performance through developing people at executive, senior and middle manager level, great. So if somebody asks you at a networking event that rather clunky question when they're all there trying not to look uncomfortable and they turn to you and say oh hello, what do you do? What's your favorite way of answering or avoiding that question? Suzy, right I?

Speaker 2:

say. I say I really enjoy developing people, helping them, be that personal best, to either doing one-to-one coaching work with them or working with groups to develop the capability of the group, but mainly to help the business drive the best performance, and I love it.

Speaker 1:

And the passion oozes out of you. You've got some global bangers to your name in terms of the types of clients you work for Accenture, dior, dms I'm wearing a pair of DMs as I speak, so I'm also wearing a pair of Levi's, so I'm sort of quite on brand. Actually, I might have just lied, I'm wearing a pair of Carhartts actually, but there's O2, telefonica, hsbc, and then everyone's favourite breakfast cereal, kellogg's as well. So, yes, some pretty good global bangers to your name there. So, yes, some pretty good global bangers to your name there.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, absolutely, and I love working around the world with my clients. Interestingly, I don't work with Kellogg's anymore but my top consultant is Kate, who was the European HR director and OD director for Kellogg's, and she moved over the other side and works closely with me now. So I have quite a number of my associates that work with the team that are previous clients, which has been really great that they've wanted to come over and work with me. And at the end of this month I have one of my greatest success coachees coming to join me as an associate, having just completed her coaching qualification with the business she works with.

Speaker 1:

So yeah, great, and I'm loving the alliteration of Kate from Kellogg's. That's lovely too. Um, how many people are in the stable of Hunter Roberts?

Speaker 2:

I've got a team of associates, so about 25, but about six I work really close, really closely with. I made a big business decision. I didn't want to grow huge when I first set up Hunter Roberts with a business partner. He wanted to grow the business massive. I love doing what I do. I don't enjoy going out being a salesperson, so I came out on my own and I enjoy doing work with the clients all the time rather than being in the office. So yeah, that was a personal choice and probably the best business decision of my life to carry on doing what I really loved rather than moving into being the person that had to basically manage a team and put people out on projects that I wanted to be doing myself.

Speaker 1:

So yes, there's the real economy of scale, delight there in a sort of passion, choice to stay connected so that you stay on brand, I suppose, as Susie Roberts, the queen of coaching, if I may call you that for a third time. So let's get you on the open road. In the interactions we've had before today, I'm very excited because I think you're going to be speaking to us as you speak from your clearing. So, first of all, let's get you on the open road of the construct of this. Where is what is a clearing for you? You know where do you go, susie Roberts? To get clutter free, inspirational and able to think.

Speaker 2:

I jump in the car from Cheshire and drive down to Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswolds Lovely story behind my little cottage that I bought with my husband, beginning of COVID. My accountant rang and said you need to do something with the money that sat in your business for the last 20 years and we'd always thought about buying a little cottage. We saw loads of places. I fell in love with this the second I saw it and nothing was good enough after it. It's in a little courtyard with a beautiful patio back garden. I open the door, I feel as if I'm on holiday. I feel happy even if it's raining. It's absolutely gloriously sunny here today. It gives me time to think. I walk out of the door, buy some milk and there's anything you want to do Nice cafes, nice restaurants. We feel part of the community here. Just went to get a baguette for my lunch and Kev's asking how my new grandchild is. So I feel really happy here and spend as much time as I can down here.

Speaker 1:

So it's a cottage, the Roberts cottage in Stowe-on-the-World, and you've also got a 93 year old neighbour you mentioned earlier who you've taken out to get a birthday present for someone in her family.

Speaker 2:

That's right, so it's. My cottage is called Petite Etoile, little Star, and actually it used to be an antiques courtyard and the guy that built the houses of two little cottages knocked down his antique showroom, built two little cottages and they're all named after race horses, because he made his money gambling on race horses and mine happened to be Petit Etoile. That apparently won him a lot of money.

Speaker 1:

And you've kept the name. I love that. So you're in Little Star, which is your own sort of own beacon of the majestic clearing, beaconing out the star of Susie Roberts. Lovely, thank you. So now you're in your clearing. We're going to arrive with a tree now to shake your clearing. We're going to arrive with a tree now to shake your clearing and we're going to get further into sort of your stories of leadership coaching as we go through.

Speaker 1:

But this is where you've been kind enough now to have taken five minutes to have thought about four things that have shaped you, suzy, three things that inspire you, and then two things that never fail to grab your attention and borrow from the film up, that's where the squirrels are going to come in. Well, squirrels, you know what never fails to grab your attention, irrespective of anything else that's going on for you. And then the one is a quirky or unusual fact about you, susie and Hunter Roberts, that we couldn't possibly know about you until you tell us it's not a memory exercise. I'll curate you through it as we go through. So over to you to shake the canopy of your tree as you see fit.

Speaker 2:

Right. Well, I think I can only say that sort of my mum and dad shaped me. They shaped me with their strong personal values, their beliefs. My mum was a working mum. She was a teacher, then became a head. My father was a headmaster and they did everything to support us and they were particularly interesting. I think I learned a lot from my parents. My mum was from an extremely wealthy background.

Speaker 2:

My grandfather served the king during the war. Wow, through building a factory that built all the cladding that boxed everything up. It was a company called Colcraft that when things had been bombed, he did all of the work to cover up the buildings. He worked out in Africa and he had a very successful own business which has given some of the values. When he died business which has given some of the values. When he died, I found a box and in that box were letters from his employees which basically said my grateful servant, james, I cannot believe, on my retirement, that you have given me 150 guineas. This is more than I could have ever dreamt of, your faithful servant and an amazing box of how he treated his people, which has been really important to me. But he also taught me the importance of allowing people to be who they are.

Speaker 2:

My father had to leave school at 13. He was from a mining village in kirkby and ashfield in nottingham. His father worked down the mines. His school closed, closed at 13. He joined the RAF. The RAF sent him to teacher training school or teacher training college, where he met my mum. He took my mum, my mum took him home and he had a little motorbike which was his pride and joy. Little motorbike which was his pride and joy, and my grandfather bought him a car because he said, the only thing he couldn't do was allow my mother to be driven on the back of a motorbike.

Speaker 1:

I also love the fact she met your dad and took him home.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and so you know it was. It was really good to see how my grandfather was, really good to see how my grandfather embraced my father from two very, very different backgrounds. But my father really shaped me. He took early retirement at 57 because teaching was getting too bureaucratic for him as a head, but he continued to do loads of charity work and support kids that were too disruptive to be taught in school. He managed to get one of them back into school by helping him understand families didn't have to be like his family. About 10 years ago my father needed a new drive. He got five quotes. The last person that turned up oh, my goodness, it's Mr goodness, it's Mr Arnold. Mr Arnold, it's me who you made. Good, this is my company.

Speaker 2:

My father got his drive done for nothing oh, how wonderful and the nicest story was my mum took his kids and really looked after them, helped them learn their maths, their English, and you know he still talks about so fondly about my father. Um, you know, and I like to see the way my parents support it um, that's a lovely testament to leadership and playing it forward.

Speaker 1:

The idea of paving the way see what I did there with your driveway to his own future, that's lovely, lovely. So what a complete legend your dad was.

Speaker 2:

Well, it was even funnier when he had a stroke at the beginning of COVID. He still remembers how the RAF looked after him, put him into the right education and career. He was waiting in a very long queue at the Queen Elizabeth in Birmingham and some RAF doctor was checking on people. He went oh well, my RAF number was blah blah blah and he got taken into. Some RAF doctor was checking on people. He went oh well, my RAF number was blah blah blah and he got taken into the RAF ward because he was still a past serviceman, so served him, served him well.

Speaker 2:

So that that's certainly the first person who shaped me, and with you saying about the Oxford group, I hadn't thought about this.

Speaker 2:

But somebody that really shaped me was a lady called Sally Poulton who I was working for.

Speaker 2:

Marks and Spencers opened their direct selling business which had a big distribution centre and everybody was speaking on phones and Marks and Spencer felt we could take sales assistants out of stores and put them on phones and they do a great customer service job, which unfortunately wasn't the case. I bought in the Oxford group to help me really establish how we got the best people to work on phones, to give telephone customer service and I love training and I love training. So, in order to keep costs down, because I had a boss that was very keen on cost efficiencies, I said I would be the support trainer with her, loved all the work I did with Sally and some of her team, and I just had my second child and she said well, we've won a huge contract with the Treasury. Would you like to come and join us? It took me a year to make the decision, um, but they guaranteed me three days a week, uh, which very quickly became five days a week, going part-time a bit of mission creep exactly a little bit of scope, freak, freak there.

Speaker 2:

You know I joined them as an associate. I think I really understood what it was like to change jobs because I was on a learning curve like that If you hadn't gone to Oxford or Cambridge you weren't worth anything to the team that we were working with. It was a programme called Working With People, which was to give Treasury staff all of the leadership lessons. I happen to mention that I'd been to an Oxford University dinner and they thought I'd gone to Oxford. So at the end of my second session that I'd done. I got scored five for everything and the outstanding consultant I was with got twos and threes and they all said they really valued my expertise from Oxford. And I have to admit I didn't say anything. You kept stum. I kept stum on that Because I'd had a big baptism of fire but never looked back. The Oxford group, through Sally, opened up loads of opportunities. That then gave me the confidence to set up my own business and without Sally's push and showing she really believed in me, I wouldn't have done that.

Speaker 1:

And what goes around comes around. I myself am very grateful to the Oxford Group and M&S because they Oxford Group, probably with your tenure brought me in.

Speaker 2:

Of course we did.

Speaker 1:

The M brought me in program, that's right yes, clear view is called, and I even interviewed martin clarkson last week, who you may have known from m&s days as well. Yeah, oh great. So back to you. We're still doing wonderful shapeage.

Speaker 2:

I think the opportunities I've had to travel the world have really shaped from a very young age. Every year I used to moan as I got into my teens. First of all, we'd go up in the tent to France. Then we upgraded to our caravan holidays, for which the last probably eight, when I still went with my parents we went to Lake Annecy, which gave me a real bug for traveling. We used to go walking, climbing, fantastic time, and from then onwards I've not looked back.

Speaker 2:

I love traveling and every time I go and work in a different country or visit a different country, I'm fascinated by the culture, the people. I have a record of having taught the Japanese to smile at the Peninsula Hotel because culturally they don't really smile and they needed to learn to smile for the Olympics. Yeah, japan, new Zealand, australia. I was doing all the leadership training for Silversea, which took me to some fascinating although I was working. All the leadership training for Silversea, which took me to some fascinating. Although I was working, it still took me to some fascinating people and the opportunity to work with so many different. This is all still through the Oxford Group. No, still through the Oxford Group and then through my own business. Yes, wonderful, no, I've travelled Maldives, japan, manila, all over the states with my own business, hong Kong, even Australia, and traveling really just it excites me and I just get so much from understanding the different cultures and learning how to adapt and still get leadership results. You know whether you're working with Indians, filipinos or Americans, particularly Texans, you know so different, different.

Speaker 1:

You've done some multicultural whispering over the years as well.

Speaker 2:

Quite a lot of multicultural whispering, which one of my clients are finding very helpful at the moment because they've moved a lot of their roles over to India, the Philippines and sort of Brazil. So I'm saying, well, just look at why we might have some challenges here with the American culture and the Indian culture. It's because you're very direct. They're less indirect, so no very interesting work across different cultures. And gives me a huge satisfaction when you start to see people really responding to adapting their behaviour so they get the best working results together.

Speaker 1:

You're giving wonderful testament to your you know your favourite success stories within coaching, which we'll get onto a bit more overtly a bit later, unless you want to say something about that now.

Speaker 2:

No, that's fine, and I think my my final thing that shaped me was as a young grad just out of university. Here's a choice of roles. You know, I'd been offered a role by a retailer, I'd been offered a role by a company that I can't even remember the name of, and I'd been offered a graduate management banking scheme with Lloyds Bank. It was a no brainer to me with the decision, because Lloyds Bank were paying a mere 400 pounds a year more. But at the time I had a boyfriend in Bristol. So I took the Lloyds Bank job and on day one I thought why did you take this job, susie? It was everything I couldn't stand detail, counting, checks. The only job I enjoyed in the nine months I did it was being on the telephone talking to the customers, which everybody else in the bank hated.

Speaker 2:

I did the Institute of Bankers exams. I don't know how I passed them because I was about to leave and I walked in to resign to my manager and I said I'm going to be leaving Mr Phillips, who was a very old man. He went, my darling, I'm not surprised, but I hope you're going to do something like join Marks and Spencers and do something with people and I was actually joining the M&S graduate scheme on their people development program, I said, well, you've got it absolutely right, mr Phillips, but it really shaped me because I spent a lot of my time helping people do the right job and do a job that they're going to enjoy, rather than doing what I did and move into a job that I was not suited to. Yes, I'm not sitting looking at figures all day and counting money. Just was not me. So it's an important thing to shape me Wonderful.

Speaker 1:

And now we could be on to three things that inspire you now.

Speaker 2:

I've already talked about one was my grandfather. He inspired me to build a business that really looked after people, gave them opportunities, stretched them, grew them and developed them, and that's sat with me. I have a very dear friend who inspired me, somebody called Ian who was taking very ill when he was 32 and they had a six-week-old baby. He's been very ill for many years and he has carried on doing a senior leadership job, never complained when he's not able to ski anymore. Everything has always been positive. He's carried on and on and on, through kidney transplants, been on oxygen. We sadly lost him a month ago.

Speaker 2:

But he is a person that you cannot meet, anybody that you'd be more proud of in terms of determination, not complaining and taking everything life through at him. And you know, when I hear people moan about little things, I think this doesn't need moaning about. You know, when I hear people moan about little things, I think this doesn't need moaning about. You know focus on what you, what you've got, um, and so he was really quite an inspiration to me and what was he in second name?

Speaker 2:

maury, maury, sure yeah yeah, he was a senior leader with, with, with siemens um, and we're still trying to work, you know, two weeks before we lost him through his oxygen, which is a fantastic example to everybody of how to take the hardship that life leaves you. You and another person that has really inspired me is Peter Ledra, who was the chairman of Glen Eagles for a long time. He does a lot of non-exec work with companies in Scotland. He introduced me to luxury hospitality and I have a lot of luxury hospitality people, but he has an absolute passion for recognising that everybody, no matter what role they do, their job is important in an organisation through to somebody growing a huge business, make the right commercial decisions. And he's been a particularly strong mentor and guide to me, challenging me consistently about doing too much and making some time for me, which he thinks I've finally taken on board.

Speaker 1:

So, yes, he's been a real inspiration, real inspiration to me and he'd be delighted to find you in your clearing in stow on the world. I don't doubt, I'm sure, and do you? Did you get into golf as well, because you mentioned glen eagles?

Speaker 2:

no, I didn't. I didn't get it didn't get into golf, although, um, I'm the only person that went in uh wedges to the Ryder Cup. I started working with Glen Eagles in 2004, which was eight years before the Ryder Cup, helping them really set up their, their brand values, how they wanted to be seen as they went on the journey through to Ryder Cup. Um, but my husband and I were invited on the final day and I suddenly heard the HR manager, jeanette, going Susie Roberts, what have you got on your feet? Come and get a pair of Hunter Wellies. You look ridiculous.

Speaker 1:

Wedgies versus Hunter Wellies. It sounds like your own brand, Hunter Wellies.

Speaker 2:

Your own shoes are Hunter Wellies, I'm'm sure it was great to see, after eight years, the success of the rider cup. Both my kids had the opportunity to do work experience for um, johnny walker and some of my friends children as well. So I think the whole way in which peter led uh, followed by bernard um, how he mentored all of the young talent is great to see. And we all see the old leadership team who are all retired now. We all still keep in touch, which is great.

Speaker 1:

And Johnny Walker, another belt rubber brand there, fantastic.

Speaker 2:

And the message behind that was they had a mini golf and I actually beat my husband on the mini golf at the Ryder Cup, which I haven't been allowed to let down exactly wonderful, now we could be, if that.

Speaker 1:

That's the three shape edges, isn't it sorry? The three things that inspire you. So now we're on to two things that never fail to grab your attention, and this is borrowed from the film up oh squirrels, you know, whatever, what, what never fails to grab your attention, irrespective of anything else that's going on for you, susie well, if I didn't say this, I'd be in trouble with my family.

Speaker 2:

I absolutely love flowers. I spend a fortune on flowers and anywhere I go yesterday, straight down to the garden centre I could spend hours looking at flowers. But on the back of that, having been having to find time for myself so that I have some relaxation, somebody once said to me Susie, you'll never do yoga. You're not going to let your high energy brought to do yoga. What do you love doing? I said well, I love flower arranging, so I have taken it up as a hobby. I do a class every month. I've got two weddings to do next year because I'm great at copying um, and I've done four weddings for friends, children.

Speaker 1:

So far, my there could be four weddings and I hope not a funeral coming up.

Speaker 2:

Oh, sorry, I actually did do the coffin topper for Ian's coffin and it was stunning and everybody commented on it because it was just not like anything you'd normally put on top of a coffin. So that's what I really love doing, although I brought up my son's best friends since he lost his mum when he was 11. And he got married last year. Oh, I just need six table arrangements and the bride's bouquet and a couple of bridesmaids. Well, it suddenly grew and it grew and it grew and we need watches and I'm like pet. It looks stunning but it took two days, not the six little table arrangements.

Speaker 1:

I'm going to retitle you not just the Queen of Coaching, but also the Honey Bee of Coaching now, because there's something about you buzzing around flowers, which is a really wonderful application of your energy, which is beaconing out majestic. There could be a second squirrel.

Speaker 2:

That could be the two squirrels so my second thing that really grabs my attention is I absolutely hate fast drivers and people that drive badly. Had an accident many ago. I was going to pick up my graduation photo and a child ran in the road in front of me. I hate driving. Anybody's very lucky that buys a car from me because people have 5,000 miles on the clock when everybody else's would have had 60. But no, I get absolutely panicked when people drive fast and people hate being in the car with me. My children are trying to send me off to get therapy to stop me being so frightened in a car. I'm constantly telling my husband to slow down and I cannot stop watching every car when I'm on the motorway. So a bit of a different one there.

Speaker 1:

Yes, a sort of pet peak, if you like. Yes, I can't stop watching.

Speaker 2:

You're hyper vigilant in a car hyper vigilant in a car and we all couldn't help hearing that yours is a good car to buy because it's only got six thousand miles very unfortunate when we had a burglary and they actually stole my car and the police rang up and said do you want the good news or the bad news? At seven o'clock on New Year's Day we found your car, but it's upside down in a field. And then the garage was saying this mileage cannot be right. We cannot have this soft dock mini which only has got six thousand miles on the clock and it's seven years old.

Speaker 1:

It was actually the right the right mileage and I'm sorry it was the wrong way up and that they ruined it for you, but anyway, anyway, yeah, okay, so we've shaken your tree. Oh no, now it's one quirky, unusual fact about you that we couldn't possibly know about you until you tell us which is what the one stands for.

Speaker 2:

Okay, I always have an answer for this one, chris. I beat an Olympic medal winner in a race. My parents used to every week fill their estate car with all the children from the road and we used to go to Moseley Road Methodist Church for Sunday school, and one of the people that used to come to Sunday school was Sonia Lannerman, who won an Olympic running race. I think she got the silver medal. We had a hopping backwards race at the Sunday School and Sonia fell over, so I won the hopping backwards race.

Speaker 1:

You're an Olympic champion backhopper. I've never heard that before. That's a really cool fact yes, and nobody, ever nobody.

Speaker 1:

Nobody knows that, but it was hopping backwards, not a running race and I myself have had roger black in my clearing here, by the way, and he won silver and I was able to award him a gold baton, which I think he enjoyed, but we're coming on to that later. We have shaken your tree, hurrah. Now we're staying in the clearing, moving away from the tree. Next we're talking about alchemy and gold and remembering, of course. This is about leadership reflection. So when you're at purpose and in flow, susie Roberts, in everything you do in the coaching realm, what are you absolutely happiest doing in what you're here to reveal to the world?

Speaker 2:

What are you absolutely happiest doing in what you're here to reveal to the world? I'm happiest in really challenging and supporting people's thinking to help them look at how they can maximise their lives, personal performance, and it's a real balance of constructive challenge but also being supportive and, you know, pushing people to go that extra, um, that extra mile, really to be the best. People don't come to work to do a bad job. They come to work to do a good job. Often we as leaders don't make that easy for them.

Speaker 1:

Um, so really giving them that, that support and stretch, yes, and what have been some of your greatest stories that you'd like to tell us about in terms of success as a coach, would you say?

Speaker 2:

I've got some different, different ones, chris. I worked with a guy called Chris who had been an amazing, amazing manager, traveling all around the world sorting out contracts for a management consultancy and had saved the business millions. He'd done that for nine years. He'd sorted out all the issues and came back into the UK and they wanted to put him on a huge project. He was a very introverted individual that hated working in huge, huge groups, made a meal and I was asked to do some coaching work with him and over a period of a year he came to the point where he realized he needed to leave the business. I helped him have the discussions with leadership and he decided he wanted to go out on his own and I helped him look at all my learnings from setting up my own business. But also he was really clear about what he wanted to do. You know he was no longer did longer depressed uh, still in touch with him.

Speaker 2:

If ever have a contract to look at, chris, could you just take a look at this contract for me? But what made it quite special was we used to meet in a pretty grotty best western in um Ripon, but they did extremely good sandwiches for lunch and we'd always have prawn and ham sandwiches for lunch and something arrived. And I have prawn and ham sandwiches for lunch and something arrived and I thought, what's this? Some cheap sort of advert. And when I because all I saw at first was Best Western and when I opened it up he'd written a poem about me and how I'd helped him. And the picture was the Best Western and the prawn and ham sandwiches which is framed in my business office.

Speaker 1:

And what's the poem called? It sounds like it's, you know, prawns from Best Western.

Speaker 2:

Everybody needs a Susie in their life and it had quotes. Like you know, susie helped me earn lots of loot, so now I can even wear a bespoke suit. I couldn't show it to his league. I have since told the managing director. But you know that was one where somebody completely changed direction, moved from being incredibly unhappy it was dealt with very well with the organisation.

Speaker 2:

He's gone back and done some contract work with them. So that was a real, real success story. My funniest one is probably the most driven individual I have ever worked with, the most competitive individual who came in to manage a region for a fashion brand based out of Paris. I was given the brief that he was amazing, but he wasn't bringing people with him. So I sat down with him and I got to the point where I said there's no point me working with you if you don't see that you need to develop in this area.

Speaker 2:

Um, because he was expecting people to go at his pace. I mean, he'd do triathlons at the weekend. He was the best flamenco dancer. He's the most competitive individual on absolutely every aspect of his of his life. And I said success will be if you can bring your people with you and you need to see that as a task that you have to achieve. And his team were constantly complaining to me about him. I did team sessions with the team and 18 months after I'd started working with him, at Christmas, I got. I got a card signed by all of the team saying we don't quite know what you've done to this individual. But he's a changed man and we now love working with him. So I said I took a photo of it and sent it to him and said I rest my case.

Speaker 1:

There's a lovely allegory of the hare and the tortoise in that story, because obviously he's like a just constantly hammering on but taking nobody with him.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, but he does it now and he got to the top position in the organisation and I get a text super coach, I've made it, which is brilliant. And one final one.

Speaker 1:

Um, I love your instinct.

Speaker 2:

By the way, the best communication happens in threes, and this is your third story of success yeah, uh, was the somebody that worked in a corporate role in again in fashion, who I'd worked with for a long time. His wife was 40th birthday, asked me for a picture of me and somebody gave her a picture of me on a quad bike in Morocco because the team building stuff hadn't arrived, so we had to find an alternative. I thought I was going to be watching the quad biking, but actually no, we were going on a whole trek around Marrakesh on these and there I was, sat in the middle of a French magazine that she'd recreated, which had his sports coach and his business coach on. But he decided he wanted to move into luxury fashion and had his heart set on getting the top role for Christian Dior couture. I spent a an awful lot of time coaching him, supporting, helping him, and gave him a bit of a cherry and said well, if you get this role, I'll take you to the Plaza Ratonay, to the Alan Ducasse three-star Michelin restaurant, thinking I'm not sure he's going to get it because he's not a fashion brand. Be careful what you promise.

Speaker 2:

It was a very expensive evening, even with my discount. I got because I was working for the group, but he got it, and as a surprise. At nine o'clock we were asked to go to the spa which was built in the Plaza Ratonay on avenue montagna was actually christian dior's home and the spa was the actual home. And they opened the doors of the spa, they had a bottle of champagne and we had a private tour of what was christian dior's home, which francois de la haye, the general manager, had organized for us. So that was a very special and I still keep in touch with those three people, even though I'm no longer working with them, which is something that's also important to me, that they want to keep that contact.

Speaker 1:

And you've given me a perfect segue. I couldn't help hearing the word cherry a while ago, in that you gave him a cherry with the temptation of the salubrious night in the Dior palace, if you like. So now we're going to award you with a cake, susie, and you get to put a cherry on the cake. This is the last suffused storytelling metaphor, so the cherry on the cake is what's? A favourite inspirational quote that's always given you sucker and pulled you towards your future.

Speaker 2:

I've got one from Steve Jobs that I've added a bit to the only way to do great work is to love what you do I add to it and love who you do it with. So that's my favourite quote, and I have another one which can be the second. Cherry always say to people success is all about growing you, but when you become a leader, then success is about growing the people, um, and growing other people, which is a saying from jack welsh, and I can't ever decide between the two of them because they're quite different. So I've got two chairs on my cake.

Speaker 1:

Sorry about that chris, not at all wonderful. What's the best piece of advice, susie Roberts, you've ever been given?

Speaker 2:

I used to be sending out messages at midnight because I was so driven in my work. I put the children to bed, then I carry on with my emails and somebody said to me it's actually by sending messages at that time you're making people feel inferior because they choose not to work at 10 o'clock or 11 o'clock at night. I'm constantly giving it to my coachees now as advice. I just used to put it in draft and then send it first thing in the morning. But I was horrified when somebody said it's intimidating to other people because that's just not within me. And it was a very good piece of advice and I love it that other people take that because I can share my own personal story and um, it helps.

Speaker 1:

You might be asking do you remember who gave you that advice?

Speaker 2:

uh, yes, it was somebody called Sally Jackson.

Speaker 1:

Oh, at Oxford Group as well.

Speaker 2:

Yes, even though I told Sally I could never work with her because she never asked me how I was, and then she'd ring me up and say how how are you, susie? Everything OK, could you do? Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Yes, sally and I learned to appreciate how our strengths played together.

Speaker 1:

Yes, you managed to whisper each other a bit of reciprocity.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it was Sally Jackson.

Speaker 1:

And with the gift of hindsight now, what notes, help or advice might you like to proffer to a younger version in the leadership realm of yourself, Susie Roberts?

Speaker 2:

To not make decisions about a job you're going to take until you've really understood and explored the skills and behaviours needed for it, because I'd have never have made my Lloyds Bank decision. And to, if you know you've made a mistake in what you're doing, don't carry on trying to make it work. Be honest and move on.

Speaker 1:

And that's a wonderful testament to deep listening as a coach, because of course that's about discovery and listening and being truly present rather than just trying to fix and and thunder on with a solution.

Speaker 1:

Yeah absolutely Okay. So now we're ramping up to a bit of Shakespeare shortly. I'm going to talk about legacy in a moment, but just before we get there, this is the pass the golden baton moment, please. So who in your network, now that you've experienced this from within, would you most like to pass the golden baton along to in order to keep the golden thread of the storytelling going?

Speaker 2:

Probably my daughter. She's a mini-me. She helps me hugely because she's a senior manager with British Airways, so I get staff travel, which is great with enjoying travel, and she is a mini-me and I try and help her learn from me and she's got a great success story.

Speaker 1:

So far and could I get her name please? Five points, no cash attached hannah fuller hannah fuller wonderful mum.

Speaker 2:

For the second time I've just had a little granddaughter felicity congratulations.

Speaker 1:

So, hannah fuller, thank you. So much is the golden baton pass. And now, inspired by shakespeare and all the world's stage and clang, and all the men and women, merely players. We're going to talk about legacy. Finally, susie, when all is said and done, how would you most like to be remembered?

Speaker 2:

I'd like to be remembered of having supported and challenged people to be the best version of themselves. That's what I'd like people to say about, say about me, and I know the supporting is really important. People always laugh that I always keep groups of people together. So my other thing is keeping people connected. My school friends we're such a diverse bunch from a consultant cardiologist to a bishop's wife. We're completely, completely diverse and all in the middle and I make sure we all get together twice a year and it wouldn't happen if I didn't keep us all connected because we are a disparate bunch. So it's keeping people connected is really important too susie, you are the glue that binds us all.

Speaker 1:

That was wonderful, as this has been your moment in the sunshine of the Good Listing To show Stories of Distinction and Genius, leadership, reflection and Series Strand. Is there anything else you'd like to say?

Speaker 2:

I'd just like to say thank you, chris, for listening to me, and I hope my reflections on leadership have been useful.

Speaker 1:

They absolutely, categorically, definitely have. So, ladies and gentlemen, you've been listening to the delight. I call to the queen of coaching, but the honeybee of coaching, susie Roberts, hunter Roberts. Where can we find out all about Susie and Hunter Roberts?

Speaker 2:

on the old interweb, please, by calling me or visiting wwwhunterrobertscom, so my website, or I'm suzy at hunterrobertscom s -u-s-y lovely.

Speaker 1:

Thank you so much, and thank you also for watching on linkedin too. Don't forget, if you guest with me, you also feature, ultimately, not just in a podcast, but you also get pulled into the uk health radio weekly show where, I'm delighted to say, susie, a large audience awaits you, where we're going to be broadcasting you across 54 countries to about 1.3 million people and growing, which is lovely. Thank you, chris, and thank you so much for well welcoming us to your clearing in Stow on the World. Thank you, you've been listening to the Good Listening to show here on uk health radio with me, chris grimes oh, it's my son. If you've enjoyed the show, then please do tune in next week to listen to more stories from the clearing.

Speaker 1:

If you'd like to connect with me on linkedin, then please do so. There's also a dedicated facebook group for the show too. You can contact me about the program or, if you'd be interested in experiencing some personal impact coaching with me, care of my Level Up your Impact programme. That's chris at secondcurveuk. On Twitter and Instagram, it's at thatchrisgrimes. So until next time from me, chris Grimes, from UK Health Radio, and from Stan, to your good health and goodbye. So, susie, you've just been given a damn good listening to in the Good Listening To Show, could I get your immediate feedback on what that was like to be curated through this journey?

Speaker 2:

I found it really interesting. It made me think, which is what I'm always trying to do with people, and it brought back some things I hadn't thought about that were key in my life, like Sally Bolton. So, yeah, great. Thank you, chris.

Speaker 1:

Pleasure.