A True Story
It’s almost a year since the launch of the ‘Leading by Nature’ podcast from regenerative leadership coach and author Giles Hutchins.
On 27th April last year, the first episode was released with Giles in conversation with Kevin Pojasek, President and CEO of Enara Bio, an innovative Oxford based biotech company advancing cancer immunotherapies. In the 12 months since, Giles has shared 15 conversations with a diverse group of leaders of organisations large and small, from fashion giant Chloe in Paris to the proudly remote team at Greenheart Consulting, from EQT Foundation in Stockholm to Ella’s Kitchen in Henley.
We feel enormously proud of the success of Giles’ podcast as we were there at the start to help him crystallise the idea and figure out how to produce it. His conversations are shaped by the work he does with leaders and teams in nature, working at his Springwood HQ – 60 acres of ancient woodland deep in the Sussex countryside. We quickly realised the power of getting outside for ourselves in our own Wilful sessions down there, sitting around the fire, passing the ancient talking stick and experiencing very different conversations as a team than those we have inside the office. Giles’ book of the same name which inspired the Leading by Nature podcast offers a rich resource for anyone thinking about how to build a culture that is both adaptive and able to ‘sense into’ the changing nature of work. At the same time, we need our organisations to be resilient based on their ability to find compass points from firmly embedded, articulated and lived values.
In his latest conversation, Giles speaks to Jayne Mayled, MD of creative agency True Story. Jayne speaks about the ebb and flow of agencies when they are long- established businesses, the comings and goings of clients and team, and the need for a blend of authenticity, wisdom and innovation that comes from youth and experience. Her advice to anyone who has been working for 30+ years is not to fall asleep at the wheel. She reflects on the observation that it’s too easy for time to feel like it’s passing quickly when you are doing what you know, but if you constantly challenge yourself with new experiences and different thinking, it helps you stay much more present so that you can steer for what is really important.
Check out the podcast for some instant inspiration and if spring is getting your organisational sap rising, get down to the woods to do some cultural work on your own team effectiveness.
E018: An interview with Jayne Mayled: Managing Director of True Story
Episode 18 of Leading by Nature sees host Giles Hutchins joined by Jayne Mayled, Managing Director of True Story. In a fascinating and varied conversation, we learn how True Story places huge value on balancing a blend of newness and freshness with wisdom and experience, how the organisation has continually reinvented themselves while remaining true to their own story, and we hear of Jayne’s experience at Springwood and shares tips for anyone else on the journey.
Email us at Hello@thewilful.com if you’d like an intro to Giles.
Click here to listen to previous ‘Leading by Nature’, episodes.
