Our Leadership Voices: Uncut

In this final part of Forbidden Grief, Faye and I move into perhaps the most personal territory yet - her changing relationship with her body.

We talk about ageing, perimenopause, strength and capability, and what it means when a body you’ve known and trusted begins to change.

For someone who has been an athlete, fighter and black belt, there is another kind of letting go here - and perhaps another kind of learning too.

It brings us to the end of Forbidden Grief: not with everything resolved, but with a li...

What happens when you’ve spent much of your life being good at what you do  - and suddenly find yourself right back at the beginning?

In this "long-form" conversation, Faye and I explore another part of Forbidden Grief: the loss of competence that came with stepping aboard Reach Out and learning to sail.

From black belt, teacher and business owner to becoming a white belt again, we talk about confidence, fear, not knowing, getting things wrong, and what it takes to keep going when the “opponent” turns out to be much bi...

Offered in long-form, this episode asks what happens when you choose a life you've always dreamed of... and quietly begin to grieve the one you've left behind?

In this deeply personal conversation, Faye explores what we've come to call Forbidden Grief  - the losses that somehow feel difficult to acknowledge because, from the outside, everyone assumes you're living the dream.

Together we explore identity, independence, silence, competence, belonging and the paradox that it is possible to feel profound gratitude for a new life while still mourning the old one.

This is not simply a...

Alongside Taekwondo, another identity was quietly emerging within Faye - that had long-been there..

Faye shares how writing grew from childhood imagination into published crime novels as Bea Baskerville, what it means to edit both stories and ourselves, and why authenticity has become one of the defining themes of her life.

The conversation ends where another story is about to begin: with the woman who steps aboard Reach Out at Eastbourne, ready to become a white belt once again.

Taekwondo became far more than a sport for Faye.

In this episode, Faye reflects on competing for England, becoming a captain, building her own successful martial arts school, and discovering herself as a teacher, leader, entrepreneur and business owner.

It's a conversation about discipline, belonging, community and the identities we build long before life asks us to become someone new.

In the opening episode of this new series, we meet Faye Allman and begin where every meaningful story begins: with the question, Who was I before everything changed?

Three years into life afloat on a sailing boat, Faye reflects on why now feels like the right time to tell her story. Together we explore her childhood in Newcastle, the experiences that shaped her, and the early years that laid the foundations for everything that followed.

This is not yet a story about sailing. It is the story of the woman who would one day step...

Following twelve conversations with Rob Johnson, I found myself turning the microphone back on myself.

In this deeply personal "uncut" reflection, I share what emerged from my first spiritual retreat with my Zen teacher, Claire Genkai Breeze, and 39 other people from around the world, and how it has continued to shape my own inquiry into leadership, identity and spirit.

Through journal reflections, I explore the "editor" that has driven much of my life, the pull towards certainty and control, and a growing invitation to live a lighter, more spirited and less burdened life.

...

In this solo reflection, I look back on twelve conversations with Rob Johnson and the journey that unfolded between us.

What began as a story about leaving corporate life and going sailing became something much deeper: an exploration of identity, control, courage, belonging and what happens when we meet the edge of ourselves.

I also reflect on what Rob’s story revealed back to me about my own 999 days, my own return, and my continuing inquiry into living a lighter, more unplanned and more spirited life.

The voyage is over, but the deeper journey continues.

In this final conversation, deliberately offered as a long-form conversation, Rob reflects on who returned from the adventures - not just where he belongs, but who he has become, and is yet to become. 

Together we explore home, identity, community and the quiet integration that follows a life-changing experience.

This is the conversation that closes the circle. 

Following the completion of the UK circumnavigation, Rob reflects on what happened next - the next 3 years.

This conversation is less about destinations and more about the gradual transition from adventure to everyday life. Together we explore uncertainty, simplicity, community, the kindness of strangers, and what it means to build a different way of living when the journey becomes your life.

Note - deliberately "long form" to allow this to settle in one flow.

The final part of The Wilderness.

Leaving Inverness behind and re-entering the North Sea, Rob reflects on the final sail back to Newcastle and what it feels like to return home after months of uncertainty, challenge and discovery. A conversation about return, perspective and the subtle ways a journey changes us.

 Part five of The Wilderness. 

From Bangor to Inverness, this stage of the journey is shaped by delays, detours and unexpected challenges. A conversation about patience, persistence and learning that meaningful journeys rarely unfold in a straight line. 

Part four of The Wilderness.

Leaving Padstow behind, Rob, Faye and Hewy continue north through increasingly unfamiliar waters. As confidence slowly begins to grow, the journey becomes less about surviving each day and more about learning to live with uncertainty as a constant companion.

Part three of The Wilderness.

After navigating the challenges of Land's End, Rob, Faye and Hewy are forced to change their plans and head for Padstow. With narrowing options, shallow waters and a harbour gate that waits for no one, the journey becomes a race against time and tide.

Part two of The Wilderness.

Recovering from the shock of their first major setbacks, Rob, Faye and Hewy continue west along the south coast towards Land's End. As the conditions worsen and uncertainty grows, Rob confronts one of the lowest moments of the journey and begins to discover what keeps him moving forward when there are no easy answers.

The first part of The Wilderness.

After years of planning, Rob, Faye and Hewy finally leave Eastbourne and begin their journey around the UK. It doesn't take long for reality to replace certainty as the dream collides with the unpredictable nature of life at sea.

In the second part of The Crossing, the internal journey begins to take physical form.

Rob reflects on finding the boat, preparing to leave, and the emotional weight of travelling south to Eastbourne - the point where the idea finally became real - pondering the beignning of a circumnavigation of the UK.

Sometimes the real crossing happens long before the boat leaves harbour.

In the first part of The Crossing, Rob Johnson reflects on the internal crossing that had to happen before any physical journey could begin. 

Rob reflects on identity, belonging, uncertainty, and the unexpected steps that turned a distant idea into something real.

Faced with a challenge to the life he’d carefully planned, Rob Johnson begins to confront what it would really mean to leave - to step into a life without certainty, without a boat, and without knowing exactly what would come next. 

A dream planned safely in the distance - until someone asked, “Why not now?” 

The first part of a conversation with Rob Johnson - from a structured corporate life to a very different horizon.

We explore roots, identity, the long-term plan that was never really meant to happen, and the conversation that suddenly changed the timeline.

 A short reflection following the 999 Days series.
 Not a retelling, but what that experience has opened up - and what I’m now listening for in a much deeper way, both in leadership and life. 

I think the question that’s stayed with me is:

what happens to us — as leaders, as people — when that illusion of control falls away?

 And - more interested in what happens when people meet the edge of themselves. 

The final part of a three-part reflection on the past 999 days.

 A return to the conversation - now with a different perspective on leadership, life, and what matters now.  Be prepared for some deeper personal reflections and a few silent pauses :-).

This episode is shaped by my reflections of a year working on training my mind (Apr 24-May 25), with support from Claire Genkai Breeze, a Zen Buddhist, and  what I share is guided by reflections on my personal journey entries over the period of April 2024 until this recent period of Spring 2026..

 Part two of a three-part reflection on the past 999 days. When I could no longer fix what was in front of me, something in me had to change. 

As a part of the return of my podcast after 999 days, this part one (of a three-part reflection), explores the moment everything changed, and why I could no longer show up as I had before.

When someone close to me became unwell, everything shifted — and I stepped away.

After this small mini-series of 3, we shall begin with guests.

999 days since last I was on the podcast with Liz Bloomfield - it's been a while.

After a long personal hiatus from summer 2023, my podcast returns in Spring 2026.

This podcast has evolved. It began in 2021 by engaging in conversations with those close to me - clients, friends, and family. Now it's dedicated to engaging in the "uncut leadership conversations and stories" that the world is now calling for.  

Let's see what emerges.

At the same time, I lead this podcast with the intention to live a more spirited, lighter, unplanned life. I...

Liz Bloomfield and I explore "what matters between us".

Liz and I are talking virtually from our homes in Washington, US & Rugby in the UK.

Liz and I explore "our leadership voices", as a last act of podcasting together - for now :-)

Liz and I are talking virtually from our homes in Washington, US & Rugby in the UK.

Liz Bloomfield and I continue to explore "how we know each other". 

Liz and I are talking virtually from our homes in Washington, US & Rugby in the UK.

Liz Bloomfield and I explore "how we know each other". We first met as colleagues in the Wind Power industry - Liz a leader in Onshore Wind, and myself, an internal leadership & org development coach.

Together we worked with others to shape leadership and culture across Onshore wind farm construction, and have stayed connected ever since.

Liz leads the non-profit Ripple Effect Images as executive director, and has deployed globally in many ways, in support of numerous programs empowering communities facing extraordinary challenges. 

Her growth spans humanitarian programs, policy initiatives for those trapped i...

Rowan & I explore "What Matters Between Us" further - this time honing in on our sense of what "Going Beyond" might mean. 

Once again, Rowan and I are talking virtually from our homes in London & Rugby in the UK. 

Rowan & I explore "What Matters Between Us" -  unrehearsed, Rowan and I start to explore.

Once again, Rowan and I are talking virtually from our homes in London & Rugby in the UK. 

Rowan and I explore "how we know each other". We first met through a mutual peer and friend, as I needed a Resilience specialist to help me in my quest to develop my Mind Fitness, while swimming Lake Windermere in 2019.

Since then Rowan Gray, of Made to Move, has become my coach and sparring partner as I quest to grow in different ways. 

He enables me to reveal and work with whatever I am holding and is “patiently relentless” in helping me take my Resilience beyond where I have been before.

 What is most u...

Some reflections from me while travelling - and before my next partners join the podcast.

Totally "unscripted" - "uncut" - I've been away for a while - 4 months - not podcasting - being with others instead - now I'm exploring my return, and why "now", and what my BIG question might be :-)

Between co-hosting - Taking some space to reflect on my time with David - to reflect on my voice, my presence, and embracing my positive impact - and then a 3-week summer break, before more co-hosts come.

Hi everyone - My daughter, Sacha, and I, continue to collaborate with Move:Connect:Grow and Growing A Powerful Presence - listen to this short audio, and if you're interested in growing your presence, then join Sacha and myself at this 2-day face to face workshop, priced at £500 per person (excluding travel and accomodation). 

Exploring Our Voices - in our last podcast together, David & I undertake my experiment to take some time after the podcasts, to reflect on what we noticed about our voices - and valued most about them :-)

We are both in our homes again, so talking virtually.

Exploring What Matters, Between Us - unrehearsed, David and I continue to explore a range of things that we felt mattered between us, regarding uncut leadership voices - as co-lead Lacerta Consulting, as we grow powerful resilient communities in workplaces. 

Once again, David and I are talking virtually from our homes in Dublin, Ireland and Rugby, UK.

Exploring What Matters, Between Us - unrehearsed, David and I start to explore a range of things that we felt mattered between us, regarding uncut leadership voices - as co-lead Lacerta Consulting, as we grow powerful resilient communities in workplaces. 

Once again, David and I are talking virtually from our homes in Dublin, Ireland and Rugby, UK. 

David and I continue to explore "how we know each other". 

David and I are again talking virtually - he in is home in Dublin, Ireland, and myself again at my house in Rugby in the UK.