Women on a Mission with Sue Revell

Are you living your best life? What does that mean for you? For some people it’s about power, money or status and all that they dream that will bring. For other people it’s about the quest for fulfilment, answering their calling and realising their full potential.

In last week’s interview (#071) I talked to Chief Fire Officer for Cornwall Fire & Rescue, Kathryn Billing. During our conversation she shared how a life of service to her community had become a personal search for deepening fulfilment, and her true sense of self, as she navigated the career path a...

When you’re truly brought up to believe that women can do anything, anything really is possible – including becoming the Chief Fire Officer. Driven by a heart for service, a love of community, and a deep desire to make a difference, Kathryn built a varied and interesting career, until her pursuit of improvement led her to discover that not all women in the fire service shared the same experience. Something had to change, and she shares her story of stepping up and confronting institutional sexism and committing to being part of the solution.

There were further challenges ahea...

Are you taking up your own space in the world?  And what does it mean, for you and your mission, when you diminish your presence through your physical movement and positioning, the language you choose or the thoughts you allow to occupy prime space in your mind?

In last week’s interview (#069) I talked to Chief Executive of the British Exploring Society, Honor Wilson Fletcher. During our conversation she shared how leaving home, and seeing the world through the eyes of those around her, had been a powerful catalyst in her mission to create fairness of opportunity for...

Imagine being the Chief Executive of an organisation that exists to take young explorers to extraordinary destinations - in the world AND in their own lives. Where the very raison d’être is to explore possibility, take young people out of their comfort zone and change their lives for the better.  What an opportunity to make a difference!

An opportunity made all the more exceptional when you’re a woman, leading in a highly male-dominated sector, and the first female CEO in the 90 year history of the organisation.

Honor Wilson-Fletcher is a servant leader, driven by her...

What does it mean to settle? And how do we navigate our way out of stuckness in order to live and lead a life with more impact and greater fulfilment?

In last week’s interview (#067) I talked to Chief Executive of Manufacturing Wales, and Business News Wales, Heather Anstey-Myers. During our conversation she shared her personal story of navigating a challenging childhood, and how a throwaway phrase from Thelma & Louise significantly impacted the beliefs and values that were to drive the next 30 years as her leadership career unfolded.

Looking back on our conversation, I begin by...

Carrying the weight of family expectation can be an enormous load to carry, for any child.  Whether those expectations are high or low, they lead to assumptions that determine the behaviours, beliefs and values of the growing child, particularly if that young person perceives those expectations to be of limitation rather than ambition.

At the moment where everything changed for Heather, she was watching the renowned movie of the road trip taken by Thelma and Louise. And as she listened, she became aware of six words that were to change the trajectory of her own beliefs and v...

What is grace? And how would showing more grace toward each other create a better world for future generations?

In last week’s interview (#065), body therapist and author Olukemi Ogunyemi shared the story of her upbringing in Scotland as a mixed-race child: highlighting both the trauma of experiencing racial abuse and the responsibilities of individuals, communities and organisations to raise awareness of racism, create impactful change and build a better future.

Looking back on our conversation, I begin by reflecting honestly on my own early journey of awakening in relation to privilege in general, and an...

The moment where George Floyd died, and the Black Lives Matter movement was born, changed the trajectory of a lifetime for Olukemi Ogunyemi. Racism, violence and abuse, further complicated by the trauma of living with anorexia, were layers of a lifetime that she consigns to not knowing any different; until international outcry and condemnation gave permission for a completely different conversation.

Telling her story became the thing that Olukemi couldn’t not do. Spurred on by the permission suddenly created by white people taking responsibility and initiating action to create change, Olukemi started writing. Hearing other people sa...

Ready to meet our next set of guests?  Whether you've just found us, or you're a seasoned expert-listener, welcome to Season FIVE of the Women on a Mission Show. 

In this short solo episode, I introduce you to my latest guest list. I’ll tell you a little about who my guests will be, why I've invited them to join me and what you can expect from our conversations. 

Welcome to:

Looking back on Season Four, if there is one thing that the Women on a Mission have in common, it’s bravery. It’s easy to think that if our mission is enormous we personally need to be one million percent braver to fulfil it, but throughout these interviews we repeatedly see the value that just being a little braver can achieve.

Especially if those around us choose to be a little braver too!

As I look back over the season, there really was something for everyone:

Are you a compulsive helper and, if so, what drives you or compels you to help others, even when helping results in your own needs being ignored and neglected?

In last week’s interview, business psychologist Jess Baker shared her own journey as a super-helper. Her mission to help others was to become her life’s work, even though this has often been to the detriment of her own wellbeing.

Looking back on our conversation, I begin by reflecting on the clarity of Jess’s mission and the powerful impact of those around her in enabli...

Wanting to help people has long been the driver behind many career and life choices, but what happens when you don’t know how to stop? What happens when you’re so compelled to be helpful that you can’t say ‘no’ to helping, even when helping would have a negative impact on your own needs or the needs of those closest to you?

Jess has been confident of her own mission, to help people, since she was aged 13 years old – a mission that has been reinforced at various stages of her life, culminating in her study of how and w...

If you could ask yourself one question every day that would make a real impact on those around you, what would it be?

What would be possible, for you or your team, in your business or organisation, if you stopped to ask yourself how you – as a leader - could make it easier for everyone else to do a great job?

In last week’s interview, Ali Bulman shared several examples of how she does this as she goes about her mission on a daily basis, from removing obstacles that stand in the way to empo...

If you’re thinking of starting a podcast, or launching any content that will draw you out of your comfort zone, this third episode in the birthday bonus trilogy is for you!

It’s been a year of learning, that’s for sure, but maybe not in the way I expected.  If those four years of podcrastination and personal resistance were based on fears about technology, the real learning is much more personal – as a coach, as a business owner, and as a fellow woman on a mission.

This is the third of three episodes this week...

For many of us, standing out isn’t easy.  It’s much easier to fit in, make yourself small and blend in with the crowd. Childhood memories of “being seen by not heard” still run deep, despite also being the child who was expected to sing on the chip shop counter on Friday, and sing louder in the choir on Sunday!

Imagine then, the challenge, when your mission is to stand out. To think, dream and BE bigger so that your fears are outweighed by your life purpose, and you can’t NOT do the thing you are called...

You asked for the story of MY mission….. so here it is. Where it started, why it’s important, what I’ve learned and what (and who!) inspires me to keep going.

It’s the first of three special episodes dedicated to celebrating the first birthday of the podcast. What a year…. and I’ll be talking about that later in the week too!

In this episode I’m usurped from my microphone, and placed firmly in the hotseat by the very wonderful Aimee Bateman. She’s one of my most inspiring role models and, as my guest host...

Delivering the re-set and recovery of adult social care services, as a result of a global pandemic, is far from being a one-woman mission. But for a woman who understands the value of creating a team, knows how to get the best out of them and isn’t afraid to surround herself with people who bring different strengths to her own, nothing is insurmountable.

Ali is on a mission to lead that recovery in Cornwall, while continuing her life-long personal mission to overcome the variety of challenges and obstacles that get in the way of delivering quality se...

If you could choose between staying stuck in your zone of comfort and stepping up, into your zone of genius, which would you choose? It may not seem that simple a choice, but when your mission is the thing you can’t NOT do, there is something about the act of surrender that makes stepping into our mission easier than we might think.

Imagine what would be possible in your mission if, this time, you stepped out of your comfort zone – never to return to it again!

Jane Duncan Rogers showed us that looking inside ours...

If the only certainty in life is death, why are we so reluctant to talk about it? Whether it’s fear of illness or the unknown, unwillingness to discuss what may be seen as morbid or macabre, or avoidance of confronting our own mortality, death remains a taboo subject for many people.

Jane is on a mission to make end of life planning as commonplace as birth plans. As you will hear, she is determined to help us feel more at ease talking about death, dying and grief. And, as she talks, she models beautifully the very li...

If you could improve one thing so that other people had a better understanding of the mission you are leading, what would it be? Maybe you would work on the key messages they need to know? Maybe you would develop your skills and style as a communicator? Or perhaps you would learn more about your audience and what they need from you in order to engage at the level you would like?

Imagine the difference you could create if your message, your delivery and your understanding were completely aligned!

Dr Emma Yhnell showed us that...

Whether she's taking jelly moulds into schools to teach children about brain function or taking bubbles onto the streets of Cardiff to teach the public about research, Emma is determined to help us see science differently.

Emma is on a mission to make science accessible and inclusive to different audiences and, in doing so, to change traditional perspectives of what science is and who scientists really are. As you will hear, her passion for research and how it is communicated is infectious, and her willingness to stand out from the crowd and be different is utterly inspirational.<...

If you could let go of one expectation, right now, what would it be? Would it be an expectation of yourself, or of other people? Or maybe you would let go of something you know others expect of you?

Imagine the difference that freedom, that you would create, would make in your mission.

For Alisoun Mackenzie, that moment came when she got off the train of expectation and began to explore who she really was.

Looking back on our conversation, I begin by reflecting on the personal impact of discovering a deeply personal...

Finding who we really are is often described as a journey and for Alisoun Mackenzie the voyage of discovery quite literally began when she was backpacking around the world, yet not in the way you might expect.

Alisoun is on a mission to help women enjoy a happier, more meaningful life that lights up their heart and makes a difference in a way that they are proud of. Her own personal search for meaning started with getting off a train.

The train of expectation.

Understanding, accepting and owning her mission has repeatedly required...

What would be possible in your mission, if you were just 10% braver? How would that influence the scale of your dream, the scape of your thinking, or the scope of who you are being as you lead your mission forward?

Imagine the difference that could make.

For Vivienne Porritt, that moment came as part of the evolution of WomenEd. The recognition of the difference when one person is 10% braver, AND the compound impact of the whole community of women choosing to be 10% braver too.

Looking back on our conversation, I reflect on what...

Every sector has its secrets. Some are better hidden than others and it took time for Vivienne Porritt to stumble upon some of the shocking secrets that launched her mission in the world of education.

Vivienne is a woman with two missions. Her determination to help every child to have their best shot at what education can do is born from her own ‘less than positive’ childhood.

And when she discovered how the unfair treatment of women in education was limiting the potential of what children could achieve, her deeply held values of equity, fairness and...

There’s a moment in every woman’s mission when we realise that it’s down to us. Not because other people don’t care or aren’t interested, but because we are the only person that can accept our unique calling and respond in the unique way that only we can.

So stop waiting.

For Caroline Strawson that moment came when she recognised that only she could break free from her life-long cage of expectation; a cage compounded by her deeply traumatic experience of grief, shame and loss.

As she realised, in that momen...

Hitting rock bottom was the point where everything changed for Caroline Strawson. A lifetime of exhausting people-pleasing, experiencing four miscarriages, and grieving the loss of her mum, had all taken their toll.

Then, recognising she was in a psychologically abusive marriage and navigating the escalating trauma associated with her divorce from a covert narcissist - only to discover they were in crippling debt which was to lead to repossession of their family home - all resulted in Caroline experiencing anxiety, depression, complex PTSD and self harm.

Caroline’s mission began with the recognition that only sh...

Looking for some new inspiration? Whether you've just found us, or you're a seasoned expert listener returning from Season Three, welcome to Season Four of the Women on a Mission Show.

In this short bonus episode, I introduce you to my guests for Season Four, and tell you a little about who they are, why I've invited them to join me and what you can expect from our conversations.  Welcome to:

The bigger our mission, the greater our fears.  The higher we perceive the next step up to be, the deeper the level of resistance that we feel… and we heard a lot about stepping up in Season Three. The more we talked about achieving success in our mission, the more we heard about the importance of making (and keeping!) our mission bigger than our fears. While the eclectic mix of stories make this a tricky season to summarise in a couple of words, there’s definitely a boldness that comes with dreaming, thinking and being bigger in our mission.

Do you hold back from sharing your story because you don’t think anyone will be interested?

Maybe you know you have a compelling story, but you don’t know how best to put it into words?

Having confronted the realisation that nothing was working, Susan Payton completely transformed her business, and her life, by simply sharing her story. People who had been in her community for months, without engaging, began to connect. That connection built trust and as the trust grew so did Susan’s business. Within days she had more paying clients than in the pr...

There’s something potent about the power of story. Even as small children we appreciate the power and magic of being transported to another world, through even the simplest of storytelling, and yet when the story we most need to tell is our own, it can be really hard to find the words.

Susan’s mission began with doing just that. In this episode she tells how, having faced up to the painful reality that nothing was working, she completely transformed her business (and her life!) simply by finding the words and the courage to tell her own story.

Some stories are virtually impossible to listen to without feeling an internal response. Sometimes we wonder what it means for us. Sometimes we ponder what we, ourselves, would have done in that situation. Sometimes we dream of the action we like to think we would have taken. And sometimes we measure ourselves against the actions of the hero in the story and find we fall short.

Jo Berry’s story triggers a whole range of personal responses. Sixteen years after her father was killed by an IRA bomb, Jo first met with the man responsible, Pat Magee to understand hi...

A mission can be driven by a whole gamut of life experiences. Jo Berry’s mission began in 1984, when her father was killed by the IRA in the Brighton Hotel bombing. Jo describes trying to stop revenge as being like trying to stop gravity and yet, almost immediately, she made a silent commitment to find a way to bring something positive out of her devastating loss.

Choosing peace over revenge, Jo courageously chose a journey with no map. She knew she would never again be the person she had been prior to the bombing but she also di...

Do you ever feel alone in your mission to make the world a better place? Hungering after something better can be a lonely place to live whether you’re at the beginning or in the messy middle of your mission.

Maybe you’re actually surrounded by people, but something deep inside you wants something more, or different, to those around you.

Maybe you’ve made the big leap into something different but aren’t yet sure how to attract the people who will hold the vision for you, and with you, while you work out next steps.

We don’t often talk about loneliness, and especially not in business. Yet for Penny Power OBE it has been the driving force in her mission to reduce loneliness in business by building and serving impactful business communities. Penny has personal experience of loneliness at various stages in her life. In childhood, as the child who didn’t fit in. As a stay at home mum. As an employee, as a sole trader, and as a business owner. Together with her husband Thomas, she built Ecademy, the first social network for business people, with a community of 650,000 members and yet...

Stepping out of the shadows can be a scary thing to do, particularly when you’ve spent a lifetime playing things safe. Whether it’s playing small to protect ourselves, or dimming our light to make other people feel more comfortable around us, there are many ways in which we learn to contain what we think, what we say and what we do.

And when the moment comes to step into our mission it can feel completely overwhelming to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight, even though we know it’s what we were born t...

How do you come out of hiding when you’ve spent a lifetime playing small so that other people don’t feel uncomfortable in your presence?

How do you learn to own and love every part of who you are, even those parts that are hidden in shadow, buried deep inside?

And how do you create the level of self-acceptance needed to feel both safe and free within yourself, as well as with others?

Monique DeBose is a transformational entertainer, an award-winning jazz singer and playwright, a diversity consultant and a leadership coach with...

Have you ever wanted to give up?  To throw in the towel?  To concede defeat?

Have you ever been so tired of trying to explain yourself and the change you want to make, that you just want to walk away and leave it to someone else?

There are always moments in leading change where giving up feels easier than going on. Moments where the resistance is real and you just want to say, I’m done.

In this week’s episode we look back at my conversation with Karen Haller, global expert in behavi...

Putting your head above the parapet isn’t an easy to thing to do. Especially if, despite your very best efforts, you’re not getting any traction.  Imagine trying to start your new career, in a subject area that no-one really understands, and then a global recession hits. Many of us would have given up. Even her chosen mentors told her it was time to give in and get a job. But instead of giving up, Karen Haller dug in even deeper. It was more than just following her heart, Karen committed to doing the deep, personal, inner work that enabl...

Is fear of failure holding you back in your mission? It’s definitely on my top ten list of things that keep world-changing women awake at night.

What if it all goes wrong?

What if it can’t be done?

What if I don’t succeed?

What if I fail in my one big thing?

There’s nothing like a game of What-Iffery to bring all your mental monkeys out to play!

In this week’s solo episode we look back at my conversation with Dr Bnar Talabani MBE: scientist...