Welcome to the Defy Expectations newsletter, packed with everything you need to stay inspired and informed on all things leadership. 

Discover the latest news and where you can catch us speaking near you, catch up with a must-listen podcast episode and a thought-provoking blog, celebrate standout moments in our social shout-out, and grab a free resource designed to empower you!

Let’s push boundaries, embrace growth, and defy expectations together ✨

 

INTRODUCING THE LEADERSHIP ACADEMY✨

 

 

Are you supporting your leaders to succeed?

 

Our Leadership Academy is a dynamic, interactive program designed to equip those in leadership positions with essential management and leadership skills. Learn from industry experts and peers in a collaborative hybrid learning environment that fosters real-world growth.

 

📅 Our cohort starts on 24 April 2025

🔔 Don’t miss this opportunity to invest in your leadership journey!

👉 Learn more and secure your spot today!


 

 

🎉 This month we celebrated National Leadership Day on 20 February - a great way to mark a special event, but also to recognise the fact that leadership learning is lifelong, especially when it’s as complex as leadership learning.

 

🌟 We've also been celebrating our team member Vicky Hampson was nominated as an ‘Awesome Women to Follow in Cx in 2025’! Read her LinkedIn post and connect with Vicky here 

 

🖇️ We've been making new connections, at events including the Amsterdam Founders Club event, and Women in CX ‘Galentines’ Speed networking event!

 

🗣️ We've been speaking at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam StartHub on the importance of teams, talent and people.

 


 

 

 

Come and meet Vicky at APMP's BPC Dublin event, where she'll be speaking about building respectful and effortless collaborative cultures in bid and proposal teams.

🗓️ 14 March 2025

📍 Croke Park Conference Center, Dublin

🎟️  Find out more here

 

We're thrilled to be hosting a roundtable discussion at Channel Live 2025 This conference brings together the brightest minds in the industry, and we can’t wait to share insights, connect with fellow professionals, and explore the latest trends shaping the future of tech and telecoms.

📅 19-20 March
📍NEC Birmingham
🎟️ Find out more here

 


 

Power, Leadership, and the Lessons of Effective Influence

The recent shift in the United States from soft to hard power has dominated the headlines, sparking debates about influence and control on a global scale. This is a great moment to reflect on power and its implications for leadership. Power is an inherent aspect of leadership, but its application requires nuance, skill, and a strong moral compass. A leader who misunderstands power or wields it recklessly is ill-suited for their role.

Continue reading here

 


 

How to turn your innate abilities into strengths to drive growth and innovation

 

Take a listen to this month's most popular episode -  a fascinating conversation with Yosi Kossowsky, exploring how to turn you innate abilities into strengths to drive growth and innovation ⚡️

 

Listen here 🎧

 


Tough Love Turnaround 

 

Support your team members to regain their passion, and perform beyond expectations 

 As challenging as it may seem to turn an underperformer around, it is not a complicated process. However, it does require commitment and consistency from you as a manager and leader.

 

Download our simple plan to support you and your team to re-engage and start performing beyond expectations.

Download Now

What happens to diversity in the age of the Strong Man?

As Donald Trump takes office and squares up against Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, we are witnessing the rise of the 'strong leader' in countries across the globe. These leaders, with their passionate visions for the future often operate with limited accountability.

Backed by nationalist fervour, tightly controlled political mechanisms, or democratic mandates, these men (and they are almost exclusively men) shape their countries' futures. Whether through fervent support from significant segments of their populations or through systems that allow little dissent, their leadership styles reflect a growing trend in political dynamics.

Keep reading on our LinkedIn


Our Impact

In the last month, we've been engaging with our customers in the development and delivery of workshops, coaching and mentoring sessions:

 

Topics have included:


⚡️  Strategic account management
⚡️  Leadership and management

⚡️ Business scaling 
⚡️ Go-To-Market strategy 
⚡️ Critical thinking & problem solving 
⚡️ Getting stuff done with speed & trust

...resulting in:

  • 42 hours of client coaching
  • 29.5 hours of training, and 
  • 141 hours of mentoring

We love connecting in person to create meaningful change across organisations - empowering individuals and teams to lead with confidence, clarity, and purpose. 

 

What our customers had to say:

 

"This training has been momumental in my professional development! I have learned so much, just half way through the course - I am able to easily apply what we are learning in my day-to-day activities immediately. I have also noticed improvements in our processes and communications within my team and with other departments in my company based on what we are learning.” 

Learn more about our impact

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