How To Be a Consciously Connected Leader with Tanya Wilkinson

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I just felt dead inside. And I knew at that point something. Something's not right here. My goodness. I'm just wishing the days away. This isn't my truth. I was just filling every single day with noise. So in 2021, I was also diagnosed with autoimmune hypothyroid. In the corporate environment.

Loneliness can be so ignored. The journey that I'm on now is so fulfilling and it's also equally scary. I believe true leaders aren't looking at or shouldn't be looking just at the short term.

Welcome to Lead On Purpose. I'm James Laughlin, former seven time world champion musician and now executive coach to global leaders and high performers. In every episode bring you an inspiring leader or expert to help you lead your life and business on purpose. Thanks for taking the time to connect today and investing in yourself. Enjoy the show.

This week's special guest is Tanya Wilkinson, former global head of marketing, partnerships and events at Formula One. After a successful and award winning 14 year corporate leadership career across global sports, music, entertainment and advertising, she followed her heart to hand her notice in and set out on a totally different path in service of people and planet through her coaching, mentorship and consultancy business Green in the Gray. So I know you're going to love today's show so please sit back and enjoy.

Foreign.

A huge welcome to the Lead On Purpose podcast.

Thank you so much James. I'm so grateful to be here with you.

Oh, I'm so excited because it was a mutual friend, a dear friend, Ali that brought us together. So a huge shout out and thanks to Ali.

Yeah, shout out to Ali. And Ali is also the incredible teacher who taught me how to coach through mindful talent. I'm very grateful to him and he's also coached me along the way as well.

Yeah, we're going to talk about that and the different experiences you've had along your journey and I want to start with this. So Green in the Gray. So we're going to talk a little bit about Green in the Gray for all the listeners that are listening today. So what does Green in the Gray mean to you?

So Green in the Gray was a name that actually downloaded into my mind. I think it was back in about 2016. And at the time I was living in, in a small flat in Brixton and there was a courtyard outside and there was a little chamomile plant that was growing through a little crack in the courtyard, just growing up through the paving. And I just watched it one summer and I thought, how incredible is this? Where did this, where did the seed come from? I couldn't see any chamomile plants around. And it just reconnected me to that magic of nature. And the meaning of Green in the Gray is very much that, like those plants growing through cracks in courtyards, through cracks and pavements, that there's opportunity for greatness is generous in spirit because obviously that plant was giving so much to the world. And that opportunity is everywhere. And it's really around finding that opportunity within that gray, undefined space. And that was really the start of my reconnection into nature as well. So it has sort of very deep meaning for me. And I still think back to that plant often and I'm very grateful for the lessons that it taught me.

That's so beautiful. And it's interesting because I feel like we're in a very fast paced world. We're very digitally connected and yet I think we're very disconnected to nature, to self, to others. And the work that you're doing, and I know we will go into it, is really bringing us back to our innate nature of being connected to the things around us, people, planet. It's amazing.

Yeah, it really is. Interconnection is the name of the game for me. And it is again, inspired by that plant and then every single part of nature that I've immersed myself in very consciously since it's seeing that web of interconnection and seeing that we thrive when we all thrive, and the fact that, yeah, we as humans, we have disconnected and our society, our culture continues to disconnect us further. But actually, and we reconnect in, as you shared, to nature, to community, and also fundamentally to ourselves to understand who we are at the heart of everything, what drives us and the impact we want to have on this world. That's how we create our truest ripple effect on this planet that will create the maximum impact in this lifetime.

And what you're saying is literally what every single one of us want to experience. We want to have A purpose we want to give back, we want to leave something positive. So if someone was to just jump on LinkedIn or was to open up your CV and look at your career, they would be like, wow, I would love to do that. I would love to do that. Even one of those roles would be amazing. Your career is incredible. So I'd love to chat a little bit about some of those big career moments and, you know, what you learned around leadership in some of those, but also how you felt in those roles that's led you to being here. So where would you like to start from a career standpoint? Because you've had some really big, incredible roles.

I mean, I wonder.

A good starting point for me, actually, that's. This I'm tuning into now is actually at the start of my career when I was really lucky to have learned from some incredible leaders that really sort of paved my path, particularly through the conscious connection that I've always brought into my leadership. So I'd say probably Sony Music is a good place to start.

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Brilliant. How did, how did that journey actually begin with Sony Music? When we think of Sony Music, we think global, we think the biggest bands and artists. How did you make your way in there?

Yeah, so that was actually. I was at university and I. I only had someone pointing this out. I think it was about four years ago. He was like, wow, you're an amazing manifester bringing that in. Because I knew no one from the music industry, so it wasn't like I had a friend who could get me in on work experience or anything. So I Was at university in London studying biology, of all things, to then end up in music. And I knew, actually at that point when I sort of was a year into my biology degree, I was thinking, yeah, I don't want to be a research scientist. I can't see a pathway for myself, albeit now with the nature connection. I can see how that period has informed a lot of my, I guess, my passion and my purpose. But at that point I started searching for what could be. And I'd always loved music. I used to spend all of my teenage years basically in London, going to gigs, watching Foo Fighters, etc, and I decided, okay, I'm going to apply for any work experience that the record labels have. And so I made a fanzine of myself to send instead of my cv. And it was in the days where you post it in versus sending anything digitally. So there was a benefit there because I could create something that would stand out. So I remember being in the university library and I was literally just. I designed it all, printed it, but then I was basically photocopying it. Re. Photocopying. Photocopying it. So it started to look like those kind of, you know, the original versions of the Enemy or something like that. And, yeah, and so basically I then sent that into. Into Sony Music and the like, head of talent there, she called me and said, got some work experience, Are you up for it? I was like, brilliant, yes, please. And she said, yeah, you know, I just had a stack of all white, white paper CVs. And she's like, I just saw a pink paper sticking out, pink page sticking out, pulled your CV out and you're the one. And I was like, wow, okay, cool, that's. That's how you do it.

Well done.

Yeah. So then I basically, at any point would just go and do, you know, all of the sort of rubbish jobs, the kind of like, yeah, photocopying all of the press cuttings and anything hungry, give me that, give me that. I'll book the taxis, I'll do anything that you want me to do, I'm there. And I was so lucky that then I think it was in my final year, I spent the Christmas holidays working at Columbia Records and I was working with one of their executives, Mike Pickering, and just absolutely loved it. We got on so well. But I didn't know that actually at that point a recommendation had gone down into HR of let's see if we can find a role for her. So fast forward to when I was doing my final exams and I was also interviewing for a role That I got had my mum tell me, don't you dare take your eye off the ball with your final exams. And then on the other side of my final exams, basically I finished my exams and I was like, that's it. You know, I don't even need, they need a break. I don't need a holiday. Get me in there. So literally that thing is the Monday after I finished my exams. I was, I was in Columbia Records as a marketing assistant and very lucky to be working for one of the most incredible leaders. I still, I still think about and connect sort of energetically into today.

Amazing. And just for a moment before we look at what unfolds next, if you were to think of one of the greatest leadership lessons or even life lessons that you learned from the leader in this instance, what might it have been?

It's really around connection. It's so she's a lady called Claire Horseman. And I remember when I first started working with her and it was, you know, it was in the days where, I mean I didn't have a BlackBerry at that point so it wasn't completely connected but it was at a time where obviously everyone was sort of stuck behind emails and you know, Sony's got a big building and anytime that I could have had a conversation in person or I could have picked up the phone, she called me on it in a very, you know, gentle, pushing me out of my comfort zone way because at the time I was quite, you know, I guess startled in this whole new world, very nervous. But she just very gently pushed me out of my comfort zone and taught me that actually there is no replacement for human connection. And if you want to create great results within, within work, it's all about that, it's about that interconnection. So go and have that conversation. Go and get to know that person. Call the person from your media agency instead of sending an email to chase something up. It was, it was that side of things. And she also encouraged me to get to know people on the human level as well. Which is something where, you know, when you're working in a really fast paced music company that can really be lost because you know, at that time it was a point where sort of albums would be delivered onto our laps and Suddenly, you know, 12 weeks later we'd have to have the first single out. So everything was moving at such a pace, but it was just that reminder that we are all human. So let's remember that, let's connect and actually we get through this together versus making it into an us Be them or let's give you a kick to make this happen. So that was one of the most powerful leadership lessons, and it's lived with me ever since. And it's something that I've always shared with junior team members and anyone else. That's how you get the most successful results, is through our interconnection, 100%.

And I'm really grateful that you've brought that to the show today. And to me, it's a timeless leadership lesson and a life lesson. And I think as we increase our consumption, and, I mean, the stats and the science show that the amount of information that we're getting is increasing at a ridiculous pace. It's important to remember that we need to disconnect from devices and really reconnect with people, with nature, with ourselves. So thank you. That's a really powerful thing.

Yeah, it's so powerful. I was very, very lucky that she was my first boss in my first job out of uni.

It's incredible. And look, some people, my dad's a great example, essentially, have been in the same role since they left school. Now, that's rare, and I think that's becoming more and more rare as we chase passion and growth and opportunity and we travel more. So what happened when you finished up with Sony and what was the next step after that?

So when I finished up with Sony, I actually, there was a bit of a journey to realize that actually that was the end of that, that chapter. And for me, it really was catalyzed by being at these amazing events and experiences within music, within a space that I'd always been so passionate about. But I realized that actually I was losing that passion. And there's one, One gig in particular, I was stood watching Oasis at the Roundhouse. My. The artists I was working on at the time, they were supporting them. It was for the Electric Proms. Would have been probably pretty much impossible for me to have got tickets otherwise. And, you know, I'd grown up listening to Oasis and I was just stood there as these anthems were being belted out. Everybody was singing, and I just felt dead inside. And I knew at that point, something's. Something's not right here. This, you know, is. This is. This is in alignment for me. And so that then started a journey. But I think the issue is where you're in a space and where you don't actually truly know yourself, then the instinct is, okay, I'll go somewhere else. So actually, I ended up going to Universal. I was working in Geffen Records, and again, I realized this isn't right. This isn't for me. So I think after it's one to two years of working at Geffen Records, that was then I jumped into advertising, and there again. Then fast forward five years, albeit it definitely wasn't five years, before I realized that again, I was still on these amazing shoots. I was leading these incredible campaigns with musicians, working with brands and influencers, etc. And again, I was just thinking, my goodness, I'm just wishing the days away. I'm sat here, you know, clock watching, thinking, get me to the weekend, get me to Christmas, get me to whatever's next. And it was that constant what's next? Itis that was just sort of pushing me through. But I think it took me until, well, 2021 to actually realize and that I needed to look inwards and really, truly understand what's in that, that essence. What's that core of me, what's my values, what truly drives me, what's my purpose? To actually get to somewhere, to a journey that's going to be scary. But it's rooted very much in my truth. And actually what I realized was in my corporate. 14 years in corporate, I always say I was actually in a corporate comfort zone for all of it, because I don't think I ever had any role that was really, really challenging, that really pushed me outside of my comfort zone. So it was comfortable, it was easy, it was cruisy, albeit very stressful, and definitely had an impact there. But actually, you know, the journey that I'm on now is so fulfilling, and it's also equally scary in exactly the right way and exactly what I was craving.

Incredible. And when I guess I think of the core human needs, one of those needs is growth. Like, we desire to grow, just like the chamomile plant that you were talking about. Like, we want to grow and we'll do whatever we can to grow. So when we're in a role where we feel like we aren't being challenged and we aren't growing, I guess we become a little bit despondent and we disconnect. So for the person that's listening right now, there's going to be someone that's listening right now going, huh, that actually might be me. Or I have a friend or a family member that's talking like that. What advice do you have for them?

Hey, James here. I wanted to take a quick moment to let you know about something. Look, I get asked to deliver keynotes and workshops for teams and companies all over the world, from London to Antarctica, from America To Australasia, from armies to small businesses to large corporates, to sports teams. But I go in and deliver keynotes around the mindset of high performers, around the habits of high performers, about how we navigate change. If you would like me to come and speak to your team or speak at your conference or deliver a bespoke workshop, please get in touch with my team. Carolinejlochlan.com will be able to help. I'll also make sure that we put that in, in the show notes.

So I'll use my journey at Formula One to I guess contextualize that, that advice. So I was the head of marketing, partnerships and events@formula1. That was my most recent career. And don't get me wrong, actually, throughout all of my career, there's so much that I'm grateful for. There's been so many joys again, so many incredible leaders that I've worked with, amazing team members, etc. But what I realized when I was at Formula One was, and it was particularly when the world sort of stopped in that, that quite long moment for Covid and again I started to tune in and particularly with the benefit of nature, to the fact that this isn't my truth. And I've been, you know, I flipped through different areas in entertainment and advertising and this, none of it there. I don't feel like there's a world in this space that, that, that is for me. And that was a really hard truth to tune into. And that was the first thing that I felt quite deeply. So how do I get to my truth? And I was actually working with an incredible coach at the time who said, all right, let's, let's, let's connect you into your joys. What do you love doing? And at the time we just moved to just by Epping Forest. So nature immersed, moving from Brixton up here was just, it just reconnected me to that source of nature that I switched off since, since childhood. So I was like nature and cooking. So this coach said, okay, let's tune into them. You're going to find deep presence in those moments. Just follow those breadcrumbs of joy and add more and see what, what comes through. So, so that's exactly what I did. And I realized that actually I was just filling every single day with noise to, you know, in, in, in that sort of technologically and inverted commas connected world actually disconnects us so much when we're listening to podcasts, audiobooks, playlists all the time. You know, when I was cooking, when I was out on walks, my mind was so full of work or, you know, I was chatting away to. To my partner. I just had such a need to fill every single moment with noise that I wasn't listening to myself. So that is. Step one is connecting to your joys and use those as moments of deep presence and connection to yourself. Because in those moments, that's when your energy will ignite. That's when you'll light up. That's when you'll reconnect to that source of your truth. And these joys can be, you know, for someone who's a corporate leader, it can seem really. I guess I get this from clients where they're, like, really connecting to my cooking. You know, that's where we're starting. And I'm like, yeah, let's. Let's start there and let's see. See where these breadcrumbs take you. But it's amazing that once you start to do that and you start to tune into your intuition and the messages that you get around what's truly important to you. So for me, it was following those breadcrumbs and realizing my family is most important. Time with my partner, time with my dogs, time with my visiting my family, etc. That is the most important thing to me. And actually, in my corporate career of loads of business travel and always on and working on weekends, that was disconnecting me from. From that side of my purpose. And then it was into the other side of, okay, we've done this outside of work. Now what? Let's bring it inside of work. What were my joys, what lights me up in work? And I realized it was my connection to my team. It was those moments where, you know, plates would be spinning and some falling on the ground and it'd be really stressful. But I realized that actually I brought playfulness into those moments that many other leaders in. In the organization I was in and many other organizations where I work that they don't, you know, and it was around that of sort of fostering that connection and that sort of can do through that play. And to quote my boss at F1, she always used to say, it's PR, not ER as well. So really bringing that mindset in as we. As we navigate through, because it always works out in the end. There's always a solution. We get through it. So I. I tuned into that, and I realized that was the side that I loved. I also loved the sustainability and DNI work that I was doing within Formula One. I was the marketing lead for both of those Strategies. And I just started tuning into those spaces and just started. It's almost like you collect these breadcrumbs and you create a little map of, of what things could be, but you can't quite see where you're going. And it's almost just following that path and trusting as you go through. And you keep pulling these little puzzle pieces together that if you really allow that intuition to speak, eventually once you've reconnected to that real essence of who you are and you understand yourself, the values that drive you, what's most important, how you thrive. It's that trust, that eventually that idea, that message, that next step 100 it will download if you give it that, that space for your inner wisdom to.

Speak is so powerful. And I feel like sometimes, and I've certainly felt like this at some points in my life, that you're in a role that's really stable, that's, you know, you're confident at, you do well at, you get praised for the money's good and it's just, there's something missing and you know that it's just not filling your cup and it's not challenging you. So that's quite hard to step away from. So with Formula one, like, for a lot of people that would be a, I want to stay there forever and that's like the pinnacle and I'm never leaving. How did you get to the point where you made the decision to go, hmm, I've got to make this change to align with where I want to go. What happened there?

So this is a nature story, actually. So one of the powers of nature is that nature. I, well, I know it to be true of myself and of my clients. It can just immediately bring you not just into presence, but into a much deeper intuitive connection. And I believe that that is really rooted in that awe of the interconnection of nature. It takes you to a different space than, I don't know, say if you're, I don't know, doing breath work at home or you know, connecting in, in other ways in our sort of modern environment. So in 2021, I. And there's sort of different pieces in the puzzle. So in 2021, I was also diagnosed with autoimmune hypothyroid. So that also gave me a mirror of my career. And actually there is no blame on formula one or any of the organizations I work with because I was actually really unboundary throughout my career. And obviously these are fast paced industries and there's always, always work that can be done at that leadership level, to work on that sort of workflow and balance for teams. But actually, at no point in my career did I ever say, okay, I need to stop now or I need to put these boundaries up. I just sort of, sort of pushed myself in every single way, evenings, weekends, etc. So I, that really sort of forced me to take a stop. And I knew at that point I was out walking in nature. And I had a really strong feeling. I thought, okay, this year is going to be a year of big change and this change is going to really honor me. And that was the first little breadcrumb on that path in nature. And then fast forward to, I think it was, it was actually May, so it would be about, yeah, 20, 21, two years ago, pretty much exactly. I was stood by the side of a lake in Epping Forest and I was just stood there looking, looking out, watching the, watching the ducks and watching the little droplets on the water. And I just got a really strong intuitive knowing in my stomach. Hand your notes in, that's it, you're done, time's up, what's coming is coming. Trust, it's going to all unfold. So felt it. And I thought, my stuff, my heart sunk because obviously it's step out my comfort zone, corporate comfort zone. And I'd never, I'd never dreamt of making that move at any point. I always thought, there'll be a way that I can work, work this through. And I, So I went home and I remember talking about it with a friend and, you know, she was saying, okay, what are you going to do? And I said, I'm just going to, just going to listen. I'm going to keep listening in nature, see what, what comes. And it only took 24 hours. So the next day I was stood by another lake in Epping Forest. Lakes are clearly my thing. And I had just finished listening to a podcast with a coach who's actually a very good friend of Ali's as well. And she was talking, it was about, I think it was about self belief and trust in yourself and mindset. And I just was stood on the side of this lake mulling over sort of the mindset side of things. And I thought, okay, my biggest passion right now is working on. We race as one Formula one's ESG platform. So I've been thinking, okay, could it be consultancy within the DEI and sustainability space, sort of thinking this through, working it through, and then it just downloaded into my head. It was mindset, that's it. Because actually my concerns in the Corporate space have always been that without truly changing hearts and minds, you're not going to drive that long term change. And particularly when you look at, for example, I don't know, five year, 10 years of CEOs and turnover of leaders and staff, etc. I just, it sort of really strongly downloaded in me that if I want to make a change in this world, I have to go into the mindset side. So literally just straight off the back of that, I went and had a conversation with this, with this coach. She introduced me to Ali, signed up, I think it was within days to retrain as a coach and handed my notice in. So that was all sort of within the space, I think of about a week. But it was all ignited through that space and that silence that I found to really deeply listen into myself in what I call co creation with nature.

Incredible. And I just think for the listener right now, I just want them to just reflect on what you just said because I mean, I personally have definitely experienced a lot of noise and I often place that noise around me so that I can avoid having to do the work. And it's only in those times of, you know, getting into nature, going away for a weekend to somewhere without cell phone reception that I start to really think about purpose and life and decisions that I need to make. So you made that big decision. You made it very quickly. You were courageous. You actually listened to your gut and you stepped in and started working with, with Ali and the team there, which is phenomenal. But through the whole thing, and I think this is important for the listener to understand. A lot of leadership coaching is very, very tactical, is very prescriptive. The approach that you take is so unique. It's so you and that's what makes what you do so incredible. So I'd love to understand just what if. Do you have a framework around the work that you do in terms of leadership and bringing it back to connection in nature?

Yeah. So my framework is very much around conscious connection and creating conscious connected leaders. So it's very much rooted in the three pillars of our connection to ourselves. Because if we don't understand who we truly are, that inner compass of values in our heart that guides us, then we won't be in alignment. But also within that, it's also about deepening our body connection. Because we live so much in our minds that we ignore those intuitive centers that exist within our body. For me, I really feel it when those messages come through from my gut or my heart. And actually you need that body connection to stop the Mind from taking over and telling you to stay in that corporate role or whatever it might be, telling you from that cushy position in its comfort zone. So we start with that connection to self. And within that connection to self, it really is around that following those breadcrumbs of joy, understanding what truly lights you up, but also what makes you sigh as well as what makes you thrive in life. So understanding where we need to put those boundaries in to enable you to find that space or whatever, you need to really sort of lift you up and thrive in this life. So that is the connection to sell.

Can we, Can I jump in there? Before we look at the next one, I wanted to ask a question about boundaries.

You mentioned F1 and maybe in some other roles you were a little bit unboundaried and you took responsibility for that. Now there is definitely going to be a listener listening and I am guilty of this as well. Of not having boundaries or having them and not enforcing them. How did you learn? Or have you got something that we can take away right now to go, hey, this is how you identify where a boundary needs to actually be placed and this is how you enforce it.

So I think with boundaries I am always very compassionate to myself. I hope that everyone can be compassionate to themselves because actually I think we are. In my experience, we are unboundaried all the way through from, from childhood. You know, if I think about my existence within school, that didn't teach me any boundaries. In fact, it taught me the complete opposite. So ever since I went into my career, I didn't realize that I had choices that I could say, do you know what? Yeah, this is, this is my cutoff time. I now need to go and get rest actually. When I am doing business travel and I get to an event, I need to make sure that I have a rest day or whatever it is. So within boundaries it's really understanding what are the conditions for you to thrive in this life. And that's always the, the question that I ask is yeah, what, how do you, how do you thrive? And again, really tuning into your body. I think from a boundaries perspective I would say tune into your body and the energy your sort of in a battery to understand that those conditions for you to thrive. Because actually from my experience and from working with clients, our mind can take over and can tell us you've got energy. This is okay now it's okay, we'll just do this, this, you know, this one time that then turns into every single time. So it's really around that of tune into your body. And I find, for example, breathwork, meditation, finding just stillness in nature, Getting my feet out on the grass is the perfect time where I'll just tune into my battery and understand. Yeah. How do I feel? Do I feel like I'm energetically stretched? Do I feel like someone's going over my boundary? How do I feel emotionally as well? Because obviously, with boundaries, people go over our boundaries, and it impacts us emotionally, whether it's through, you know, sadness, anxiety, fear, or any of that that comes up. So it's really around tuning in and understanding where you don't feel like you're able to thrive in a situation. Um, and Prentice Hemphill has an amazing quote that says, boundaries are the distance at which I can love you and me simultaneously.

That's really powerful. That's so good.

Yeah, I love it. I love it. And that really governs everything for me because in work, I love my team, I love my organization. I've always brought my heart. I've always bought my passion. In as much as, you know, my former careers weren't truly aligned to me and my values, I still love them on so many levels. So it's understanding that of actually, when I have my boundaries, I will thrive, and therefore, we will all thrive as a collective. And similarly modeling that for our teams. So in that first instance, it's about tuning in. Tune into your body, tune into your emotions and your energy. Understand. Yeah. Those conditions and those situations where you can thrive and understand where there are people or situations that are stepping over your boundaries. And then it really is in that sort of conscious communication as well, to bring in conversations around boundaries. And I think particularly in leadership, that's where that modeling is so powerful, to be able to model those boundaries, be courageous in that. Because in organizations where it is really unboundaried, that can be a really, really courageous step. That takes a lot of heart. So it's push yourself out of those comfort zone to have those conversations that honor you. But remember that within those honoring of yourself, you're also honoring the organization. So when I work with leaders, it's about that of, okay, you know, let's look at it. In. In this world, I would say it's that reciprocity is the energy we want is given, receive. So if you can receive that consideration from others, what's that give that you're also going to be giving, how are you going to be showing up with greater presence, greater impact, greater purpose within an organization? And I believe the thing that's holding us back again is that Human connection because at the heart of it, we're all humans. We can start to have these conversations, then it should become a lot more normal than it is, than it is in these days.

And see the self connection, what you're saying to me just resonates so strongly. And I know the listeners feeling the same way right now. That self connection and developing that self before we even think about boundaries. What are some ways you find that clients have successfully actually connected reconnected with self, Whether that's an activity, whether it's through breath work. If there's a certain type of meditation that you find has worked really well, what are some of those more tactical things you find that help people reconnect with self?

I think so. I love breath work is always the first thing that I would say to leaders because it's such a, I guess a quick route through to reconnection just with the sort of immediate downregulation that it causes of the nervous system. So breath work is definitely the one. For me personally, I love breath work that is slower and more sort of nourishing. So your ocean breathing, your box breathing, your humming, it's when you sort of take that deep breath in and then you hum slowly on the exhale. So that's the type of breath work that I love. But again it really is around tuning into, into your body because we're all unique. So it's around understanding what, what that looks like for you. Because for some people, Wim Hof might be really supportive or, or other modalities of breath work. So I love breath work for reconnection. I love time in nature for reconnection. I think it's one of the most powerful spaces to get those. I guess it's a mirror back to yourself. So when I go out in nature, I tune into my surroundings and I understand what that is mirroring back in my journey. So as an example, we've got Willow tree in the garden. And at certain points the willow tree has taught me different lessons on well in my leadership. So as a few recent examples I've got in, I'm working on something for my business and I'm used to, from corporate life, from being in music where you'd have sort of 12 weeks of the first single being out or in F1. I started in 2018 in January and by March I had to have my whole strategy done and be delivering celebrity activations at races. So I'm used to a really short, crunchy, adrenaline fueled time frame and then that kind of more immediate payoff in the outcome, I'm not used to a slower nature based organic flow through to developing stuff. So I was stood in the garden with my bare feet on the ground, just looking at the willow tree and I always say, you know, dear willow, what are the lessons from today? And I just observed where willow tree is. Obviously in the UK we're just coming into summer now, and so the tree is in full bloom. But I realized that it wasn't like, I don't know, in a week or two weeks I suddenly looked and it went from, you know, winter to spring and then into summer. It's a slow evolution and transformation. So I realized it's that patience, it's having that patience of the willow and trusting that the, the blossom will bloom, the, the leaves will come, but also not expecting to go from 0 to 100 sort of overnight, which is, is very much what, what I've been, been conditioned into. So that was one lesson. The other lesson is every time I'm at that sort of really peak stress and adrenaline, it's magic how.

It'S always a time when it's quite windy in the garden, so I'll go outside and I watch the willow tree and I watch the willows just blowing in the wind. But I see that strong core within the center of the willow. And at that point I was tuning tune into my heart and, and I tune into my gut and I see how strong my core is. No matter what's happening, no matter what I'm pitching for, no matter what public speaking I'm doing or whatever it is, and I realize that that energy whirling, it's just on the outside of me and that cannot penetrate that strong core that will always guide me. So those are just a couple of lessons that I've learned from, from the willow tree. So I always, always look to those, those messages in nature or, or surveying the horizon as well is another powerful one you can do to just bring your nervous system down and see things that you wouldn't necessarily normally see.

That is honestly incredible. And I feel like in the corporate world and the professional sport world, it's fast paced, it's let's do things yesterday. And the idea of slowing down to speed up, you know, it's very foreign to a lot of people. But I chatted recently with a friend who was the CEO of the Philadelphia 76ers so NBA team, and he had a lot of stress that came with that and he said he would come home and bring the stress with them and they needed to win games and his Friend said, hey, have you got a worry tree? And he's, what's a worry tree? And he's very corporate and it's a corporate background. And he's like, look, it's a tree that's in your garden. And like when you come home after a really stressful day, you go up and you hug it or you just touch one of the branches and you just let all of your worries and stress like move from you and into the tree and it takes it on board for you and then you go into the house and you feel great. And my friend was a bit like, ah, sounds a bit kind of weird. Like, I don't know, I don't think that kind of stuff works. Anyway, he found a random tree in his yard and decided that was going to be his worry tree and started this practice of every day he would go and touch one of the branches and imagine all the stress leaving his body. And he says, james, that practice, that ritual has made a profound impact to my mental health, my relationships at home, how I feel in my own space. And I think the more open we can be to allowing nature to guide us, that with the work that you're doing, I think we have a happier human race in front of us.

Definitely, definitely. Because we are, we are of nature and we disconnected us from it, put ourselves in our minds, nature adjacent, but it's, it's all around. It's always been our essence. It is, it is us. And there is, you know, I, I believe in that, the, the generosity, the spirit of nature that is there. Nature wants to co create with us. So it's just on us to, to stop and listen. And you know, no matter what level you're at in sort of spirituality, if you believe that sort of you are talking to the trees or if you sort of on the other end of it, it's just allowing that space, that silence. But with that, I guess that creative inspiration of nature to allow that intuition to speak. So my work is also really meeting people where they are. Whether it is very much in that spiritual leadership space or actually whether it's in a much more, I guess, sort of functional. Let's go deeper in your intuition through this space. But at the heart of it as well is really around reciprocity. So with the leaders that I work with, it's okay, so you receive from nature, but you also have to give. How can you give in your everyday life as well as through your work? What's your impact that you can make through protecting our planet for future generations?

It's incredible. And when we look at that's the first pillar around self. What's the second pillar?

So the second pillar is community. So community, it's basically our connections to other human beings on this planet. So it's really around that deepening our conscious connection through finding presence. It's sort of the fundamentals of, of just showing up. It's you know. Yeah. Deep listening. It's, it's all of those things to as a leader have you walk into any room and make your biggest energetic impact because you can tell those leaders who are deeply present, you can tell the ones who, who aren't, who are disconnected. But also even in the leaders who are deeply present there are things that disconnect them. So as well it's looking for those areas whether it is, you know, when the stress of the fear hits in and fight flight freeze and it kicks in and that, that disconnects you out or you know there's, there's other things whether it's technology and it's the fact that actually there's. There's a leader who isn't being deeply present with their team because in any meeting they've got all of their devices and everything else going on or they, they can't find the space in their diary to have those, that those uninterrupted whether it's one to one or, or team time. So it's really around looking at that. I always talk of the spider web is looking at what's your web of interconnection. And I love the spider web when you think from self all the way out. Because actually with spiders and if you know this, but there's scientific research that suggests that spiders think through their web. So it's not just the spider itself and it's actually in that, in that web and that web is ultimately a map of sort of their past, their present, their future and there's all sorts of stuff. I'm a study biology but I'm not a scientist in this space so I don't know the sort of intricacies of it. But in that interconnected web that spider is very masterfully adapting things based upon whether it needs to get food quicker or you know, other conditions. And as a leader it's really around that of let's look at your interconnected web. Who are your, who are your day to day connections and how are those connections? Because actually there's a lot of leaders where you know they think that they operate through that sort of deep space of presence. And I'm always There for my team, et cetera. But then they get that 360 feedback and it's not reflected back. So it's really looking into those spaces as well as leaders being open again through that human connection to have those conversations. So I always encourage leaders to have the conversations with their teams around how do you thrive and what makes you sigh and understanding through that actually. Okay, where are the areas that we can work on to deepen that human connection with each other? And through that, we lift each other up.

That's incredible. And I guess as we're deepening those connections and making others feel great and heard and valued and loved, that's going to have a massive reciprocal impact on ourselves. We feel connected, loved, valued, heard.

Yeah, exactly that, exactly that. It's in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, isn't it? After food, safety, water, you then got love and belonging. So that's where connection is. And I think Professor Andrew Huberman and others have actually put love and belonging at the fundamentals that should be number one.

So most important thing, it's the lifeblood of our lives. Like if we don't feel like there's a connection of love or you know, with another human, like we lonely, this kills people. Equally. As bad as addiction to cigarettes and alcohol and all these things, science is showing that loneliness, chronic loneliness is really detrimental to our lives.

Yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly that, exactly that. And it's, I think in the corporate environment, loneliness can be so ignored because you think, oh, we've got team open plan, et cetera. But it is really about, let's go deeper, let's understand, let's tune in energetically to your team and understand, does anyone feel isolated? Does anyone feel on their own in certain situations? And really sort of when you tune in on that conscious, connected level, which for me is leading, it's leading on purpose, isn't it? It's bringing that purposeful connection in to your leadership. That's when you start to notice things in your team that you wouldn't have noticed before. And that's when you can have team members who will come out of their shell or feel like they can be authentically them. Because a big part of disconnection can be rooted in when you have a team member who doesn't feel like they can shop exactly as, as themselves. And actually I am quite an extreme extrovert and I remember reading Susan Cairns book on introverts just to sort of. Because I became really conscious of the fact that when I worked in these entertainment organizations, they are majority extroverts. And it's just that thing through unconscious bias and everything that just plays out through recruitment and everything. You know, you tend to hire and like. And I noticed that there were certain team members who were being really isolated because us extroverts, we can jump in, in a second in a meeting, you know, we require a split second to, to think before we can, we can talk where. Whereas there are certain team members who just need to take a breath, take a moment and have that pause before they, they come in. And I realized actually there were spaces where people couldn't, couldn't speak as a result of that because we were all moving a million miles an hour. So that's where conscious connected leadership is really around that. Let's understand that interconnected web and let's understand how both you, that sort of center the spider in it and everyone else in your web can really thrive in this moment.

That's beautiful. And I know the listeners don't know this, but I know the backstory. So you have an incredible partner who's a Kiwi, a New Zealander, and there's a saying and you might be familiar with it, it's called fakapapa.

Yes.

And when you talk about the web, it reminds me of Whakapapa, that we're a part of this journey of life, but we're only the caretaker of this moment. And in fact, all of our ancestors stacked upon one another are helping us guide our lives right now. And we are overseeing things for the future generations that come after us. And it's that spider, when you started talking about it, made me really think about that idea of Whakapapa.

I love that, I love that because it is, it's around that, it's that legacy and it's that the handing over from, from generation to, to generation. And I think in leadership as well, that is where, you know, I believe true leaders aren't looking at, or shouldn't be looking just at the short term. You know, if you've got a five year tenure as a CEO or wherever, you're, whatever you're thinking your roadmap is, it really is around that. Realizing your responsibility, realizing what you've inherited and honoring that, honoring that, that, that, that path, those that have come before you, as well as looking forwards and making sure that you're leaving your corporation and this world in a better place when, when you leave. And you know, when we tune into the spirit of reciprocity, that's where I get quite, well, very frustrated when leaders are really rooted in the Eye, it's about me, the individual gains, it's about KPIs that are rooted in share price and stuff that is so short termist and ultimately rooted in bonuses. And you know when you come down to it that that's where that, that all exists and there is no consideration for what's coming up the path. There's that, you know, thought of very 2013, I'm going to be out of here by 20 2013, 2023, I'm going to be out of here by 2028. So you know that's, that's as far as I'm thinking what's that, what's that short term in that creates a really extractive culture. So ultimately all you're doing is you're depleting your teams and you're depleting the world around you versus looking at it and saying okay, what's the legacy beyond this? I, you know, take my ego out of the equation. I will not be in this business to see this materialize in 24, 2040 or wherever it might be. But I know that this is where I need to be investing X amount of time and that's not to take away from Obviously the important KPIs and the growth that is required within leadership and business but it's making sure that you have that line, that eye on, I guess. Yeah. If you think about that spider web as it extends out into the world and, and sort of beyond your tenure because yeah, I have my suspicions around a lot of these, you know, 2030 and beyond climate, KPIs, net net zero, etc. And I can see, you know, when you just read about different sort of companies, their strategies and then you look on the year on year of their progress and you can see they're just kicking up the path because they clearly got a CEO who's thinking yeah, 2040, I won't be here. So, so that's cool. This will be someone else's problem. In the meantime let's just maximize that growth and carry on with business as usual. And for me that, that isn't, that's not true leadership in any, any shape or form.

No 100 with you. And it's interesting, you talk about, you know, what's going to be like a 10 years, 20 years, 30 years. There was an organization here in the north island of New Zealand that were working on their 500 year plan and a lot of people were like they're crazy. What are they doing? Like that's nuts. I was like is it, is it really nuts. Because in 500 years, you know, if the planet's still here, it's people like that that will have ensured that it is still here, that we are still able to inhabit it. And in fact, it was an IWI organization, so a Maori organization. And they're very in touch with the fact that they've got to look after the planet and that this was gifted to them from their ancestors and it's their job to look after and caretaker into the future. So the work that you're doing, I think, is really strongly connected with how Maori actually see their responsibility to care for people on planet.

Yeah, I love that. I love that. I think it's that. I mean, yeah, my partner's Maori, so I'm very, very connected to it. And he teaches, teaches moldy for. Yeah. New Zealand High Commission and various different embassies around the world. And I just, I'm so.

Privileged to be honored, to be honored, to be immersed in that energy in, you know, each and every day and to have that, that inspiration from him and from, yeah, his, his roots and his, his very essence. And that, you know, that is. Speaks for, you know, all of the indigenous communities all around the world because it is very much that. That thing of. Yeah, you don't just look even. You don't even look to your children and grandchildren, which to be honest, many people clearly aren't doing these days. They're just looking to them. But, you know, it is very much that seven generations up the path, plus that's, that's where we need to, need to be looking. So, yeah, I love to hear that. Obviously that's reflected in this organization. Hopefully that will then inspire many, many others because that is, that's true legacy. That's true impact. And I actually believe, you know, when you, when you take it up to sort of a lot of the global icons at that sort of brand level, you know, you think. And I think this as well in this, in the same frame around various sports stars and, you know, musicians and celebrities, it's almost, you know, what's your. I mean, and we all have an influence, but I do believe that there are a lot of icons on this world, be it brand, be it leaders who could literally write their names in the history books through, through their work and through that thinking, because that is, that is true legacy. That's not the sort of the veneer of purpose that will be forgotten in 2030, whatever it is, years time, because it's not actually making a true impact, but equally for each of us on our Individual level. Then it's almost saying, okay, what's my. What's my ripple effect? What's my impact? We don't all have to be a major global brand to. To make that ripple and impact. I think it's really around understanding from yourself. Okay. If I show up as a conscious, connected leader, much like my first leader who I had the privilege of working with, Claire was that ripple is something like she and that energy will live with me, within me forever. And then she has inspired me to go out and inspire other people. And you can start to see how again, through that web, you start to create a really sort of seismic ripple effect on this world.

It's amazing. Yes. Compounding. You think of the listener that's listening right now. There's going to be a listener that goes, wow, I haven't thought like this before. And then they go and have a conversation with a friend who has another one. It is exponential. It's incredible.

It is. Never underestimate the power of our connection. Yeah, there's a really beautiful.

Go ahead.

Sorry, I was just gonna say on Connection, there's a really beautiful story from Nick Cave, the musician that I'll just briefly share. And he talks of. So his son Arthur died really tragically in his teens. And he talks of. I think it was one of the first times he went out just to get some lunch, and he went to a local. I think it was a vegan cafe in Brighton where he lives. And he was the lady who usually serves him. You know, there was no words that were. Were shared. But after he paid for his lunch, then she gave him his change back, but as she put it into his hand, she just gave his hand a really purposeful squeeze. And there's a Guardian article where he talks of that moment of human connection. And he talks of the fact that when he is going through tough times, particularly in this grieving process, he goes back to that moment of human connection. And. And that most simple moment of human connection will live with him for the rest of his life and I'm sure have inspired him to as well, continue to create a ripple through. Through his own connection. So that's one story that I always share, that it really, really shows just how simple we can create our ripple through connection. It's not. It doesn't have to be rooted in these big sort of, I don't know, shows of, you know, and it's brilliant. Everyone who's obviously doing massive things for the planet. But at the heart of it, if we all just took that time to really care and connect with each other. The world would be such a better place.

Hugely. Thank you for sharing that. It's a beautiful story. And as you say, it's so simple in the way that we can connect and make a huge difference in one person's life. And then that's gone on to, like, you're talking about it, and I'm not going to talk about it. The listener is going to talk about it. So the fact that he shared how that impacted him will impact so many millions of people.

Yeah, yeah, exactly. I think that we really underestimate that, don't we? The little things. And after I read that, I thought back to a few moments and there was even, you know, one person I can remember the face of the taxi driver. And it was one night where I'd been out and I think I was walking home, and then I felt a bit scared, so I thought, okay, I'm going to jump in a black cab. And he clearly read my energy because all the way home he's chatting to me and just really, really just helped me to relax. Didn't talk about, you know, you okay, just chatting away. Chatting away. But before I left the taxi, he said, okay, I'm gonna wait here for you to. And I'm gonna watch you until you go into your. Because I had to go sort of in. Up some stairs and through to basically to an upper balcony in a. In a. In a flat. And he's. I'm gonna watch you go through your front door before. Before I leave. And I watched as I went through the door and then I waved him off. And I still remember that taxi driver again from that just. He clearly tuned in. He knew. Didn't have to highlight anything. But that moment, again, will live with me for that. That care and that compassion that he showed for me and that sort of, again, going back to those human needs of him just being there when I needed someone to just help me to feel safe in that moment.

100%. Thank you for sharing that, too. That's. That's beautiful. And, you know, for the person out there that feels like that, you know, be open to other people supporting you, helping you, and read your. Read your intuition. You knew something wasn't right that night. You made some decisions and obviously the. The ripple effect was positive.

Yeah, exactly that. Exactly that. And that was probably. I think that was around 2007, probably so long time ago. And the fact that, yeah, again, that taxi driver still. Still in my heart with my gratitude.

Well, he might be listening. You never know.

Now on to that last all important third pillar, what is it?

So it is nature. So it's very much around that web of interconnection and our place within nature. So finding that right relationship with nature but also a co creational relationship with nature. So it's really around harnessing those, the powers of nature we talked about earlier to really look deeply inwards. But also it's understanding our responsibility to nature. So that goes into our leadership, but it also goes into how we exist each and every day and you know, dependent on. And obviously there's also levels of privilege that come into this of how much of action you can take as well as obviously access to nature is a big thing that is unfortunately very inequitable. But it's really around for us as leaders really understanding that if we want to tap into that co creational power of nature, if we want to use nature for our problem solving, for help us to come up with ideas, to help us to tune in and understand if, if something's right or not, we also need to give. So you know, on the most basic level it's when I work with leaders and they then go out and do nature connection practices out in nature. It's also about okay, open your eyes, take some gloves and do some litter picking. After you finish that exercise, make sure that you're, you're giving something or you know, tending to, to a local garden or even tending to your own garden and just making sure that it's really optimized for wildlife, insects, etc. You can, you can do it in your own way. But then also it's bringing that responsibility into, into, into your leadership and understanding. Okay, what's my impact through whether it's my intersectional sustainability and EIB work or you know, any other spaces, how can I make sure that I am being responsible for this planet and everything that I'm doing?

What I love about that and the, the approach you take, it is unique but it's also very natural. It feels like it flows and it's not complex. It's really heart centered and takes into consideration people, planet, community. Like it's incredible and as I said, it's very unique and I know that there's a listener listening right now going I want to know more and I want to engage a little bit. So what's the best way for the listener to actually connect with you and actually maybe try some of what you do.

So best way to connect is come find me on to my website is greeninthegray.com my Instagram is at Green in the Gray or to find me on LinkedIn as well. I'm, I'm over there. Just let, yeah, let's connect again. Let's, let's have a chat. It's all about human connection, isn't it? So for me it's really around that. I love, love connecting with people. I love if they're interested in exploring, for example one to one coaching or you know, programs within their organizations. I love to chat and find out more about you, to find out about, you know. Yeah. What makes you thrive in life, what makes you sigh, what are your challenges, but also what's the impact that you want to have on this world. Meeting you, where you're at and then we understand what that path could look like because there are so many tools of how nature can support you. There's so many different conscious connected leadership tools as well. So it's really around us, us navigating that, that path together. But equally if someone just wants to experience me and my work, I also run monthly free workshops that are online so they're called Earth and light sessions. And it's really around that nature connection. So the earth side but then igniting our inner light as well. So we use nature connection to do that as well as going deeply inwards for some body connection. So within those sessions you can expect meditation, we do journaling, self reflection, lots of sharing and it's also then about leaving with some inspiration, some nature connection practices as well you can, you can take to, to support your onwards journey. So that's a really good way as well of just experiencing it.

Honestly, that sounds amazing. I'm going to put a link to all of your site websites and Instagram and LinkedIn and also to that monthly session that you do. So if anyone's interested in checking it out, please click those links. And I just like to ask you one last question. And I feel that you're so centered with purpose and it kind of just flows from you. It's your inet being. But I want you to for a moment come with me into the future and we're going to go to your very last day here on earth, many, many years into the future. And a very young person, a child who you love dearly, comes up to you and asks, hey Tanya, or it could be Grandmom, I want to know how to lead my life on purpose. What would you say to them?

I would say it all starts with being joyfully, authentically you. And for me that is really around understanding your inner compass, those values that drive you and having them guide your path through, into leadership, into whatever you want to do.

But also I think thinking about.

Someone who's very young, a grandchild or, you know, whoever in my family, I also think I would encourage them to stay curious. You know, we, we as grown ups, we don't have all the answers. And I know by then I, I sure won't have all the answers either at that point. You know, hopefully by that point I will be an elder. However, you know, even with that wisdom I, I won't know everything. So it was very much around that, you know, stay curious, stay questioning. I think so much of our curiosity is taken from us and when I look in leadership, we brought more of that playful curiosity in along with that joy. I think that is such a, such an unlocker for our own personal path forwards as well as creating a better world. Because if we root that better world in that playful curiosity, that joy, that's how we're gonna change the systems that aren't serving us and aren't serving the world. So yeah, all about that joyful authenticity and then just stay curious, stay playful.

That's so beautiful. Thank you sincerely for sharing that and a massive thank you for creating this space to actually connect like this and to share the work that you do. And as I said, your career to date has been mind blowingly fascinating. But I feel that this is actually like a starting point, like even more incredible things are to come. So I'm excited to follow your journ. I'm going to be checking in regularly with you because I feel there's more conversations that we need to have.

Definitely. Thank you so, so much, James. I've been so grateful for this conversation to share, share my story and yeah, thank you so much for holding space for me today.

So great to connect. Thank you.

Thanks for tuning in today and investing in your own personal leadership. Please hit that subscribe button and comment a love. If you'd leave me a rating and review, I've got some amazing guests lined up for you in the coming weeks and leaders, it's that time to get out there and lead your life on purpose.