The Charity CEO Podcast

“You don't need to have all the answers, you don't need to have solutions... you just need to be able to listen.”Julie Bentley is CEO of Samaritans, the suicide prevention charity.In this episode Julie shares life and leadership lessons, from being a post-lady early in her career, to how she grappled with the gremlins of Imposter Syndrome. She highlights key qualities of leadership: emotional intelligence, authenticity, resilience, humility, kindness, vulnerability and humour! - all of which she believes have been important through her own leadership journey.We talk about the work of Samaritans: providing a place where someone is always available to listen, without judgement. The Samaritans’ service delivery model is unique, as it is entirely volunteer run. With a vision of ensuring that fewer people die by suicide, Samaritans has over 17,000 trained ‘listening volunteers’ who respond to calls for help. Currently 1 in 5 callers to Samaritans are voicing concerns about the impact of COVID-19, indicating a significant risk to mental health from the pandemic. We discuss Brew Monday, turning the third Monday in January (traditionally known as Blue Monday) into a campaign aimed at encouraging people to stay connected with a virtual cup of tea; particularly important as the UK is now in its 3rd full lockdown nationwide. #BrewMondayJulie also opens her heart about her brother Roy’s, death and talks about co-curating the book ‘Sisters and Brothers’, breaking taboos around talking about death, dying and bereavement.This is a poignant, moving and inspirational start to our second Season. Recorded December 2020.Guest Biography Julie Bentley has been a charity CEO for over 18 years and has led some of the UK’s most well-known charities including Action for Children, Girlguiding, Family Planning Association and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust. Julie joined Samaritans as CEO in November 2020. She is currently also Vice Chair of NCVO (National Council of Voluntary Organisations).Julie is a passionate advocate for the voices of those with lived experience being at the heart of a charity. She has a reputation for driving change and for the authenticity she brings to her leadership.In 2014, she was named as Third Sector’s ‘Most Admired Charity CEO’ and appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs. In 2019, she received The Charity Times Award for ‘Outstanding Individual Achievement’ and was voted one of the sector’s ‘Most Influential Leaders’.Linkswww.samaritans.orgwww.samaritans.org/support-us/campaign/brew-monday www.cruse.org.uk   Buy ‘Sisters and Brothers: Stories about the death of a sibling’ book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3obuEGw 

“Our core purpose as charities isn’t to manage risk assessment and excel sheets ... our core purpose is to change the world, is to make change happen. That’s what we’re here for.”Paul Evans is CEO of Leadership Through Sport & Business, a social mobility charity that prepares and supports bright young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into roles with major firms. In this episode Paul delves into the situation for young people in Britain today and their ‘stolen future’, arising from the current crisis in youth unemployment. He highlights how the pandemic has laid bare social inequalities and how his organisation is creating meaningful opportunities for disadvantaged young people - ensuring that those at risk of under-employment find careers equal to their ambition and ability.We talk about the habits of discipline as key to a successful and happy life. We also discuss attitudes to risk in the charity sector; and Paul reflects on how in an increasingly risky world, charities need to remain true to their core purpose: which isn’t just to manage risk, but to change the world.Recorded October 2020, via Skype. Guest Biography Paul Evans joined Leadership Through Sport & Business in April 2020. Previously he was Managing Director at the award winning Street League and CEO of the national education charity, UFA (University of the First Age). Paul has a strong background in education, youth services, homelessness and mental health. He is passionate about social mobility, inclusion and creating real and lasting change in society. Paul is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and full member of the Chartered Management Institute. He is also a Trustee at learning disability charity, REACH.Linkswww.leadershipthroughsport.org  

“Your job as a Trustee is to be a custodian of the higher purpose of the mission and vision of the organisation.”‘Sexy’ is not normally a word one associates with charity governance. This conversation is about how the function of governance can be truly inspirational and what organisations can do to attract more diverse talent to their Trustee Boards. My guest Sophie Livingstone has extensive experience on both sides of the charity boardroom table. Over the past 20 years she has served on Boards of numerous organisations and was the founding CEO of City Year UK. Sophie was recently recognised with an MBE for ‘services to charity’ in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours. In this episode we highlight the importance of representation and role models in leadership. Sophie talks about the development of an ‘Inspire List’; a list curated to celebrate and showcase Trustees of diverse backgrounds and from different walks of life. We also discuss the dynamics of power in Boardrooms and different structures for effective governance. Recorded October 2020, via Zoom.Guest Biography Sophie is currently Managing Director of Trustees Unlimited. Over 20 years she has served in a number of governance positions: as Chair of Little Village, Co-Chair and Co-Founder of Generation Change, Trustee of the Royal Voluntary Service, Trustee of Street Kids International UK, Trustee of Rural India School Enterprise (RISE) and Chair of Governors of John Milton Primary School. She is the founding CEO of City Year UK, a charity enabling young people to tackle inequality through doing a year of voluntary service in schools. Sophie sees herself as a social entrepreneur, passionate about collaborating with others to address social injustice. She was awarded an MBE for ‘services to charity’ in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours.Linkswww.trustees-unlimited.co.uk  www.trustees-unlimited.co.uk/the-inspire-list www.girldreamer.co.uk 

“We are all born geniuses and the purpose of human life is to find an interface for that genius... and food can truly be the catalyst for that interface.”3.5 BILLION meals and counting...Bhawani Singh Shekhawat is the Chief Executive of The Akshaya Patra Foundation UK. The Foundation started 20 years ago in India, to tackle the dual issues of classroom hunger and access to education for disadvantaged children.The Foundation’s guiding vision is that no child should be deprived of an education because of hunger. This is the remarkable story of how The Akshaya Patra Foundation grew from serving meals to 1,500 students, to serving over 3.5 billion meals to date, through the creation of an internationally award-winning Food for Education Programme.The Akshaya Patra Foundation is, today, highly acclaimed as the world’s largest non-profit run Mid-day Meal Programme, serving about 2 million meals daily. Its work has been recognised by the World Economic Forum, it has been formulated as a Case Study at Harvard Business School and  in 2019 the Foundation received the BBC Global Food Champion Award.The Akshaya Patra Foundation is now expanding its work in the UK, serving free, nutritious food to the homeless and to children vulnerable to food poverty, during school holidays.In this episode Bhawani talks about the importance of food and how it plays a key role in creating a better society. He demonstrates how through the power of great questions, organisations and individuals can access more of their genius. And he highlights powerful lessons in leadership along the way.This episode was recorded in October 2020, via Skype. Guest Biography Bhawani Singh Shekhawat has led The Akshaya Patra Foundation UK since 2016. Prior to that he had an extensive career in the corporate world leading large multi-national teams in organisations including Nielsen, Reckitt Benckiser and Coca-Cola, across multiple geographies. He is the Co-Founder of the Adhyayan Foundation and serves as a Non-Executive Director on a number of Boards, including The Vedica Scholars Programme and Women’s Alliance and HaikuJAM. Bhawani is a listed member of the London Bureau of Speakers on Customer Centricity, Insight, Innovation and Leadership.Linkshttps://www.tapf.org.ukhttps://www.akshayapatra.org

“The Chief Execs who I really admire are those who wear their heart on their sleeve and are open and honest and themselves.... they are their authentic selves... no matter where you see them and no matter who they are talking to, they are themselves.”In this episode, Part 2, of my conversation with Charlotte Hill, we talk about the joys and the challenges of having babies whilst being busy Chief Executives. We discuss issues surrounding Maternity Leave, Shared Parental Leave and around women transitioning back in to the workplace; and explore perceived barriers to leadership for women. We reflect on how lockdown has shown everyone in a much more human light, having to juggle work, children, self-care and in Charlotte’s case, even breast-feeding!Charlotte reveals her personal struggle with fertility and how being vulnerable can actually make us stronger and more respected as leaders.This episode was recorded in September 2020, via Skype.Guest BiographyCharlotte Hill became Chief Executive of Step Up To Serve in 2014 at the start of the #iwill Campaign. Prior to that she had been CEO of UK Youth. She is currently on secondment to BBC Children In Need, but will return to Step Up To Serve for the final months before the time-limited organisation closes its doors at the end of 2020.Charlotte started her career working in Parliament for the Rt. Hon. Harriet Harman QC MP. She then moved to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) as their Parliamentary Advisor. Charlotte has also worked with children’s charities in Australia and Cambodia.Charlotte was awarded an OBE for services to young people in the 2020 New Year’s Honours List. Linkshttps://www.iwill.org.uk/ 

“If we can get young people becoming Trustees and volunteers as young people, that’s when they form habits, and so they will then be volunteers and fundraisers and Trustees ... for the rest of their lives ... So it’s a great investment in our society more broadly and in civil society if we can get them engaged at a young age.”My guest this episode is Charlotte Hill, the founding CEO of Step Up To Serve. In Part 1 of our conversation, Charlotte and I talk about her current role, on secondment, as Executive Director for Children and Young People with the BBC’s Children in Need. There she is co-ordinating the COVID-19 funding response and developing a longer term strategy for collaboration, in the children and young people funding space. Charlotte reflects on her journey with Step Up To Serve, its achievements and the intricacies of running a time-limited collective impact project. We discuss the particular challenges for young people in the current crisis, and how we must engage young people, in helping to think through what the ‘new normal’ should be, in order to build back a stronger civil society. This episode was recorded in September 2020, via Skype. Guest Biography Charlotte Hill became Chief Executive of Step Up To Serve in 2014 at the start of the #iwill Campaign. Prior to that she had been CEO of UK Youth. She is currently on secondment to BBC Children In Need, but will return to Step Up To Serve for the final months before the time-limited organisation closes its doors at the end of 2020.Charlotte started her career working in Parliament for the Rt. Hon. Harriet Harman QC MP. She then moved to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) as their Parliamentary Advisor. Charlotte has also worked with children’s charities in Australia and Cambodia.Charlotte was awarded an OBE for services to young people in the 2020 New Year’s Honours List.Linkshttps://www.iwill.org.uk/

“There is a move away from the more traditional charity partnerships... (towards) a kind of main-streaming of responsible business.”In this episode I speak with Sarah Mitchell, CEO of Heart of the City, a charity working with small to medium sized companies to help them to develop a purpose beyond profit. We discuss the changing face of corporate partnerships; Scenario Planning amidst uncertainty; and reflect on the positive aspects of working through the pandemic. Sarah also highlights some key leadership learnings and the importance of taking time for reflection and self-care as a Chief Executive. This episode was recorded in August 2020 via Skype, before Sarah’s new appointment as CEO of Cycling UK was announced. Guest Biography Sarah Mitchell has been CEO of Heart of the City since May 2017. She is due to take up the position of CEO at Cycling UK in October 2020. Sarah has spoken and written about entrepreneurship in charities and is currently working on a book to be published by Routledge on the future of the charity sector. Previously Sarah was CEO at Carers Network and Head of Housing at Crisis and Senior Policy Advisor at Shelter. She has also worked as an Assistant Director in the UK Civil Service (Department for Business), at the European Parliament and in the Commission. Sarah is the Vice-Chair of the grant making charity the Nationwide Foundation.Links‘Picture This’ - Guide to Scenario Planning for Voluntary Organisations: https://www.cass.city.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/37297/picture_this.pdf www.theheartofthecity.com If you enjoyed the show please click the subscribe button on your podcast app and consider leaving a 5 star review. It will only take a few seconds and reviews really help make a difference, as they enable more people to find and listen to the podcast. Visit www.thecharityceo.com for full show details and to submit questions for future guests.Thank you for listening.

“It cannot possibly be true that we have the best scientists working on blood cancer, if that scientific community only represents one bit of the population.”In Part 2 of our conversation with Gemma Peters, CEO of Blood Cancer UK, we delve in to what Diversity, Equity and Inclusion really means for the charity sector. Gemma shares the responsibility she feels being a white leader, with an all-white Board, Executive Team and with predominantly white scientific researchers. We look at specific initiatives that Blood Cancer UK are pursuing to address this and how, as a sector, we can look to disestablish racist structures and precedents.Gemma reveals that the true inspiration and drive for the work comes from the people she and her organisation are striving to help. For some extra inspiration, watch the video she talks about from people affected by blood cancer, saying thank you to the staff at Blood Cancer UK. https://bit.ly/2Y8bV3L  Episode recorded August 2020 via Skype. Visit www.thecharityceo.com for full show details. Gemma Peters joined Blood Cancer UK as Chief Executive in September 2017. Prior to this she worked at King’s College London and King’s Health Partners as Executive Director of Fundraising and Supporter Development. Gemma also spent 7 years as Trustee for Action Aid UK. www.bloodcancer.org.uk 

“We do really need the government to acknowledge that this (research) investment is critical. It’s critical to patients, but it’s also critical to the UK as an entity. The UK’s strength in medical research is something that we are all so proud of.”In this very first episode of The Charity CEO Podcast we speak with Gemma Peters, CEO of Blood Cancer UK. In Part 1 of our conversation, we talk about leading through the current crisis; the impact of delayed healthcare and medical research for cancer patients; discuss the tough decisions behind redundancy consultations at Blood Cancer UK; collaboration in the charity sector; and even outline a proposal for setting up a Charity Mergers and Partnerships hub! Gemma reflects on what she has learnt as a leader and on decision making with imperfect data. She also shares how being open and vulnerable has actually helped bring her closer to her team and made them collectively more effective. Episode recorded August 2020 via Skype. Visit www.thecharityceo.com for full show details. Gemma Peters joined Blood Cancer UK as Chief Executive in September 2017. Prior to this she worked at King’s College London and King’s Health Partners as Executive Director of Fundraising and Supporter Development. Gemma also spent 7 years as Trustee for Action Aid UK. www.bloodcancer.org.uk