Kate Leto

THE STORY OF URBAN MOBILITY As someone who has had a mixed bag of experiences with taxi cab drivers on demand, Uber entering the market was a godsend. There was no longer the deep sigh of a late night seeing the light being switched off or having to stand back in the shadows while a woman friend hailed such cabs and then we all piled in. Or worse still a driver telling us that our destination was outside of their zone. We could now book a taxi to take us to wherever our destination was—within reason—and pay for it within the app. We also had the “power” and agency to rate our experience, thus ensuring drivers put us front and centre. Plus, taxi cabs never offered me water. I had the pleasure some years back to speak at Uber (shoutout Eugenie Teasley) and I learned two major things while there. One, is that Uber was more than a taxi company, it was a vertical transport company and this was just the beginning. Secondly, Uber was a data storytelling company. Capturing a vast amount of data allowed it to tell its own stories but also inform other stakeholders from that data. I am writing three articles on how three companies, Uber, Pornhub and Spotify leverage powerful data storytelling. This is the first of the three where I focus on five core areas that Uber has leveraged data storytelling for their benefit.

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How ready is your practice to embrace Gen AI? The businesses of the future will have a digital first operating model and strategy, and in the Organisational Development sphere, the successful content and programmes of the future will be digital first embracing microlearning at scale. Are you ready?

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Women make up around 50% of the UK workforce. Yet in tech, just 24% of roles are filled by women. In tech leadership, that figure drops to just 5%. AND Digital’s latest report, “Rewards & Resilience: The dual experience of women in tech,” examines the underlying causes of these statistics through a comprehensive survey. You can take a read here: https://lnkd.in/e-6bt8zd #womenintech #womeninleadership #Kaneretireplease

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Want to really understand #employeeexperience? The EX Lens is a game-changing tool from The EX Space which helps people practitioners, leaders, managers and others approach EX in the right way. It’s based on extensive research - including hundreds of ‘best experience’ sessions with front line employees conducted by our co-founder Emma Bridger - and captures the nine ‘universal themes’ which underpin great EX, as well as the vital individual differences unique to each and every employee. Download the free white paper and learn how to start applying it now: https://lnkd.in/ecPid2E6

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No CEO sets out to create a monster – what makes you different? In a poddcast I explored my unease with the pervasive, rigid hierarchy that defines large organisations, a structure I’ve come to believe stifles authenticity and purpose – actually to quote an ex-client of mine from a Silicon Valley Tech “Startup”: “getting shit done, making money and having fun”! We all know the giants have the stuff on the wall. You’ll often find 'purpose' elegantly framed, and on the website, yet over a few drinks (or in coaching sessions), the reality is that for many, the real motivator is the next promotion, or the next bonus or worse, not getting fired, — as opposed to the impact their work could have on the world. This misalignment is not just a loss for the employees but a monumental waste of potential for societal advancement. There is nothing wrong with promotion and pay—it's just that science shows that they become “hygiene factors” after a while; the last pay rise doesn’t motivate you; it's just the absence that demotivates. I experienced this destroy with what was THE fastest growing tech company in the world – in a market that moved in hours, not only the waste of effort in taking weeks to make decisions, but the demotivating impact on the best people was huge. Inspired by the concepts of 'Teal' organisations and driven by my own experiences, I’m convinced that the future lies in empowered, more purpose-driven structures where people bring their whole selves to work. Imagine the innovation and agility we could unleash if we weren’t shackled by layers of approval and the fear of stepping out of line. I’m calling YOU to question the status quo. As your scale-up grows, and the silos and infighting emerge will you be able to step away from control and into culture? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. How are you setting the foundations of a culture that can scale? #tealorganizations #corporateculture #purposedriven #leadershipdevelipment

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I got into tech in the '90s because I wanted a great job and travel the world. At the time, I had no idea that someone like me (female + working class) were underrepresented in tech. Not much has changed regarding representation. The latest UK diversity in tech report found that only 21% of senior tech leaders are women, and 9% are from a lower socioeconomic background. 😱 ➡ https://lnkd.in/ebkB7d6p ❤️ Thanks to Tech Talent Charter for inviting me to write a guest blog about why #DEI belongs at the heart of #digitaltransformation.

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And we're live with Episode 3! Rebecca Smart, an experienced Leadership & Talent Coach joins us for a lovely discussion exploring her experiences coaching senior leaders and how Managers should embed coaching into their repertoire. So much of #Agile leadership is built on being self-reflective and understanding your impact as a leader. This episode is a great reminder of the power of what it takes to increase your self-awareness and ultimately learn how to lead better 🤗 ⬇ Download the episode now from your fav podcast player 🎧 #newepisode #podcast #guest #leadership #coaching #agile

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Here's a throwback to my last Disrupt London talk and a tiny peek into the work I do with Kind. and Teamphoria. We create jaw-dropping transformation, fast! It might look like magic (and in many ways, it is), but our secret sauce contains a combination of #neuroscience #psychology #microlearning #leadershipdevelopment #coaching and the best #employeeengagement and #companyculture #technology you could ever hope for. Comment 'culture' or drop me a DM if you'd like to learn more about how we can improve your culture and transform your entire organisation in just 90 days.

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A Thought to Ponder 🤔: Are We Ready for a “Co-Head of Team” Model? For the last five+ years, I’ve reflected on-and-off this question: ❓At the mid-level director/VP tier, is it time to move towards a “co-head of team” model—splitting the role into two distinct yet complementary functions: manager and leader? This idea 💡resurfaced for me this morning…AND before dismissing it, consider the following: While neuroscience doesn’t divide these functions into distinct brain 🧠 areas, they do reflect different cognitive and emotional processes. 1. Management: The Analytical Brain - 💭: logic, , decision-making, control & structure - Example: Deciding how to allocate resources, creating schedules, and ensuring adherence to processes. 2. Leadership: The Inspirational Brain - 💭: empathy, strategic thinking, creativity - Example: Rallying a team around a shared vision, fostering innovation, and navigating uncertainty. While these two modes coexist in the brain, “they often compete for dominance,” as managing stability and inspiring change require different cognitive and emotional approaches. Curious, would a “co-head of team” model provide the balance teams need to thrive in today’s dynamic environment(s)? Would the experience for employees and customers be positively enhanced and impacted? #leadership | #management | #csuite | #hr | #statusquo | #employeeexperience | #customerexperience | #thoughtevolution learn, grow, and evolve. always! ~ wjmjr©️ | #holographicvisionary |

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"Transformational", "Organic", "Unbiased" - hearing Carolina Newton use these words to describe her experience in working with me as her Coach, reaffirms my faith in the magic of coaching! ✨ This is why I LOVE what I do as a Personal Agility, Self, and Change Leadership Coach at NorthStar Solutions and Services LLC! I get to witness the personal and professional transformation journeys of my Clients! ✨ I sat down with Carolina a few weeks ago, to talk about her journey as part of our coaching partnership. It was a joyously reflective conversation, and I'm very pleased to share this here. https://lnkd.in/eVEYuYh9 ✨ Carolina is a Techie-turned-Health & Wellness Consultant, and Registered Yoga Teacher, who is setting up her own Health&Wellness consultancy! ✨ Our coaching partnership (in conjunction with attending my annual intention-setting workshop) helped her to: 🎯 clarify her vision for her life+career 🎯gain confidence in her skills and abilities 🎯feel comfortable in asking for help from her family and friends ✨Carolina - your courage, grit, and perseverance are admirable! You are a role model not only to your family, but for all women out there, who are looking to create success in their lives and careers, on their own terms! ✨Your ability to pause and reflect, dig deeper into discomfort and inconvenience, and come out on the other side with concrete next steps, have contributed significantly to the transformation you've experienced during our coaching partnership. ✨It's been my privilege to serve as your Coach, and I wish you continued success in all your personal and professional endeavors! ➡ If you want to explore the power of Coaching as a leadership development strategy for you and/or your teams, send me DM and let's talk! #NorthStarAtWork #ReframingLeadership

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I'm Robin, and in this new series, ‘Why Use an Executive Coach’, I'll share how executive coaching can transform your leadership skills. I work with leading companies like Microsoft, Freshfields, and the NHS. My goal? To help leaders communicate better, find clarity in projects, and build confidence. Stay tuned to learn how coaching can help you become a stronger, more effective leader. #ExecutiveCoaching #LeadershipDevelopment #ProfessionalGrowth #LeadershipSkills #Management

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Coaching for Creatives is running a series of Listening Circles for the sector. Not only is it a chance to share thoughts and ideas with peers but it's a chance to learn how to facilitate your own in the future. It's pay what you can and there are three dates - aimed at CEO/ADs, Chairs of boards and Freelancers but we are missing anyone who might benefit, please let me know, we can add more dates if needed. We are offering these because we know people are exhausted, burned out, struggling and feeling isolated. We are also in a period of change which can be unsettling so supporting each other is so important. You aren't going through this alone and speaking about it helps. A Listening Circle provides a safe, guided way to do that ❤️ https://lnkd.in/eFByeYkY #coaching #support #listening #powerful #empathy #directors #chairs #governance #freelancers

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This month's wellness theme at TechChange is *Find Your Spark*, inspired by my colleague Hailey N. and a recent conversation we had around the impact of finding sources of joy (a spark) not only at work but also outside of work, and how doing so can positively influence how we show up at work and in life! Sharing here in case you'd like to join us! Challenge Overview: Discover or reignite a spark in both your work and life outside of work. Embrace moments or activities that bring you joy. Challenge Details: Weekly Themes: Week 1: Work Spark - Set a goal to make progress on a project or task that excites you. Week 2: Life Spark - Take time for an old or explore a new hobby or activity outside of work. Week 3: Gratitude Spark - Write down three things you're grateful for each day. Week 4: Spark Reflection - Reflect on how finding your spark has impacted you! Benefits: Boost your mood, motivation, and creativity. Enhance your sense of fulfillment and well-being. Share Your Journey: If you'd like, share your experiences with us as you move through this challenge. We'd love to hear about what has been bringing you joy at work and in your life! Resources/Ideas: Work Spark: Talk to your manager about projects that you are passionate about. Life Spark: Explore local classes or online resources for new hobbies. Gratitude Spark: Use a gratitude journal or app to track daily moments of gratitude.

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Welcome to the latest instalment of our interview series, Leadership Insights! This month, we had the privilege of speaking with Hannah Williams, a Webby-award winning digital strategist who has been delivering world-class content for companies like the Financial Times, BBC Studios and Channel 4 for the past 20 years and is currently the MD of digital content for Immediate. I first met Hannah many, many years ago when running a presentation skills workshop for the #GoodFood editorial team at BBC Studios. It was clear to me then that Hannah was going to go very far in her career as a leader. She brings a huge amount of authenticity, candidness and an ability to ask the insightful questions that others might overlook. Here’s a glimpse into Hannah’s wisdom: 🌟 Embrace the traits you value outside the office - they’re your biggest assets inside it too. 🌟 Remember, all you have is your conduct. Trust your instincts and let your unique journey shape your success.  🌟 Listening is our greatest tool. Empowering others to think for themselves creates a 'thinking environment' where solutions emerge naturally.  🌟 It's not about imposing our opinions but fostering an atmosphere where deep thinking is encouraged. Inspired by Brené Brown Education and Research Group, Hannah’s insights remind us of the power of leading with authenticity and vulnerability and the importance of nurturing a thinking environment that empowers teams to thrive. Dive deeper and read the full interview here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eWaKYjWW #LeadershipInsights #DigitalStrategy #Empowerment #AuthenticLeadership 

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Seven ways to more responsible innovation! 7️⃣ Here's my suggestions of how organisations of any size or maturity level can ensure the work they are doing is as responsible as possible.  1️⃣ Do upfront market insight work thoroughly to understand the future market.   2️⃣ Develop an architecture for thorough review of projects.  3️⃣ Make sure that it is routine to ask good quality questions and reflect on projects. 4️⃣ Build in failure mechanisms  5️⃣ Ensure diversity of views in every project 6️⃣ Actively encourage knowledge sharing  7️⃣ Build courage and resilience into leadership frameworks Want to read more on these?  Click here to read and subscribe for next time! #responsibleinnovation #innovation #leadership #responsibility Creative Currents; connecting people, culture and innovation https://wix.to/A19CM22

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Its a Trap! 🚨Is product management overly obsessed with perfect? Through coaching and advisory role I have seen the inner workings of LOTS of companies. During this time I have seen behind the scenes of tech firms which IPO’ed, were strategic acquired, raised large sums from VCs, sold to PE and in severe cases closed down. While many companies bought into the ideas of SVPGs Product Operating Model not one recognisably practiced exactly what the books say. OKRs rarely were managed the same way, or formed the same way. Strategic planning typically involved different criteria and dimensions. C-suite or founders had totally different styles and level of involvement in product. Perhaps the ONLY common thing has been the frustration by staff about decisions or resource levels. My point is, the ideology shared by many product thought leaders and many practitioners doesn’t look identical when practiced. Each company is different, mainly because they are full of people and we are all different. Product management needs to stop comparing to the perceived operations of other companies. It’s the same as teenagers unhealthy obsession with the perceived lives of Instagram influencers. Let’s all focus more on your own organisation and how you can make improvements and compare against yesterday not others. As athletes often say “run your own race”. Take the learnings of others, and figure out how to try aspects to improve your performance, but don’t blindly copy! The companies you look at and believe are perfect are definitely not. They are full of policitics, manipulation and silos - they are full of humans.

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✍ Weeknote: 10th - 17th May 2024 Experimenting with public weeknotes again for the first time in a few years... 🌀 Facilitation/ Consulting - Conversation with Anna-Marie Swan and Anton Chernikov about the design of a Self as Ecology session Anna-Marie and I are facilitating at Selgars' Enchanted festival in July (more on that next week, link in comments) - A day spent at a potential venue for an Autumn gathering in North Devon, taking videos, walking the land, building a relationship with the owners - A chat with a client about some support required for their organisation over the next 6 weeks as they grapple with some fairly existential questions (a mix of facilitation, coaching, witnessing and sounding board) *I have facilitation/ consulting capacity at the moment, get in touch if you'd like to explore working together* 🌿 Coaching - 2x chemistry calls and 1x client session - 1x supervision session, mind-expanding. What am I transmitting to the world and potential clients? What are clients coming to me with? Working with spirit and identity. How might I further develop the capabilities of skillful interruptions and inner listening? I'm so, so grateful for this supervision space, I'd be a lesser coach without it. ✍ Writing - I went to Blog Club (the writing accountability group I founded, link below) for the first time in months. I wrote this weeknote. 👯 Chats - Lovely catch up with Matthew McStravick about all things PeopleOps - With Stephen Cho about his org design PhD and ways into organisational design consulting - IRL with Zahra Davidson about life in the South West and the pros and cons of being being highly optimistic people... - With Gwyneth Jones about grief, facilitation and much more - With Rebecca Birch about coaching ethics and co-supervision 🔮 Energy and vibe check - Mood is good after a proper dip the past few weeks, which I do mostly put down to a virus I had and the resulting inflammation. Energy still recovering, though - I'm back to Exeter after a month away. It feels like coming home, which is a shock; it didn't feel like home when I left a month ago - My Dad dug my grandmother's books out of the attic and it was an absolute treasure trove, mostly of late 70s/ early 80s gardening books. The photography is *so* beautiful, see image below. Link to piece of writing about her below 📖 Reading (links below) - The crucial step missing from Theory of Change by Hannah Kowszun MSc - What is designable in organizations? by Stephanie Gioia - Marketing in a Broken World

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Enlightening research report by Saga plc. on the over-50s in the workforce in the UK, aka Generation Experience, valuing their contribution in paid and unpaid employment. "The new research, developed by Saga Insight demonstrates how the over 50s – aka ‘Generation Experience’ – are making a huge, positive economic contribution across a variety of activities, including through paid employment, volunteering, informal caring, ‘grandparenting’, and charitable giving. "The research is part of Saga’s wider strategy to challenge misperceptions about ageing and calls on policy makers and employers to make formal employment more attractive for people over 50." What could, or are, employers doing to support this change, to maximise benefits for both Generation Experience and themselves? https://lnkd.in/eTKXBgKx

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