'I see confidence as something that's rooted in how we feel before any words, something which touches on sensations.'
What do you think of when you think of sports coaching? Elite lean performance machines preparing to break records?
Mike Porteous has competed and coached at elite level as a triathlete, but he believes that coaxing new swimmers from the shallow end is just as important an act of coaching as taking an elite to a new world Ironman time.
His vision of coaching is centred on confidence - and all the messy, emotional reality that surrounds human ambition, at whatever scale. To allow people to go beyond what they believed themselves capable of - in sport and in life - the coach needs to build confidence in three directions: the athlete's confidence in their own ability, the athlete's confidence in the coach, and, crucially, the coach's confidence in themselves.
There's an obvious parallel to the book-writing process, and the slow-burn confidence demanded of authors to grapple the uncertainty and believe that their message is worthwhile. If you're involved in coaching, in whatever capacity, and particularly if you're writing about it, this is for you.
"How do you want your book to make people feel? Start with the feeling and then work your way backwards."
When you're all about creativity, social justice and empowering individuals to transform pain into positive action, how do you design a book launch that reflects that?
Kerry Tottingham rejected the warm white wine option for a radically different book launch event to celebrate the launch of her new book 'Healing-Centred Transformation: Mend, tend and change the future'. This week's podcast is a behind-the-scenes look at how she did it, with insights and advice for anyone planning a book launch of their own.
What does a good working life look like in the 21st century?
Dr Hilary Cottam, OBE has spent the last five years exploring this question through collaborative workshops she calls 'imagininings', involving all sectors of the post-industrial workforce from gravediggers to consultants.
The same resonant themes kept emerging: the need for work that pays the basics, offers meaning, allows space for caring and play, is tied to place, and demands collective, not just individual, change.
She discovered that the challenges we face - technological disruption, ecological crisis and a lack of social justice - together provide the springboard for this change. And in the process of putting it all together into her new book, The Work We Need, she also discovered that writing, like change-making, is a slow, humbling process best done in community.
Profound, challenging, generous, inspiring - and very much worth your listen.
'Every time I interviewed somebody, I said, is there anyone you think I should talk to? And so it had a network effect for me. My network grew with these generous, amazing, thoughtful people.'
Writing a novel can be lonely; writing a thesis can be demanding; writing a business book can be a team effort. Charlotte Otter's done all of these, with a side of journalism, and in this week's podcast we talk about the different approach to those genres, and what she learned about structure and community along the way.
In her new book 'We Need New Leaders: Mastering reputation management to reshape the C-Suite', Charlotte argues that reputation is a powerful tool of advancement too often overlooked by - or unavailable to - people from underrepresented backgrounds. Which means that communications professionals can play a key role as allies for more equitable business.
Listen in for a fresh take on how we can build better business leadership, and how you can write a better business book, too.