
Leading Professional People
Claim This Podcastby Laura Empson
Podcast Overview
<p>Welcome to Leading Professionals. </p><p>Join Professor Laura Empson as she talks to senior leaders from some of the world’s most successful professional organisations about the crucial issues they are currently facing.</p><p>Each episode reveals the realities that lie beneath the ‘professional’ veneer these highly successful organisations, and their leaders, present to the outside world. </p><p>Laura uses insights from her lifetime of researching and advising professional organisations to uncover and make sense of the complex, messy and surprisingly emotional challenges of leading professionals, and to identify key learning for all professionals.</p><p>If you are a professional in a leadership role – or if you simply want to understand your work and your organisation better – then you have come to the right place. Be ready to explore new ideas, challenge your assumptions, and learn to see your world a little differently.</p><p>Click the subscribe button and to be the first to get episodes of Leading Professionals as soon as they drop.</p><p> </p><p><strong>About Professor Laura Empson</strong></p><p>Laura is widely recognised as one of the foremost thinkers in the fields of leadership and professional service firms. She has been conducting academic research into professional organizations for more than 30 years and acts as an advisor to the leaders of many of the world’s most successful professional organizations. Her focus is always on turning academic insights into practical action.</p><p>She is Professor in the Management of Professional Service Firms at Bayes Business School, University of London, and Professor of Leadership and Organization at Copenhagen Business School. She also holds Research Fellowships at Harvard Law School and Cambridge University. Her most recent book is Leading Professionals: Power, Politics, and Prima Donnas (2022).</p><br><p>Website: <a href="https://www.lauraempson.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.lauraempson.com/</a></p><p>Youtube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@LeadingProfessionals" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/@LeadingProfessionals</a></p><p>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/professor-laura-empson-69820773/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/professor-laura-empson-69820773/</a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
12/17/2020
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Recent Episodes

December 1, 2025
S4 EP6 - Leading Complex Change: Breaking Through Practical Barriers and Political Resistance
<p><strong>Guest: Dame Emily Lawson</strong>, formerly COO, <strong>NHS</strong> England, and Head of <strong>Number 10's</strong> Delivery Unit</p><br><p>Emily has considerable experience of leading change in complex professional organisations, including leading the initial rollout of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_vaccine" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">COVID-19 vaccine</a> programme across the UK. </p><br><p>Laura asks: How do you manage to not be overwhelmed by complexity or discouraged by failure? How do you bring the right team together and deal with covert resistance?</p><br><p>Website: <a href="https://www.lauraempson.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.lauraempson.com/</a></p><p>YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@LeadingProfessionals" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/@LeadingProfessionals</a></p><p>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/professor-laura-empson-69820773/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/professor-laura-empson-69820773/</a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

November 17, 2025
S4 EP5 - Becoming "Professional": How to Look, Sound, Act and Feel like a Professional
<p><strong>Guest:</strong> <strong>Paul Lewis</strong>, Firmwide Managing Partner of <strong>Linklaters</strong></p><br><p>If you do not fit the conventional image of an elite professional, how do you persuade others that you are, and how do you learn to feel like one? </p><br><p>Paul and Laura discuss his own very personal experiences of “becoming professional”. What can be done to help people from non-professional backgrounds to thrive within elite professional organisations?</p><br><p>Website: <a href="https://www.lauraempson.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.lauraempson.com/</a></p><p>YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@LeadingProfessionals" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/@LeadingProfessionals</a></p><p>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/professor-laura-empson-69820773/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/professor-laura-empson-69820773/</a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

November 3, 2025
S4 EP4 - Considering the Future: How AI and Private Equity Will Change Professionals' Work
<p>Guest: Michael Izza CBE, CEO (former) of ICAEW</p><br><p>For almost 20 years, Michael led the ICAEW, with more than 200,000 members in almost 150 countries. </p><br><p>So he has a distinctively long-term and global perspective on the accounting profession. </p><br><p>Focusing on the interrelated changes of Gen AI and PE ownership, Laura and Michael explore: What is already happening and what changes lie ahead?</p><br><p>Website: <a href="https://www.lauraempson.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.lauraempson.com</a></p><p>YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@LeadingProfessionals" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/@LeadingProfessionals</a></p><p>LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/professor-laura-empson-69820773/</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
27 total episodes available with 3 transcripts
Recent guests on Leading Professional People
Guests from recent episodes — sign up to see every guest that has ever appeared on this show.
David Bickford
Guest
Katherine White
Guest
Gianpiero Petriglieri
Guest
June Sarpong OBE
Guest
Chris Saul
Guest
Steve Varley
Guest
Lord Hall
Guest
Russ Hagey
Guest
Brooke Harrington
Guest
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- What is Leading Professional People?
<p>Welcome to Leading Professionals. </p><p>Join Professor Laura Empson as she talks to senior leaders from some of the world’s most successful professional organisations about the crucial issues they are currently facing.</p><p>Each episode reveals the realities that lie beneath the ‘professional’ veneer these highly successful organisations, and their leaders, present to the outside world. </p><p>Laura uses insights from her lifetime of researching and advising professional organisations to uncover and make sense of the complex, messy and surprisingly emotional challenges of leading professionals, and to identify key learning for all professionals.</p><p>If you are a professional in a leadership role – or if you simply want to understand your work and your organisation better – then you have come to the right place. Be ready to explore new ideas, challenge your assumptions, and learn to see your world a little differently.</p><p>Click the subscribe button and to be the first to get episodes of Leading Professionals as soon as they drop.</p><p> </p><p><strong>About Professor Laura Empson</strong></p><p>Laura is widely recognised as one of the foremost thinkers in the fields of leadership and professional service firms. She has been conducting academic research into professional organizations for more than 30 years and acts as an advisor to the leaders of many of the world’s most successful professional organizations. Her focus is always on turning academic insights into practical action.</p><p>She is Professor in the Management of Professional Service Firms at Bayes Business School, University of London, and Professor of Leadership and Organization at Copenhagen Business School. She also holds Research Fellowships at Harvard Law School and Cambridge University. Her most recent book is Leading Professionals: Power, Politics, and Prima Donnas (2022).</p><br><p>Website: <a href="https://www.lauraempson.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.lauraempson.com/</a></p><p>Youtube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@LeadingProfessionals" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/@LeadingProfessionals</a></p><p>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/professor-laura-empson-69820773/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/professor-laura-empson-69820773/</a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p> - How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates inactive.
- Where can I listen to this podcast?
This podcast is available on 2 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
- Does this podcast accept guests?
Information about guest appearances is not available.
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