Leadership isn’t always smooth sailing, but great leaders learn to navigate rough waters. On each episode of ‘Who’s Steering This Thing?’, we bring aboard a leader to chat about the challenges they’ve faced and what anchors they’ve used to weather their leadership storms.
Hosted by Martin Osler, Partner and Chief People Officer, and Jude Lean, Senior Manager in Talent and Learning, this podcast from Johnston Carmichael discusses what it really means to lead, sharing real-life stories, lessons learned, and new perspectives that listeners can apply to their own lives and careers.
Visit our website at www.johnstoncarmichael.com for more insights from our sharp minds.
In this episode Peter explains how he prioritised quality at Gleneagles by turning the hotel management structure upside down and empowering his teams with the authority to turn the customer experience into what it needed to be. He discusses why hiring for personality is key, and what it was like to lead through crisis as Chair of VisitScotland.
1 Dec 2025
Stuart Common: The scoop on leadership
Stuart Common, Managing Director at ice cream brand (and JC client) Mackie’s of Scotland, joins this episode of Who’s Steering This Thing? to discuss how he’s leading a family business through growth and change – without losing its heart.
3 Nov 2025
Kath Tetley: Lions and otters and beavers, oh my!
In this episode of Who’s Steering This Thing?, Kath talks to our hosts Martin and Jude about how an understanding of people is the foundation of every successful team; whether you’re part of it or leading it.
1 Oct 2025
Anton Colella: Character counts
In this episode of Who’s Steering This Thing?, Anton and our hosts Martin and Jude discuss what’s at the heart of good leadership: self-awareness, the ability to reflect, and helping people to fulfil their potential. From Anton’s personal experience on how to lead through a crisis, to balancing introversion and extroversion, to the impact of language and tone, this conversation runs the gamut on how to be a leader people want to follow.
17 Sept 2025
James Kerr: Leading with legacy
James Kerr quite literally wrote the book on leadership.An expert on leadership and cultural strategy, his best-selling book 'Legacy' delves into the world's most successful sports team, the New Zealand All Blacks, and what's at the root of their success. One of the most influential books of the last decade, Legacy explores 15 lessons on leadership and business that anyone can apply.In this bonus episode of 'Who's Steering This Thing?', James talks all things leadership, culture, and high performance, drawing on his work with organisations like Google and Formula One, sharing stories from his time with the All Blacks and what he learned from the team there, and discussing the time he spent at Everest Base Camp with the Gurkhas in 2017.James discusses the importance of focusing on the person and not just the player, how to create a culture in which people can flourish with ‘the four Rs’, and the role of connection and cohesion in teams. He also shares his expertise on a myriad of other leadership challenges - the balance between frameworks and autonomy, why being uncomfortable is necessary, the process of reflection for personal and team growth, and how you bounce back when things don’t go to plan.It's a fascinating conversation with our hosts Martin and Jude, and we can promise there’ll be a new lesson or mantra you can take away from it. Visit our website at www.johnstoncarmichael.com for more insights from our sharp minds and to find out more about what we do as a UK firm of chartered accountants and business advisers.
1 Sept 2025
Mary Galbraith: Goals and game plans
In this episode, our hosts Martin Osler and Jude Lean are joined by a guest who not only leads, but teaches leaders – Mary Galbraith. Currently the Programme Director at the University of Strathclyde Business School, Mary designs and facilitates executive education programmes.
From her roots on a farm in the west coast of Scotland to the boardrooms of international consulting firms, Mary has worn many hats – consultant, changemaker, strategist, adviser. She was also the inaugural Chair of the new Scottish Women’s Premier League – a role she still held at the time of filming this episode, with her three-year term completing in June 2025.
Mary discusses her role as Chair, and the importance of sport and the lessons it teaches about leadership and teamwork. She also shares what she’s learned about how to make real change and why asking better questions might be the most underused superpower in the workplace.
And as a bonus? As well as Mary’s sharp insights on leadership, you might just pick up some gardening tips too…!
Visit our website at www.johnstoncarmichael.com for more insights from our sharp minds and to find out more about what we do as a UK firm of chartered accountants and business advisers.
31 Jul 2025
Anurag Rai: Why not me?
One of the UK’s most sought-after leadership coaches; a best-selling author; an organisational psychologist; a business founder; a former accountant; a former restaurateur – Anurag Rai’s career experience is remarkable. What’s even more remarkable, is the story of how he achieved all of this after losing everything.
In this inspiring episode, Anurag explains how he started out with £100 and a dream of owning a restaurant business – a dream he accomplished, until bad luck struck. Finding himself at rock bottom and asking, “Why me?”, Anurag faced a choice: give up, or shift perspective. So he decided to change his question to, “Why not me?” – and rebuild.
Driven by his mission to positively impact one billion lives, Anurag has spent years developing his expertise in psychology, leadership, and high performance. His conversation with our hosts explores the mindset behind resilience, the power of reframing failure, the importance of human connection in leadership, and what it really takes to lead well.
Whether you're leading a team or leading yourself through change, this is a story – and a conversation – you won't want to miss.
Find out more about Anurag’s businesses, Superhuman In You and AMHWAL Academy, and his books, on his websites below:
Superhuman In You - www.superhumaninyou.com – executive coaching for leaders.
AMHWAL Academy - AMHWAL Academy - one of the leading training providers in Scotland for Mental Health, Wellbeing and Leadership Development.
Books by Anurag Rai:
‘The Power Within’
‘Leading with Human Quotient’
‘Mind 2.0’
‘How To Become The Best Version of You’
‘Organisational Compass’ (coming soon)
Visit our website at www.johnstoncarmichael.com for more insights from our sharp minds and to find out more about what we do as a UK firm of chartered accountants and business advisers.
30 Jun 2025
Lynne Walker: In at the deep end
Chief Executive Lynne Walker discusses building resilience and leading through challenging life moments, including her husband's cancer diagnosis and the COVID-19 pandemic, in an interview with Martin Osler and Jude Lean.
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