What 60 years of spaceflight can teach us about human performance This week I gave a talk at Airbus in Stevenage on something I find really fascinating: how the demands of human performance have shifted across six decades of spaceflight, and what that means for all of us right now.
Sophie Adenot launched to the ISS last week. I taught her Human Factors in 2023, along with her ESA astronaut classmates, nicknamed 'The Hoppers'. When I saw she'd named her mission Epsilon "small but impactful" it made me think about the small but impactful
This week in Launchpad we worked on self-management, and one of the conversations that kept surfacing was about boundaries, specifically, when to push through and when to say no. It's a genuine dilemma for most professionals, particularly those in technical or engineering roles. You've been rewarded
It’s the first proper week back at work for a lot of people, including me, and I know I’ve found it hard to get stuck in again! If the conversations I’ve been having are anything to go by, many of the problems people are dealing with at
When you run your own business, no one hands you an annual review. So this week, prompted by a group of business buddies, I sat down and did something I don't do often enough: I looked back on the year. The milestones, the highs, the lows, both professional
Last week I ran my Courageous Leadership workshop with Dallas Campbell. I’ve just got the photos back, and they capture the day perfectly… a room full of people willing to look at what courageous leadership means in their lives and work. Together we explored: • having braver, values-led conversations • stepping
It’s been busy this week. The kind of busy where you’re absolutely exhausted, but in a good way, so I'm not complaining! A whirlwind of Christmas shows and pantomimes for the kids… and, for me, a whirlwind of work too. On Tuesday I ran my Courageous
I had a very funny moment this week. You know those unboxing videos that are everywhere on social media? Perfect lighting, fancy knife gliding through tape, immaculate nails delicately lifting a lid… Well, I tried to do one. For the new notepads, pens, postcards, and the special Christmas gift I’
You know when something unexpected lands in your inbox (or LinkedIn feed) and it gives you that little lift you didn’t realise you needed? That was my Monday this week. One of my LaunchPad members, Rebecca, posted the most thoughtful, heartfelt message about her experience on the programme, completely
This week I spoke at the MilSatCom’s Women’s Forum, where the conversations centred around what it means to lead in environments where things are rarely straightforward. Different roles, different organisations, but very similar challenges: complex work, shifting expectations, people relying on you even when you don’t have
We often think of leadership in quite stereotypical ways… CEOs, world leaders, military officers (or maybe that’s just me?). You know the pose: arms folded, power suit on, looking serious. But last week I was putting together a session on leadership for my Launchpad community, and as I searched
This month in my Launchpad programme, we’ve been digging into leadership, but not the corporate, hierarchical kind most people think of. We’ve been talking about: • Leaders we actually admire (and those we don’t) • Informal leadership and taking initiative without a title • What it means to lead yourself