In this episode, James and Mark chat to the woman known as ‘The Business Motivator.’ Susannah Brade-Waring is a renowned and trusted business advisor and coach for SME businesses. A member of the global business coaching platform, Mindshop, Susannah recently received the coveted Value to Others award for European advisors.
She started out with a Master’s degree in IT from Loughborough University before becoming a Director of a start-up business, where she helped the ‘non-family’ family business build to a £10m turnover before facilitating a management buyout (MBO) in 2008. Susannah notes that for many business founders, their company is their baby; an expression of what they want in life. As it was important to her father to know the people would be looked after, Susannah stayed to facilitate the MBO. She’s honest about what drives her; what a ‘non-family’ family business looks like; and the realities of having to work harder than everyone else to prove yourself within one.
Susannah then moved on to found her own advisory business, Aspirin Business Solutions, which focuses on equipping and energising leaders, HR professionals and coaches to build stronger businesses and teams.
One of Susannah’s key specialisms is Motivational Maps, which provide a comprehensive understanding of motivation in business – what it is, how to measure it and, most importantly, how to improve it. She also discusses the difference between Motivational Maps and psychometric testing.
She chats to James and Mark about her own desire to learn what motivates her team, and how to engage best with them. She acknowledges that our motivations are linked to our beliefs, which can change during our course of life. She also notes the importance of recognising that everyone has ‘stuff’ going on, and if you get a reflection of their ‘stuff’, don’t take it personally! They also discuss growth mindsets and working on emotional intelligence and development, which she admits didn’t come naturally, and how to develop this as a skill set. Susannah is an example of the heights you can achieve by developing your unconscious competence.
With real life stories of owners and managers of businesses Susannah has worked with, her insights include fascinating reference points, such as Netflix’s open and honest leave and expenses policies, and the analogy of ‘one ring to rule them all.’ This is a conversation not to be missed!
You can learn more about the work Susannah does by visiting her website here and about Motivational Maps here.
Show notes: Susannah Brade-Waring LinkedIn profile. Stephen R Covey ‘7 habits of highly effective people’ website. Michael E Gerber ‘E-myths Revisited’ website. Robert Cialdini ‘The Influence’ website. Ricardo Sembler website.
Time stamps:
2:37 – Susannah’s background
16:07 – Motivational Maps: 22:34 – How do Motivational Maps differ from psychometric testing?
37:57 – Practical examples of how someone might increase their motivation levels
General Coaching:
54:24 – Common habits or behaviours running through the best performers
54:48 – What do you see as the biggest issues to overcome over the next year or so.
Listen here!