Better Under Pressure

#7 - Anna Rafferty - Back Yourself

Anna Rafferty is The Lego Group's VP of Digital Consumer Engagement. She leads the Lego Group's direct engagement with consumers of all age groups, which takes many forms, from magazine, publishing, community management and social engagement to digital products like apps and websites, creator programmes and events. She also takes additional responsibility for Digital Child Safety, Rights and Wellbeing in the company.
 
Prior to her experience in The Lego Group, Anna worked as Digital Director at BBC Studios, Director of Product, Content & Creative at Pottermore, and Managing Director at Penguin Books. She is also Chair of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, a Commissioner for the Digital Futures Commission and sits on the Media, Entertainment & Sports Council for the World Economic Forum.
 
In this episode of the Better Under Pressure podcast, we discuss how Anna 'backs herself' in moments of pressure, the power of procrastination, and why she relates to the song 'Surface Pressure' from the Disney film Encanto.

#6 - Cheryl Giovannoni - The Power of a Team

In this episode of Better Under Pressure, I sit down with Cheryl Giovannoni. Cheryl is the CEO of the Girls' Day School Trust, one of the UK's leading charities, taking on the education of over 180,000 girls in 23 schools and two academies across the UK. She leads an organisation of 4,000 team players who dedicate daily to fulfilling their mission of 'helping girls learn without limits.'

In our conversation, we discuss how her team's helped her identify what she needs when she is feeling under pressure. As well as the significance of having a job she genuinely cares about rather than enjoys and why it's become vital to have a team that can, as she puts it, "turn on a dime."

#5 - Fran Boorman - Run Your Own Race

Fran Boorman is an award-winning business leader, having built and exerted a multi-million-pound turnover business while bringing up two young children. Subsequently, Fran launched groundbreaking Goal 17, a mentor training company known for innovative social impact programs. She was voted the UK's number 1 female business influencer by Global Woman and is featured in Forbes and on the BBC. 

Her businesses now partner with some of the biggest global sporting brands, including premier league football clubs and premiership rugby clubs. In addition, she is a non-executive director of several high growth businesses and is currently creating an exciting new technology platform to bring millions of people together in meaningful mentoring partnerships to improve equality.
 
In our conversation, she reveals how she borrows from the lesson she learnt as a semi-professional skier, the importance of surrounding yourself with people who are limitless and how the word "Yes" forced her to become comfortable with being uncomfortable.

#4 - Alan Jones - Progress Rarely Comes from Your Comfort Zone

In this episode of Better Under Pressure, I sit down with Alan Jones, Head Teacher at Fulham Cross Academy in West London. Alan has over 20 years of experience as a teacher, and the last sixteen he's spent as a school leader.

 

I had the pleasure to work with Alan just before the pandemic when he was working at Fulham Cross Girls School, where he invited us to work with the girls on supporting them as they prepared to deal with the pressure of exams.

In our conversation, he talks about the difference between boys' and girls' reactions to dealing with the pressure of exams, anticipating Ofsted and the inexplicable power of an orange tie.

#3 - Nilema Bhakta-Jones - What am I on this Planet to do?

On this episode of Better Under Pressure, I am joined by Nilema Bhakta-Jones, Group General Counsel for Kantar, the world's leading data, insights and consulting company.

Nilema and I first crossed paths at the Courageous Leadership event she founded to fund an education project run by the charity Plan International to continue the education of disadvantaged girls in Zimbabwe, where she was born. She is a qualified Barrister and, in 2020, was named one of the 100 Women to Watch by Cranfield University.

During our chat, she talks about navigating pressure when it feels deeply personal, the strength that she gains from connecting to family legacy and sacrifice, and how the image of a lioness got her through a moment of immense pressure.

#2 - Anabel Hoult - Let It Play Out

In the second episode of "Better Under Pressure", I am joined by Anabel Hoult, CEO of Which?, the UK's most prominent consumer rights organisation. Her experience as a leader across multiple industries, including retail, charity, consumer services and fintech, makes her a natural choice as a guest to speak about pressure and how she handles it.

During our time together, she shares the power of a pen and a piece of paper, what her conversations with herself look like as she heads into high challenge situations, and what it was like to be the first Head Girl in a boys' boarding school.