Episode 37

Ask strategically. How important are questions?

Ben shares some key insights from his Henley Business School Master’s research on the psychology of coaching and behaviour change. What stood out was the power of asking good questions – and that they should arise naturally, not from a rigid framework or book. Tune in as we unpack more about Ben’s ‘aha moments’ from his thesis, the symbiotic relationship between coach and manager, the role of facilitative questions, getting comfortable with silence – and the lowlights of writing 20,000 words.

Get in touch: email Ben: ben@leaderandteam.com email Ian: ian@ianwindle.com

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About the Podcast

Gritty Leaders Podcast

Asking the hard questions of leadership

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About your hosts

Ben Wales

Ben inspires, enables and improves management teams so they become the best in the world at what they do.

Originally a rocket scientist for the UK’s equivalent of NASA Ben pivoted into a 19-year career running and growing scale-up companies in entrepreneurial hotspots London and Stockholm. Today, in his busy leadership and team coaching practice, called Leader&Team, he focuses on elevating and optimising performance in compelling scale-up companies.

Ben is a Masters level executive coach working with entrepreneurial CEOs and their teams, in both PE/VC portfolio and independent companies, during their transformational growth phase.

To stay sharp and relevant Ben researches coaching and behaviour change at Master's degree level at Henley Business School, co-hosts the Gritty Leaders podcast and is authoring forthcoming book 'Is This A Question?'.

Ian Windle

Ian Windle
Ian is an award-winning Leadership and TEDx speaker, Executive Coach and team builder.
He is the author of an Amazon best seller The leadership Map: The gritty guide to strategy that works and people who care. He works with leadership teams on their strategy, vision and
values, as well as developing their capabilities to perform at their peak.
In his first career Ian worked for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in many European capitals and in Asia; this was in a variety of roles from Political Desk Officer, through to Strategic Change Consultant. He then moved into consultancy with Celemi International, where for 10 years he was Managing Director of the UK business and Head of Consulting
globally.
Ian has an MBA from Henley Business School, is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Personnel and Development, has an Executive and Corporate Coach Diploma (ILM7), a
Diploma in Marketing and is an Accredited Belbin Team Roles Facilitator.
He is married with twin daughters and lives near Guildford in Surrey, England.

Fina Charleson

Fina Charleson is a podcast producer and works with the Gritty Leaders through editing the show and distributing it online. Currently based in Sweden and from the UK, she travels and works remotely. With a background in radio production, Fina has been working with entrepreneurs and business owners since 2017 to help them grow their communities through podcasting. In her spare time she’s a keen trail runner, avid reader and makes her own podcast documentaries.