S3 EP4: The Power of Not Taking It Personally, with Amanda Lennon

Host: Julie Williams MSc - Executive Coach & Founder of Lighting Fires Guest: Amanda Lennon - HR Consultant, Employment Lawyer and Founder of Astralis HR In this episode of The Lighting Fires Podcast, supported by Henley Business School, Julie is joined by Amanda Lennon for an honest conversation about courage, resilience, confidence and navigating a successful career on your own terms. Amanda shares her journey from employment law into senior HR leadership, becoming the only woman on a board at just 29 years old. After a successful corporate career, she went on to launch her own consultancy business, Astralis HR. Along the way, she has navigated challenges around confidence, rejection, identity and balancing an ambitious career with family life. Together, Julie and Amanda reflect on the coaching journey that helped Amanda build resilience, manage difficult situations more effectively and develop the confidence to bring more of her authentic self into the workplace. Julie and Amanda discuss: Building confidence and personal impact in leadership roles  Being a young female leader in a male-dominated environment  Managing difficult conversations and workplace conflict  Resilience, redundancy and bouncing back from setbacks  Why business decisions are rarely personal  The role of values in career decisions and workplace culture  Imposter syndrome and learning to trust your own abilities  Taking calculated risks and having the courage to try new things  Moving from corporate leadership into self-employment and consulting  The importance of lifelong learning and staying open to new perspectives  Amanda also shares some of the practical techniques that helped her step back from emotionally charged situations, gain perspective and approach challenging conversations with greater calm and confidence. This episode is a thoughtful and encouraging conversation for anyone facing a career crossroads, building confidence in leadership, or wondering how to navigate challenges without losing sight of who they are. If you're interested in working with Julie please contact her at [email protected], or  Julie Williams MSc. (nee Walls) | LinkedIn or through her website here. And if you're interested in developing your coaching skills, Julie highly recommends the Professional Certificate in Executive Coaching at Henley Business School, a programme grounded in research, with a strong focus on practical application and real-world impact. To find out more, visit Henley Business School. To find out more about the Insights Discovery psychometric tool, visit Insights Discovery. Connect with Julie Website: lightingfires.co.uk Email: [email protected]: Julie Williams MSc  If you found this episode helpful, please leave a five-star rating and review, it helps more listeners discover these real-world leadership stories and coaching insights. Artwork by Ian Guppy | Music by Penguin Music via Pixabay | Produced by Perri Hurley