Uspire Unlocked

What does it mean to compete at the highest level without losing your humanity? In this gripping episode of Uspire Unlocked, Amanda welcomes Greg Cackett, former pub chef, elite sprinter, three-time Olympian, and Team GB bobsleigh brakeman whose remarkable journey from the village pub to the Olympic ice is a masterclass in resilience, self-belief, and what he calls compassionate competition.Scouted at 21 with no athletics background, Greg rapidly went from an 11.5-second 100m time to racing Usain Bolt at the Diamond League all while being coached by Margot Wells and Linford Christie. After injury redirected his path, he fell in love with bobsleigh and spent the next decade competing at the very top of the sport, reaching three Olympic Games and winning medals at European and World Championship level.Greg shares the raw emotional reality of “near miss grief,” how imposter syndrome showed up even at the Olympic Games, and why compassion, not just kindness, is the bedrock of exceptional leadership and team performance. A must-listen for anyone navigating high-pressure environments.Here are the highlights:00:00 Intro: Meet Greg Cackett, pub chef turned three-time Olympian 01:30 Scouted at 21: from the village pub to the athletics track02:20 Coached by Margot Wells and Linford Christie 03:50 Racing Usain Bolt at the Diamond League Anniversary Games07:00 Injury, setbacks, and the decision to switch to bobsleigh08:30 Why sprinters transfer so well to bobsleigh and what the sport really demands15:00 Imposter syndrome at the Olympic start line and how Greg managed it16:30 Three Olympics: Pyeongchang, Beijing, and Milan Cortina23:00 The concept of “Near Miss Grief” and how it applies to business leaders34:00 What is compassionate competition and why does it matter?40:00 Paul Gilbert’s work on compassion and why Greg finds it life-changing44:00 Advice for leaders: how to build real resilience in teams49:00 Pride, values, and the importance of compassionate bedrock in leadership​About The Uspire Partnership:The Uspire Partnership: Building the future of businessThe Uspire Partnership helps businesses evolve. From start-up, scale-up,to corporate growth, we build ecosystems that empower your organisation,elevate your leaders, and drive lasting transformation.Their collective of specialist brands build confidence, capability, capacity,and connection for companies across the full business lifecycle. Theirfamily includes;Uspire – Leadership and commercial development designed to build capable leaders and high-performing teamsBe Human – Empathy training helping organisations embed human connection into businessEnergise Partners – A growth and transformation partner for scaling businessesBusiness Doctors – Trusted advisors helping small businesses achieve their visionTogether, The Uspire Partnership builds human-led solutions that unlockconfidence, inspire growth and deliver lasting transformation.Connect with The Uspire Partnership:Website: www.theuspirepartnership.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uspire-ltd/ About Greg Cackett:A former pub chef, Greg was talent scouted at an athletics track and began sprinting at 21. After a meteoric rise: signing with Puma, racing Usain Bolt, an injury stalled his progress and he plotted an escape route to bobsleigh. Many medals, British Records and 3 Olympics later, he never looked back. Greg speaks regularly in schools and corporate environments. His subjects range from “Compassionate Competition in leadership” and “high performance” to “resilience, perseverance and finding worth beyond performance.” As his own retirement looms, Greg is looking for a new home in the creative space. As a lifelong writer, he hopes to pivot into Film and TV, books, comedy and beyond.

What does it mean to lead with authenticity, spark engagement through play, and truly unlock both individual and team potential? In this lively episode of Uspire Unlocked, Amanda welcomes Em Stroud, entrepreneur, bestselling author, global speaker, comedian, and coach whose mission is to help the world laugh more, think more, and play more.From selling double glazing at 16 years old to studying theatre in Italy, to coaching high-level executives and performing in a banana suit at TEDx!. Em Stroud shares her vibrant journey. She reveals how reimagining leadership through empathy, joy, and creativity can transform organisations and why laughter and kindness are business-critical, not just “nice-to-haves.”Discover how reframing meetings, embracing different “play styles,” and intentionally building your support system can help leaders foster resilience, happiness, and high performance in a fast-changing world.Here are the highlights:00:00 Intro: Meet Em Stroud, comedian, author, speaker, and fearless advocate for laughter and play in leadership02:17 Fusing performance with executive coaching07:26 Balancing business, team, and clients for mutual success10:08 Why leaders should change seats and challenge meeting norms12:01 Walking meetings and unlocking new thinking13:53 Lighting up the room and reawakening humanity in dark times15:05 Proving the real ROI of play, kindness, and fun at work18:45 Why creativity is the future superpower19:47 How a playful team exercise saved days of meetings and better results23:28 Why every leader needs a support network for growth and resilience27:43 Em Stroud’s core values freedom, fun, curiosity, and kindness30:51 Top tip for leaders: Practice “just being” 2 minutes a day32:42 The pizza of life: Inside Em Stroud’s next bookWhether you’re a seasoned executive or an aspiring leader, this conversation will inspire you to bring more authenticity, creativity, and joy into your leadership journey one slice (and one laugh) at a time.​About The Uspire Partnership:The Uspire Partnership: Building the future of businessThe Uspire Partnership helps businesses evolve. From start-up, scale-up,to corporate growth, we build ecosystems that empower your organisation,elevate your leaders, and drive lasting transformation.Their collective of specialist brands build confidence, capability, capacity,and connection for companies across the full business lifecycle. Theirfamily includes;Uspire – Leadership and commercial development designed to build capable leaders and high-performing teamsBe Human – Empathy training helping organisations embed human connection into businessEnergise Partners – A growth and transformation partner for scaling businessesBusiness Doctors – Trusted advisors helping small businesses achieve their visionTogether, The Uspire Partnership builds human-led solutions that unlockconfidence, inspire growth and deliver lasting transformation.Connect with The Uspire Partnership:Website: www.theuspirepartnership.comLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uspire-ltd/About Em Stroud:Em Stroud is The Comic Coach — a speaker, MC, performer, and bestselling author who helps leaders and teams unlock creativity, resilience, and better performance through play. With over 20 years’ experience across impro, theatre, and leadership development, Em works globally with organisations to build cultures of trust and innovation and a more joyful work place. A two-time TEDx speaker (one as a banana), Em is currently on tour with her new one-woman show, The Em Show. Her podcast ‘Clowning Around Again’ will launch in April this year.Produced by Winter Audio

What does it take to lead with empathy, build high-performing teams, andembrace both the challenges and magic of leadership? In our very firstepisode of Uspire Unlocked, Amanda Downs sits down with Paul Barbour,executive and team coach, certified business psychologist, author, andlead tutor at Henley Business School to share his leadership journey andphilosophies.From growing up during conflict in Northern Ireland, to a thriving career incorporate leadership, to co-authoring one of the leading books on teamcoaching, Paul shares deeply personal lessons in collaboration, the powerof systemic team development, and why real transformation starts withconnecting on a human level. Hear how he helps leaders tap into what’salready within themselves and why “connection before the work” is hismantra for impactful team change.Here are the highlights:00:00 Intro: Welcome to Uspire Unlocked and Paul’s inspiring story04:38 Henley Business School and the inspiration behind his book07:05 Leading “teams of teams” for collaboration across organisations08:10 Coaching the spaces in between12:02 How unmet needs and unspoken issues impact teams andorganisations13:22 Paul’s early leadership moments18:27 Why leaders’ confidence is crucial for development21:07 Paul loves hearing real stories, working with diverse organisations,and human collaboration23:15 Navigating work-life balance, and being purposeful as a leader26:41 Empathy in practice: How to care for others with personal boundaries28:08 Honest conversations and feedback delivered with care33:52 Top tip: Cultivating a “way of being” - transformational leadershipthrough connection, courage, humility, and self-awareness.If you’re inspired by Paul Barbour’s honest reflections on leadership, don’tforget to follow Uspire Unlocked so you never miss an episode.If you’d like to unlock this for yourself, join us for our upcoming webinar:The Leader as a Mentor, on Thursday 12 th February 2026 at 1pm, whenUspire’s Mark Francis will explore why mentoring is a vital leadership skill.You can register for your complimentary place here: https://26700668.hs-sites-eu1.com/leader-as-a-mentor ​About The Uspire Partnership:The Uspire Partnership: Building the future of businessThe Uspire Partnership helps businesses evolve. From start-up, scale-up,to corporate growth, we build ecosystems that empower your organisation,elevate your leaders, and drive lasting transformation.Their collective of specialist brands build confidence, capability, capacity,and connection for companies across the full business lifecycle. Theirfamily includes;Uspire – Leadership and commercial development designed to build capable leaders and high-performing teamsBe Human – Empathy training helping organisations embed human connection into businessEnergize Partners – A growth and transformation partner for scaling businessesBusiness Doctors – Trusted advisors helping small businesses achieve their visionTogether, The Uspire Partnership builds human-led solutions that unlockconfidence, inspire growth and deliver lasting transformation.Connect with The Uspire Partnership:Website: www.theuspirepartnership.com Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uspire-ltd/ About Paul J Barbour:Paul is an executive and team coach, Certified Business Psychologist, andauthor with over 20 years of experience leading businesses at Kerry Groupplc. A writer and speaker with strong interests in human collaboration andconflict resolution, he is also a lead tutor on the Henley ProfessionalCertificate in Team and Systemic Coaching and part of the UK ICF TeamCoaching Working Party.Paul is co-author with Lucy Widdowson of Building Top-Performing Teams:A Practical Guide to Team Coaching to Improve Collaboration and DriveOrganizational Success (Kogan Page, 2021; 2nd edition, 2025), amongother publications including Becoming a Team Coach: The ICF EssentialGuide (2025), with Lucy Widdowson, Jonathan Passmore, and KaterinaKanelidou.Find Paul’s book, Building Top-Performing Teams: A practical guide toteam coaching for organizational success (2 nd Ed) hereConnect with Paul:Linkedin: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/pauljbarbour Produced by Winter Audio

Ready to unlock your leadership potential? UNLOCKED, from The Uspire Partnership, is the podcast for leaders who want to think bigger, lead bolder, and make a real impact.Each episode, we sit down with extraordinary leaders, founders, CEOs, and change-makers to hear the human moments and tough decisions that shaped their journey. No fluff, just real stories, fresh ideas, and insights that will empower your organisation, elevate your leadership, and drive lasting transformation.Leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about unlocking the right ones.Follow Uspire UNLOCKED now and get ready to let your inner leader out. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.