Debbie Airey’s career has been anything but ordinary.

From starting out in telesales to becoming the youngest team leader in the country at Vodafone, Debbie built her career through hard graft, curiosity and a willingness to throw herself into new environments.

In this episode of Success or Excuses, James Fleming sits down with Debbie Airey to explore her journey through sales, leadership, industrial sectors and STEM. Debbie shares how her early experience taught her how to read people, communicate with confidence and develop others through coaching and mentoring.

She also opens up about the darker side of her career, including discrimination, harassment and the behaviours she has seen across different industries. These experiences led her to create Kicking the Door Down, a podcast and platform designed to give people space to talk openly, educate others and support women in STEM and beyond.

James brings his own perspective into the conversation, sharing what he has seen through leadership development, women in construction, male allyship and why real change needs to focus on mindset and behaviour, not just tick-box training.

Key moments include: ✔️ Starting out in telesales and learning how to read the room ✔️ Becoming the youngest team leader in the country at Vodafone ✔️ Moving into industrial sectors and finding a love for engineering environments ✔️ Facing discrimination and harassment throughout her career ✔️ Why silence and lack of support keep bad behaviour alive ✔️ Creating Kicking the Door Down for women in STEM ✔️ Opening conversations around male allyship, menopause and workplace culture ✔️ The problem with tick-box corporate training ✔️ Why core values and boundaries come before authenticity ✔️ Being unapologetically yourself in business and life

Follow James Fleming LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesflemingtpwtd/ Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/successorexcusespodcast YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@SuccessorExcusesPodcast Website → https://thepowerwithintraining.com/

Follow Debbie Airey Podcast → ‘Kicking the Door Down; by Deb Airey on Spotify and Apple LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-airey-43026110/

Company LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/safe-monitoring-group/

Timestamps [00:00] Introduction to Debbie Airey [00:01:00] Debbie’s background and early career in telesales [00:03:10] Learning sales, communication and how to read the room [00:05:20] Working in a traditional office and logistics environment [00:07:00] Moving into Vodafone and becoming a team leader [00:08:00] Developing coaching, mentoring and recruitment skills [00:10:00] Moving into industrial sectors and gas [00:11:00] Recognising discrimination and harassment in the workplace [00:14:10] Why Debbie started Kicking the Door Down [00:16:00] Creating a safe space for women in STEM and beyond [00:18:40] James reflects on women in leadership and construction [00:20:00] Workplace harassment, support and accountability [00:23:00] Conversations that changed Debbie’s perspective [00:28:40] James shares what he has learned from women in leadership [00:30:40] Debbie on being judged differently as a woman at work [00:34:20] Why some men react defensively to being challenged [00:37:40] The problem with tick-box corporate training [00:40:40] James on mindset, behaviour and lasting change [00:41:50] Debbie’s top three pieces of advice [00:46:10] Where to find Debbie and Kicking the Door Down