Recommended Episodes

• Ep61: What It Takes to Lead in the Boardroom Today with Shefaly Yogendra
• Ep62: Sustainable Success at Work Starts with Being Human with Dr. Emma Waddington
• Ep63: Leading Through Uncertainty Without Losing Yourself with Sally Henderson

What happens when leaders are expected to deliver commercial results while navigating increasing scrutiny, complexity, and competing expectations? In this episode of Human Wise, Helen Wada is joined by leadership advisor, coach, and author Kate Adams to explore how leaders can remain human when the pressure is relentless.

Drawing on two decades of experience across business, technology, innovation, and the social sector, Kate shares insights from her book Accountability Under Fire. Together, Helen and Kate discuss why leadership today is no longer about having all the answers. Instead, it requires curiosity, courage, and the ability to hold space for different perspectives while making difficult decisions.

This is a thoughtful conversation for leaders seeking to balance performance, accountability, and humanity in an increasingly complex world.

Topics Discussed

• What it means to be human at work under pressure
• Why leadership complexity is increasing
• The relationship between accountability and scrutiny
• How curiosity and listening improve decision-making
• Leading yourself before leading others
• Understanding stakeholders and systems thinking
• Balancing commercial performance with societal impact
• Why awareness creates better leadership
• The importance of holding different perspectives
• Creating space between stimulus and response

View extended shownotes here

Further links to follow:

Read HUMAN-WISE: How to lead from within and sell with confidence

Helen Wada: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/helen-wada

The Human Advantage: https://www.thehumanadvantage.co.uk/

Recommended Episodes

• Ep45: Human-Centred Leadership & Resilience – How to Build Sustainable High Performance with Lisa Boyd
• Ep61: What It Takes to Lead in the Boardroom Today with Shefaly Yogendra
• Ep62: Sustainable Success at Work Starts with Being Human with Dr. Emma Waddington

What happens when uncertainty becomes the norm rather than the exception? In this episode of Human Wise, Helen Wada is joined by high-stakes leadership mentor, speaker, and author Sally Henderson to explore what it takes to lead, perform, and thrive when pressure never seems to let up.

Drawing on 25 years of experience working with senior leaders and executive teams, Sally shares why many traditional leadership approaches have not kept pace with the realities of today's world. Together, Helen and Sally explore the importance of boundaries, identity, recovery, and self-awareness, and why sustainable performance starts with understanding not just how you lead, but how you live.

This is a thought-provoking conversation for leaders, founders, commercial professionals, and anyone navigating uncertainty while trying to stay true to themselves.

Topics Discussed

• Why uncertainty has become a permanent feature of leadership
• The relationship between personal identity and professional identity
• Why boundaries are essential for sustainable performance
• The difference between purpose and action
• How leaders can reframe high-stakes situations
• The role of emotional awareness and embodied leadership
• Using breath, reflection, and recovery to improve performance
• Why rhythm matters more than time management
• Balancing commercial success with personal wellbeing
• How trust, courage, and energy shape high-performance leadership

View extended shownotes here

Further links to follow:

Read HUMAN-WISE: How to lead from within and sell with confidence

Helen Wada: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/helen-wada

The Human Advantage: https://www.thehumanadvantage.co.uk/

Recommended Episodes

• Ep45: Human-Centred Leadership & Resilience – How to Build Sustainable High Performance with Lisa Boyd
• Ep59: We Cannot Leave Meaning to Machines with Kate O’Neill
• Ep61: What It Takes to Lead in the Boardroom Today with Shefaly Yogendra

What happens when high performance becomes unsustainable? In this episode of Human Wise, Helen Wada is joined by clinical psychologist and founder of Us Therapy, Dr. Emma Waddington, to explore the growing tension between commercial success and human wellbeing in today’s workplace.

Drawing on years of experience supporting leaders, teams, and high-performing professionals in Singapore, Emma shares why burnout, anxiety, and overwhelm are becoming increasingly common in modern organisations. Together, Helen and Emma unpack why human-centred leadership is no longer optional, how trust and psychological safety shape performance, and why rest, reflection, and connection are essential for sustainable success.

This is a powerful conversation for leaders, commercial teams, and organisations navigating pressure, change, and the growing complexity of modern work.

Topics Discussed

• Why burnout and overwhelm are increasing in modern workplaces
• The connection between high performance and psychological safety
• How leaders create cultures where people can speak up
• Balancing commercial success with human-centred leadership
• The importance of reset, reflection, and deliberate rest
• How trust shapes customer relationships and team performance
• Why listening is one of the most underrated business skills
• AI, relationships, and the future of human connection at work
• How identity, belonging, and purpose influence wellbeing
• Why sustainable success requires both performance and humanity

View extended shownotes here

Further links to follow:

Read HUMAN-WISE: How to lead from within and sell with confidence

Helen Wada: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/helen-wada

The Human Advantage: https://www.thehumanadvantage.co.uk/

Recommended Episodes

• Ep43: Finding Your Voice in Leadership – The Human Advantage of Conscious Communication with Alan Robertson
• Ep57: Curiosity as Competitive Advantage – How Leaders Stay Relevant in the Age of AI with David Feavearyear
• Ep59: We Cannot Leave Meaning to Machines with Kate O’Neill

What does it really take to lead in today’s boardroom? In this episode of Human Wise, Helen Wada is joined by Shefaly Yogendra, experienced independent board director, governance adviser, and author of Uncharted Spaces: Reset the Agenda. Reimagine the Boardroom. Together they explore the growing complexity leaders face as organisations navigate AI, uncertainty, competing priorities, and long-term stewardship.

This conversation goes beyond governance frameworks and compliance checklists. Shefaly shares why curiosity, patience, courage, and self-awareness are becoming critical leadership capabilities in modern boardrooms. As organisations face increasingly uncharted territory, this episode explores how leaders can strengthen judgement, improve decision-making, and bring more humanity into the conversations shaping the future.

Topics Discussed:

• What it means to lead in today’s boardroom
• Why curiosity and patience are essential leadership skills
• The importance of knowing yourself as a leader
• Governance, stewardship, and long-term value creation
• How leaders navigate competing priorities and agendas
• Why conversational skills shape better decision-making
• The risks of cognitive outsourcing in the age of AI
• Creating more inclusive and future-focused boardrooms
• How observation, reflection, and listening improve leadership

View extended shownotes here

Further links to follow:

Read HUMAN-WISE: How to lead from within and sell with confidence

Helen Wada: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/helen-wada

The Human Advantage: https://www.thehumanadvantage.co.uk/

Recommended Episodes

• Ep56: The Human Side of Sales with Jim Bloomfield
• Ep57: Curiosity as Competitive Advantage with David Feavearyear
• Ep59: We Cannot Leave Meaning to Machines with Kate O’Neill

What if the reason so many professionals struggle with sales is not capability, but how it has been taught? In this episode of Human Wise, Helen Wada is joined by Rachel Harrison, IP lawyer and founder of Your IP, to explore why business development feels uncomfortable for so many experts and how that can change.

After more than 20 years in law firms, Rachel stepped away to build her own business and discovered something unexpected. Sales did not have to feel forced or transactional. Instead, it could be human, relationship-led and even enjoyable. Together, they unpack how professionals can shift their mindset, build confidence and develop business in a way that feels authentic and aligned.

This is a powerful conversation for anyone in professional services, leadership or sales who has ever thought, this is not me.

Topics Discussed:

• Why sales feels uncomfortable for technical experts
• The gap in sales and leadership training in professional services
• Reframing business development as human connection
• How confidence grows through action and coaching
• The role of mindset, identity and self-belief in sales
• Why relationships and referrals drive sustainable growth
• The impact of AI on technical roles and human differentiation
• How leaders can retain talent by changing how sales is taught

View extended shownotes here

Further links to follow:

Read HUMAN-WISE: How to lead from within and sell with confidence

Helen Wada: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/helen-wada

The Human Advantage: https://www.thehumanadvantage.co.uk/

Recommended Episodes

• Ep41: Reimagining Success Through Kindness, Connection, and Core Human Skills with Natalie Semmes
• Ep50: What Is Your Shadow at Work and Why Does It Matter?
• Ep54: Becoming Unapologetically You – Embracing Growth, Discomfort, and Authentic Leadership with Alison Maitland & Liz Walker

In a world racing toward automation, what does it truly mean to be human at work?

In this powerful and timely episode of Human Wise, Helen Wada sits down with tech humanist, author, and TEDx speaker Kate O’Neill to explore the evolving relationship between artificial intelligence and human meaning. As organizations invest heavily in AI and automation, Kate challenges us to pause and ask a deeper question: what human outcomes are we protecting as we scale technology?

Drawing on insights from her latest book What Matters Next and her TEDx talk We Cannot Leave Meaning to Machines, Kate shares why contextual awareness, emotional intelligence, and good judgment are becoming even more critical in an AI-driven world. Together, Helen and Kate explore the tension leaders feel between speed and reflection, efficiency and ethics, automation and authenticity.

This conversation is not about resisting technology. It is about leading it wisely. It is about ensuring that meaning, purpose, and human connection remain firmly in the driver’s seat.

Topics Discussed:

• What it means to be a “tech humanist”
• Why AI is forcing us to redefine human value at work
• The human skills that cannot be automated
• Why investment in people is lagging behind investment in technology
• The Now–Next Continuum and disciplined reflection
• Using AI as a thinking partner rather than a replacement
• Meaning as the core human skill
• Purpose, values, and the power of meaningful questions
• Unhiding at work and bringing your whole self into professional spaces
• Why AI’s “averaging effect” makes human quirkiness more valuable than ever

About Kate O'Neil

Kate is the founder of KO Insights, helping leaders and organizations make future-ready, meaningful, and ethical decisions about technology and innovation. She’s a former digital strategist for Netflix and early Google, and the author of 6 books, 4 of which are in tech and business including Tech Humanist and What Matters Next.

• About page: https://www.koinsights.com/about-kate/*
• LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/kateoneill*
• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_O'Neill_(author)

View extended shownotes here

Further links to follow:

Read HUMAN-WISE: How to lead from within and sell with confidence

Helen Wada: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/helen-wada

The Human Advantage: https://www.thehumanadvantage.co.uk/

Recommended Episodes

• Ep43: Finding Your Voice in Leadership – The Human Advantage of Conscious Communication with Alan Robertson
• Ep45: Building Sustainable High Performance – The Power of Human-Centred Leadership and Resilience with Lisa Boyd
• Ep57: Curiosity as Competitive Advantage – How Leaders Stay Relevant in the Age of AI with David Feavearyear

What does it really mean to support people in bringing their humanity to work? In this episode of Human Wise, Helen Wada is joined by George Gabriel, co-founder of The Dad Shift, a UK campaign mobilising fathers to advocate for better paternity leave and greater gender equality in the workplace.

Together they explore how fatherhood, leadership and workplace culture intersect. George shares his perspective on why supporting fathers at work is not just a social issue but a leadership and organisational one. From challenging outdated policies to encouraging men to actively participate in equality conversations, this episode highlights how workplaces can evolve to better support families while strengthening performance and trust.

At the heart of the discussion is a powerful idea: when organisations enable people to show up as human beings, not just employees, everyone benefits.

Topics Discussed

• The evolving role of fathers in modern workplaces
• Why paternity leave policies matter for equality and performance
• The connection between leadership, trust and human-centred workplaces
• The impact of parenthood on leadership perspective and decision making
• How workplace culture shapes gender equality
• The barriers organisations face when implementing flexible working
• Why supporting fathers benefits businesses as well as families
• Turning conversations about equality from zero-sum to win-win outcomes

View extended shownotes here

Further links to follow:

Read HUMAN-WISE: How to lead from within and sell with confidence

Helen Wada: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/helen-wada

The Human Advantage: https://www.thehumanadvantage.co.uk/

Recommended Episodes

• Ep43: Finding Your Voice in Leadership: The Human Advantage of Conscious Communication with Alan Robertson
• Ep44: Blending Commerciality with Humanity: How to Work with Procurement with Steve Day
• Ep56: The Human Side of Sales: Psychometrics, Authenticity and Sustainable Commercial Growth with Jim Bloomfield

What does it take to stay relevant in a world where technology is accelerating faster than ever? In this episode of Human Wise, Helen Wada is joined by David Feavearyear, commercial leader, Chief Procurement Officer at Liberty Global, and MD of Procurement Solutions at Liberty Bloom. Together, they explore the intersection of strategy, AI, leadership and human capability.

Drawing on over 25 years of experience across commercial negotiation, procurement and enterprise technology, David shares why curiosity, long-term thinking and human judgement are becoming the true competitive differentiators. As AI increasingly handles technical and repeatable tasks, leaders must double down on the human layer. This conversation challenges leaders to rethink relevance, resilience and the way they create sustainable commercial value.

Topics Discussed

• What it means to stay relevant in the age of AI
• The difference between hard skills and human skills
• Why curiosity drives commercial growth and leadership impact
• Balancing short-term shareholder pressure with long-term strategy
• How AI creates efficiency but not connection
• Building trust in hybrid commercial relationships
• Creating space for thinking in high-pressure environments
• The link between leadership, sales and sustainable growth

View extended shownotes here

Further links to follow:

Read HUMAN-WISE: How to lead from within and sell with confidence

Helen Wada: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/helen-wada

The Human Advantage: https://www.thehumanadvantage.co.uk/