Celebrating our partnership with Life & Leadership, a Newstalk podcast with some powerful takeaways so far
We hope you’re enjoying this season of Life & Leadership with Bobby Kerr, a Newstalk podcast we’re proud to be partnering with. Through insightful conversations with some of Ireland’s influential entrepreneurs, Bobby explores the human side of business – highlighting the role of purpose and guidance in both professional and personal life planning. There are some compelling takeaways that might speak to your own journey of life and leadership.
1. How storytelling builds trust
First up, Bobby sat with Mark Little, seasoned journalist-turned-entrepreneur to discuss leadership and navigating challenging circumstances. A consistent theme throughout was the role of storytelling in building trust.
From his initial days leading a team to building a business with his co-founder, Mark’s focus on building trust, in his words, “opened up a freedom and confidence that meant we made all the right decisions even in difficult times.” Tapping into his craft, Mark used storytelling to build empathy, recognising the importance of a simple, consistent message and an authentic approach. Speaking about leading in a period of uncertainty at Twitter “I realised the job of a leader in those situations is to tell people an honest-to-God story about why they should stay. You can only be excited about the challenge once; you’ve got to get up every week for the next six months and have a story.”
The takeaway for financial advisers:
- Financial decisions are rarely made through pure logic; they are deeply emotional, influenced by personal experience, fears, aspirations, and the narratives people create about money and security over time.
- For many people, retirement is an emotional crossroads. It represents freedom but also uncertainty. While focussing on the financial facts is important, clients need a compelling and reassuring story about what their future holds to ensure they feel confident in the different choices that are needed along the planning journey Advisers who craft a clear, consistent message for their clients – grounded in both financial strategy and a human story – will build trust and empower clients to make confident purpose-driven decisions along the planning journey
2. How to answer ‘Who am I’ when there’s a blank script?
Bobby’s conversation with inspirational athlete and researcher Mark Pollock explored the theme of identity and navigating change in a profound way. Mark talked about his approach to rebuilding his sense of self when ‘there’s a blank script’. After losing his sight in his early twenties, Mark used his blindness as motivation. He became the first blind person to race to the South Pole and forged a new path as an adventure athlete and motivational speaker. But a tragic accident in 2010 left him paralysed and forced him to confront the question once again, ‘Who am I now when there’s a blank script? How am I going to move forward, from here?’ His answer was to take inventory of the life lessons, experience, and skills he’d gained to pivot once again onto a new path of inspiring innovative research collaboration to cure paralysis. “Am I going to use the things that I've been speaking about to deal with this very real challenge? Am I going to sit back as a spectator? Or am I going to get in the mix? Am I going to have a go at something? And I'm pleased to say that those universal themes, those decisions, I did use them at the time, and I continue to use them.”
The takeaway for financial advisers:
- ‘Who am I if I’m no longer defined by my career?’ This is a question that inspires our work with End of Career Guidance counsellor, Brian Mooney. We place significant value in identifying who we want to be at the beginning of, and throughout, our working lives but fail do this as we reach the pivotal point of winding down or leaving our careers.
- Like Mark, Brian often speaks about retirement being an opportunity to re-orient ourselves in a new direction on our terms by using our knowledge and life experience. Our research shows financial planning is fundamental for a good retirement but feeling confident in your social network and sense of purpose is also crucial.
- Advisers who can speak to and support this human side of retirement alongside the fundamental financial aspect can help clients create a plan for their second life that feels financially secure and personally fulfilling.
Standard Life’s partnership with Life & Leadership reflects our belief in purpose-driven leadership and the power of advice. Sharing Newstalk’s vision for conversations that count, we’re proud to partner with advisers and help people feel confident in the conversations they have and choices they make along their journey to and through their second life.