In this episode of and. Double D, Dave and Debbie speak with actor-turned-communication-expert Dominic Colenso, exploring the journey from starring in Thunderbirds to becoming a renowned coach, speaker, and author of Cut Through.

We discuss the power of performance skills beyond the stage, the neuroscience of communication, and how to reduce complexity to land messages with real impact.

Dominic shares insights into human laziness, the distractions of AI, the danger of rushing, and how stopping, listening, and creating space is vital for effective communication. Expect vulnerability, storytelling, and moments of real clarity on what it means to lead and speak with purpose today.

Mic 🎤 drops

• “The more time I spend looking out the window, the more able I am to articulate ideas and use them in a more impactful way.” (22:03)

• “We often think we have to tell people everything we know to show how brilliant we are. In reality, that’s just rubbish.” (19:36)

• “I didn’t tell anyone I was cast in Thunderbirds because I didn’t believe it was true.” (05:32)

• “When I was at drama school, we thought breathwork helped us project our voices. What we didn’t realise is we were regulating our nervous system.” (16:00)

• “I’m both delighted and petrified by AI.” (25:12)

• “She googled ‘sustainable Christmas poem’ and Google wrote one for her. Before she’d even thought, her creativity was benchmarked.” (26:34)

• “What’s the point of writing a book when ChatGPT can spit out 60,000 words on communication?” (30:09)

• “Leadership development should feel like a rehearsal room you pause, you rewind, you try again.” (14:13)

• “I was a very introverted performer. I’d blush going on stage. But there was something about being in front of a group that lit me up.” (03:10)

Founder of Sticky Fingers Cooking® Erin Fletter serves up a deliciously honest conversation on failure, flavour, and feeding the future.

What if leadership looked less like order and more like creativity, chaos, and courage? In this episode, Dave Evans and Debbie Halls-Evans stir things up with Erin Fletter, founder of Sticky Fingers Cooking®, a revolutionary US-based children's cooking school.

We talk about the messy middle of growing a business, why mistakes are essential ingredients for success, and how cooking with kids teaches us more about leadership, connection, and life than any boardroom ever could.

This isn’t a chat about KPIs or pitch decks.

This is a conversation about doing the thing that matters, whether the kitchen’s on fire or not. It’s about vision, persistence, play, and why Erin believes in radical transparency with kids, with customers, and with herself.

Mic Drop Quotes

• "I went door to door to schools and I went to a hundred schools and I got 97. You're, you're crazy. You're out of your mind. I got a 97 node. Because they didn't, there was no such thing."

• "How many people in the world today? Give up? Yeah, give up. At 20, at six, at 10, and before they even leave their house, you went to a hundred schools."

• "The harder you work, the more luck that you have."

Why listen to this episode?

• You’re tired of the same leadership advice and want something real
• You’re curious about how building with kids can teach adults how to lead
• You want to create something that matters, but you're stuck in the perfection trap
• You’re in the messy middle and need a nudge forward
• You want permission to lead with flavour, fun, and failure not just formulas

Find more about Sticky Fingers Cooking

• Erin Fletter (she/her)CEO, Founder & Food-Geek-in-Chief
  Sticky Fingers Cooking®

  Core Values & Social ResponsibilityCookbooks + Brand Information + Franchise Information

He played in the Premier League. He calls his career mediocre. Now that’s leadership.

Rudy Gestede went from global footballer to the boardroom with zero ego and a work ethic built on grit, faith, and no backup plan. He’s not here to impress you. He’s here to challenge everything you think leadership looks like.

How do you lead when your body gives up before your ambition does?

In this no-frills episode, former Premier League footballer turned Blackburn Rovers exec Rudy Gestede drops his playbook for leading with honesty, handling pressure without whining, and navigating elite sport, injury, and impostor syndrome without falling apart.

No flashy philosophy. No “I always wanted to be a leader” narrative. Just straight-up lessons in ownership, discipline, and what happens when you stop blaming and start building.

Why Listen to This Episode?

Whether you’re leading in sport, business, or life this one’s for the people who don’t want a hype talk. They want the truth.

• You want leadership advice from someone who actually had to earn it

• You’re transitioning careers and feel like you’re making it up as you go

• You’ve failed, doubted yourself, or been lied to and want to do better anyway

• You’re tired of watching leaders fake it with charisma and crumble under pressure

• You want to build something without needing to shout, scheme, or show off

  
  

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  Mic Drop Moments

  “Leadership? I’m still shit at it. But I’m learning every day.”
  Say hello to your new favorite truth bomb.

  “You don’t need to like everyone but you do need to respect them.”
  Basic human decency. Rare leadership strategy.

  “I opened a restaurant to learn how to manage people.”
  Imagine being this committed to not being mediocre.

  “I didn’t give myself options. I gave myself a goal.”
  Resilience 101: remove the escape hatch.

  “We had six managers in two years. I saw what good and bad looked like.”
  If you’ve survived a toxic org, you’ll feel this in your spine.

  “If you fake leadership, people will see it. Every time.”
  Truth has a weird way of showing up even if you hide behind buzzwords.

  “I lead by shaking hands with every person in the building.”
  Forget all-hands Zooms. Try human connection.

  “The worst leader I ever hired? That’s on me.”
  Accountability: often mentioned, rarely modelled.

She didn’t just play for England. She bled for it. Netball star turned litigator Eboni Usoro-Brown drops the truth about legacy, leadership, and why knowing your values is your ultimate power move.

What happens when elite sport ends and “real life” begins?

In this raw, unscripted episode, Dave and Debbie sit down with Eboni Usoro-Brown—former England netball champion, Gold Coast gold medallist, commercial litigator, and mum of two—to talk about ambition, identity, and what happens after you’ve lived your dream.

With 117 caps for England, a career in law, and wisdom forged in four-year cycles of pressure and purpose, Eboni brings the kind of perspective most leadership books only dream of.

She’s not here to inspire you she’s here to challenge you.

This one’s not for the faint-hearted. It’s for the listener who’s ready to own their values, lead without compromise, and stop waiting for permission to grow.

Why listen to this episode?

• ​You’re sick of hearing ‘resilience’ and want to feel it
• ​You’re figuring out who you are when the title, team, or job disappears
• ​You want to understand how real values beat performative purpose every time
• ​You’re navigating transition—and want a playbook with honesty, not fluff
• ​You’re a leader, a parent, a player, or a person who knows there’s more in you than what you’ve done so far

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• ​Mic Drop Moments

◦“117 caps mean something but they also mean 117 times I had to prove myself.”

◦“Failure teaches you how to win. If you let it.”

◦“In sport, we’re coached to listen. In business, everyone wants to talk.”

◦“Your values don’t just guide your decisions they set your boundaries.”

◦“Athletes give everything to the badge on the front. But who are you when that badge is gone?”

◦“Self-discipline isn’t punishment. It’s the price of purpose.”

◦“Sport didn’t make me a mum but it taught me how to lead my kids.”

◦“Gratitude isn’t soft. It’s a strategy.”

• ​-----------------------------------------------------Join us on a leadership or leadershit program ⁠www.leadershitorleadership.com⁠Get in touch on how we can help you⁠www.andcoachme.com/contact

Burn the Old Playbook, ttill leading like it’s 1994? You’re the problem.

Sherilyn Shackell built a global movement to fix leadership from the inside out. She’s here to call out ego, expose the rot, and torch the outdated crap that’s still infecting your company culture.

This isn’t inspiration. It’s demolition.

Sherilyn Shackell, founder of The Marketing Academy, joins Dave and Debbie for a blisteringly honest episode about what leadership actually looks like in 2025 and why most of what we’ve been taught is a flaming pile of outdated nonsense.

She’s lived the burnout, dodged the bullshit, and built one of the most respected leadership academies in the world by doing the exact opposite of what corporate culture preaches.

Why listen to this episode

From generational shifts to AI to emotional intelligence to calling out “successful” leaders who are just skilled narcissists this is the leadership detox your brain didn't know it needed.

• You’re tired of pretending Maslow still applies

• You’ve been taught to lead through fear, and it’s not working

• You’re leading a team that doesn’t care about status, titles, or your 16-hour grindset

• You know leadership training is broken but you don’t know what should replace it

• You’re ready to be a good human first and a great leader second

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Mic drop moments

“We were led badly. And badly led people go on to lead people badly.”
The cycle continues unless you break it.

“Maslow is 70 years old. Stop building orgs like it’s post-war America.”
If your culture runs on frameworks older than color TV, you deserve the attrition rate.

“Burnout is not a badge. It’s a red flag.”
Congrats on running yourself into the ground. Nobody’s clapping.

“People don’t need managers. They need someone worth following.”
If you’re managing more than you’re modeling, step aside.

“AI won’t break the world. Shit leaders using AI will.”
It’s not the tool. It’s the hands holding it.

“Intentionality isn’t saying the right thing. It’s being the right thing even when no one’s watching.”
Your culture is built by what you tolerate, not what you tweet.

“The second you get power, you speak through a megaphone. Be careful what comes out.”
You’re louder than you think. Act like it.

“Don’t be a dick. And always help someone else succeed.”
Leadership. Decoded in 12 words or less.

He led Scotland. Now he’s building better leaders one brutal truth at a time. From test matches to Tokyo Bay, Greig Laidlaw shares what leadership really looks like when ego’s out, pressure’s on, and you’ve got no place to hide.

What happens when the armband comes off and the clipboard goes on?

Former Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw has seen leadership from every angle: on the pitch, in the locker room, and now in the coach’s box in Japan.

In this episode, Greig gets painfully honest about the cost of poor leadership, why some captains shouldn’t be captains, and what it really takes to build belief in yourself and your team.

This isn’t a highlight reel it’s a deep dive into cultural collisions, emotional discipline, and the fine line between authority and authenticity.

Why listen to this episode

If you think leadership is about having the loudest voice in the room, this episode might hurt your feelings. And that’s the point.

• ​You’ve been handed the title, but not the tools
• ​You want to build a team culture that actually works under pressure
• ​You’re trying to lead in a culture that doesn’t like being questioned
• ​You’re still figuring out how to lead without losing yourself
• ​You want to hear from someone who’s done the hard yards and still says, “Here’s what I’m shit at”

“Sometimes leadership isn’t about stepping up it’s about stepping back.”Because great leaders don’t need the armband to lead.

“We said yes… but we didn’t mean it. We were just being polite.”Culture clash 101: politeness ≠ alignment.

“He was a better leader the minute we took the captaincy off him.”Titles don't make leaders. Sometimes they ruin them.

“Stop blaming the lack of leaders. Start building them.”Call HR. That one left a bruise.

“If you let others lead, they’ll surprise you. If you don’t, they won’t.”Control is not the same as leadership. It’s just anxiety in uniform.

“Am I doing the right thing here? Am I qualified?”Spoiler: That’s what real leaders ask themselves. Not the loud ones.

“Ego is the enemy and if you don’t check it, the game will.”Turns out the pitch is better at spotting arrogance than your performance review.

“The best players walk the line between control and chaos—and never tip red.”This isn’t just rugby. This is emotional intelligence under fire.

What if the real problem isn’t bad leadership it's all the fake stuff pretending to be good? From boardrooms to footballs inner circles, Chris Brindley MBE is done with the fluff. This is leadership stripped back no ego, no buzzwords, no PowerPoint charisma.

In this straight-talking episode, Dave Evans sits down with Chris Brindley MBE, a titan of both sport and business, to unpick what true leadership looks like when the egos are stripped out and people are put first.

With a career spanning , Metro Bank, Premier League Football Clubs, and Chair of Rugby League World Cup 2021, Chris has seen it all. But he isn’t interested in corporate soundbites he’s here to talk real leadership, human-first strategy, and how to lead without compromising your character.

Expect stories from the frontlines of football, finance, and national sport and the lessons that matter in boardrooms, locker rooms, and everyday life.

Why listen to this episode

• Because you’re tired of leadership advice that sounds like a scented candle

• Because you’ve been promoted but nobody gave you the manual

• Because you’re leading a team and secretly hoping they don’t notice you’re winging it

• Because performance without empathy is a ticking time bomb

• Because sport teaches what the boardroom forgets: you win with people

• Because if you want to stop managing and start leading this is your wake-up call

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Mic Drop Moments – Chris Brindley MBE, human-first hurricane of leadership clarity

"Ego is the enemy of high performance."
Yeah, that loud guy in meetings? Not the leader. Just the noise machine.

"You do not coach the game you coach the people."
Try saying this next time your manager praises the spreadsheet instead of the human.

"The best leaders listen more than they speak."
Translation: Shut up. Pay attention. Then speak if you must.

"There’s no such thing as constructive criticism only feedback that helps someone grow."
Put down the passive-aggressive compliment sandwich. Be better.

"You cannot manage time. You manage yourself."
Your calendar is not the problem. You are.

"You can’t just play the game on the pitch you’ve got to lead it from the sidelines too."
Greatness isn't always in the spotlight. Sometimes it's yelling from the edge with intent.

"Performance without people is a short-lived success."
Burnout doesn't look good in your Q4 report.

"High performance doesn’t happen by accident. It’s a habit."
Spoiler alert: coasting is not a strategy.

"Being busy is not the same as being effective."
That to-do list isn’t saving you. It's just hiding the fact you’re avoiding the real work.

"You are not the finished article and neither is anyone you lead."
Take yourself off the pedestal. No one wants to follow a statue.

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Get in touch on how we can help you

www.andcoachme.com/contact

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What if you’re solving the wrong problem?

Season 6 | Guest: Dan Bennett – Storytelling Strategist, Senior Partner & Lead of Behavioural Science at Ogilvy Consulting

What if your biggest business problem isn’t the problem—but how you’re talking (or not talking) about it?

In this episode, we’re joined by Dan Bennett, a master of story, simplicity, and solving through conversation. With his background as a video brand consultant and founder of 1 Minute Media, Dan flips the script on how we connect, communicate, and clarify what actually matters.

We unpack:

• Why clarity isn't found in silence

• How branding is really just storytelling with strategy

• The subtle sabotage of overcomplication

• And the courage it takes to speak your truth, on camera or off

Dave, Debbie and Dan dive into the messy middle between chaos and clarity, what it means to simplify your message, lead with value, and start where most people never do with real human dialogue just like our podcast!

"We’re not as self-aware as we think we are.” Behavioural scientist Dan Bennett

brings insight, humility, and real-world wisdom to this episode, cutting through the noise with clarity. From how your brain tricks you into sabotaging your future self, to the real reason towel signs in hotels work (spoiler: it’s not because you care about the environment), this is a masterclass in understanding how we actually work.

We talk identity, introspection, leadership, ego, the science of influence, and what happens when you see the human first.This isn’t marketing fluff or behavioural buzzwords, this is practical magic, rooted in truth.

Also check out the event Dan shares https://nudgestock.com/

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