Six things I’ve learned so far from podcasting

IN late March two years ago, David Sproul, Kate Collins and I emerged blinking into the light from a basement recording studio.

David, then senior partner and chief executive of Deloitte in the UK and North West Europe, could not conceal how cool starting his day guesting on a podcast in Soho had made him in the eyes of his two daughters.

Kate, the chief executive of Teenage Cancer Trust, was game but I imagine puzzled about why she had been paired with a senior accountant for this particular media opportunity.

I wasn’t sure how it would turn out either. I’d loved radio – not just the sound of my own voice – ever since I’d presented on hospital station HWD as a teenager.

Podcasting was different. I was a print journalist who felt late to the party, unsure of who would listen or appear on a series designed to drill into leadership learnings and career paths to the top in a way that my newspaper profiles rarely had space for. I was also covering all production costs.

This week marks two years since that first episode of Leading went out. The podcast has gone from Soho to spare room, welcomed more than 60 leaders from the worlds of business, charity, arts, sport, technology, healthcare and the military, as well as tens of thousands of listeners. I shouldn’t have worried.

Of course, there are many more experienced podcasters who have cultivated far bigger audiences. But for what it’s worth, here are six things I’ve learned from my two years and counting in this happy medium.

1 Quality counts

There were three areas I did not want to compromise on when I set out: the quality of audio, the quality of guests and the quality of conversation. I’d had to switch off some podcasts I listened to because guests sounded like they had their head in a bucket.

Sound quality meant working with a producer – the very capable Alex Jungius from Distorted - and initially recording in a studio in Soho. Ironically, lockdown has meant radio listeners have become accustomed to Zoom quality audio but I think podcast production values have just gone up and up.

2 Start strong

Grabbing listeners is just as challenging as grabbing readers with a colourful opening paragraph. But because I was used to print interviews – where the most telling part of the conversation might come half-way through – I had to re-engineer my questions. This form of audio leaves fewer places to hide. Nor does it suit “Rottweiler moments” – even though it can still be revelatory.

I hate linear interviews – “so tell me about your childhood” feels like a terrible opener – so that has meant tackling a leader’s biggest challenges right at the top. Just like in print, context is all, provided in this setting by detailed show notes.

3 You’re in charge

I was curious to talk to a breadth of leaders that I’d first considered when I had a regular interview slot in The Independent. Bosses from the National Trust, Oxfam and University of Bath were big voices in their worlds but would never have it made it onto the business pages. Yet they faced the same challenges as anyone else running large, complex organisations.

Random pairings rapidly found common ground, like the laugh-a-minute encounter of Leon's John Vincent with Craig Hassall of the Royal Albert Hall. Female leaders let their guard down quicker if there was two of them in the room, as with fashion designer Amanda Wakeley and Dame Alison Nimmo from the Crown Estate.

And I’m particularly proud of landing some unlikely candidates. It has been a year for strong healthcare leadership and Navina Evans, head of Health Education England, the NHS unit that plans, recruits, educates and trains the health workforce of the future, was inspiring.

So too was Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston, who wished the Royal Air Force would stop choosing its leaders based on their hand-eye co-ordination as twentysomethings.

4 Keep experimenting

Attracting listeners is an unpredictable science, clouded by the vagaries of social media promotion.

I tested out leaders of “professional” or “passion” organisations – those with big workforces or big memberships – to see if they proved popular. Episodes featuring PWC and the Canal & River Trust were hits; less so those starring the London Metal Exchange and Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

My lofty aim to create “timeless” content – Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic notwithstanding – means that listenership carries on rising months after each episode is released.

5 Podcasts can pay

I began podcasting to add a string to my bow and with a vague hope that a sponsor might present themselves. Sure enough, an early run was supported by the executive search firm Saxton Bampfylde and I’m very pleased to have the insurance brokerage Lockton on board currently.

I took a practical approach: I was never going to attract the mass audience that would interest one of the advertising networks, so why not produce my own ”ad breaks” that let supporters speak their mind on various topics?

Together with the offer to record “live” on-site episodes, I hope Leading has sufficient commercial appeal to bring in further backing.

6 There are other benefits

Hosting a podcast is a talking point for contacts old and new. Hopefully talkers become curious enough to take a listen.

What has surprised me is that Leading has led on to further writing, training and advisory work. Its content fed into my book The Nine Types of Leader. And it may even lead to presenting podcasts for others.

What took me so long?

James Ashton speaks and writes on leadership and business.

jamesashton.co

@mrjamesashton

leadingpod.com