Welcome back to another edition of Impactful Teamwork – the podcast for business leaders who are committed to creating high-performing teams that are both purpose-driven and performance-focused. I’m Julia Felton, your host and guide, and in this week’s episode, I’m diving into a topic that keeps surfacing with clients, colleagues and even the horses I partner with in my leadership work – connection.

In today’s fast-paced, digital-first world – particularly in the midst of the AI revolution – true human connection is becoming a rare and precious commodity. And yet, it’s the very thing that’s needed most.

Whether you lead a multi-million-pound business or a fast-growing scale-up, your ability to connect authentically – with yourself, your team, and your stakeholders – could well be the difference between momentum and stagnation. So in this blog, I want to unpack the insights from this week’s podcast episode and explore how you can deepen connection to drive team performance and sustainable business success.

We’re Drowning in Noise – and Craving Connection

We live in a world saturated with information, marketing messages and AI-generated content. It’s getting harder to discern what’s real and what’s not. I was reminded of this during a recent workshop where we looked at an image of two people relaxing by a pool – a seemingly idyllic holiday scene. But when we looked closer, we realised the man had three arms. The image was AI-generated, and we’d almost missed the giveaway.

That moment reinforced something I’ve been noticing across boardrooms and workshops alike: people are craving authenticity more than ever before. They want to feel seen, heard, and valued – not manipulated, marketed to or managed at arm’s length.

Why Connection is a Leadership Imperative

In my book Unbridled Success, I talk about the importance of TLC – not in the sense of tea and sympathy, but Trust, Leadership, and Connection. These are the three essential pillars of effective teamwork.

Connection, in particular, underpins everything. It’s the invisible thread that ties your strategy to execution, your purpose to performance, and your people to each other.

As leadership expert John Maxwell puts it:

“Connection is the ability to identify with people and relate to them in a way that increases your influence with them.”

That influence, built on empathy and trust, is what drives buy-in, engagement, and ultimately results.

Four Levels of Connection That Drive Impact

So how do we connect more powerfully? In this week’s podcast, I share the four key dimensions of connection that I use in my work with clients (and horses!). These are:

1. Visual Connection – What People See

We remember 50% of what we see, but only 20% of what we hear. That’s why visual communication is such a powerful lever for leadership.

In our hybrid working world, tools like Zoom have become vital. They allow us to read body language, spot signs of fatigue or disengagement, and build rapport even from a distance. But it’s not just about being on camera – it’s about how you show up. Are you energised? Present? Authentic?

As a leader, your visual presence sends a message before you even speak.

2. Intellectual Connection – What People Understand

Your team needs to understand what your business stands for, where it’s headed, and why it matters. That starts with you being clear on your message and speaking about it with passion.

I remember a moment in a horse-led coaching session where a client was struggling to articulate her “why”. As she shared a list of logical business goals, my horse, Charlie, stood disengaged. Then, suddenly, she said: “This business matters because it will help me save elephants in Africa.” In that moment, Charlie walked straight over and put his head on her chest. Because finally – she was speaking from the heart.

3. Emotional Connection – What People Feel

We buy with emotion and justify with logic – and your team is no different. They don’t just want to hear your strategy; they want to feel your belief in it. They want to know you care.

One of my clients, let’s call her Susan, connected deeply with a pony named Olive during a retreat exercise. As she stood beside Olive, breathing with her, years of unprocessed grief surfaced. Olive responded by gently wrapping her neck around her. In that moment of raw emotional connection, healing and clarity emerged.

This kind of emotional resonance is powerful – and it’s just as important in business as it is in life.

4. Verbal Connection – What People Hear

While words may only account for 7% of communication, the right words matter. As Mark Twain said,

“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.”

Your language sets the tone. Are you inspiring or diminishing? Are you empowering people or instilling doubt? Choose words that energise, uplift and align with your vision.

Remember – your team is listening for more than just instructions. They’re listening for meaning.

Connection Starts With You

Here’s the thing – you can’t connect with others until you connect with yourself. That means getting honest about what you want, what you believe, and what you stand for.

When I work with the horses, they always reflect back your internal state. They don’t respond to titles or targets – only to who you are in the moment. It’s a humbling reminder that leadership isn’t just about competence. It’s about congruence.

Why Connection is Your Competitive Advantage

In a world where AI can mimic voices and images, your humanity is your edge. People don’t want perfect. They want real. And connection – authentic, vulnerable, human connection – is the key to building trust, loyalty and high-impact teams.

So as you head into your next team meeting, pitch, or strategy session, ask yourself:

• Am I truly connecting with this person?

• Am I seeing them, hearing them, feeling with them – or just talking at them?

• And am I showing up as the most authentic version of myself?

Listen to the Full Episode

This blog only scratches the surface of what we explore in this week’s Impactful Teamwork episode. So I invite you to take 20 minutes to tune in – whether you’re on your commute, out walking the dog, or taking a well-earned break.

Ready to Deepen Your Team Connection?

If today’s episode resonated with you and you’re curious about how to bring deeper connection into your team, I’d love to invite you to explore The Team IMPACT Framework – my signature process for transforming teams through trust, leadership and connection.

Drop me a message or connect via julia@businesshorsepower.com, and let’s chat.

Until next time, stay curious, stay connected – and keep creating impactful teamwork.

Show Notes:

Here are the highlights from this episode:

In a recent episode of my podcast, Impactful Teamwork, I explored a deeply personal yet profoundly important topic for leaders: the Law of Legacy. This theme resonated powerfully with me following the recent passing of my horse, Coach Toby, whose remarkable influence on hundreds of leaders and teams reinforced the importance of intentional legacy.

What is Legacy in Leadership?

As leaders, our lasting value is often measured not just by what we achieve personally, but by how successfully we enable others to carry forward our vision and values. Legacy, at its core, answers the reflective question:

“What do we want people to say at our funeral?”

Many leaders avoid considering this. Yet, it is crucial because it drives intentional living, proactive leadership, and strategic succession planning. Eleanor Roosevelt aptly captured this idea when she said:

“Life is like a parachute jump. You’ve got to get it right the first time.”

Coach Toby’s Inspiring Legacy

My own awareness of legacy deepened significantly through my horse Toby, who inspired the creation of Business HorsePower. Toby became not just a horse, but a mentor, challenging business leaders to develop trust, certainty, and authentic leadership. Surprisingly demanding, Toby taught countless teams about effective leadership, clear communication, and the power of connection. His legacy includes clients who, empowered by their experiences, boldly transitioned to entrepreneurship or secured dream career opportunities.

Toby exemplified intentional legacy, influencing hundreds with clarity and purpose—exactly what leaders should aim for.

Actionable Insights for Corporate Leaders

1. Define the Legacy You Want to Leave

Most people drift through life, accepting outcomes passively. Exceptional leaders, however, intentionally define their legacy. Consider what you truly value and how you want to impact future generations. For me, legacy involves creating workplaces where individuals thrive and recognising nature as a blueprint for sustainable leadership. Ask yourself:

• What core impact do I want to leave?

• How will my actions today align with this legacy?

2. Live Your Legacy Daily

To lead effectively, you must embody your legacy every day. This builds credibility and reinforces your vision clearly to those around you. If your legacy involves collaboration and empowerment, demonstrate this consistently. I personally believe that business can be a powerful force for good, driving meaningful global change beyond traditional avenues like government and media.

3. Choose Who Will Carry Your Legacy

Succession planning is frequently overlooked but is vital. Leaders must proactively identify and mentor successors who can continue their vision. In scaling businesses, especially, leaders often become bottlenecks, impeding growth because they haven’t developed successors. Reflecting on my corporate career, I recognised the importance of succession planning clearly during my sabbatical, when I successfully prepared a deputy to step into my role.

Coach Toby illustrated effective succession planning by naturally enabling another horse, Thistle, to step forward, though this also highlighted the importance of mentoring successors carefully, ensuring they’re ready to lead.

4. Pass On the Baton Effectively

Leadership expert John Maxwell outlines four levels of legacy creation:

• Achievement: Doing significant things independently.

• Empowerment: Equipping others to do big things for you.

• Significance: Developing leaders who collaborate on great tasks.

• True Legacy: Positioning leaders to succeed independently without you.

True leadership legacy is about removing yourself from daily operations, orchestrating success from a distance, and allowing others to flourish. Legacy is only realised when your organisation thrives independently of your direct involvement.

Real-Life Impact of a Thoughtful Legacy

Reflecting on my career, creating the first-ever global hotel benchmarks was an impactful legacy I inadvertently created. This data-driven initiative continues to guide industry standards today, illustrating how lasting legacies often begin with pioneering ideas.

My journey with Coach Toby further shaped my current mission—awakening leaders to new, nature-inspired leadership models. Toby’s legacy is not merely his memory but a lasting impact, empowering people to transform their careers and lives meaningfully.

Your Leadership Legacy: What’s Next?

To truly lead with impact, intentionally crafting your legacy is essential. Reflect deeply:

• Are you clear on the legacy you want to create?

• How are your actions today shaping this future?

Intentional legacy leads to fulfilment and significant, sustained impact. Embrace your leadership role with clarity, courage, and purpose—just like Coach Toby did.

Take Action: Spend some quiet reflection time to write down your intended legacy. Share it with someone who will help hold you accountable. Remember, your legacy starts with conscious choices today.

Let’s lead consciously and leave legacies that genuinely matter.

Show Notes:

Here are the highlights from this episode:

In this episode of Impactful Teamwork, I had the pleasure of speaking with David Cox, a seasoned expert in media operations and team leadership. With over 15 years of experience leading teams at Sky and Viaplay, David has successfully transformed chaotic teams into cohesive, high-performing units. His insights are invaluable for high-growth business leaders who are struggling to align their teams and drive productivity.

Here are the key takeaways from our conversation, along with practical actions you can take to build a high-performance team in your own organization.

1. Start with a Clear Vision and Shared Purpose

When David joined his team at Viaplay, he inherited a group of 30 disengaged employees working on just nine channels—far fewer than the team he had managed at Sky. He quickly realised that something needed to change. The first step was to establish a clear target operating model—a vision for where they wanted to be.

Action Steps:

• Define your vision: Gather your leadership team and agree on what success looks like.

• Engage your team: Ensure everyone understands the shared purpose and their role in achieving it.

• Be adaptable: Recognise that the path to high performance isn’t linear—adjust your approach as needed.

2. Create Psychological Safety and Foster Trust

David emphasised that trust is the foundation of high performance. Without it, teams will struggle to collaborate effectively. He and his leadership team worked to create an environment where team members felt safe to share ideas, admit mistakes, and experiment without fear of blame.

Action Steps:

• Hold regular one-on-ones: Get to know your team members on a personal level.

• Encourage open communication: Create a culture where it’s safe to speak up.

• Model vulnerability: As a leader, share your own challenges and mistakes to build trust.

3. Hire for Attitude, Not Just Skills

One of the biggest transformations came from changing the hiring process. Instead of focusing solely on technical skills, David’s team started hiring based on attitude and cultural fit. They designed a recruitment process that assessed collaboration, adaptability, and problem-solving skills.

Action Steps:

• Implement team-based interviews: Observe candidates in group problem-solving exercises.

• Look beyond experience: Prioritise adaptability and willingness to learn.

• Consider a trial period: See how new hires interact with your team before making final decisions.

4. Cultivate Accountability

Many organizations struggle with accountability, but David used Christopher Avery’s Responsibility Process to help his team take ownership of their work. He differentiated responsibility (what’s assigned to you) from accountability (what you own and follow through on).

Action Steps:

• Clarify roles and expectations: Ensure team members know what they’re accountable for.

• Encourage ownership: Shift from blame and justification to personal responsibility.

• Lead by example: Demonstrate accountability in your own actions.

5. Leverage Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

Emotional intelligence was a key pillar in David’s leadership framework. Recognising that every team member is unique, he took time to understand their motivations, fears, and communication styles. This helped create a more inclusive and engaged team.

Action Steps:

• Listen actively: Ask deeper questions and pay attention to non-verbal cues.

• Tailor your leadership style: Adapt your approach based on individual needs.

• Promote team collaboration: Use exercises like a ‘talking stick’ to ensure everyone’s voice is heard.

6. Adapt to AI and Future-Proof Your Team

David sees AI as a tool for enhancing human potential, not replacing jobs. By automating repetitive tasks, AI can free up time for strategic thinking and creativity.

Action Steps:

• Identify automation opportunities: Use AI to handle low-value tasks.

• Upskill your team: Help them develop skills that complement AI.

• Maintain a people-first approach: Technology should support, not replace, human judgment.

7. Don’t Underestimate the Leader’s Role

Even in a self-managing team, leadership remains essential. As David pointed out, removing leadership from a high-performing team can cause things to unravel quickly. The leader’s role shifts from micromanaging to orchestrating—ensuring that the team stays aligned, motivated, and continuously improving.

Action Steps:

• Act as a guide, not a boss: Empower your team while providing strategic direction.

• Stay involved: Even in self-managing teams, leadership presence matters.

• Commit to continuous improvement: Keep refining processes and team dynamics.

Final Reflection: What Will You Implement?

David’s journey from chaos to cohesion at Viacom highlights the importance of vision, trust, accountability, and adaptability. Now, it’s your turn.

What’s one strategy from this conversation that you can implement in your own team this week?

Let us know in the comments or connect with David for further insights. And remember, building a high-performance team is a journey—one that starts with intentional leadership and a commitment to continuous growth.

Show Notes:

Here are the highlights from this episode: