Welcome to Finding Your Collaborative Edge™, hosted by Anni Townend and Lucy Kidd.

This short introductory explainer invites you into the heart of our work—helping leaders, teams, and professionals live and lead with more curiosity, care, and courage.

🔶 Why psychological safety matters in collaboration

🔶 How meaningful connection is built before you’re even in the room

🔶 The role of intention and behaviour in leadership

🔶 The beginnings of our Collaboration Equation™

We created this podcast to help you unlock new ways of working, foster inclusive dialogue, and find your own Collaborative Edge™.

🔗 Learn more at: www.collaborationequation.com

🔗 Follow us on LinkedIn: Collaboration Equation

How can leaders create environments where diverse perspectives are valued, trust is nurtured, and meaningful conversations drive innovation?

Finding Your Collaborative Edge™ is a podcast for leaders, teams, and professionals who want to unlock the full potential of collaboration in their organisations and lives.

Hosted by Anni Townend and Lucy Kidd, co-founders of Collaboration Equation™, this show explores the essential elements of psychological safety, inclusive dialogue, and diversity of thought and feeling—helping you cultivate a mindset of curiosity, care, and courage.

Each episode delves into real-world leadership challenges, expert insights, and powerful stories from those who are finding their Collaborative Edge™. Whether you’re a senior leader, team manager, or someone passionate about creating human-centred workplaces, this podcast will inspire you to build connections, embrace difference, and lead with authenticity.

Join the conversation and start your journey towards more impactful, collaborative leadership.

Find out more at: www.collaborationequation.com

Follow us on LinkedIn: Collaboration Equation

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

In our conversation with Emma Edwards, CEO of Spotlight Young Onset Parkinson’s and Dawn Harding Trustee of Spotlight YOPD we explore:

• What it means to truly collaborate.
• What Emma and Dawn have learnt through their leadership and life experiences about the value of collaboration
• Why collaboration and partnership are so important to the charity. And the impact of these collaborations on raising awareness of Young Onset of Parkinson’s
• What they have noticed in their collaborations, and partnerships, in particular with the NHS, Parkinson’s UK and other communities, and organisations that facilitate successful collaboration
• What can sometimes hinder, and get in the way of collaboration
• How bringing the mindset and behaviours of Curiosity, Care and Courage helps people find their Collaborative Edge™
• And finally what has helped them to find their Collaborative Edge™

Emma and Dawn’s key encouragements to finding your Collaborative Edge:

1. Build a community through conversations that raise awareness for people, clinicians, family members, and the wider community.
2. Stretch yourself! You may be a professional in a field, however you can add a huge amount to a lot of small charities who need your skills especially in IT ,Digital and Communication.
3. Embrace technology, it can help you collaborate and connect with people.
4. Connect with people who have lived experience, and that's true of all sorts of collaborations.
5. Enjoy and have fun in your collaborations no matter how difficult and challenging the issues.

Find out more about Spotlight YOPD:

Go to their website, Spotlight YOPD; follow them on LinkedIn, and follow both Emma Edwards and Dawn Harding on LinkedIn. They would love to connect with and to collaborate with you. Dawn especially is on the hunt for people to share their skills with the charity. Also do follow Gaynor Edwards...

Hello, and welcome to the second Collaboration Equation™ episode in Leaders in Conversation with Anni Townend and Lucy Kidd.

Today’s guest is Somya Agrawal, Leader, Collaborator and Motivator and the title of our conversation is Finding your Collaborative Edge™.

Leaders in Conversation is the podcast in which leaders share their life and leadership stories, and in our Collaboration Equation™ episodes their experience of collaborating and how they find their Collaborative Edge™ to encourage you to bring even more curiosity, care and courage to your leadership.

If you are not already please do subscribe to the podcast, review and share it. Thank you!

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

In our conversation we talk about the application of Collaboration Equation™ and Somya shares her experience of collaboration and offers valuable insights into:

1. Bringing two teams together to get to know each other, to be able to have an open conversation, and how this fast tracks success.

2. Connecting through being vulnerable in sharing her experience of hearing loss and how this has created meaningful connection with others.

3. Creating psychological safety that invites people to give and ask for help, getting what we need from each other and caring about each other.

4. Building trust through being human and authentic with colleagues.

5. Meeting people where they are at, and making time for everyone to have a voice, and for different thoughts and feelings to be heard.

6. Creating a culture of care and connection whether working online or in person.

To connect, follow and find out more about Somya:

LinkedIn: Somya Agrawal

Instagram: @somyaagr

To listen to more Leaders in Conversation with Anni Townend visit my website www.annitownend.com

A big thank you to Coco O’Brien for the wonderful intro and outro music, for the lovely design and marketing of the podcast and to Tom at Brown Bear Studios for the excellent production of this episode.

To contact Anni Townend and Lucy Kidd do email us on anni@annitownend.com and lucy@lucykidd.com, or via our dedicated email address connect@collaborationequation.com

To explore more about how to find your Collaborative Edge™, visit our website www.collaborationequation.com, subscribe to our fortnightly Leadership Conversations and follow us on LinkedIn Collaboration Equation™.

We look forward to connecting and collaborating with you, thank you for listening.