Secrets From a Coach - Debbie Green & Laura Thomson's Podcast

257 Beliefs and Behaviours for a Great Workplace Culture

• Season 21 • Episode 257

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What does a thriving workplace culture actually look and feel like, and how do leaders and teams create it with intent, not luck?

In this episode we unpack the ingredients of culture, from values and beliefs through to everyday attitudes and behaviours. We explore the power of “culture architects” (the often-unsung people who shape the vibe), why stories shift beliefs more than posters on a wall, and what we can still learn from the legendary Fish Philosophy.

Expect practical insights on:

  • Why articulating culture in simple, human terms matters.
  • How frontline experiences mirror leadership behaviours.
  • The role of language, stories, and everyday choices in shaping culture.

Whether you’re leading a global team, part of a micro-culture in a department, or simply reflecting on “the way things are done around here,” this episode will inspire you to be intentional about the culture you’re part of—and the story you’re helping to tell.


SPEAKER_07:

Coming up on this week's Secrets from a Coach. Define what a good culture even looks or feels like, Law. What is that? So where I've seen cultures change overnight on a dime is where something horrendous has happened, and that instantly sits on that collective organization psyche. And people in there in that scenario go never again. We're never going to enable that to happen. And you see like a fresh energy. Secrets from a coach. Thrive and maximise your potential in the evolving workplace. Your weekly podcast with Debbie Green of Wishfish and Laura Thompson Stavely of Phenomenal Training. Debs. Law, how are you doing? I'm doing really well, thank you. Um back on uh local time after my exciting travels. It was amazing to go over to um Seattle. And this um this is an exciting month for you as well. So tell us what this month means to you, Debs.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, so this month was the month that I went out on my own and decided to set up Wishfish. Um and have never looked back since. So Wishfish is 20 years old this month, which is quite unbelievable, really, as to how it's evolved over time and the relationships we've built and the people we've met. And yeah, I pinch myself sometimes that you know 20 years worth of just doing things you love doing, right?

SPEAKER_07:

Oh, and uh you and I have known each other since 2010. So you must have been going for five years then before then, and then um you and I just I can't imagine working life without your debs. I mean, we've just collaborated for so many years, and you know, you've introduced me to some amazing people and to some amazing opportunities, and yeah, to be able to work with clients and make that difference uh is uh you know is is is such a privilege. Yeah. So 2005. Now what's crazy, Debs, is in the UK at least the smoking ban had only just come in. No way. And as you say about how much has happened in that last 20 years, yeah, um, I just think that links really powerfully to our current four-part focus, which is looking at what makes successful, thriving workplace cultures, yeah, which is a big topic of our times. So um, we're gonna be looking at why is a focus on culture important, what's uh what makes it relevant to sort of real life impacts, and then we can have a bit of a chat about sort of suggestions and and recommendations because it's quite a complicated, big topic, I guess, isn't it? And always our intention with our podcast is to just make it really easy, to not overly complicate things where it's not um required, but so we can uh all be maybe a bit more mindful, a bit more intentional with some of those everyday decisions we make, whether you're formally responsible for culture or you're part of culture. Because if you're stuck in traffic, you're part of traffic.

SPEAKER_06:

Yes, you are. That's what you always say. I always think about that. Okay, yes, I'm part of this. Okay, I'll just sit here and sing. Create my own little hybrid culture in the car. Because that's the thing, isn't it, Laura? Because culture is a big thing, and it's it's about you might have all the shiny um bits and bobs and the vision and the mission and the purpose and the values, but if the behaviours aren't aligned to that and you're not creating the environment that enables people to understand that culture and be part of it, then it isn't just luck, it's with intent. And I think you know, we've been over the years looking at different um organizations where you just see, feel the culture, but there's also the microcultures that go in to departments and they have their own culture, and it's it can be toxic and it can also be amazing. So we thought we would um well, I thought I would um sort of ask you some questions about it because you know, following your lovely trip that you've just done, you went to the well, you went to the home of Starbucks um in Seattle, and you also went to the home of the fish philosophy, didn't you? So that creating the culture around there. So I suppose based on those and based on your experience, define what a good culture even looks or feels like, Laura. What what is that?

SPEAKER_07:

Oh god, I mean, that's such a big, big question. Um, I mean, I liken it too, the culture that you grow within a petri dish. So that idea of it being a living organism and how it's each of those different ingredients, you've got the kind of uh the petri dish, you've got the vehicle that is either the organization or the service. So whether you are part of an enormous organization, like the 1.4 million people, is that right, or 1.2 million people that are part of the National Health Service, or whether you're in a startup and you're looking to then set the culture and then kind of replicate and grow it. And I think what has created this um kind of real focus on culture is the more the variety of the people that you've got there, the more conscious you may need to be to create an environment where everyone can flourish. So a great culture isn't just where the people that are paid the most who sit at the top think it's a great place to work. It is how I mean I describe frontline teams as the till of the organization, whether that's measured in sales or service or repeat subscriptions or client or patient satisfaction or safeguarding measures, whatever that kind of end goal is, really it should be people can only be what they see. So, whatever behaviours, ways of working, how we do things around here that are required for success in your frontline teams should be modelled and shown all the way through that organization.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, and when you think about that then, how how do I suppose leaders lead well enough that that they're still in touch with that frontline, even though they might be, I don't know, 10 or 12 levels up or whatever it is? Because we always, you know, working some organizations that have bands and levels and and it's like, whoa, and it's like how many levels to get to a director, you know. So how do leaders create the right culture that does enable people, as you always say, to thrive and maximize their potential? How, how do leaders set the tone? You know, how how do they, you know, is it how they show up in meetings, is it how they walk the floor? Is it um how they handle conflict, how they make decisions? I mean, it's so um it's so broad, but they shape it, right? As you said, whether you are a small startup or you're a large organization, people look up to the leaders to be the right mix of culture and showing the way. But is how does that happen?

SPEAKER_07:

I think um, and and the leaders, I I think so. The word going through my mind was about culture architects. So there'll be certain key people within a team. So if I think about my very first proper job I had working for a really successful recruitment brand, uh, head office was in London, and one of the key architects was the chap who was um like the janitor's the wrong expression, but he was in charge of all of the kind of the property within the head office that we were based in. And he was funny, he would go around and sort of share all the gossip, and he would always be there at kind of every kind of event. Obviously, this is back in the year 2000 where you had to work sort of in in person, but um, Hugh wasn't sitting on the senior board, but Hugh had the ear of everyone, and so he would be someone that I would describe. You often see um EAs or PAs or receptionist teams being the equivalent of these kind of culture architects, get them on board and you've got everyone kind of on board. But I think the first step is for it to be really clear to articulate what is it that uh we want to see in our people. And you mentioned the fish philosophy. So we could just do a little kind of foray on that.

SPEAKER_06:

So yeah, let's do that one.

SPEAKER_07:

So, what made the fish philosophy so successful? So it was um invented in the year 2000. My first boss, the training manager of this recruitment brand I worked for, she was the very first training manager to buy in the fish DVD. Oh no, they weren't DVDs, they were VHS bitwork.

SPEAKER_06:

It was a VHS, but yeah, it was a VHS, yeah, you're right. So we in a pack of stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07:

So we'd kind of put the video in, go off and have a fag. No, we didn't. And we sat there diligently and kind of sat there with the learners. Um, but on the kind of week log in um induction process, so the fish philosophy was used to bring to life what does it mean to deliver an exceptional standout service proposition, whether that's internal customer service or whether it's external. And what the fish philosophy was all about was articulating really clearly. So I think this is step number one, being really clear so people can see these simple values or ways of being. And the reason why it's called a fish philosophy is it was a way to articulate what is the identity of the service experience when you shop and buy fish at the Pike Street fish market in Seattle. So it's smelly, it's cold, it's noisy, it's damp, but there's something about the way they articulated the fish philosophy from selling fish that caught the hearts, minds, and imagination, and it became a thing. And the four um brand the sentiments that they were saying were really important to bring to life um a great custom service was play, be there, make their day, and choose your attitude. And Debs, what was crazy when I was there is I was I could it was like a 25-year time loop. I could remember sitting there and having all of the workbooks, and you know, we really kind of greeted it.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, you used to have all the workbooks and the little book that went with it. Yeah, I remember that.

SPEAKER_07:

And people loved it because it just kind of made it really, really straightforward. And of course, I put my AI um robotic process automation hat through it, thinking, do these fields still stand today? But you know, when I went to Seattle and I went there to Pike Street Market, it was like hanging outside the green uh the theatre door, you know, to sort of sit, see you, see your fan. And they it still stands the test today. And there were customers like queuing up, videoing on their phones, which of course wouldn't happen in 2000.

SPEAKER_06:

No, that's true. But this I since we had VHS.

SPEAKER_07:

Absolutely, but this idea of playing, so bringing light, light, and energy and optimism to your day-to-day tasks. How important is that in 2025 when we see just how much people on lots of engagement surveys are saying they feel overwhelmed or overloaded or unrecognised? The second sentiment is to be there, so it's all about the customer. I've been away for a couple of days and uh we ate out one afternoon, and it is infuriating when you are there as a customer and you can see all of the staff standing by the till having a chat.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07:

And you're there kind of going, uh, can we get our drink soon? It's these like small moments that you think, yeah. You know, actually, I didn't want to be negative online, but I didn't want to leave a review because I just felt a bit disappointed because the location was fab, the food was fab, but the service wasn't there, it wasn't as present.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07:

Um, the third sentiment is make their day. So make your customer feel super important. So greeting and you know, getting their name right and all those types of things to make them feel good about themselves. And the key one underpinning it, the fourth one, is choose your attitude. So you've set the tone for the day ahead. And it was really interesting, Debs, given almost like a 2025 sniff test. Does that still stand today? Even the smelliest, least desirable workplaces selling fish on a fish market. It's um they they just tapped into making it really simple. So I think step one is to make it really simple and articulate. Yeah, step two is find your architects, not just the people that are paid the most.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07:

In fact, Deb, what about that trainees analysis we were doing in that organization last week? And they said, Yeah, don't have the senior leaders starting off the videos.

SPEAKER_06:

Absolutely, yeah. That was yeah, we turn them off and we go, right, thank you for that feedback. That's really useful to know. Yeah, you're right. Yeah, it just shows you, doesn't it? It's um that was fascinating, was it, when we heard that? Because they want to be, and this is the challenge, isn't it? Um, certainly we found this before the senior leaders want to be seen to be investing and and be part of it. And there are, I suppose over my time there have been some real genuine ones that people just accept, but there've also been some where they've just gone, oh, here we go, you know, roll their eyes as you know, the CEO or the MD rolls back into the room and then rolls back out again. They never see him again. So, yeah, that was interesting, that isn't it? How we got you've got to be smart.

SPEAKER_07:

Absolutely, and actually, what they said is it would be far more powerful in this organization that's got 7,000 people, so it's a large organization, was the key sort of not famous people, but the ones that are trusted and are well known in each of the different areas of the world. Characters as well.

SPEAKER_06:

Yes, the characters, yeah, the characters, and I suppose when you think about that, you, and you think about how you can create that environment where those people maybe aren't the CEO or the MD, but they are still very pivotal to the shaping the environment and the culture. What do you think it is that reinforces the way that people are being? What needs to be present in order for somebody to align themselves to that culture?

SPEAKER_07:

Great question. And I think a lot of it is around being really clear on the impact that these culture things have.

SPEAKER_06:

Okay, say more.

SPEAKER_07:

Musical interlude, musical interlude, musical interlude. Musical interlude. Okay, so that's let's do that one. So I said that bit about the culture, the impact that culture has on day-to-day real life important things.

SPEAKER_06:

Okay, interlude, and then we come back in. Ready? So Deb. So what does that mean? Sorry. Sorry. I was gonna say, so what does that mean, Laura? Let me start again. I'll do that again. Ready? So, what does that actually mean in reality, Laura?

SPEAKER_07:

So I found myself using more and more this slide that I was introduced to probably about 10 years ago now, when I started to first get into leadership, uh, safe self um health and safety leadership. So the impact that culture has on the safety and health behaviours within an organization. Um, just as an aside, if anyone here's ever got anything where they need to do something similar, nothing puts groans or like oh rolls people's eyes on adults um more than a health and safety workshop. Yeah. So um, over the years I've I've sort of uh racked my brains how to dress it up a little bit. And funny enough, when you call it a safety and health workshop, people are a bit more sounds interesting. So you're just switching the words.

SPEAKER_06:

Switch the words, yeah.

SPEAKER_07:

Um I also call them sometimes the heart and soul workshops, the H and S heart and soul.

SPEAKER_06:

Nice because that's smart, Lord.

SPEAKER_07:

If you're on 15 grand or 415 grand, your body and mind is just as vulnerable as everyone else. So that's the kind of the real connector with safety and health. Anyway, there's a slide that I was introduced to um a while ago, and I just think it's really handy for all organizations offering all sorts of different things. And imagine there are these kind of four bubbles that all make up a culture. So you've got values, yeah, beliefs, attitudes, behaviors. Okay, so let's take an example of safety, and then I'll use one I've been using in the video gaming world around quality. So we use a safety road first of all. So let's say that everyone says out loud, I value safety. So up and down an organization, left to right, everyone is saying, Yeah, I value safety because this you know, we've got some safety critical moments. But where it starts to then differ is the beliefs. So let's say one person is saying, and my belief is every incident and accident is preventable, and that then creates an attitude of fervently, rigorously wanting to find out how something could have been improved or how we can avoid something happening in the future. Okay, and the behavior you would then see is an appetite to have meetings, reading all the info and actually answering emails. So you would see the behaviours there that would show all the way back that actually that person values safety. But the difference kicks in at the belief. So let's say you've got someone else going, yeah, yeah, I value safety, but my belief is sometimes bad things happen to good people, and that's just the way it is. So my attitude is maybe not quite as um uh uh focused on trying to find out what happened. Maybe it's a little bit more accepting. So the behavior you'd see in that person would be a little bit less appetite to go to meetings, to book in that lessons learned, and you would just see maybe an apathy rather than an engagement.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07:

So it can be a bit of an eye-opener when you look up, well, we can all talk about values, so we might have it on our company literature, it might be plastered all over the world, uh all over the walls, but the values isn't really what sets the tone behaviorally, it's the beliefs, and what shapes humans' beliefs? Stories. So where I've seen cultures change overnight on a dime is where something horrendous has happened, and that instantly sits on that collective organization psyche, and people in there in that scenario go never again, we're never going to enable that to happen. And you see like a fresh energy around it. And so, of course, as the years go on, people forget stuff. As AI and robot process robotic process automation makes it more and more convenient to maybe do some of the aspects of our work, it's about not scaring people with horrible doom stories, but just reminding people of the impact of that. So, to link to your question around how do we get sort of culture there, I think often just joining the dots up and people seeing, but the reason why that has happened or the reason why that didn't happen is as a result of the culture. People can only be what they see, and if no one else is bothering about it, then it's convenient for me to not.

SPEAKER_06:

So, I suppose if we were to then look at your favorite topic ever, which is communication, um what needs to change to create the right culture?

SPEAKER_07:

Oh, great question. So, just like these AIs are learning from our behaviours and our language. So, everyone who's sort of familiar-ish with AI knows what you put into it, it will start to sort of mirror you in terms of how it then comes back. So, I was having a laugh with someone uh when I was over in Seattle. My chat GPT is so friendly and motivational, Debs. Like it will say to me every now and then, Well done, you're doing a really good job, Laura.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, and that's yeah, my does as well sometimes. And then this mic was fun. Thank you for that question.

SPEAKER_07:

Yeah, and then this mic was saying he'll he'll go to his chat GPT or their co-pilot one. So he'll he'll say, Do you really think that's a good enough answer? And he'll go to his AI. So he gets back quite sparky, quite critiquey. It still does what he needs to do, but the the it mirrors what he's then doing. So let's take this and apply this into a human workplace. Whatever you put out there is gonna get reflected back. We're seeing it in our AIs, and if you imagine this is like an ocean, if I chuck a load of rubbish into the ocean, at some point it's gonna float up on a beach. If I chuck a load of stuff out as a leader within a team, then just like child rearing, guess what? At some point that will start, you'll start to those chickens will come home to roost, and you'll stay you'll you'll start to see that. So I think from a practical point of view, is watching your language, and it's not the formal stuff that's on lovely glossy catalogues, it's the informal everyday stuff. And if we were to channel the um armies, army leadership approach, you I know you're gonna guess what I'm gonna say here. So go on, I know what you're gonna say. Two up intent churn that out around the old uh cake.

SPEAKER_06:

That's ingrained in my brain in 2030.

SPEAKER_07:

We'll call it the three up intent. Yeah, all right, let's try that one. Yeah, I'll just your AR.

SPEAKER_05:

I don't think that will work though.

SPEAKER_07:

Yeah, so the two up intent is apparently where every frontline soldier, whenever a task is delegated or explained, the strategic intent, two levels upwards, is shared as well. So this is what we're doing, here's the context, here's the purpose. So there's this it's just such an easy way to look at as part of that everyday communication that feeds into the culture, people being able to join the dots out. This is what I'm doing, this is the context, and this is the purpose. And it also helps enable an intergenerational workforce to be able to get them. Now, can I can I share with you the story that blew my mind that I picked up last week?

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, please do, Laura, because are you going to blow my mind like you did with the other stats that you shared with me?

SPEAKER_07:

I just can't get this out of my head. So, working in a well-known um everyday brand, we all know the name, but we never disclose who the client is because otherwise people wouldn't tell us their secrets. Yeah, exactly. Just to say, wherever you are in the world, you would have heard of this brand. Yeah. And we were looking at um a project around how to fast track knowledge transfer by equipping their mentors with some brilliant skills. And I know you've done loads of stuff around mentoring, and um this is about putting these mentors, sort of champions, through some handy tools to be able to equip them to be able to share with their mentees their inside workings out because what they were seeing is that in moments of pressure, pivotal moments, the trainees, because they didn't understand the workings out and why that decision was made, they were then um choking in that moment and not able to sort of perform under pressure. Anyway, one of the client had then said, even how we talk about time is showing some interrational diff intergenerational differences when we say to one of our trainees the shift finishes at 20 past four, right? They look at us blankly. You have to convert it into digital 1620.

SPEAKER_06:

What you're kidding? No, because what why?

SPEAKER_07:

I knew that would blow your mind. Because if you're if you're 19, you've been raised in a digital environment where time is always put to you as numeric only. So for example, we're recording this at 1947.

SPEAKER_06:

1947, yeah.

SPEAKER_07:

So oh my god. If I said to you, oh yeah, well, oh we'll we'll we'll get online at 10 to 8. Yeah, they they I'll go, all right then. But you said just increasingly everyone's going, when is that? And then they have to convert it into digital. That blew my mind in. Oh my gosh. So what oh wow, that was like when I heard in the year 2017 when I had my first wake up and smell the silicon moment, yeah, that people at that point, this was 2017. Um, don't worry, Debs, it didn't include either of us. It was around the age of 24. But apparently, what doorbell manufacturers and button manufacturers were finding was in 2017, it's a niche, it's a niche podcast, Debs. Um 2017, anyone over the age of 24 would use their finger to press a button. Right, everyone under the age of 24 would use their thumb because the thumb had been started to be like a much more important digit as a result of thumb IDs and all that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_06:

Well, that is crazy. So even cultures can shift on a like a nanosecond, and it's shifting all the time, really. But how so how do what would be your, I suppose, words of wisdom to say to people or to help people understand the importance of culture then?

SPEAKER_07:

If this were a Petri dish, what are the ingredients live and part of our processes that are essential for our success for the next five years? What do we need to start growing now in order to sustain or refresh our ways of working? And the simplest way um I learned this for you to describe culture is the way things are done around here. Yeah, yeah. If if that worked for you, that model of your four bubbles, values, behaviors, attitude, behavior. Sorry, values, beliefs, yeah, attitude, behavior. Well, if you just tell people to behave in different ways, that could be seen as patronizing, and people might just sort of nod along but unwatch, they don't do it differently. Attitude can be kind of really um vulnerable to the moods around others as well. Values we can all profess to have in the same values, but the key bit, I believe, Debs, is beliefs, and beliefs are influenced by stories. So get your stories, get your share pockets of where best practice, so it's not just kind of talking about the bad stuff all the time, it's sharing some shooting star stories, we call them. Of yeah let's say you're in the in the midst of a gruelling change process, um, and everyone is just getting really fed up with it, sharing and disseminating those stories of where that change is starting to land well or where it's made people's lives easier or better. Because the beliefs is that collective belief around an organization. And and uh do you remember we did that stuff around the whispers?

SPEAKER_06:

Yes, we did. So yeah, that was a good one, wasn't it? The whispers.

SPEAKER_07:

So I I think what a leader can do is get close to your people, find out what's going on. If people don't trust you yet or there's a bit of a disconnect, then um find your architects, so the the champions it might be called in your place, and then and then some of the things that we're doing with clients at the moment is using ready-made networks in creative ways. For example, the client that we had the meeting with last week who was saying, yeah, for God's sake, don't use the board for the videos. It's then, okay, well, who are some people that are captured the hearts and the trust? And they've got a mental health first aider network. Yeah, and actually the MHFA networks are perfectly positioned to be able to not load them with more stuff, but just to be able to involve them in some of the design and the delivery of these bite-sized bits of content.

SPEAKER_06:

Because they're gonna hear it, right?

SPEAKER_07:

First of all, and if they're bought in, uh everyone else would be bought in as well. Yeah, so I love it. Articulate it, find your people who can then replicate it. Nice. And um and it's about sharing those stories. It's the stories that catch fire because that influences beliefs, and it's the beliefs that shape the everyday attitudes and behaviours.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah. Oh my god, I love that. So that would be nice for me. My call to action would be for anybody listening to this: is what is your story, and what story do you want to create that shows you in your best light and it's congruent with who you are. So think about what is my story.

SPEAKER_07:

Oh, nice one, Debs. I was so excited thinking about robots, fish taking the time. Haven't actually thought about my share the secret. Right, I know what it is. Share the secret. So if it is all around power to the people into the networks, then um, if you listen to this and you think, oh, I know a couple of other people in my organization who I know kind of shape the vibe, get them to listen to this because often we don't realise just how much we do influence each other. And on that organizational hierarchy, you don't need to be top of the tree to be able to cast a big amount of light and shade. And so it's uh I I think it's about equipping and empowering people to be those culture change makers. So if you know you know someone who you they don't know it, but you know it, that they have some real influence, get them to listen to this, and hopefully this just helps making it a bit more intentional.

SPEAKER_06:

Oh, that's been really cool. And I really enjoyed listening to your wisdoms coming through on this one, Lord, because it sets us up really nicely for the other episodes that we've got coming, which sort of you know expand on this even more. So um, yeah, and I'm glad you're back from Seattle and able to share your wisdoms, which is so cool. But no, thanks, Lord. It's been a pleasure. So next week we're doing something else on culture, aren't we? So we're 20 to 10. Yeah, 20 to 10. 1940. No, 2140. Yeah, let me get my digital clock out.

SPEAKER_07:

Yeah, yeah, I'm just gonna just gonna press the button with my thumb.

SPEAKER_06:

Um, yeah, we can looking forward to it.

SPEAKER_07:

Yeah, we're gonna do more stuff around culture and to take it from a variety of different perspectives. So um, welcome your thoughts as ever because the intention of our podcast, episode 257, we are at now.

SPEAKER_06:

And over 60,000 downloads. I know, yeah, get in. I know.

SPEAKER_07:

That's what it is. Don't tell anyone. Going round on that cruise ship so we get all the different IP addresses. Oh, we're global, yeah. Um, but as ever, our endeavour is in this incredible shape-shifting decade where the world of work is just evolving so quickly before you've written it. You know, it's kind of evolved, and here to cheer you on and to just share some tips and tricks. And uh we're very fortunate, aren't we, Debs? We get to work behind the scenes with all sorts of organizations and to just be able to make it as simple as possible so we can keep working the box that it is, so we're not overwhelmed, we're not overloaded, but we're enjoying our uh a good life work balance with some flourishing work experiences. And if you're in your job at the moment and you hate it, you know, no feeling is final. Listening to some of our back episodes as well. Of uh if you're looking for sort of reasons to leave or a bit of a bit of uh uh a confidence boost, and if you're not in work or you're currently in a role and you want to excel, then uh hopefully this will uh carry carry you through. So we've had some good feedback, haven't we, Debs, from different people over the years?

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, we have, and we're gonna start sharing some of that. So people want to contribute to the celebrations, so we're gonna celebrate with them. So yeah, we'll listen out for that. But yeah, have a good week, Laura.

SPEAKER_07:

Yeah, you two devs. And on that note, congratulations on 20 years of the Wishfish coaching and development family. It's been a movement, it's been wonderful to be part of it. I'm so grateful to have uh connected with you, and you've opened up so many doors to me, devs, and so many people, and made so many people's lives better. So thank you so much, Debs and Wishfish.

SPEAKER_06:

Forever. A pleasure. Wishing it's just the beginning, that's where it started. So we could but have a good one.

SPEAKER_07:

Yeah, you too, Debs.

SPEAKER_05:

Love you, love you, bye bye.

SPEAKER_00:

Happy 20th anniversary to Wishfish. The biggest thank you, thank you, thank you to Debs for being there. Um, my experience of Wishfish and Debs in particular um has only spanned the last maybe year and a half, which means that 18 and a half years of my life, um, there's been a hole, there's been a wishfish-sized hole, and that's not easy to say. Debs, I can't thank enough. Thank you, thank you, thank you, and here's to the next 20 plus years.

SPEAKER_08:

Take care, bye. Say happy birthday to Wishfish, happy 20th birthday. I'm so privileged and so lucky to have Debs as my coach, and she's helped me through possibly, or it is definitely the toughest times in my life. I don't know what I would have done without her support, her guidance. Debs was there with tools, top tips, um, but just such a supportive place to be with her in that space, and it was it still continues to be, yeah, my favourite hour each month.

SPEAKER_02:

Hi Deb, um just reaching out to say thank you so much to you and the rest of the team for the work that you've done. It's been an absolutely seamless process, and I've been super impressed with how you in particular, but also the rest of the team, um, really listened and made sure that you understood what we were looking for when we first started working together.

SPEAKER_01:

Happy birthday, Wishfish. Can't believe it's 20 years since you started. Your impact has been extraordinary. So happy birthday, Wishfish. And here's to the next 20 years. Happy birthday, Wishfish.

SPEAKER_04:

Who would believe 20 years young? It's an amazing business to work alongside, and I'm so very grateful for all that you've done across the several companies where you've supported me and my team to really become the best versions of ourselves.

SPEAKER_09:

I had the pleasure of working with Wishfish and the wider Wishfish team on the design and delivery of a leadership programme for over 400 employees, and I couldn't have been more thrilled to work with them. Not only do they bring their deep expertise in the LD field, but they possess an uncanny ability to get right to the heart of your business and tailor any solutions accordingly. Um, even more, Debs is an absolutely life-changing coach, and the whole team is so warm-hearted and generous with their time. They are an absolute pleasure to work with.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh my word, where do I start? Debs and Wishfish were my absolute rock during one of the hardest chapters of my life. Debs helped me to visualize my future beyond the trauma, understand my strength and my worth, and to move through challenges calmly, well, mostly, carefully and positively. I came through in good shape and ready for a future in which both my business and my wider life are happy, secure, and focused on good things. I am eternally grateful to you fabulous people. You are making a real difference.

SPEAKER_07:

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