August 6, 2025 • 34 mins
Inclusive Leadership: Siobhan Carr's Inspiring Journey at ODEON Cinemas
Join us on the Inclusive Leaders Podcast as we talk with Siobhan Carr, Group Head of Talent and Inclusion at ODEON Cinemas. Sivan shares her remarkable career journey from a cinema manager in Dublin to a strategic global role, discussing the critical importance of inclusivity, psychological safety, and the continuous improvement approach in leadership. Her personal experience with multiple sclerosis is also highlighted, providing an authentic look at resilience and the value of creating a supportive work environment.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
Hello and welcome to the Inclusive Leaders podcast.
This is the show where I speakwith the most inspirational and
thought-provoking leaders oftoday and unearth their unique
stories of diversity andinclusion to help inspire,
educate and motivate others tomake the world a better place.
Today, I am delighted to bejoined by Siobhan Carr.
(00:34):
Siobhan is the Group Head ofTalent and Inclusion for Odeon
Cinemas Group.
She has a wealth of experiencewithin hospitality and cinemas.
She's worked her way all theway from being cinema manager
right up the way to this groupposition and I'm very excited to
(00:56):
have her on the show.
Welcome, siobhan.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Thank you.
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Tell all of our listeners a little bit about how
you came to be where you aretoday.
Obviously, I have the benefitof knowing, but I think it's a
really fantastic personalprofessional story.
So tell us a little bit beforewe deep dive into some of the
subjects for today.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Okay, fab.
Well, thank you so much.
Yeah, I started within thisindustry, within the cinema
industry, 20 years ago.
This year I started.
I'm based in dublin and I'vemanaged to be able to to
maintain my roots in dublin as Igrew my career which is really
important to me and started inone of our cinemas in
blanchestown and in dublin cityand I've worked over the years
(01:41):
and all of our cinemas basicallyacross um ireland, worked in a
role, worked in a head of fieldoperations role, worked in head
of productivity role for the UKand Ireland and I think moving
into that role in particular, Ibuilt loads of skills.
I've taken all the skills thatI've gathered across my career
working with people.
I went in that head ofproductivity role.
I was in a much more strategicrole.
(02:03):
I was much more kind of awayfrom that people element of the
business and that's when itreally crystallized within me
that working in the peoplefunction I think was where I
wanted to bring my career.
So I then moved into the headof talent and development for
the UKI and that was my firsttime out of operations into the
fold of the people team andreally starting to be able to
(02:25):
have a much bigger impact ontalent development, career
journeys, the culture across thebusiness, which I find
incredibly exciting that I'mable to do that or that was able
to do that.
And then, after having donethat for a couple of years, it
was an opportunity to apply fora group head of role, which I
did, and after a thoroughinternal recruitment process, I
(02:49):
was fortunate enough to moveinto the role that I'm currently
doing, the group head of talentand inclusion, so supporting
our talent and inclusionstrategy across the nine
countries that we operate.
We're in the UK now,representation in northern
Europe and southern Europe and,you know, a really great
opportunity for me to learn somuch more about the different
cultures that we operate in.
(03:09):
How does that influence thedevelopment, the talent, the
inclusion strategy in thosecountries?
How can I, in a group centralrole, create a global framework
but that can be able to belocalized in the countries that
it needs to be localized in?
And really trying to learn andunderstand and I still am and I
will still continue to learnmore about the cultural impact
(03:30):
and what does inclusion mean inour different countries, you
know, and where are they interms of that inclusivity and
how it matters to them, what itmeans to them has been really
incredibly insightful andthought-provoking for me
personally and professionallyover the last 18 months in this
role, and always considering theimpact of a language change.
If we're creating a piece ofcontent and we change the
(03:51):
language, does that change themeaning?
You know, how do we ensure thatwe are creating something that
is fit for purpose but feelsauthentic for each one of the
countries that we operate?
So, um, I would say I countmyself pretty fortunate, but
I've also worked really hard toget to where I am now as well.
I've taken opportunities, I'veput myself out there, I have
(04:12):
lent on my skills, I haveelevated the skills where I'm
strong on and I've really triedto develop the areas that you
know there's opportunitydevelopment areas for me as well
.
So, um, throughout kind of thelast number of years in
particular, I've tried to stayaway from fortunate language and
lucky language.
I am those things.
But I've also worked hard toget where I am today and I I
(04:33):
think we don't alwaysacknowledge that in ourselves um
, all the time, um, particularlyas females at times.
So I, um, I try to change thatlanguage and try and change that
with other people as well a bit, and just kind of not call them
out but like, yes, you arelucky, but you've also worked
hard to enable yourself to be inthe position to you know, for
(04:53):
myself to step into a group role, to step into spaces I haven't
been in previously to buildrelationships with people at
different parts of the business.
So all those things have led meto the, the position that I'm,
that I'm now in in today andstill growing, still learning
every day, like I said,particularly around the cultural
variances in which we operate.
So, um, that's a little bitabout, about where I've gotten
(05:15):
to so far.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Wow, siobhan, that is such a lot, and I love how you
tell that story as you werespeaking.
It made me think of one of myvery favorite expressions, which
is hard work beats talent whentalent doesn't work hard, and I
remember a CEO mentor of minealways telling me that.
(05:38):
And this justification, I thinkthat we feel often as women but
not exclusively as women, butoften as women is, oh my
goodness, I'm almost feeling alittle shy about talking about
some of these things.
But actually you're completelyright is you've worked
incredibly hard to get to thisplace and actually when you look
(05:58):
at your career and your careerjourney, it is really linear,
but actually every couple ofyears you've moved and you
started right the way fromalmost this grassroots position
in a little town in Dublin,which I think is fabulous now,
to going into the group role.
And I think what's going to bereally interesting to unpick and
unpack during this podcast ishow some of these cultural
(06:23):
nuances, language nuances, havealmost evolved, because that
thing about inclusion andculture and I think you know
people see it as this one thing,but actually it's living, it's
breathing, it's eating, it'sconstantly changing.
You take, you know, onedimension just as an example,
off the top of my head, lgbt,lgbtq plus, ia, and and and the
(06:45):
different words, differentmeanings in different countries,
as you alluded to.
Before we move on, if youwouldn't mind, I'd love you to
share a little bit aboutyourself personally, if you
wouldn't mind, because I knowyou know certainly at Dial when
we talk about inclusivity andtalent we are.
You know, know we're oftenproud to talk about the
(07:07):
different facets of inclusionthat make us who we are and have
formed a part of our being, andI know disability and
neurodiversity in particular,and certainly something I share,
being ADHD and dyslexic myselfis something close to your heart
.
Would you mind sharing a littleabout why this is so important
(07:29):
and whether you feel any of yourpersonal aspects have helped
you or propelled you or affectedyour career journey?
Speaker 2 (07:39):
yeah, absolutely, yeah, yeah, definitely, happy to
, happy to share.
So, um, I've always, like verymuch, had a passion and
authenticity and an interest inin people and creating that
right, that right culture, andum, I come, I believe I come
from a real kind of place ofprivilege as well.
Um, you know, in terms of beingable to, how do I help, support
(08:00):
those around me?
And, um, I suppose, somethingthat really shaped me about four
years ago now, I was diagnosedwith multiple sclerosis and so I
was in my early 40s.
I was just outside thecatchment of where you normally
get got, get diagnosed um.
I hadn't, um, I was.
I do consider myself prettyfortunate.
I hadn't been ill for a longtime.
(08:21):
It was caught relatively,relatively early, but was still
a shock.
You know, it was not somethingthat I had been expecting.
I hadn't, like I said, hadsymptoms for a long time or
challenges for a long time.
And I suppose once I got overthe initial shock of my
diagnosis and what does thatmean and what does it mean for
me in a professional capacity,am I still going to be able to
(08:42):
do the work that I do?
I'm still going to be able todo the work that I do.
I'm still going to be able tocommit fully because if I'm in
something I'm in, I'm in all theway and will I still be able to
do that and still balance theneeds, these new needs that I
had for my, for myself, um, interms of you know, um, that
diagnosis and that impact andgoing on treatment, and how will
that impact?
You know, my ability to notjust work but to live.
(09:06):
I guess you know, um, you know,and after I kind of worked
through, kind of all thosefeelings and trying to
understand, I'm learning moreabout the illness, the
disability every day and howthat impacts and how I can
manage it and and all that typeof stuff.
But what I suppose it gave me areal appreciation in terms of
um all of a sudden had a labelthat I wasn't sure I was
(09:27):
comfortable with.
Um, that's kind of thereference to the privilege piece
.
I didn't feel maybe previouslythat I was necessarily labeled
and now all of a sudden I havethis label of you know MS as a
recognized disability and thatI'm going to have for the rest
of my life and you know soreally helped.
It really made me think aboutthat impact of you know how we
(09:47):
are speaking about the differentfacets of diversity and you
know the way we speak to them,about our colleagues, how we
explain them, how we supportthem and understanding what they
are and what sits underneaththem and that type of stuff.
So it was a real you know,after the initial shock you know
I still have down days likeit's not all you know roses, and
there's still days where itimpacts me significantly um, but
(10:10):
I was able to, I suppose, lookat it in a way is how does that
make me better?
How can I learn from it?
How can I support others maybein a similar situation.
How can I create, in the rolethat I'm in, create the
psychological safety within ourbusiness that people can
disclose if they have adisability that they feel
comfortable disclosing they havea disability.
80% of people that havedisabilities are hidden, you
(10:32):
know, including mine.
I have quite an expressive face, so my line manager now knows
if I'm struggling because you'llsee it on my face, but in the
whole, it is a hidden disability.
So you know how do I bring thatinto?
How I feel and how I felt andhow I felt having to tell the
business as well that this issomething that I had and I don't
(10:54):
know what's going to happen.
I don't know how it's going toprogress.
I don't know what it will belike in a year's time, in two
years' time.
All I know is what I can controlnow and I manage that as best I
can in my medication.
Like I said, I manage itthrough my diet, my lifestyle.
I manage it through a work-lifebalance that I've never had
previously, because itcrystallized what's important to
me, um, in terms of managing myown health and wellness.
(11:17):
So I look at it from a coupleof ways.
How do I, you know, manage itfrom a work-life balance
perspective, but also how do Iuse it in work to help, like I
said, create that environmentwhere people feel comfortable
sharing.
I have an incrediblerelationship with my line
manager, a high level of trust,so I felt comfortable sharing
that with them.
But does everyone have that sameopportunity in the business?
And I'm in a position now to beable to help create that culture
(11:40):
, you know, where everyone can,you know, share kind of what is
is happening, whether that'swith a disability, whether
that's with maybe they're movinginto a carer role for somebody
that they've hadn't, you know,had to do before, and how does
that impact, you know, theirworking life?
How can we create a moreflexible environment where
needed?
So, um, for me it was abouttaking after the initial shock
(12:00):
and and the what-ifs and okay,let's come back to what I can
control and how I can use it tohelp, particularly in the role
that I'm in, to kind of helpcreate that culture where people
can not only kind of speakabout it or share the fact that
they have a disabilitypotentially, but know that there
is a support network there forthem, there is a net there for
(12:23):
them, really passionately abouthaving everyone having the same
experience that I've had,because it's been incredible for
me in terms of my interactionwith the business and what I've
needed and how they've supportedme.
And I want everyone all 9,000colleagues across OCG to know
that they have that net therefor them, they have that support
(12:44):
there for them as much as I had, because I sit in a place where
I really understand that, Ireally know what's available and
, you know, making sure everyoneacross the business has that
same experience or that sameunderstanding, whether they need
it or not, is a real driver forme and the role that I'm in now
thank you for articulating thatso beautifully and sharing
(13:08):
Siobhan um, I mean, not only isit really touching on a personal
level, but also you can see howwonderful your manager in the
organisation has been, but thepositive impact that will have
with not only you as a leaderbeing a beacon of psychological
(13:29):
safety because we know thetrickle effect that then filters
down to others.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Then knowing actually I'm okay to be able to share
this High levels of trust veryimportant High levels of
psychological safety, certainlywith management understanding,
but equally fantastic for thebusiness because you look at
someone who's been with theorganisation for many years has
clearly been very progressivefor a significant portion of
(13:55):
time.
It's retention of talent, and welook at the global marketplace
right now and how so much ischanging.
One of the biggest benefitssorry, one of the biggest
aspects or company uh, benefitsand usps they have is is
retaining great talent, which inturn, is driving engagement,
(14:19):
allowing the positive culture tosupport others who are coming
up within the organisation.
9,000 colleagues across OCG, asyou say, that is not a small
number at all and it makes methink very much of almost these
life moments, because all um,and it makes me think very much
(14:39):
of almost these life moments,because you know life moments,
um, you know, certainlypertaining to disability.
I think the numbers somethinglike 16 million people in the uk
alone, nearly a quarter of thepopulation have got a disability
, and so being able to be openabout that and find
interventions internally andpivot it then as a positive to
support others, I think isabsolutely critical on a
(15:03):
humanity level, but also forgreat business as well, within
the role that you're doing.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Yeah, yeah, and I've had two role changes, like two
progressive role changes sinceI've been diagnosed, since I've,
you know, shared with businessin terms of um, where I'm at
kind of health-wise and stuff,so it's I, I feel like I'm
almost like proof of I'm thatliving proof, you know, and in
in the business and that's whatmakes me happy to share my story
(15:30):
, whether that be internally orexternally.
I've been, you know, we haveobviously, communication
platforms within our ownbusiness where I have shared, in
terms of where I'm at, you know, my diagnosis, how it impacted
and how I use it to try andpropel myself forward, to try
and identify with more people,to understand more people and
how we use it as a fuel, and Isuppose that's what makes it so
(15:51):
easy to be so passionate aboutit, because I want to create,
like I said, that sameenvironment that I've been lucky
to to be in or to be part of um.
You know how do we create thatin the 250 cinemas that we
operate across the group as well.
You know the way.
Like, like, 80% of people getdon't are not born with a
disability.
They will, you know, they willget a disability at some point
(16:11):
during their life.
So it's not.
You know, I was in my early 40sbefore I got mine, you know.
So you think you're on thiscertain trajectory and you just
never know what's going tohappen.
But knowing that you're in theright environment to support you
through that is really reallyimportant.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Makes all the difference, and I think it's a
perfect inflection point now forus to start talking about how
inclusion has been woven intoall elements of business.
Absolutely right, you are ourliving example of how this has
happened, but clearly, there's anumber of strategic pillars
(16:49):
within the organisation, thosenine territories that you've
already touched upon, and youknow, when it comes to things
like inclusivity and culture,which aren't always linear, it's
super important, then, to weavethis throughout, nuance it as
per country, demographic anddown down.
(17:09):
So talk to us a little bitabout how I know a very big
question but a little bit abouthow you've casually woven
inclusion into all elements ofthe business.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Yeah, and woven is that word, isn't it?
It's been like you know, we'reon this journey in terms of how
do we take, you know, all theelements around inclusion and
weave it right across thebusiness, and it feels like a
shared accountability, a shareddesire to move forward, to
always continue to evolve andcreate a continuous improvement
approach to our culture and toinclusion right across the
(17:45):
business.
So that woven element is soimportant to us.
I work in talent and inclusionand I look at talent, I look at
development, I look at inclusionas a trio, as a triad, and
everything that we talk about interms of talent.
We bring the inclusion lensinto everything we talk about in
terms of inclusion.
We bring the talent lens in.
If we're, you know, nominatingcolleagues for external
(18:07):
development programs with someof our other partners, we look
at, ok, where is the top talentcoming through?
How is that informing who arethe right people to maybe go on
those programs or to berecognized in an external manner
at this point?
So trying to bring the twothings on the development piece
together.
In terms of development, um, acouple of years ago we created
(18:28):
an internal um incredibleleadership framework program, um
, and that's kind of that beaconof um, our leadership kind of
behaviors, our leadership thathas in inclusion, and so the,
the print, or know myself, so weself and building kind of
awareness.
(18:48):
Our guiding principle is aroundby team, so spreading that out.
What do I understand?
The teams.
And then, right anchored in themiddle is the creating
inclusive and collaborativeenvironment.
So you know, we talk aboutpsychological safety, how to,
you know, support our leadersand understanding what does it
mean?
And to demystify it a littlebit because it can sound quite
intimidating, so how do we kindof create, you know, some the
(19:11):
development there so theyunderstand how they can create
that environment, understandtheir impact as a leader in
terms of around the culturearound them and how their team
look to them to create thatenvironment.
And then our last two guidingprinciples around create our
future.
How do we look at thingsinnovatively and then finally
making things happen soinclusive, to be there in the
(19:33):
middle kind of really anchoringthat whole entire program and
ensuring that, like I said, it'sreally woven and we speak a lot
about psychological safety inthere in terms of how to create
that right environment and beingin a leadership role is
incredibly, you know, incrediblyimpactful and so helping
(19:53):
leaders understand, you know,their impact on those around
them, whether that be within ateam or laterally, or on their
stakeholders, and how they canhelp support.
You know, always creating thatright environment is really key
for us.
We started that program with ourC-suite and our EXCO members in
2020, late 2022.
And you know it's comingthrough the different layers of
(20:16):
the business.
It's starting to come intocinemas this year.
So we're all very much movingforward in the same, with the
same language, with the sameapproach to behaviors and with
inclusivity anchored there inthe middle of it.
So it's really important thatwe're all speaking the same,
although we speak differentlanguages, that we are all
speaking in this in the same.
You know that, that sameleadership language and you know
(20:36):
when those kind of principlesthat have brought you through
that's they're quite simplelanguage know myself, value our
teams and that that was reallyintentional to enable direct
translation, so we don't losethe meaning um of when it is
translated into our multiple uh,multiple languages.
So that was a really kind ofkey element of when the program
was created and to ensure thatwe will be able to translate in
(20:59):
a way that it keeps the meaningbut it becomes, you know, um
accessible to all our colleaguesright across the countries that
we operate.
So, like I said, that's nowstarting to come into our cinema
leadership teams, which is, uh,really exciting and seeing how
they're responding to to thedevelopment and um is, yeah,
it's, it's brilliant.
You know, germany and spainitaly in the last two weeks, all
(21:20):
delivered this training intheir own, in their own language
, for the first time.
The internal trainersdelivering it.
You know it was incredible forthem to move into a space where
they're able to deliver in locallanguage as opposed to needing
to do it um in english.
So they really enjoyed theexperience.
Um and, like I said, to see howthe colleagues are responding
to the training and havingeveryone together to do that and
(21:42):
it's, it's incredible and verylive in the business and very
visible it.
You can feel it across thebusiness and, as we continue to
roll it out, across our alllayers of leadership.
So that's probably our, ourkind of broadest example of
where we've kind of broughteverything together and you know
, some of our talent, mosttalent leaders, are delivering
(22:04):
it.
You know it's a real kind ofkey development opportunity for
our teams and with inclusivitylayered throughout the entire
programme that's super exciting.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
It's a brilliant, tangible example, isn't it?
We touched on the trickleeffect before, but what's really
nice is you're looking at thesemulti-faceted aspects with
inclusion at the heart.
How does that fit, then, withinhigh performance talent and
identifying great talent, butequally feeding it down, meaning
that we can keep nurturing thepipeline of talent, because, as
(22:40):
you and I know both, being fromthe world of talent is often the
higher up the classicalcorporate hierarchy go, the
lower and the lower some of theaspects of diversity are, and so
the fact that you're looking atall you know, almost an
integrated approach to thingslike psychological safety,
localization, etc.
Etc.
(23:00):
Feeding off the leadershipframework with the Xcode to
start with, is really nice, andit will be exciting to hear how
everything turns out.
So I gather you'll be bringingeveryone then back together to
find out what the local countryexperiences have been yeah, yeah
, exactly, and we're continuing.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
We go back into it all the time.
Exco maybe have gone throughyou know their five friends.
We're going back in regularlyto kind of keep it, you know,
updated, keep on building on thelearning, keep on building on
the language, keep on buildingand to ensure that it's um, it's
sustainable and impactful andalive throughout the business
and, like I said, to see it nowin with our cinema leaders is is
(23:43):
really really exciting, um, umand yeah, it's a great place to
be and will continue.
You know it's never, it's never, you're never there, whether
that be with development,without being inclusivity,
without being um, talent there'salways.
It's always a continuousimprovement approach.
Okay, how, how can we getbetter?
How can we learn fromdelivering it this way?
How can we do it better for thenext cohort?
(24:05):
How can we continually improvethe experience for our
colleagues?
Always, always, always.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Amazing.
You can tell that you've donecontinuous improvement and
strategy in the earlier roles,because they're all now feeding
into this.
One is super.
So let's pivot then back beforewe close, because I could
clearly talk to you all day,siobhan.
Uh, let's go into a couple oflightning round questions,
because inclusion, culture,talent all my favorite things
(24:34):
all featured heavily throughoutthis podcast.
What does inclusion, diversity,culture mean to you personally?
Because I know it often meansdifferent things to different
people.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Yeah, I think it's.
For me it's around all voiceskind of being given that
opportunity to be heard,regardless of whether maybe
someone wants to step into aspace or wants to, you know, be
very vocal.
I think it's really importantto me that they know they can,
um, and that they do want to,that their thoughts, their ideas
, their perspectives will bevalued and will be heard.
(25:08):
So it's that kind of you know,knowing that everyone has that
equal opportunity to to usetheir voice.
You know, no matter wherethey're sitting right across the
business, no matter where, ifthey represent a facet of
diversity or not, but being ableto use their voice and know
that they will be heard isreally important.
That consistent experience ofour culture for everyone across
(25:30):
the business is really.
What I strive for is foreveryone to be aware of the
culture that we are creating,what that means for them, how
they can step in, step outwhatever is right for them that
particular time, and thatconsistency of everyone being
aware and part of it, um, kindof is is really important to me.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
I'm already thinking of like a t-shirt slogan from
what you've said.
It's like living it, nurturingit, all voices heard, but
equally ensuring thesustainability.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
What's your secret to success?
Another big question.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
I think probably for me it's probably been my
authenticity, I really likepeople, probably been my
authenticity.
I really like people.
I just genuinely like peopleand I genuinely want to create
or help support, create aculture where people feel really
valued and feel like theybelong, because not every
business does that or not everyexperience is like that and you
(26:32):
know.
So that's really important tome, that people, you know that I
can help create that, thatenvironment for people and
that's what kind of reallydrives my get out of bed every
morning and try and make thingsa little bit better for for the
people that I work with.
Because I genuinely care.
And I think when I look back onmy career and you know how
(26:53):
that's grown, that's been at theheart of, and sometimes I'm
like, oh, that can't be the onlywhy, but I think it's enough.
It's been enough to get mewhere I am now and I think, as
long as I have the right balanceof business awareness with that
people focus, that gets thebusiness the right output and
the people in at the rightoutput to make the business
successfully.
So that second element, thatkind of business lens, has grown
(27:16):
more and more in me obviouslyas I've progressed through my
career, but people at the heartand marrying those two um is
what I think has been my successso far.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
It's not over yet, hopefully no, it's fascinating I
think, more so now in thecurrent market environment which
you, you know often seeingthings change very, very rapidly
, having the human centricleadership but also being able
to be commercial and not havingthe need to always justify that.
(27:48):
If I reflect on the last 10, 20years, it was often kind of
corporate social responsibilityand these kind of things.
You know, almost there beingsomething slightly separate with
businesses doing well.
Actually, weaving the twotogether equals something really
fantastic.
And some of the best leadersthat I have seen they've got
very high emotional intelligenceand people skills yet at the
(28:12):
same time, are very businesssavvy and commercially focused,
very nimble, um, and I thinkthis is, you know, one of the
key skills that we, um, we needfor our leaders of the future.
Yeah, definitely, who'sinspired you most throughout
your life?
Because I know you started off,you know, talking very, very,
(28:34):
very nicely about, almost youknow, these humble beginnings.
Who's inspired you most?
Speaker 2 (28:40):
I would say it's my dad.
My dad came from really humblebeginnings.
Like lived in a very smallfishing village in the northwest
of Ireland and he spokeexclusively Gaelic.
When he was growing up hedidn't speak English and he made
the move to Dublin and intoprimary school teaching when he
(29:01):
was really young, so moved awayfrom home and he really built an
astounding career for himselfand he spent a large portion of
the later part of his career asthe head of the trade union for
primary school teachers inIreland and his desire to make
the education system better forboth teachers and for pupils was
(29:21):
incredible.
And to see that live and to seethe commitment that he put into
it, often at the detriment of,maybe, family time or the lives
of children and the people whoteach those children better.
I know it's obviously muchbigger realm than what I'm
(29:42):
working in, but you can take thesame ethos, the same principle
and apply that.
He was determined, he was, hehad a north star and he there
was nothing that was going tostop him achieving that, because
if he made the life of onepupil better or one teacher
better, like that's incredible.
And if I make the life of onecolleague better or one leader
better like that's alsoincredible, and so, yeah, he's
(30:06):
been a huge.
Inspiration obviously remainsI'm lucky enough to have to
still have my dad, so he remainsas one for me.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
That's.
I'm sure he's incredibly proudof you.
I hope he's going to listen tothis podcast as well.
And finally, if you could lookback or give yourself advice,
your younger self advice, whatmight you say?
Speaker 2 (30:32):
um, I think it'd be around.
Don't be afraid or feel thefear and do it anyway in terms
of stepping into a space,whether that be a physical room
with people that you haven't,that you view in a certain way
in terms of hierarchicalpotentially, but not to be
afraid, or to be afraid and tostep in anyway and to know your
value in the room.
(30:53):
You've been asked in for areason, or you've positioned
yourself to get into that room,into that table, onto that zoom
call for a reason, um, and trustin um yourself, uh, to be that
you have the right to be there,um, because there's definitely
been, you know, that's thatlittle bit of imposter syndrome
coming in.
That's definitely beensomething that is, at points,
kind of been um, something thatI've um, struggled with in my
(31:14):
career.
So, um, yeah, feel the fear andand do it anyway and just trust
in yourself and that you'rethere for a reason, um, and um,
enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Siobhan, thank you so much.
I'm wondering where I start tosummarize today's session, but
it has been really enlightening,really empowering, and I think
there's going to be so manypeople who really take away
something special from listeningto this today, feel the fear
and do it anyway.
Obviously, a key person inquote makes me think very, very
(31:47):
much of Susan Jefferson I thinkit was who coined the book, one
of my real favourites.
But one of the real kind ofthemes that's woven throughout
this podcast that has reallyinspired me is the fact that
talent really is everywhere andthe resilience that you've shown
(32:11):
and I think the resilience thatfeeds into organisations from
having these kind of aspects ofpsychological, psychological
safety.
It's something that we reallyneed in the modern world right
now and certainly the world ofwork, because the world of work
is changing so rapidly.
There's a lot that we're seeinggeopolitically in the papers
(32:31):
about you know lots of things,um, you know up and down, and so
having this really fantastic,consistent approach to inclusion
, to culture, to talent, topsychological safety, to
systematically workingthroughout the veins of the
organisation, almost to actuallyproperly embed things, it's
(32:54):
clear to see from everythingthat you've said not only about
the odonian cinemas groupculture that innovation, high
performing talent is at theheart, but there's really that
investment in ensuring the rightenvironment is curated and
nurtured to ensure that lots ofdifferent types of individuals
(33:19):
can thrive.
And you are, as I think youmentioned in the podcast, a
living example of actually lifemoments, career progression and
being ultimately very successfuland moving into that group role
.
But, at the same time, what Iparticularly love is the
(33:43):
humility with it, because wehave to look up within
organisations and see peoplethat have some kind of
resemblance to us or we feel arealso human and perhaps we could
see ourselves like that one dayin the future.
Um, which brings me right theway back to your dad and the
(34:04):
importance of early intervention, because that's how we learn,
that's how we progress, um.
So thank you, siobhan, it'sbeen really fantastic having you
here thank you so so much.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
I really appreciate it.
It's been lovely to chat.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
My name's Leila McKenzie-Dallas, the founder and
CEO of Darl Global.
You've been listening toSiobhan Carr from Odeon Cinemas
Group.
Please do make sure youdownload the Inclusive Leaders
podcast.
You can find it on any of yourfavourite podcast channels or
apps Apple, spotify, whereveryour preference, or you can
visit us directly atwwwdialglobalorg.
(34:43):
Forward slash podcast and we'llput all the show notes links to
Odian and Siobhan's profile inthere.
If you have any questions atall.
Until next week, we'll lookforward to seeing you again very
soon and thank you forlistening.
Hello and welcome to the Inclusive Leaders podcast.
This is the show where I speakwith the most inspirational and
thought-provoking leaders oftoday and unearth their unique
stories of diversity andinclusion to help inspire,
educate and motivate others tomake the world a better place.
Today, I am delighted to bejoined by Siobhan Carr.
(00:34):
Siobhan is the Group Head ofTalent and Inclusion for Odeon
Cinemas Group.
She has a wealth of experiencewithin hospitality and cinemas.
She's worked her way all theway from being cinema manager
right up the way to this groupposition and I'm very excited to
(00:56):
have her on the show.
Welcome, siobhan.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Thank you.
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Tell all of our listeners a little bit about how
you came to be where you aretoday.
Obviously, I have the benefitof knowing, but I think it's a
really fantastic personalprofessional story.
So tell us a little bit beforewe deep dive into some of the
subjects for today.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Okay, fab.
Well, thank you so much.
Yeah, I started within thisindustry, within the cinema
industry, 20 years ago.
This year I started.
I'm based in dublin and I'vemanaged to be able to to
maintain my roots in dublin as Igrew my career which is really
important to me and started inone of our cinemas in
blanchestown and in dublin cityand I've worked over the years
(01:41):
and all of our cinemas basicallyacross um ireland, worked in a
role, worked in a head of fieldoperations role, worked in head
of productivity role for the UKand Ireland and I think moving
into that role in particular, Ibuilt loads of skills.
I've taken all the skills thatI've gathered across my career
working with people.
I went in that head ofproductivity role.
I was in a much more strategicrole.
(02:03):
I was much more kind of awayfrom that people element of the
business and that's when itreally crystallized within me
that working in the peoplefunction I think was where I
wanted to bring my career.
So I then moved into the headof talent and development for
the UKI and that was my firsttime out of operations into the
fold of the people team andreally starting to be able to
(02:25):
have a much bigger impact ontalent development, career
journeys, the culture across thebusiness, which I find
incredibly exciting that I'mable to do that or that was able
to do that.
And then, after having donethat for a couple of years, it
was an opportunity to apply fora group head of role, which I
did, and after a thoroughinternal recruitment process, I
(02:49):
was fortunate enough to moveinto the role that I'm currently
doing, the group head of talentand inclusion, so supporting
our talent and inclusionstrategy across the nine
countries that we operate.
We're in the UK now,representation in northern
Europe and southern Europe and,you know, a really great
opportunity for me to learn somuch more about the different
cultures that we operate in.
(03:09):
How does that influence thedevelopment, the talent, the
inclusion strategy in thosecountries?
How can I, in a group centralrole, create a global framework
but that can be able to belocalized in the countries that
it needs to be localized in?
And really trying to learn andunderstand and I still am and I
will still continue to learnmore about the cultural impact
(03:30):
and what does inclusion mean inour different countries, you
know, and where are they interms of that inclusivity and
how it matters to them, what itmeans to them has been really
incredibly insightful andthought-provoking for me
personally and professionallyover the last 18 months in this
role, and always considering theimpact of a language change.
If we're creating a piece ofcontent and we change the
(03:51):
language, does that change themeaning?
You know, how do we ensure thatwe are creating something that
is fit for purpose but feelsauthentic for each one of the
countries that we operate?
So, um, I would say I countmyself pretty fortunate, but
I've also worked really hard toget to where I am now as well.
I've taken opportunities, I'veput myself out there, I have
(04:12):
lent on my skills, I haveelevated the skills where I'm
strong on and I've really triedto develop the areas that you
know there's opportunitydevelopment areas for me as well
.
So, um, throughout kind of thelast number of years in
particular, I've tried to stayaway from fortunate language and
lucky language.
I am those things.
But I've also worked hard toget where I am today and I I
(04:33):
think we don't alwaysacknowledge that in ourselves um
, all the time, um, particularlyas females at times.
So I, um, I try to change thatlanguage and try and change that
with other people as well a bit, and just kind of not call them
out but like, yes, you arelucky, but you've also worked
hard to enable yourself to be inthe position to you know, for
(04:53):
myself to step into a group role, to step into spaces I haven't
been in previously to buildrelationships with people at
different parts of the business.
So all those things have led meto the, the position that I'm,
that I'm now in in today andstill growing, still learning
every day, like I said,particularly around the cultural
variances in which we operate.
So, um, that's a little bitabout, about where I've gotten
(05:15):
to so far.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Wow, siobhan, that is such a lot, and I love how you
tell that story as you werespeaking.
It made me think of one of myvery favorite expressions, which
is hard work beats talent whentalent doesn't work hard, and I
remember a CEO mentor of minealways telling me that.
(05:38):
And this justification, I thinkthat we feel often as women but
not exclusively as women, butoften as women is, oh my
goodness, I'm almost feeling alittle shy about talking about
some of these things.
But actually you're completelyright is you've worked
incredibly hard to get to thisplace and actually when you look
(05:58):
at your career and your careerjourney, it is really linear,
but actually every couple ofyears you've moved and you
started right the way fromalmost this grassroots position
in a little town in Dublin,which I think is fabulous now,
to going into the group role.
And I think what's going to bereally interesting to unpick and
unpack during this podcast ishow some of these cultural
(06:23):
nuances, language nuances, havealmost evolved, because that
thing about inclusion andculture and I think you know
people see it as this one thing,but actually it's living, it's
breathing, it's eating, it'sconstantly changing.
You take, you know, onedimension just as an example,
off the top of my head, lgbt,lgbtq plus, ia, and and and the
(06:45):
different words, differentmeanings in different countries,
as you alluded to.
Before we move on, if youwouldn't mind, I'd love you to
share a little bit aboutyourself personally, if you
wouldn't mind, because I knowyou know certainly at Dial when
we talk about inclusivity andtalent we are.
You know, know we're oftenproud to talk about the
(07:07):
different facets of inclusionthat make us who we are and have
formed a part of our being, andI know disability and
neurodiversity in particular,and certainly something I share,
being ADHD and dyslexic myselfis something close to your heart
.
Would you mind sharing a littleabout why this is so important
(07:29):
and whether you feel any of yourpersonal aspects have helped
you or propelled you or affectedyour career journey?
Speaker 2 (07:39):
yeah, absolutely, yeah, yeah, definitely, happy to
, happy to share.
So, um, I've always, like verymuch, had a passion and
authenticity and an interest inin people and creating that
right, that right culture, andum, I come, I believe I come
from a real kind of place ofprivilege as well.
Um, you know, in terms of beingable to, how do I help, support
(08:00):
those around me?
And, um, I suppose, somethingthat really shaped me about four
years ago now, I was diagnosedwith multiple sclerosis and so I
was in my early 40s.
I was just outside thecatchment of where you normally
get got, get diagnosed um.
I hadn't, um, I was.
I do consider myself prettyfortunate.
I hadn't been ill for a longtime.
(08:21):
It was caught relatively,relatively early, but was still
a shock.
You know, it was not somethingthat I had been expecting.
I hadn't, like I said, hadsymptoms for a long time or
challenges for a long time.
And I suppose once I got overthe initial shock of my
diagnosis and what does thatmean and what does it mean for
me in a professional capacity,am I still going to be able to
(08:42):
do the work that I do?
I'm still going to be able todo the work that I do.
I'm still going to be able tocommit fully because if I'm in
something I'm in, I'm in all theway and will I still be able to
do that and still balance theneeds, these new needs that I
had for my, for myself, um, interms of you know, um, that
diagnosis and that impact andgoing on treatment, and how will
that impact?
You know, my ability to notjust work but to live.
(09:06):
I guess you know, um, you know,and after I kind of worked
through, kind of all thosefeelings and trying to
understand, I'm learning moreabout the illness, the
disability every day and howthat impacts and how I can
manage it and and all that typeof stuff.
But what I suppose it gave me areal appreciation in terms of
um all of a sudden had a labelthat I wasn't sure I was
(09:27):
comfortable with.
Um, that's kind of thereference to the privilege piece
.
I didn't feel maybe previouslythat I was necessarily labeled
and now all of a sudden I havethis label of you know MS as a
recognized disability and thatI'm going to have for the rest
of my life and you know soreally helped.
It really made me think aboutthat impact of you know how we
(09:47):
are speaking about the differentfacets of diversity and you
know the way we speak to them,about our colleagues, how we
explain them, how we supportthem and understanding what they
are and what sits underneaththem and that type of stuff.
So it was a real you know,after the initial shock you know
I still have down days likeit's not all you know roses, and
there's still days where itimpacts me significantly um, but
(10:10):
I was able to, I suppose, lookat it in a way is how does that
make me better?
How can I learn from it?
How can I support others maybein a similar situation.
How can I create, in the rolethat I'm in, create the
psychological safety within ourbusiness that people can
disclose if they have adisability that they feel
comfortable disclosing they havea disability.
80% of people that havedisabilities are hidden, you
(10:32):
know, including mine.
I have quite an expressive face, so my line manager now knows
if I'm struggling because you'llsee it on my face, but in the
whole, it is a hidden disability.
So you know how do I bring thatinto?
How I feel and how I felt andhow I felt having to tell the
business as well that this issomething that I had and I don't
(10:54):
know what's going to happen.
I don't know how it's going toprogress.
I don't know what it will belike in a year's time, in two
years' time.
All I know is what I can controlnow and I manage that as best I
can in my medication.
Like I said, I manage itthrough my diet, my lifestyle.
I manage it through a work-lifebalance that I've never had
previously, because itcrystallized what's important to
me, um, in terms of managing myown health and wellness.
(11:17):
So I look at it from a coupleof ways.
How do I, you know, manage itfrom a work-life balance
perspective, but also how do Iuse it in work to help, like I
said, create that environmentwhere people feel comfortable
sharing.
I have an incrediblerelationship with my line
manager, a high level of trust,so I felt comfortable sharing
that with them.
But does everyone have that sameopportunity in the business?
And I'm in a position now to beable to help create that culture
(11:40):
, you know, where everyone can,you know, share kind of what is
is happening, whether that'swith a disability, whether
that's with maybe they're movinginto a carer role for somebody
that they've hadn't, you know,had to do before, and how does
that impact, you know, theirworking life?
How can we create a moreflexible environment where
needed?
So, um, for me it was abouttaking after the initial shock
(12:00):
and and the what-ifs and okay,let's come back to what I can
control and how I can use it tohelp, particularly in the role
that I'm in, to kind of helpcreate that culture where people
can not only kind of speakabout it or share the fact that
they have a disabilitypotentially, but know that there
is a support network there forthem, there is a net there for
(12:23):
them, really passionately abouthaving everyone having the same
experience that I've had,because it's been incredible for
me in terms of my interactionwith the business and what I've
needed and how they've supportedme.
And I want everyone all 9,000colleagues across OCG to know
that they have that net therefor them, they have that support
(12:44):
there for them as much as I had, because I sit in a place where
I really understand that, Ireally know what's available and
, you know, making sure everyoneacross the business has that
same experience or that sameunderstanding, whether they need
it or not, is a real driver forme and the role that I'm in now
thank you for articulating thatso beautifully and sharing
(13:08):
Siobhan um, I mean, not only isit really touching on a personal
level, but also you can see howwonderful your manager in the
organisation has been, but thepositive impact that will have
with not only you as a leaderbeing a beacon of psychological
(13:29):
safety because we know thetrickle effect that then filters
down to others.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Then knowing actually I'm okay to be able to share
this High levels of trust veryimportant High levels of
psychological safety, certainlywith management understanding,
but equally fantastic for thebusiness because you look at
someone who's been with theorganisation for many years has
clearly been very progressivefor a significant portion of
(13:55):
time.
It's retention of talent, and welook at the global marketplace
right now and how so much ischanging.
One of the biggest benefitssorry, one of the biggest
aspects or company uh, benefitsand usps they have is is
retaining great talent, which inturn, is driving engagement,
(14:19):
allowing the positive culture tosupport others who are coming
up within the organisation.
9,000 colleagues across OCG, asyou say, that is not a small
number at all and it makes methink very much of almost these
life moments, because all um,and it makes me think very much
(14:39):
of almost these life moments,because you know life moments,
um, you know, certainlypertaining to disability.
I think the numbers somethinglike 16 million people in the uk
alone, nearly a quarter of thepopulation have got a disability
, and so being able to be openabout that and find
interventions internally andpivot it then as a positive to
support others, I think isabsolutely critical on a
(15:03):
humanity level, but also forgreat business as well, within
the role that you're doing.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Yeah, yeah, and I've had two role changes, like two
progressive role changes sinceI've been diagnosed, since I've,
you know, shared with businessin terms of um, where I'm at
kind of health-wise and stuff,so it's I, I feel like I'm
almost like proof of I'm thatliving proof, you know, and in
in the business and that's whatmakes me happy to share my story
(15:30):
, whether that be internally orexternally.
I've been, you know, we haveobviously, communication
platforms within our ownbusiness where I have shared, in
terms of where I'm at, you know, my diagnosis, how it impacted
and how I use it to try andpropel myself forward, to try
and identify with more people,to understand more people and
how we use it as a fuel, and Isuppose that's what makes it so
(15:51):
easy to be so passionate aboutit, because I want to create,
like I said, that sameenvironment that I've been lucky
to to be in or to be part of um.
You know how do we create thatin the 250 cinemas that we
operate across the group as well.
You know the way.
Like, like, 80% of people getdon't are not born with a
disability.
They will, you know, they willget a disability at some point
(16:11):
during their life.
So it's not.
You know, I was in my early 40sbefore I got mine, you know.
So you think you're on thiscertain trajectory and you just
never know what's going tohappen.
But knowing that you're in theright environment to support you
through that is really reallyimportant.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Makes all the difference, and I think it's a
perfect inflection point now forus to start talking about how
inclusion has been woven intoall elements of business.
Absolutely right, you are ourliving example of how this has
happened, but clearly, there's anumber of strategic pillars
(16:49):
within the organisation, thosenine territories that you've
already touched upon, and youknow, when it comes to things
like inclusivity and culture,which aren't always linear, it's
super important, then, to weavethis throughout, nuance it as
per country, demographic anddown down.
(17:09):
So talk to us a little bitabout how I know a very big
question but a little bit abouthow you've casually woven
inclusion into all elements ofthe business.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Yeah, and woven is that word, isn't it?
It's been like you know, we'reon this journey in terms of how
do we take, you know, all theelements around inclusion and
weave it right across thebusiness, and it feels like a
shared accountability, a shareddesire to move forward, to
always continue to evolve andcreate a continuous improvement
approach to our culture and toinclusion right across the
(17:45):
business.
So that woven element is soimportant to us.
I work in talent and inclusionand I look at talent, I look at
development, I look at inclusionas a trio, as a triad, and
everything that we talk about interms of talent.
We bring the inclusion lensinto everything we talk about in
terms of inclusion.
We bring the talent lens in.
If we're, you know, nominatingcolleagues for external
(18:07):
development programs with someof our other partners, we look
at, ok, where is the top talentcoming through?
How is that informing who arethe right people to maybe go on
those programs or to berecognized in an external manner
at this point?
So trying to bring the twothings on the development piece
together.
In terms of development, um, acouple of years ago we created
(18:28):
an internal um incredibleleadership framework program, um
, and that's kind of that beaconof um, our leadership kind of
behaviors, our leadership thathas in inclusion, and so the,
the print, or know myself, so weself and building kind of
awareness.
(18:48):
Our guiding principle is aroundby team, so spreading that out.
What do I understand?
The teams.
And then, right anchored in themiddle is the creating
inclusive and collaborativeenvironment.
So you know, we talk aboutpsychological safety, how to,
you know, support our leadersand understanding what does it
mean?
And to demystify it a littlebit because it can sound quite
intimidating, so how do we kindof create, you know, some the
(19:11):
development there so theyunderstand how they can create
that environment, understandtheir impact as a leader in
terms of around the culturearound them and how their team
look to them to create thatenvironment.
And then our last two guidingprinciples around create our
future.
How do we look at thingsinnovatively and then finally
making things happen soinclusive, to be there in the
(19:33):
middle kind of really anchoringthat whole entire program and
ensuring that, like I said, it'sreally woven and we speak a lot
about psychological safety inthere in terms of how to create
that right environment and beingin a leadership role is
incredibly, you know, incrediblyimpactful and so helping
(19:53):
leaders understand, you know,their impact on those around
them, whether that be within ateam or laterally, or on their
stakeholders, and how they canhelp support.
You know, always creating thatright environment is really key
for us.
We started that program with ourC-suite and our EXCO members in
2020, late 2022.
And you know it's comingthrough the different layers of
(20:16):
the business.
It's starting to come intocinemas this year.
So we're all very much movingforward in the same, with the
same language, with the sameapproach to behaviors and with
inclusivity anchored there inthe middle of it.
So it's really important thatwe're all speaking the same,
although we speak differentlanguages, that we are all
speaking in this in the same.
You know that, that sameleadership language and you know
(20:36):
when those kind of principlesthat have brought you through
that's they're quite simplelanguage know myself, value our
teams and that that was reallyintentional to enable direct
translation, so we don't losethe meaning um of when it is
translated into our multiple uh,multiple languages.
So that was a really kind ofkey element of when the program
was created and to ensure thatwe will be able to translate in
(20:59):
a way that it keeps the meaningbut it becomes, you know, um
accessible to all our colleaguesright across the countries that
we operate.
So, like I said, that's nowstarting to come into our cinema
leadership teams, which is, uh,really exciting and seeing how
they're responding to to thedevelopment and um is, yeah,
it's, it's brilliant.
You know, germany and spainitaly in the last two weeks, all
(21:20):
delivered this training intheir own, in their own language
, for the first time.
The internal trainersdelivering it.
You know it was incredible forthem to move into a space where
they're able to deliver in locallanguage as opposed to needing
to do it um in english.
So they really enjoyed theexperience.
Um and, like I said, to see howthe colleagues are responding
to the training and havingeveryone together to do that and
(21:42):
it's, it's incredible and verylive in the business and very
visible it.
You can feel it across thebusiness and, as we continue to
roll it out, across our alllayers of leadership.
So that's probably our, ourkind of broadest example of
where we've kind of broughteverything together and you know
, some of our talent, mosttalent leaders, are delivering
(22:04):
it.
You know it's a real kind ofkey development opportunity for
our teams and with inclusivitylayered throughout the entire
programme that's super exciting.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
It's a brilliant, tangible example, isn't it?
We touched on the trickleeffect before, but what's really
nice is you're looking at thesemulti-faceted aspects with
inclusion at the heart.
How does that fit, then, withinhigh performance talent and
identifying great talent, butequally feeding it down, meaning
that we can keep nurturing thepipeline of talent, because, as
(22:40):
you and I know both, being fromthe world of talent is often the
higher up the classicalcorporate hierarchy go, the
lower and the lower some of theaspects of diversity are, and so
the fact that you're looking atall you know, almost an
integrated approach to thingslike psychological safety,
localization, etc.
Etc.
(23:00):
Feeding off the leadershipframework with the Xcode to
start with, is really nice, andit will be exciting to hear how
everything turns out.
So I gather you'll be bringingeveryone then back together to
find out what the local countryexperiences have been yeah, yeah
, exactly, and we're continuing.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
We go back into it all the time.
Exco maybe have gone throughyou know their five friends.
We're going back in regularlyto kind of keep it, you know,
updated, keep on building on thelearning, keep on building on
the language, keep on buildingand to ensure that it's um, it's
sustainable and impactful andalive throughout the business
and, like I said, to see it nowin with our cinema leaders is is
(23:43):
really really exciting, um, umand yeah, it's a great place to
be and will continue.
You know it's never, it's never, you're never there, whether
that be with development,without being inclusivity,
without being um, talent there'salways.
It's always a continuousimprovement approach.
Okay, how, how can we getbetter?
How can we learn fromdelivering it this way?
How can we do it better for thenext cohort?
(24:05):
How can we continually improvethe experience for our
colleagues?
Always, always, always.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Amazing.
You can tell that you've donecontinuous improvement and
strategy in the earlier roles,because they're all now feeding
into this.
One is super.
So let's pivot then back beforewe close, because I could
clearly talk to you all day,siobhan.
Uh, let's go into a couple oflightning round questions,
because inclusion, culture,talent all my favorite things
(24:34):
all featured heavily throughoutthis podcast.
What does inclusion, diversity,culture mean to you personally?
Because I know it often meansdifferent things to different
people.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Yeah, I think it's.
For me it's around all voiceskind of being given that
opportunity to be heard,regardless of whether maybe
someone wants to step into aspace or wants to, you know, be
very vocal.
I think it's really importantto me that they know they can,
um, and that they do want to,that their thoughts, their ideas
, their perspectives will bevalued and will be heard.
(25:08):
So it's that kind of you know,knowing that everyone has that
equal opportunity to to usetheir voice.
You know, no matter wherethey're sitting right across the
business, no matter where, ifthey represent a facet of
diversity or not, but being ableto use their voice and know
that they will be heard isreally important.
That consistent experience ofour culture for everyone across
(25:30):
the business is really.
What I strive for is foreveryone to be aware of the
culture that we are creating,what that means for them, how
they can step in, step outwhatever is right for them that
particular time, and thatconsistency of everyone being
aware and part of it, um, kindof is is really important to me.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
I'm already thinking of like a t-shirt slogan from
what you've said.
It's like living it, nurturingit, all voices heard, but
equally ensuring thesustainability.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
What's your secret to success?
Another big question.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
I think probably for me it's probably been my
authenticity, I really likepeople, probably been my
authenticity.
I really like people.
I just genuinely like peopleand I genuinely want to create
or help support, create aculture where people feel really
valued and feel like theybelong, because not every
business does that or not everyexperience is like that and you
(26:32):
know.
So that's really important tome, that people, you know that I
can help create that, thatenvironment for people and
that's what kind of reallydrives my get out of bed every
morning and try and make thingsa little bit better for for the
people that I work with.
Because I genuinely care.
And I think when I look back onmy career and you know how
(26:53):
that's grown, that's been at theheart of, and sometimes I'm
like, oh, that can't be the onlywhy, but I think it's enough.
It's been enough to get mewhere I am now and I think, as
long as I have the right balanceof business awareness with that
people focus, that gets thebusiness the right output and
the people in at the rightoutput to make the business
successfully.
So that second element, thatkind of business lens, has grown
(27:16):
more and more in me obviouslyas I've progressed through my
career, but people at the heartand marrying those two um is
what I think has been my successso far.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
It's not over yet, hopefully no, it's fascinating I
think, more so now in thecurrent market environment which
you, you know often seeingthings change very, very rapidly
, having the human centricleadership but also being able
to be commercial and not havingthe need to always justify that.
(27:48):
If I reflect on the last 10, 20years, it was often kind of
corporate social responsibilityand these kind of things.
You know, almost there beingsomething slightly separate with
businesses doing well.
Actually, weaving the twotogether equals something really
fantastic.
And some of the best leadersthat I have seen they've got
very high emotional intelligenceand people skills yet at the
(28:12):
same time, are very businesssavvy and commercially focused,
very nimble, um, and I thinkthis is, you know, one of the
key skills that we, um, we needfor our leaders of the future.
Yeah, definitely, who'sinspired you most throughout
your life?
Because I know you started off,you know, talking very, very,
(28:34):
very nicely about, almost youknow, these humble beginnings.
Who's inspired you most?
Speaker 2 (28:40):
I would say it's my dad.
My dad came from really humblebeginnings.
Like lived in a very smallfishing village in the northwest
of Ireland and he spokeexclusively Gaelic.
When he was growing up hedidn't speak English and he made
the move to Dublin and intoprimary school teaching when he
(29:01):
was really young, so moved awayfrom home and he really built an
astounding career for himselfand he spent a large portion of
the later part of his career asthe head of the trade union for
primary school teachers inIreland and his desire to make
the education system better forboth teachers and for pupils was
(29:21):
incredible.
And to see that live and to seethe commitment that he put into
it, often at the detriment of,maybe, family time or the lives
of children and the people whoteach those children better.
I know it's obviously muchbigger realm than what I'm
(29:42):
working in, but you can take thesame ethos, the same principle
and apply that.
He was determined, he was, hehad a north star and he there
was nothing that was going tostop him achieving that, because
if he made the life of onepupil better or one teacher
better, like that's incredible.
And if I make the life of onecolleague better or one leader
better like that's alsoincredible, and so, yeah, he's
(30:06):
been a huge.
Inspiration obviously remainsI'm lucky enough to have to
still have my dad, so he remainsas one for me.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
That's.
I'm sure he's incredibly proudof you.
I hope he's going to listen tothis podcast as well.
And finally, if you could lookback or give yourself advice,
your younger self advice, whatmight you say?
Speaker 2 (30:32):
um, I think it'd be around.
Don't be afraid or feel thefear and do it anyway in terms
of stepping into a space,whether that be a physical room
with people that you haven't,that you view in a certain way
in terms of hierarchicalpotentially, but not to be
afraid, or to be afraid and tostep in anyway and to know your
value in the room.
(30:53):
You've been asked in for areason, or you've positioned
yourself to get into that room,into that table, onto that zoom
call for a reason, um, and trustin um yourself, uh, to be that
you have the right to be there,um, because there's definitely
been, you know, that's thatlittle bit of imposter syndrome
coming in.
That's definitely beensomething that is, at points,
kind of been um, something thatI've um, struggled with in my
(31:14):
career.
So, um, yeah, feel the fear andand do it anyway and just trust
in yourself and that you'rethere for a reason, um, and um,
enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Siobhan, thank you so much.
I'm wondering where I start tosummarize today's session, but
it has been really enlightening,really empowering, and I think
there's going to be so manypeople who really take away
something special from listeningto this today, feel the fear
and do it anyway.
Obviously, a key person inquote makes me think very, very
(31:47):
much of Susan Jefferson I thinkit was who coined the book, one
of my real favourites.
But one of the real kind ofthemes that's woven throughout
this podcast that has reallyinspired me is the fact that
talent really is everywhere andthe resilience that you've shown
(32:11):
and I think the resilience thatfeeds into organisations from
having these kind of aspects ofpsychological, psychological
safety.
It's something that we reallyneed in the modern world right
now and certainly the world ofwork, because the world of work
is changing so rapidly.
There's a lot that we're seeinggeopolitically in the papers
(32:31):
about you know lots of things,um, you know up and down, and so
having this really fantastic,consistent approach to inclusion
, to culture, to talent, topsychological safety, to
systematically workingthroughout the veins of the
organisation, almost to actuallyproperly embed things, it's
(32:54):
clear to see from everythingthat you've said not only about
the odonian cinemas groupculture that innovation, high
performing talent is at theheart, but there's really that
investment in ensuring the rightenvironment is curated and
nurtured to ensure that lots ofdifferent types of individuals
(33:19):
can thrive.
And you are, as I think youmentioned in the podcast, a
living example of actually lifemoments, career progression and
being ultimately very successfuland moving into that group role
.
But, at the same time, what Iparticularly love is the
(33:43):
humility with it, because wehave to look up within
organisations and see peoplethat have some kind of
resemblance to us or we feel arealso human and perhaps we could
see ourselves like that one dayin the future.
Um, which brings me right theway back to your dad and the
(34:04):
importance of early intervention, because that's how we learn,
that's how we progress, um.
So thank you, siobhan, it'sbeen really fantastic having you
here thank you so so much.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
I really appreciate it.
It's been lovely to chat.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
My name's Leila McKenzie-Dallas, the founder and
CEO of Darl Global.
You've been listening toSiobhan Carr from Odeon Cinemas
Group.
Please do make sure youdownload the Inclusive Leaders
podcast.
You can find it on any of yourfavourite podcast channels or
apps Apple, spotify, whereveryour preference, or you can
visit us directly atwwwdialglobalorg.
(34:43):
Forward slash podcast and we'llput all the show notes links to
Odian and Siobhan's profile inthere.
If you have any questions atall.
Until next week, we'll lookforward to seeing you again very
soon and thank you forlistening.
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