What does it really take to turn around a struggling business?

In this episode of Coach Class, I sat down in person with former Dreams CEO Mike Logue for an honest conversation about leadership, resilience and the moments that shape a career.

Mike reflects on his journey from a 17-year-old at Marks & Spencer to leading some of the UK's biggest retailers, sharing the lessons he learned through success, failure and some of the toughest decisions of his career.

Rather than focusing on balance sheets and boardrooms, this conversation explores the human side of leadership, earning trust, building culture and why telling people the truth is one of the most important responsibilities of any leader.

Key takeaways

This episode is a masterclass in authentic leadership. Mike explains why respect always comes before performance, why difficult conversations should never be avoided, and why the best leaders create environments where people feel trusted, valued and heard.

It's also a reminder that careers are rarely linear. Setbacks can become turning points, and sometimes the biggest lesson isn't how to build a successful busines, it's learning to breathe.

Whether you lead a global organisation, manage a small team or simply want to become a better leader, this conversation offers practical wisdom grounded in decades of real-world experience.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to Coach Class, leave a review, and share it with someone who believes that great leadership starts with great people.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why walking into Asda felt like "going back to big school"
• The leadership lessons Mike learned from Andy Bond, Judith McKenna and the exceptional talent around him
• How great leaders ask better questions rather than having all the answers
• What it feels like to walk into a business emerging from administration
• Why Mike spent his first month at Dreams travelling the country listening to colleagues instead of sitting in head office
• How one conversation in a Clydebank store shaped the culture of Dreams for the next eight years
• The heartbreaking experience in Hong Kong that completely changed his approach to leadership
• Why honesty, even when the news is difficult, is the foundation of trust
• The importance of creating workplaces where people are proud to say where they work
• Why culture isn't built through slogans, but through everyday behaviours
• How losing his job became the catalyst for the greatest chapter of his career
• What success really means after more than 30 years in retail leadership

Send us Fan Mail

🎧 Please consider sharing Coach Class with someone who’d enjoy it — and leaving a review on your podcast platform. It genuinely helps more people find the show.

This week on Coach Class, I caught up with former Asda colleague and now renowned Joy Coach, Ali Mortimer.

When Ali and I worked together at Asda and Walmart, she was a high-performing technology leader on the kind of career trajectory many people aspire to: Accenture-trained, leading large teams, shaping the future of ecommerce, and helping build the digital infrastructure that would later enable millions of people to shop, work and connect during the Covid years.

Today, her world looks very different.

In a deeply personal and honest conversation, Ali shares the story behind her transformation from corporate executive to coach, speaker and advocate for what she calls "joy as a strategy for life."

We explore the pressures of corporate success, the relentless pursuit of achievement, and the moment she found herself questioning whether the life she'd worked so hard to build was actually making her happy. Ali speaks candidly about burnout, identity, grief, loss, health challenges, depression, PTSD and the difficult questions that ultimately led her to rebuild her life from the ground up.

A recurring theme throughout the episode is the importance of paying attention to patterns, listening to what your mind and body are trying to tell you, and finding the courage to explore alternative paths when life no longer feels aligned with who you are.

We also spend time reflecting on the influence of our former colleague Emma Mead, whose recent passing was deeply felt by many of us who had the privilege of working alongside her. Ali shares moving memories of Emma's fierce intelligence, generosity, coaching style and unwavering belief in her people, and the profound impact she had on her own leadership journey.

The conversation then turns to the idea of joy itself. Far from being a fluffy concept, Ali explains how a simple daily "joy list" helped her navigate one of the darkest periods of her life and ultimately inspired a new career helping others find light in difficult times. We discuss happiness, purpose, ambition, manifestation, emotional wellbeing and why success doesn't have to come at the expense of fulfilment.

Ali also shares her evolving definition of success. Once measured by titles, promotions and visible achievements, success today is about loving her life, loving the people she shares it with, honouring herself and helping others do the same. With her content now reaching more than 14 million people, her mission is simple: to help people find joy, whether they're navigating darkness or simply looking to live more intentionally.

It's a conversation about reinvention, resilience, friendship, grief, purpose and what happens when we stop asking what success should look like and start asking what truly brings us joy.

Topics covered:

• Life at Asda, Walmart and Accenture
• Burnout and corporate success
• Leadership and coaching lessons from Emma Mead
• Grief, loss and personal reinvention
• Joy as a daily practice
• Happiness versus achievement
• Health, wellbeing and self-awareness
• Finding purpose after adversity
• Redefining success
• Building a life that feels aligned with your values

If you've ever found yourself asking, "Is this really what it's all cracked up to be?", this episode is for you.

Send us Fan Mail

🎧 Please consider sharing Coach Class with someone who’d enjoy it — and leaving a review on your podcast platform. It genuinely helps more people find the show.

What happens when you spend years climbing the career ladder, only to stop and realise you're no longer sure where it's leading?

In this episode of Coach Class, I sat down with Maria Laffón, executive coach, former Commercial Director at Massimo Dutti, and fellow Barefoot Coaching graduate. Together we explored the unique pressures of retail leadership, the hidden signs of burnout, and the courage it takes to step away from a successful career to build something new.

Maria shares her journey from Spain to the UK, her rise through the fast-paced world of fashion retail, and the moment she realised that success and fulfilment aren't always the same thing.

For years she thrived on the pace, pressure and unpredictability of retail. Long hours, constant travel and relentless targets became normal. Like many high performers, she didn't recognise the toll it was taking until she stepped away and discovered something she'd almost forgotten existed: time.

The conversation explores why retail can be such an incredible training ground for future leaders, but also why it can leave people operating on autopilot, chasing the next promotion without ever stopping to ask what they really want.

Maria reflects on the experience of joining Barefoot Coaching and having to unlearn years of problem-solving behaviour. As a commercial leader she was used to having answers. Coaching taught her the value of curiosity, listening, uncertainty and creating space for others to think.

Together we discuss:

• Why retail leadership can become addictive
• The hidden warning signs of burnout
• What happens when your values change in your 30s and 40s
• The challenge of career transitions and starting again
• Why many retail leaders are promoted before receiving leadership support
• The difference between managing performance and developing people
• Learning to listen rather than solve
• Letting go of ego and embracing curiosity
• Why coaching is often about creating space rather than providing answers

Maria also explains why she now specialises in supporting retail and commercial leaders. Having experienced the pressures of the industry herself, she understands the challenges many professionals face when stepping into larger roles, navigating change, or questioning what comes next.

A recurring theme throughout the episode is that burnout rarely arrives overnight. It often begins much earlier through a loss of energy, a loss of appetite for life, and the feeling of operating on autopilot while continuing to perform at a high level.

For anyone working in retail, leading teams, navigating a career crossroads, or wondering whether they're still climbing the right ladder, this conversation offers reassurance, perspective and practical wisdom.

Stand Out Quote

"You're never satisfied because you're always looking for the next step. One day I stopped and asked myself what my next career move would be, and realised it was actually what I didn't want." – Maria Laffón

About Maria

Maria Laffón is an Executive Coach specialising in leadership development, career transitions and personal growth for retail and commercial professionals. Drawing on her experience as a senior retail leader, she helps ambitious professionals create clarity, confidence and sustainable success while navigating change and growth.

Listen Now

If you've ever felt stuck on autopilot, questioned what's next in your career, or wondered whether success should feel different than it does, this episode is for you.

Send us Fan Mail

🎧 Please consider sharing Coach Class with someone who’d enjoy it — and leaving a review on your podcast platform. It genuinely helps more people find the show.