Creating a Culture of Courage: Samantha Lancashire Of Creating Lightbulb Moments On How Authenticity Benefits People and Profits in the Workplace
An Interview With Vanessa Ogle
Normalising failure as part of the learning process is a lesson in business that is not often applied. When mistakes happen, the go-to place is of blame and judgement driven by fear, rather than a focus on learning and improvement driven by trust.
In today’s social media filled, fast-paced world, authenticity in the workplace and in our personal lives has become more difficult to come by. Business leaders must focus on the bottom line of profits and corporate success, but does that have to be at the expense of the authenticity of their employees? I believe it is quite the opposite. I know from my own experience that a culture of authenticity allows the hiring of a team that will bring their all to the workplace. That fosters innovation, creativity and a level of success that few companies dream of. Yet, fostering an environment where individuals feel secure enough to express their true selves remains a challenge. The importance of authenticity cannot be overstated — it is the foundation of trust, innovation, and strong relationships. However, creating such a culture requires intention, understanding, and actionable strategies. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Samantha Lancashire.
Samantha Lancashire is a high performing, award winning learning leader and coach. On a mission to rid the world of low impact, tick box training, passionate about using her knowledge and experience to facilitate ‘Lightbulb Moments’ for people and leaders in need of a breakthrough. From the leader who isn’t making the impact with their team, to the executives failing to hit sales targets, to those suffering imposter syndrome and self sabotaging their success, to the workaholics burning out — she has helped them all….and has been them all.
As a Fellow of the Learning & Performance Institute, qualified executive coach, mental health first aider and psychometrics facilitator; Samantha supports global teams and their leaders (up to C-Level) to impact business and their personal performance in fast paced and diverse environments by championing an authentic “human first” approach. Having worked for companies like VMware, McAfee, Stripe and Apple, she has seen the impact of how creating psychological safety impacts mindset, productivity and results for people within teams whose leaders foster this as part of their leadership charter and where companies embrace this as part of their culture.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
Working in Sales and Service as a Front-line Leader meant that I was helping people in my team and my customers to do more, to be more. Adding value came in different ways but I always felt that I hadn’t found my calling. Going back to college at night to study with the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) gave me a number of options from that course. Knowing that I had a burning desire to leave people better than I found them, I made it my sole aim to move towards training, learning and developing. Each step I took in my career after passing the course got me one step closer to my goal, and today I’m proud to be leading my own award winning company in this very space.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
Despite my successes in my studies and at work, I still felt the mindset monkey on my back that fuelled the chatter of the imposter. “Was I good enough?” “Was I doing enough?” “Should I do more?” “Why I can’t say no to this extra task or project”
I couldn’t quite figure out where this was coming from as on paper, everything looked on track.
At a networking event, I met the keynote speaker afterwards who told me “until you do the inner work, the outer work won’t get you where you need to go.”
This stuck with me for a number of years, as I tried to figure out what she was really getting at. It didn’t resurface itself until Covid.
During the early lockdown, I had a lot of time for reflection as my in-person training programs were all canceled. Listening to the radio in my home office, a song came on by one of my favourite artists Robbie Williams. The vocals sung out to me “make friends with your past, so you can leave it at last” — I was teleported back to that conversation with the keynote speaker and I knew exactly what I needed to do. Seeking out a coach, who I still work with to this day, helped me overcome those limiting beliefs, release things that didn’t serve me and helped me set better boundaries for myself. All by doing the inner work, I was able to reap the benefits of the outer work throughout my career.
You are a successful individual. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Resilience, Consistency and Humility.
Resilience — For me this starts with don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t — including yourself. An example was where I kept going with my business, despite the challenges that were brought on by my physical health. Many people encouraged me to go back into the corporate world, for more security and benefits, however my resilience meant I was able to bounce back and keep going to keep growing. I’ll talk more about that a little later.
Consistency — I remember I wanted to make the move from Sales Management into Training, butI kept being told I didn’t have the right experience. Consistently looking at my options and seeking a mentor, I made a career pivot and moved sideways into Recruitment, where I was still in sales and it meant there were new opportunities. Here I consistently put my hat into the ring for projects that supported people development and training. Many times I was told no or they wanted me to focus on my core role. Taking on the corporate induction while working at Apple and delivering a consistent approach for every new hire on site meant we got some great feedback. My manager received a call from Cupertino, asking to recommend someone to support the enhancement of our global onboarding program — my consistency in showing up and delivering meant I was her choice. That was my first break into formal training and I haven’t looked back since.
Humility — my motto here has always been valuing the perspective of others; as much as your own, while creating space for authentic collaboration and growth. Curiosity partnered with the desire to learn, understand and grow keeps my modesty in check. Being able to call yourself out on your own BS also helps!
Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Can you share a pivotal moment in your career or personal life when being authentic made a significant impact on your success or well-being?
My resilient and authentic approach has played a huge part in helping keep my business alive, as just 8 months after launching my own consultancy, I found herself in hospital needing critical reconstructive surgery on a broken femur. In a cruel twist of fate, I had broken the same leg that was injured in an accident two years ago and as a result, my most recent surgery was more complex and came with complications. The outcome meant a lengthy stay in hospital was necessary, followed by being bed bound for almost 4 months. Not to be deterred by this setback, I leveraged my growth mindset, used coaching tools to focus on the power of possibility, and bounced back by being authentic and honest with clients regarding my limitations. Sharing my updates on LinkedIn meant those working with me were able to see I was practicing exactly what I was preaching — taking one day at a time and owning when things were not going so well; in addition to celebrating all the wins — big or small. Through this honest approach, I was able to build trust with new clients meaning they agreed to flip in-person classes and coaching into the virtual world. My business was able to make a comeback where I’m now securing new clients, while retaining those existing relationships that are flourishing not just online — but in person too! My physical recovery continues but my honesty means it is not a blocker in delivering my services and value.
How do you navigate the challenges that come with encouraging authenticity in a diverse workplace, where different backgrounds and perspectives may sometimes lead to conflict?
Business moves fast, with many different priorities, goals and challenges. At pace, we’re expected to keep up and keep going. We often forget and forgo the human element that is the key to making things happen. At the expense of needing to “get stuff done”, we are less mindful of the cultural nuances that add to the rich tapestry that make up our teams, and this can often lead to communication breakdown and conflict. Authenticity thrives when paired with emotional intelligence and shared values that map from the grass-roots team members to the executives. Supporting positive and real conversations with impactful leadership training, and clear communication guidelines reduces the risk of conflict. When managed well, this leads to deeper understanding and stronger collaboration. By embracing these strategies, you can create a workplace where authenticity enriches rather than divides the team. Fostering innovation, trust, and inclusivity in a way that supports people when things are going well or when there is a conflict.
Based on your experience and research, can you please share “5 Ways to Create a Culture Where People Feel Safe to be Authentic?” What strategies have you found most effective in fostering an environment where employees or team members feel safe to express their true selves, including their ideas, concerns, and aspirations?
1 . Leading by Example is Key.
As a leader, it is so important that you lead by example in lots of what you do but none as important as when considering vulnerability and authenticity. This sets the tone for how your team feels they can be around you and others.
It fosters relationships built on trust, without fear of blame, shame or judgement.
By being open about challenges, emotions, and uncertainties, leaders are able to signal to their team members that it’s safe for them to do the same. Enabling open dialogue and facilitating a way forward through an issue or concern much faster than if it remained bottled up and unheard.
Remembering how I saw this play out in my role as a Sales Coach, during a sales meeting, a Senior Sales Leader openly shared their struggles with meeting a quarterly team target due to geographical and territorial shifts and the challenges this brought to them personally. They openly admitted seeking advice from a trusted peer in helping them understand and navigate this new normal, while expressing their gratitude for the support.
As the changes impacted the whole team, showing their human side as a Leader was instrumental in helping the team navigate these changes. At this point, I saw the team begin to open up about their own challenges without fear of judgment from their leader, which in turn led to more decisive and positive action and collaborative problem-solving. One salesperson who was more junior on the team and who was often silent in meetings, shared a new client engagement approach as a way forward in the new market, that boosted their sales performance and the team really leaned in to listen and determine how it could work for them.
2 . Provide Psychological Safety in Times of Failure
Normalising failure as part of the learning process is a lesson in business that is not often applied. When mistakes happen, the go-to place is of blame and judgement driven by fear, rather than a focus on learning and improvement driven by trust.
An organisation I was part of faced a service outage due to a deployment error by a member of the engineering team. Instead of placing blame, the C-suite took decisive action and called a post-mortem meeting to understand what led to the error, while investigating how to prevent it in the future. Customer facing teams were supported by the team I worked with, to engage and listen, empathise, resolve and remedy the issue. The engineer who made the error was later invited to present the findings and suggest process improvements so this would not happen again. As a result, the company implemented new deployment protocols, testing and further sign-offs that removed future errors, while the engineer overcame this incident and went on to regain their credibility as an expert in their field, given their previous exemplary background.
This is something I’ve read Steven Bartlett does well in his organisations. He shares how he has built a culture where leaders model vulnerability, acknowledging their own mistakes and sharing lessons learned. Top-down transparency creates a ripple effect, encouraging employees to take risks and voice new ideas without fear of punishment or humiliation as he models how “failure gives you power”.
It also enables them to pivot fast, when people own their mistakes as openly as they own their wins.
Bartlett also advocates for allowing flexibility and empowering his teams to find their best ways of working, which further enhances trust and builds psychological safety.
3 . Encouraging Open Dialogue and Engaged, Active Listening
Sounds simple, yet for many it is not the norm. As leaders, we must create opportunities for employees to share ideas, concerns, and aspirations without fear of blame or judgement. Combining this with active listening without interrupting or judging then reinforces psychological safety.
When leading a Support training program at a SaaS company I worked with, their manager implemented a bi-weekly “No Judgment” brainstorming session where all ideas were welcomed, no matter how small, different or unconventional. During one session, a new team member proposed a different solution to resolving a recurring software bug. Initially dismissed as impractical, the idea was refined by the team and eventually when trialled, reduced resolution time by 30%.
This demonstrated to the team they would be heard and valued, encouraging the sharing of ideas and concerns in future meetings.
4 . Establish Clear Norms Around how Feedback and Curiosity are tools to support Growth.
When leaders foster a culture of constructive feedback, where giving and receiving feedback is normalised and seen as a tool for growth, not criticism; their teams are more curious in asking for feedback as they understand it is coming from a place of development and delivered with good intent in mind.
A busy and under-resourced sales operations team I worked alongside introduced a “Feedback — Feedforward” ritual, where each team member gave and received one piece of constructive feedback in a supportive environment. Once up and running, they were also encouraged to ask this of colleagues outside their core team, for example, at the end of a project. This was sometimes delivered in a team meeting, sometimes in one of the companies’ HR tools. Both were encouraged as it helped team members when it came to bi-annual reviews and development planning. One analyst, initially hesitant with this approach, used this feedback to help gain a promotion while creating an opportunity to develop their soft skills further, significantly impacting their relationships with teams they supported in a positive way.
The entire team grew more comfortable with feedback, as it was no longer seen as negative — overall improving psychological safety and team culture — which improved both individual and team performance.
5 . Having a Risk vs. Reward Strategy to help Overcome Analysis Paralysis
In environments where high stakes and uncertainty exist, teams often experience analysis paralysis — the fear of making a decision because of the potential risks involved. Psychological safety plays a critical role in helping teams move forward from this, despite uncertainty.
While working in a unicorn software company, this approach was often missed and as a result nobody wanted to make the final decision for fear of being blamed or criticised if it went wrong. I observed this playing out on many occasions. The outcome being meetings upon meetings, often bringing in more people, driving more analysis. In a company where agility should have been a strength, this approach slowed them down and created a culture of chaos in times where a risk needed to be taken.
In your opinion, how does authenticity within an organization influence its relationship with customers, clients, or the broader community?
Authenticity is a key influencer in all relationships because it starts with a human-first approach. When we focus on the people within our business — our peers, our stakeholders, our clients and customers — and we do this with a desire to want to help those people genuinely succeed, this influences the outcome and we too will be successful. This principle should apply to all types of relationships, simply because people know when someone is being inauthentic. Your spidey-senses tell you. You know it’s more about them and less about you. Authenticity shows another that your moral code and compass are aligned with theirs and that is most definitely a positive influencer on building trust and confidence within a relationship.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
My movement would have to be linked to my favourite statement which is “Leave People Better Than You Found Them”. This movement would be where we take a daily pledge to do one small thing that helps another person feel better, feel stronger, more knowledgeable or more supported. It could be as simple as allowing someone to be heard or holding a door open. One small thing each day creates a ripple of kindness, courtesy and humanity, in a world where we move fast and often play down these small acts of humility as not important.
How can our readers further follow you online?
They can connect with me at www.linkedin,com/in/samanthalancashirelynch or my company page at https://www.linkedin.com/company/creatinglightbulbmoments
(New website will be coming soon in early 2025)
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
About The Interviewer: Vanessa Ogle is a mom, entrepreneur, inventor, writer, and singer/songwriter. Vanessa’s talent in building world-class leadership teams focused on diversity, a culture of service, and innovation through inclusion allowed her to be one of the most acclaimed Latina CEO’s in the last 30 years. She collaborated with the world’s leading technology and content companies such as Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Broadcom to bring innovative solutions to travelers and hotels around the world. Vanessa is the lead inventor on 120+ U.S. Patents. Accolades include: FAST 100, Entrepreneur 360 Best Companies, Inc. 500 and then another six times on the Inc. 5000. Vanessa was personally honored with Inc. 100 Female Founder’s Award, Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and Enterprising Women of the Year among others. Vanessa now spends her time sharing stories to inspire and give hope through articles, speaking engagements and music. In her spare time she writes and plays music in the Amazon best selling new band HigherHill, teaches surfing clinics, trains dogs, and cheers on her children.
Please connect with Vanessa here on linkedin and subscribe to her newsletter Unplugged as well as follow her on Substack, Instagram, Facebook, and X and of course on her website VanessaOgle.
Creating a Culture of Courage: Samantha Lancashire Of Creating Lightbulb Moments On How… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.