Our first interview! Today, I’ll be talking with Norton Bertram-Smith, a founding director of On Purpose, a specialist organisation and leadership development consultancy. Norton is also a director and founder of the Mindfulness Association. And as you’ll hear, we get stuck into those two aspects of his life. We had a wide ranging and in-depth discussion, and as such, it has been split into two parts. 

This episode, part 1, covers Norton’s early years, where he had a strong spiritual connection to the earth and culture  growing up Zambia, the conflict this then created with his western upbringing, what led him to Buddhism and how he integrated that into his high achieving corporate career, and how this ultimately led to him leaving the rat race and starting his own leadership development company with his wife. We discuss the importance of self-awareness as a path to authenticity, being master of your own destiny, what authenticity in leadership means, and how the quality and development of relationships in leadership depends on psychological safety, with the bedrock of this being compassion. As you will hear, a spiritual perspective is integral to his approach to the world of work. 

In part two, which will be released in a weeks time, Norton provides an overview of the Mindfulness Association, how bringing mindfulness and compassion together develops our courage to look within, and his own experiences of oneness and connectedness, so please check this out when it is released. 

If you’d like to know more about Norton and his work, please go to his company website www.onpurpose.co.uk. 

If you’d like to more about the Mindfulness Association, please go to https://www.mindfulnessassociation.net 

If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe, and if you listen on Apple Podcasts, leave a review. If you wish to get in touch for any comments or feedback, please email [email protected] . There is also a Facebook page that people can join, and there will soon be clips and episodes on YouTube as well as postings on other social media sites. Until next time.