E065 Leadership in Academia with Peter Cotgreave

In this episode we take a deep dive into the world of leadership in academia. During this fascinating conversation Peter shares with us his career journey from academic biologist to Chief Executive of the Microbiology Society. Delving into his biggest leadership learnings, we explore the importance of values and being honest, however hard that may be.   KEY TAKEAWAY “The future is not about giving up what you value, what you do might change, but your values don't. What you do on a daily basis doesn't matter. What matters is, why you're doing it and what the values are, the purpose of it. Leadership is not about being so clever that you can make anyone do anything. It's about surrounding yourself with a set of people who have the same values as you and therefore want to achieve the same things for you to achieve.”   ABOUT PETER After an early career as an academic biologist, Peter worked at London Zoo doing everything from ecology research in Ethiopia to holding on to the feet of a celebrity who was hanging upside down in a tree to promote bat conservation.  For nine years, he was Director of Campaign for Science and Engineering, working in Westminster and Whitehall to ensure policies that maximised the excellence of British science.  He spent seven years as a Director of the Royal Society before joining the Microbiology Society as Chief Executive, where he works with his fifty talented and dedicated colleagues to amplify the voices of experts on tiny, invisible life forms that affect everything from health to food security and climate change.   CONNECT WITH PETER: Email:                                      p.cotgreave@microbiologysociety.org Twitter:                                    https://twitter.com/PeterCotgreave   ABOUT THE HOST – MEL LOIZOU Mel is a Coach, Facilitator, Podcast Host & Mum. Specialising in leadership and change management in the Higher Education sector, Mel uses her Fish Climb Trees philosophy to help individuals, teams and organisations, shift from that place of believing they can’t, to one where they know they absolutely can.  If you would like Mel to help you with your leadership and change management challenges, then please book a free 30 min call via https://calendly.com/melloizou/initialchat   Check out Mel’s: Leadership Programme: https://divedeepclimbhigh.co.uk/leadershipprogramme Reset, Refocus, Rejuvenate Retreat: https://divedeepclimbhigh.co.uk/retreat Book, When Fish Climb Trees:  https://divedeepclimbhigh.co.uk/book TEDx Talk, Ditch Your Fishnets, Boost Your Resilience: https://www.ted.com/talks/mel_loizou_ditch_your_fishnets_boost_your_resilience   CONNECT WITH MEL https://www.linkedin.com/in/melloizou/ https://www.instagram.com/mel.loizou/ https://twitter.com/Mel_Loizou https://www.divedeepclimbhigh.co.uk   HOSTED BY: Mel Loizou DISCLAIMER The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. Please conduct your own due diligence. *As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.