#177: Creating a leadership legacy from the messy process of change with Ada Parris
Release Date: 09/17/2026
#177: Creating a leadership legacy from the messy process of change with Ada Parris
Another Door Opens
"Multiple things can be true. There's nothing binary about life." What happens when you step into the unknown, let go of predefined paths, and allow yourself to be messy, vulnerable, and unfinished? In this episode, Ada Parris artist, storyteller, and author of Leadership Legacy: A Manifesto to Create a Mindful Future and a Thriving Planet, talks about about paradox, transformation, and intentionally shaping new identities. We talk about the rawness of unmasking after decades of masking, the courage to sit with uncertainty and having faith in the unknown, and why sometimes the most...
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#176: The career come down: What to do when work isn’t working for you with Stefanie Sword-Williams
Another Door Opens
"The sort of door that closed for me was not necessarily somebody else shutting a door, but me shutting the door on putting work above everything but my health." What happens when the drive for success, identity, and achievement gets shaken by something that stops you in your tracks? In this episode, Stefanie Sword-Williams, founder of Fuck Being Humble and author of Career Comedown, shares her experience of a "lifequake", an unexpected, seismic event that forces you to reassess everything, including your relationship with work. I chatted to Stefanie about why the "career comedown"...
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#175: Closing the door on shame with Andrea McLean
Another Door Opens
"I ended up losing that business. And not only did we lose the business, but we had self-funded it. So we lost our home, all our savings, my pension, everything... So that was a door that closed that I was not anticipating." What do you do when multiple doors slam shut all at once, career, home, health, identity? In this episode, Andrea McLean, broadcaster, author and former Loose Women host, shares her deeply honest story of losing her business, home, savings, health and sense of identity. She talks about the shame and upheaval that followed, selling her possessions and starting again...
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#174: The power of rebellious play in moments of change with Gary Ware
Another Door Opens
"We, as adults, go from seeing the world as a playground of possibilities to a proving ground, the need to prove to ‘myself and to others that I'm worthy’. And when you have that mindset, the playfulness goes away because you're not seeing the world as something that is playful that you can experiment with." What happens when your life’s defining door suddenly closes, not just once but in a cascade, career, home, certainty all at once? In this episode, Gary Ware, founder of Playful Rebellion, shares his journey from executive stress, pressure, challenge to rediscovering joy,...
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#173: Confidence isn’t given. Its practised, chosen, claimed with Lauren Currie
Another Door Opens
“Confidence is the first step of protest. And whether that is a protest where you make a sign and you go and stand outside down the street, or whether it's a protest when you're in a doctor's surgery room and the doctor's not listening to you, or whether it's a protest at the school gates because your kid's teacher's not taking your kid's needs seriously. Confidence is the first step of that self-advocacy and we need that so much right now because the tactics that our governments are using is fear. Fear divides people. Fear keeps people small, and fear takes your confidence away.” ...
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#172: Closing the door on a London agency and building a new creative life in France with Lucy Werner
Another Door Opens
"I have found, when I've shared my fails as well as the journey to getting to my wins, the people who are there with me at the winning line, that finish line, are more involved in that story because they've come with me on the journey. And more often than not, the fails on the journey have led to more opportunities landing for me because people want to talk to me about the fails more than the the wins." What does it really take to shut the door on a thriving city business and step into an entirely different life in rural France ? In this episode, I speak to Lucy Werner shares the honest...
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#171: Navigating life, fame, and self-discovery with Anthony Kavanagh
Another Door Opens
In this heartfelt conversation, Anthony Kavanagh shares the ups and downs of his journey from aspiring pop star to author, exploring themes of resilience, vulnerability, and authentic self-expression. This episode is about overcoming personal challenges and embracing life's unpredictable twists. Key topics we cover - Anthony's early dreams of music and the drive to succeed in the 90s pop scene The power of storytelling in healing and self-discovery Insights into writing a memoir and revisiting past traumas Memorable moments with celebrities like Madonna, Prince, and Faye...
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#170: How leaving the wrong job opened the right door for Cara-Lyn Giovanniello
Another Door Opens
“Don’t confuse comfort with alignment. Just because something is familiar, stable, or impressive on paper doesn’t mean it’s meant for who you’re becoming or what the universe has in store for you.” What happens when you land the job that seemed perfect only to find, deep down, it isn’t right at all? In this episode, Cara-Lyn talks about the daunting process of leaving a high-profile role that simply wasn’t a fit, and how that closed door became fuel for reinvention. From wrongly ignoring her intuition, through the physical toll of staying somewhere misaligned, to finally making...
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#169: Following coincidences; from retired teacher to battle rapper with Joy France
Another Door Opens
Ever wondered what happens when you say “yes” to life’s weird coincidences and let them lead you somewhere completely new? In this episode I talk to Joy France, a retired teacher turned poet, performer, and battle rapper about her wild ride into creativity and adventure… all by simply following unexpected doors as they opened. Joy shares her story of evolving after retirement: from socially anxious, shy, and “ordinary” to poet-in-residence, rap battler, stand-up comic, and “collector of chance encounters.” If you’re feeling stuck, bored, or ready for change,...
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#168: Paying attention to endings, the power of closing things well with Philip Atkinson
Another Door Opens
#168: Paying attention to endings, the power of closing things well with Philip Atkinson “Keep moving, keep learning, keep investing in your own development. Don’t hang on to the value that you used to have that’s no longer relevant, no longer fit for purpose.” Have you ever felt the seasons of your own life shifting, nudging you to find the courage to start anew? That’s exactly what we’re exploring on today’s episode. When I sat down with Philip Atkinson, we talked about his unique journey. After 25 years in a big multinational, he walked away from the comfort and certainty,...
info_outline"Multiple things can be true. There's nothing binary about life."
What happens when you step into the unknown, let go of predefined paths, and allow yourself to be messy, vulnerable, and unfinished? In this episode, Ada Parris artist, storyteller, and author of Leadership Legacy: A Manifesto to Create a Mindful Future and a Thriving Planet, talks about about paradox, transformation, and intentionally shaping new identities.
We talk about the rawness of unmasking after decades of masking, the courage to sit with uncertainty and having faith in the unknown, and why sometimes the most radical act is to honour your ancestry, story, and soul.
Ada shares the lived reality behind writing her book (from imposter syndrome to post-it notes in hotel rooms), the meaning behind reclaiming her name, and how silence, sound, and pausing have become tools for profound change.
This is a moving exploration of why leadership and legacy matter beyond titles, how to be more than binary, and the real work of creating spaces where wholeness and paradox are celebrated.
Highlights:
00:00 We are live & alive: the power of remembering our humanness
05:00 Permission to hold paradox: not trying to fit into a box
07:00 On storytelling, asking questions, and 3am curiosity
10:07 The "door": writing Leadership Legacy
12:21 Book deal, a new dog, and ADHD diagnosis: entering the cocoon
13:05 Vipassana, silence, and the difficulty of pausing
19:19 Emerging: burnout, intentionality, and slow becoming
21:00 The “crowning” moment, when you want to give up but can’t
24:14 Who are you becoming?
26:26 People-pleasing as manipulation with a smile
33:05 The illusion of linear time and reclaiming your own rhythms
36:07 The elements as a creative framework: Ether, Air, Fire, Water, Earth
40:13 Shamanic experience, and metaphors for change
42:52 Letting go of control as a creator, responsibility and intention
44:46 Naming your inner critic, reframing Medusa
47:41 Dogs, walks, and learning through stubbornness
49:27 On reclaiming her name and honouring ancestry
53:30 Creating sound art, Threshold, and what’s next
55:30 Book: Who Fears Death by Nneka Okorafor
58:31 Soundtrack: An original soundscape "the myth of the ego"
62:10 One piece of advice: "You're worthy."
Ada's Change Toolkit:
Soundtrack: Original immersive sound art exploring ego, climate, transformation
Book: Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
One piece of advice: "You're worthy."
About Ada
Ada Parris is a strategic futurist, artist, relational ecologist, and founder of The Presence Lab™. Her book Leadership Legacy (Wiley, January 2026) emerged from a messy process that forced her to confront her own paradoxes, reshaping how she sees the world through power, paradox, and presence.
Her “another door moment” emerged when she chose to write her book; she temporarily closed the door to the narratives, ways of working, and identity she had cultivated before. What is emerging are frameworks, artistic and somatic practices, and rituals that help others navigate their own power dynamics and paradoxes through presence as a form of technology.
Her work draws on neurodivergent pattern recognition and collaboration with Indigenous knowledge keepers in Brazil. She is a keynote speaker, chairs Mental Health First Aid England, and works with leaders and senior teams at global organisations navigating transformation.
Work with Eleanor
Buy the Book - Another Door Opens; 5 steps for navigating change. Described as ‘Game changing’ ‘Brilliant’ ‘A must read’ ‘The best book on change’.
Eleanor supports individuals, teams and organisations through change. Whether it’s coaching or large scale organisational change through communications and training.
Work with Eleanor 121 as your coach, when you are starting something new, to develop the idea, to create the idea, to get it launched.
Book in a Change Mastery for a team session - when your team is navigating change.
Book in a 90 minute workshop - to think through change at work.
Instagram:instagram/anotherdooruk
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanor-tweddell/
Website: www.another-door-opens.com
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