Episode 19: Navigating Career Challenges from Declan Allen, MD Horiba Mira

In this conversation, Declan Allen (MD, Horiba Mira) shares his journey from engineer to managing director, discussing the importance of focusing on the present, building strong relationships, and the value of diversity in teams. 

He reflects on his early career experiences, the transition to leadership, and the lessons learned from mistakes. Declan emphasises the need for adaptability in the ever-changing automotive industry and expresses optimism about the future of innovation and societal impact.

TAKEAWAYS

• Focus on doing your best in the present moment.
• Building relationships is crucial for career success.
• Diversity in teams leads to better problem-solving.
• Managing upwards requires clear communication of successes.
• Don't assume others understand your contributions.
• Adaptability is key in a changing industry.
• Mistakes often stem from staying too long in the wrong place.
• Improving lives should be the core mission of any business.

SOUND BITES

• “You don’t get noticed for saying you want to lead; you get noticed for getting things done.”
• “The best leaders never forget what it’s like on the shop floor.”
• “Don’t wait for someone to tell your story. Tell it yourself, and tell it through your impact.”
• “Titles don’t make leaders. The way you show up, help others, and solve problems does.”
• “When you stop chasing the next role and start focusing on doing this one brilliantly, that’s when opportunity finds you.”
• “Different perspectives aren’t awkward, they’re how progress happens.”
• “No one ever built credibility by talking about potential. They built it by delivering, again and again.”

RESOURCES

Your Bold Moves Brief

The Big Conversation Guide for teams

Connect with Caroline here

#career advice #leadership #teamwork #diversity #automotive industry #managing upwards

Ready to make your next bold move? Grab the free Bold Move Audit and join the insider crew.

Stuck, simmering, or onto something juicy? I want to hear it. Drop me a line at caroline@inspireyourgenius.com - I read them all.

Chapters

• 0:00 From Engineer to MD
• 4:14 The Importance of practical experience
• 9:13 Building effective teams
• 12:01 The role of mindset in leadership
• 14:24 Diversity and team dynamics
• 17:02 Focusing on the right metrics
• 19:10 The importance of visibility in career advancement
• 24:32 Learning from mistakes & being authentic
• 28:11 Future-proofing your skills
• 31:01 Optimism in innovation
• 35:01 Quick fire career moves

Transcript

Caroline Esterson (00:00)
Welcome back to Little News Big Careers. I'm Caroline Esterson and your host and today's guest is someone who proves that great careers aren't built by chasing titles. They're built by getting things done, staying curious and leading with integrity.

From toolmaker to managing director, Declan Allen's career is zigzagged through one of the fastest changing industries on earth, automotive and mobility. He's now at the helm of Horiba Mira a global leader in engineering and innovation, driving breakthroughs that are literally shaping how the world moves. But here's what I love about Declan. There isn't any ego. It's just pure practical wisdom.

He didn't map out a route to the top. He just focused on being brilliant where he was, learning constantly, and then letting opportunity find him. And so in this conversation, you're going to hear about why doing a great job is about staying curious. And it's about asking not, "Can we do this?" But rather, "How can we do this?"

We'll explore how Declan's early years on the shop floor shaped his belief that every role matters and that the best leaders never forget where the real knowledge lives and the importance of mindset over metrics. Why diversity of thought can do energy and authentic relationships beat any tick box leadership model.

There's a moment in this chat where Declan says, "Businesses don't promote people who say they want to lead They promote people who get things done." That's something that I want you to hold on to. So grab your notebook and let's dive in.

Caroline Esterson (01:59)
So from engineer to managing director, Declan's career is zigzag through an industry that is literally transforming under his feet. So Declan, if I was to have asked your 18 year old self you are going to be an MD in the future, would you have actually believed me?

Declan Allen (02:22)
Uh, no, that wouldn't have even been a thought in my head. at that age I was, focused on, learning and, uh, the real passion for engines. I'm from Northern Ireland, so we've got this defective gene for going fast. So, uh, so yeah, so I was too caught up in.

understanding how all that worked and leadership was, I didn't even know that was a thing. So, yeah, I had no concept of it and no real aspirations.

Caroline Esterson (02:47)
Yeah.

I think that's really interesting because people talk don't they about you know get your goal and focus but sometimes actually the best careers come from just pursuing things that you're really interested in and seeing where they go.

Declan Allen (03:07)
Yeah. Well, that's,

that's my mantra entirely. anybody asked me for advice, you know, they say, do I do your job? You know, how can I, how can I do your job in 10 years time? I'm like, well, what do think I do? described to me what you think my role is. And the conversation falls over very, very quickly. so,

know, I said, careful what you wish for actually.

the best advice I give to people and it's still the way I do it. I just focus on what I'm doing at the moment and try and do it as best I can because

at the end of the day, you learn from that. You learn what you like to do and you find out what you're not very good at, to be honest.

focusing on what you're doing, you have to accept that actually that there's bits you're not very good at. So you start learning about how to compensate for it. And if you, if you do develop that mindset of, of getting things done, even though it's not the something that you really love and enjoy, you still got to get it done. And that's what, you know, businesses are looking out for people that get things done, not say they want to be the leader, know, who's ever.

Who's ever scans the organization to say, successor is going to be the one I can hear say, I want to do your job the most often. I mean, it's just nonsense. So I'm a more, much more pragmatic, practical person that

opportunities come to you if you've got the right mindset and your career takes care of itself because doing each job to the best of your absolute ability is noticed. That's what businesses want to see.

and they will make your career happen for you, offer you opportunities and always take them even if it's like ⁓ not sure that's perfectly in line with my roadmap it's it it'll you'll learn from it you become a broader person and that's what really matters.

Caroline Esterson (05:00)
Absolutely and you it's reminded me

teams are interviewed at the start of a big tournament the teams that you expect to get through to the to the final they if you ask them ⁓ are you looking forward to being in the final always those sports people that being interviewed say I'm focused on the next game.

Declan Allen (05:19)
Yeah. Yeah.

Caroline Esterson (05:20)
game,

just focus in, be brilliant at what you're doing right now and everything else will take care of itself. So what was your very first job? What were the key things that you learned from it?

Declan Allen (05:25)
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly.

Well, I actually ⁓ started out as in a tool room as a tool maker. So that's a very much a machine shop environment. The company I worked for made,

actually was really interesting,

lenses for glasses, so spectacles. And it was already stage of developing bifocals and very focal technology. So I was in the R &D

as part of that, was

working in the tool room to essentially learn the trade. Ultimately, that's been

important to me for a number of reasons, because it means when I went to university, I actually had a really good understanding of what I was learning, because I could understand how it was applied.

Caroline Esterson (06:13)
Did you go to

university later then?

Declan Allen (06:17)
Yeah, I worked for a year in industry and then it was an industrial scholarship actually, a year in industry and then four years masters and I worked for the same company each summer.

you just learn so much about how to design things to be made,

what the different machining operations do.

So it was really good grounding in.

practical skills that have kind of stood by me throughout my career and means I could make sense of the academia. I think there's the second and probably most important aspect of it was I from a very young age, I appreciated the importance of the the shop floor to any successful business because the amount of knowledge that's there, the amount of teamwork and camaraderie and people you can talk to to

to solve problems is so important. So I think that's always meant I've been very grounded in the relationships I have and I can talk to anyone in my team from, I don't like to use the word shop floor because everyone's equal in my mind. It's just a different thing that they do. yeah, those key bits of learning stuck with me

my career.

Caroline Esterson (07:31)
I had the pleasure, didn't I Declan, last year of coming around your site at Mira which is just incredible. And some of the innovation that you've got going there just blew my mind. What was really clear as you're walking around is just how solid all of those relationships

Declan Allen (07:44)
Yeah.

Caroline Esterson (07:51)
so I would imagine that collaboration, problem solving,

R& D is just it's just in your DNA isn't it that that conversation about how do we improve how do we improve all the time is just happening around you.

Declan Allen (08:05)
Yeah. And ultimately you got to make stuff, right? So you can have the best idea and a great design, but ultimately you've got to make it and turn it into something physical. so yeah, everyone's got a huge role to play in that. And we take the team very, very seriously here. it's a big area of my focus that we,

want that culture of,

being a great team and everyone having a role to play within it.

Caroline Esterson (08:31)
So when you made the shift from being technical into a leadership role, how smooth was that transition? And kind of what needed to change in you to be really effective? you think?

Declan Allen (08:48)
Yeah, that's a really good

I guess based on my description earlier of how I approach each job, I kind of morphed into it, unknowingly to myself. Well, yeah, actually, I was technical, technical, technical, and then I went over to the US to open some new test facilities in Detroit.

Caroline Esterson (09:02)
One day I was there!

Declan Allen (09:13)
We had to deliver services from this facility and we were working in another company's facility. So you kind of quickly turning up with near term customer program just about to start. So I ended up morphing very, very quickly into the organizer and getting things done. And for me to do that, I needed some team members to do the doing as it were. So.

So actually

was responsible for delivering the services. So I had to move into that role and take responsibility and thereby over the course of the next few years started to grow the team, expand the services. that's, you know, within quite a short period of time, I was leading the group and built up a team of about 20 people quite quickly.

I think what changed within me thinking back, probably realized that I was okay at that stuff. I was pretty good at it. And I accepted that

others were better than me at the some of the design work and some of the analysis work. So

Even though I wanted to be really good at that stuff, I wasn't that good. So I wasn't the best designer. wasn't the best analytical person, but I was a very practical person that could get things done. And that's what makes a team work. I morphed into it and

became the defecto leader, not necessarily as an ambition. When I went over, I went over as,

to deliver these services to the customer. So very much a technical.

⁓ engineering role but it very quickly changed and and that's that was really the start of my

operational management career.

Caroline Esterson (10:57)
Interesting, there are a couple of things I just want to pull out there. I think for me, my translation of what you've just been saying is if you think about your description of your very early career and the lessons that you learned in your first job, know, focus in, do a great job and take as much learning as you can.

Declan Allen (10:59)
Yeah.

Caroline Esterson (11:17)
there's something about, you know, that also the mindset that you carried forward from that. I loved your words about just morphed into it because that might seem in some respects, it might sound a little bit accidental. But actually what I've read from it is that because you're so invested in doing a good job,

Declan Allen (11:22)
Yeah. ⁓

Yeah.

Caroline Esterson (11:45)
you're learning all the time. So you're learning what you're good at, what you're not so good at. You know, your ego didn't get in the way. You realize that other people were better at certain things for you. And I think that is such an important lesson, isn't it? It really is about recognizing where are your talents and maximizing your talents. And we're often told so much to focus on our weak areas.

Declan Allen (11:57)
Yeah.

Mm.

No.

Caroline Esterson (12:07)
and try and just think about it,

but generally a lot of those are probably allowable weaknesses. Just let it be. Be brilliant to what you're brilliant at.

Declan Allen (12:16)
Yeah,

yeah, I think that's right. And let go of some stuff that you might hanker over, but actually you just accept that you're not very good at it. And it taught me quite early that actually when I think back to some of the team members, you know, they're brilliant engineers, you know, to support them and let them fly as well. We had a really good thing going. had a really, really strong.

Caroline Esterson (12:26)
What a

Declan Allen (12:41)
small group but you know really really was was a great time I look back at that with really fond memories.

Caroline Esterson (12:49)
that's wonderful when you have those really strong memories of a particular team, a particular moment in your career, isn't it?

Declan Allen (12:54)
Yeah. Yeah.

Caroline Esterson (12:58)
So I think that kind of strikes me as almost an unconscious decision that has actually had really big ripples in your career. Just that ability to sort of constantly be reflecting and honing what you do has just sort of meant that things have evolved really effectively for you.

Declan Allen (13:20)
you get dropped into this situation and you,

got to crack on, don't you? So you just have to say, well, okay, what needs to get done? and, then make it happen. And actually the progression I've had since then was probably just scaling that rather than anything massively different. was a case of.

taken on responsibility for more teams and more facilities. And it was kind of more of the same with the same approach of trying to get the right team in place and the right mindset, the right customer focus. So, yeah.

Caroline Esterson (13:50)
Okay, so

for you, the key is getting the right team in place with the right mindset. Can you elaborate a little bit more, particularly in terms of the mindset? What are you looking for?

Declan Allen (13:55)
Yeah, nothing else matters really.

yeah, it's, I think nothing else really matters. You know, it's, if you've got the the right team. I think, you know, certainly what I look for is, is, positivity,

can do, you know, it's a, it's an overused expression of can do attitude, but generally it's, it's, and it's something I would advise people is just have a find a way mentality.

So really getting a culture of saying that delivering to the customer is front and central. So that's what really matters. So building a culture of delivering and finding a way to overcome obstacles and taking the best capabilities to that customer is so important. And now more than ever, we've got intense global pressure. So really what...

differentiates you is that customer focus and all of our customers are hurting like hell. So, you you kind of got to work with them to try and help them and thereby try to survive yourself. So, yeah, the team got in the right mix of team members. So mix is really important as well.

Caroline Esterson (15:08)
What are you looking

for in the mix?

Declan Allen (15:11)
I

to go down a big discussion about diversity, but it is diversity. It's diversity of opinion. It's diversity of thinking, diversity of experience. If you have everyone of the same mold, you end up just potentially replicating issues that you have. So actually getting

Caroline Esterson (15:15)
Okay, so any diversity thinking as well, isn't it?

Declan Allen (15:31)
getting the right balance of technical leadership, operational

program management, delivering stuff on time, bringing all of those together and actually ensuring that you've got the practical team to deliver it is really important. So yeah, I think that.

Maybe it don't plays how wonderful I am as a manager, but I think the key thing for me is I think if you get the right team and place everything else kind of takes care of itself.

Caroline Esterson (16:01)
I think that's the job of a manager, isn't it? It is actually making sure that you do have the right team so that they can get on and do it. Yeah.

Declan Allen (16:03)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And trying to fix team problems

as well. You know, it isn't the case of everything's rosy in the garden. There's definitely tough times within that and you've got to try and work on the barriers to that team. Yeah.

Caroline Esterson (16:23)
Yeah,

we say one of the biggest jobs of leadership is actually clearing the path for them so that they can be their brilliant selves. How do you clear the path? That's the key, isn't it? And I really like what you said about diversity because for me, I see in organizations a lot that the leaders are creating echo chambers and that is perilous.

Declan Allen (16:30)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.

.

Yeah.

Caroline Esterson (16:50)
particularly

in today's world where we're moving so fast and we're under so much pressure those echo chambers just do not serve in any which way shape or

Declan Allen (17:02)
Yeah,

and there's a, you know, it's kind of lots of discussions now about diversity, but I think, I think that's always been a thing for me and for us here is that we do not set out to achieve statistics. We set out to get the right team in place and lo and behold, if you do that and you get the right people in the right jobs, hey presto, you've got that really good mix of

of experience inputs that you need to be successful. actually, you know, it really frustrates me that companies focus on metrics around this instead of lose sight of the actual what, what, what do you, do it in the first place? Because actually it's all about getting the right people doing the right job. And if, if, if you understand the team makeup, then you'll get the right diversity anyway. So you don't need to worry about it.

Caroline Esterson (17:56)
I'm giggling listening to you Declan because to you and to me it's like so plain obvious isn't it that you do this. I think that anybody, for me anybody that can cut through

Declan Allen (17:56)
Peace.

Yeah. Yeah.

Caroline Esterson (18:10)
how complex we are making the world of work unnecessarily. That in itself is just an incredible skill. If you're focusing in on the right things, everything else just falls into place.

Declan Allen (18:23)
Yeah, don't get

me wrong. It's not perfect and everything, but generally some of these new approaches come out and it's like, well, actually we don't need to change anything because we were kind of doing that already. No doubt there can be more information shared and make it more visible to everyone and take care of.

Caroline Esterson (18:25)
but easy. ⁓

Declan Allen (18:48)
unconscious biases and all of that. That's all. Yeah, stuff like that you've got to grab and add in. But generally we don't chase metrics on this. We chase customer net promoter score and employee engagement score. And those two, if you are in the great category in both of them, then that's kind of, I kind of says it all.

Caroline Esterson (19:10)
Yeah, and that in itself is simple, it? It makes actually the doing so much easier because you've just got clear guardrails, clear guidance about what you want to do.

Declan Allen (19:15)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Caroline Esterson (19:21)
So we talked about right at the start, the most important thing that you can do for your career is not be asking, know, saying I want to be a leader, but getting on and doing a great ⁓ job.

Declan Allen (19:35)
Yeah.

Caroline Esterson (19:37)
But there are times where just doing a great job isn't enough. You know, we have to be visible and put ourselves forward as well. So what lessons have you learnt about influencing kind of a board level globally that people can bring into their careers right now? What's the best way to get noticed other than just doing a great job?

Declan Allen (20:02)
yeah, it's an interesting question. I don't think I've ever consciously thought how to do that, but my,

sense on that would be

I've learned over the years is, and certainly, the whole managing upwards there's never a standard way to do that. That evolves all the time because

people change, acquisition changes, you're dealing in a different culture. know, we've been acquired by a fantastic Japanese company. So, you know, that rule book goes out the window and it just, you're back to square one again. So what I would say is that...

You cannot rely on

others or even the people you're working with in customers to tell their management what you're doing accurately. so many, might think you're doing a wonderful job, but what's getting communicated within the hierarchy of your customer is that, yeah, they're doing a good job, but actually there's issues with A, B and C. So when you go to...

the contract review or whatever, you know, suddenly you're in a world of pain because you haven't managed those perceptions. So I think that's my biggest learning is that don't assume.

things are being communicated that the way that that accurately reflect what you're doing, you've got to do the legwork yourself. You've got to build relationships. You've got to talk to people. And actually, it's one of my biggest pieces of advice is and things I should have done better over the years is, is is understand those third party perspectives, because they, they have such a bearing on what you

Whoever it is, whoever it is.

Caroline Esterson (21:35)
whoever it is, whether it's your boss,

Declan Allen (21:38)
Yeah, your customer, unless

Caroline Esterson (21:38)
an internal or external stakeholder.

Declan Allen (21:41)
you talk and make time to talk, you never quite hear their perception of what's happening. And if you're in a management position, just think of an example. You may have a team that's wonderful and you need to sustain that through funding from group. If you haven't...

put the leg work in as a manager to communicate the successes of that group You know, the funding stops. could stop. You know, you suddenly got a massive problem. So, so, you know, you might think that we're cooking on gas here and it's all brilliant. I see nine times out of 10, how that goes through each, each review meeting and gets communicated to others gets diluted. actually communicating and getting the perspective of

what people think about what you're doing for them, either internally or externally is just so important. And that is always a journey of discovery for me. I'm not perfect in that. And I, I always think, there was another senior discussion I could have had and I should have done that. So constantly beat yourself up over what you, what you could have done better to handle situations where

communications and perceptions have formed that you could have influenced better and that goes to the territory of leadership.

Caroline Esterson (22:58)
Absolutely, and I think you want to avoid those beating up moments as much as possible, don't you?

Declan Allen (23:02)
Yeah.

Caroline Esterson (23:03)
building

those relationships is key. The way that you build those relationships is also important and it's about finding the balance between shouting about your successes and asking for what people need. You can't shout if you're not prepared to ask as well. So you know and it's that constant check-in isn't it? Without being needy you know it's you and you're right there's no formula to it. You have to find your balance with those individuals because you're

Declan Allen (23:06)
Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, exactly so.

Caroline Esterson (23:33)
individual, they're all different and different people need different things. You've got to be prepared to be flexible and challenge yourself.

Declan Allen (23:36)
Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

You know, so, you know, in the working closely with Japanese colleagues, you you could have the best invention here in the world, best service you've developed. But actually, if we haven't shared that knowledge or involved any of our global colleagues, it's kind of, it's kind of, yes, it's making us money. have we really learned to develop the team globally? Have we really shared that learning? You you saw the

the value of it to the team is globally is far more important than the commercial success on any one venture. So that's maybe just an example of what I mean that, that actually you can be developing something brilliant, if, you don't take, you don't take the leadership with you and don't involve global team members, it's not really as successful as you thought it was.

Caroline Esterson (24:32)
Yeah, definitely. So, so what's been the biggest mistake you've made in your career, Declan? And how, you know, how did you recover from it?

Declan Allen (24:43)
Yeah, probably, lots of mistakes. Probably the time I didn't know was making mistakes. It only became mistakes later.

Caroline Esterson (24:49)
Yeah.

Declan Allen (24:50)
You know, somebody, you know, someone says, I've never made a bad decision at the time. You'd probably do the same again. But yeah, so, so yeah, lots of mistakes. I would say

Caroline Esterson (24:52)
Yeah.

Declan Allen (24:59)
considering the nature of this discussion, would say

the mistake I made a couple of times was probably staying doing what I was doing too long. I already knew there was, in one example, I already knew there was a mismatch of my values with the overall company. And I stayed more out of

loyalty and passion for my team rather than actually

following, you know, backing myself and

moving on to something that was better for me. so I probably did that twice for the same reason. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, it's back to, it's back to you've, you know, if I look at it, it's really important in a leadership role that you're authentic.

don't have to stand up in front of the team and put a spin on anything. You know, you know, you've got to an authentic position when you can talk to the team about what, what's happening and what you're doing. And that's a fair reflection of what's happening and what you're doing. so,

yeah, if, you're, if you're finding you're having to spend

understanding what the party line is on this and the party line on that is, and

There's a mismatch there, isn't there, about you being your authentic best, I guess,

couple of occasions

certainly

aligned

values.

Caroline Esterson (26:22)
that's really interesting because a couple of weeks ago was interviewing somebody and they said exactly the same thing. The biggest mistake we've had was staying too long in a place that just wasn't the right place for them at all. And I think that is a really important message to echo. So thank you so much for being prepared to say that.

Declan Allen (26:29)
All right, okay.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's

like I say, it's, but it's, you've got a makeup of building a team and what you also learned from that is that actually the team are all grownups and you kind of, you feel like you've, you've got an onus to stay around with them, but actually, that they carry on everything carries on without you. actually when you realize that

And I'm not encouraging a stampede of movement in the industry. Don't get me wrong. But I'm trying to think about mistakes relevant to careers. that was just a mistake. Not a mistake. It was just when I did eventually make the decision and move on to the next thing, I thought in both cases, I thought I should have done that at least a year ago. Not to say.

I would have been in a different position today because things kind of happen and you make the best of it again. So, so yeah, it's just,

Caroline Esterson (27:40)
course

it is an important acknowledgement because you don't know what the future would have been if you had moved on, but you probably stagnated for a while because you were doing something that wasn't just right for you and that's not part of it apart from anything else.

Declan Allen (27:50)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

Caroline Esterson (27:57)
So

If someone's actually starting out new in automotive, mobility, tech, that kind of thing, what skills do you think will help them future proof

Does it come back to your mindset piece or is there something else?

Declan Allen (28:12)
Yeah, yeah,

I think it's

what's, you'll never, whenever,

been involved in recruitment, you know, ultimately you're, you're, you're, looking for

someone that's smart enough. with the right attitude, cause people can learn people are amazing. They can learn anything really. So actually, long as you've got the, the, you you've got a, an intellect and an interest in how things are being done and

you're okay with things changing and adapting to that. If you've got that mindset and you've got a mindset of finding ways, then you know that kind of refreshes

whatever's coming down the barrels, you've got the right

skills to deal with that really. So yeah, I think it's definitely mindset and approach are the key skills rather than, you know,

embedded software controller, know, that those, that, that, that's those, those individuals can learn and develop. So actually it's that mindset of moving with the times and understanding what's coming and adapting to that.

Caroline Esterson (29:15)
That adaptability is so important. I loved what you said, actually, it me giggle. said, know, whatever's coming down the barrels, I've got this picture of a ⁓ rifle facing you. And I think sometimes it does feel a little bit like that, doesn't it?

Declan Allen (29:17)
Yeah. Yeah.

Well, you know, I'm, what am I now? I don't know, I don't want to admit it, but quite a few years in automotive and automotive is like that constantly. There's never a day where you go, this is all really tickety boo and it's all working great. And, and nothing's changing. Everything's stable with our customers, you know, never, it's never the way there's regulation or, or politics or, or

Caroline Esterson (29:54)
Flux I think.

Declan Allen (29:55)
And even now there's

so much hostile stuff going on in the world with cyber that's just such a sad place, isn't it? you're spending most of your time trying to not develop next generation vehicles, but protect your business just to stay alive. It's kind of sad really. So yeah, there's always these challenges coming down the barrels and you're always at the end of it rather than pulling the trigger.

If you know what mean, it's so difficult to influence what's coming down the barrels. That's what I mean. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Caroline Esterson (30:24)
So what

and your ability to just deal with it is so important. What

are you optimistic about Declan?

Because there are some really exciting things happening in your industry, aren't there?

Declan Allen (30:35)
Yeah,

Yeah, it's, yeah, we are always positive about particularly the UK, know, this is an amazing,

place for innovation and development. We need to get better at commercializing that and scaling up what we do. And certainly the technology around us at the moment, the skills in the UK,

fantastic. you know, I'm really optimistic about continuing to play a role in in next generation mobility. But, you know, in recent times, I'm very fortunate that I'm, I'm getting involved more and more across other sectors. And, you know, that's leading to really interesting things around the environment, such as water, the water sector, around healthcare. And

you know, common to all of these is societal impact and improving lives. So that's our big mantra here about improving lives. actually, that's what you know, you can do that through the technologies we have and the services we have. that's that connection with a

that

allows you to be aligned because you know what you do.

everybody comes to work that makes a difference in that area. So it's really important that despite all of those things coming down the barrel that you feel that ultimately what you're working on will make a difference. That's what keeps us coming back every day.

Caroline Esterson (31:58)
Yeah, absolutely. I think that

that mission of improving lives is so simple and moving. It's something to really focus on, isn't it?

Declan Allen (32:05)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I just have a really nice, nice story, I think, just as part of that, to free up my bandwidth, to focus on all of the UK activities, which is looking at four businesses in the UK and how do we take new services and solutions for customers. I've actually backfilled my role and just appointed

Can I name names or? Yeah, Yeah, so it's fantastic story really, you know we've. We've just appointed Doctor Roisin Hopkins as the as the. Leader of off the Horiba Mira business, right? Roisin has been here from graduate days so maybe she's a maybe sees someone for a future podcast. ⁓

Caroline Esterson (32:37)
Please, please do, let's celebrate, let's celebrate.

Really?

I'm

definitely.

Declan Allen (33:00)
But you know,

just someone who's given their 34 years, given their whole career to, to one company and knows the company inside out,

knows what we do in all areas. Fantastic intellect and getting things done. just fantastic that we can, we can. Yeah.

Caroline Esterson (33:19)
that's brilliant. How exciting to

be recruiting somebody into that position that has been in the company 34 years and grown with the company. That's an example of where, you know, there is a really strong values match, it?

Declan Allen (33:23)
Yeah, yeah, so yeah, yeah.

Yeah, so, so you absolutely delighted with that. you know, it's, yeah, yeah, she's great. And, you know, as part of that, we've, we've done some other moves around, and we've been able to take care of all of that from within the team we have. so, you know, providing those opportunities and, and growth is really important. And, you know, I think if you spoke to Roisin

Caroline Esterson (33:37)
Congratulations Roisin!

Declan Allen (33:58)
that she would have answered that first question as the same as I did that was like I no idea about that but actually

know what a

within the company and ultimately to take

running it is a great achievement for her. Yeah I'll tell her to get her answers ready.

Caroline Esterson (34:14)
Tell Roisin I'm going to be in touch. I'd love to chat to her about this.

Yeah.

Fantastic. Thank you, Declan.

So before we go, there are just two more bits that I would really like to do if possible. The first is a career quote crime. Is there a phrase that you hear on a regular basis that probably makes you want to shoot yourself that you think should be firmly put in the bin because it's misleading?

Declan Allen (34:42)
Sure, sure, sure.

Yeah, it's a toughie. There's lots of springs to mind. know, I think just the one. Well, the one that springs to mind is such an overly used expression, which is you "Living the dream." presses on my... Sorry?

Caroline Esterson (35:05)
Just the one now, Declan, come on.

Tell me why it riles you.

Tell me why it riles you.

Declan Allen (35:19)
Well, it's

just such a, my world, just such a bizarre expression because, you know, my dreams are all over the place and I can never make any sense of them. So, so actually, you you're living the dream. It's like, really? Oh, that's, that's quite a, you know, that's quite a statement. So actually, I probably don't fully understand. I get the concept off it, but

I think it's overused

it's almost got negative connotations now so i i just don't like it it just i for god's sake yeah

Caroline Esterson (35:48)
Yeah.

Is there a better,

is there a better reframe that we can think of?

Because you're very much about being present, aren't you? And being great in the moment. It's like focusing, focusing on now and being the best you can be right now.

Declan Allen (35:59)
Yeah, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,

yeah,

Caroline Esterson (36:14)
I like that. That's living your dream. Improving lives. Fantastic.

Declan Allen (36:17)
That's living your dream, yeah. Yeah. You know, living the dream

is not necessarily what your manager wants you to do. They want you to live their dream. Which means you're coming to work every day, making a difference and doing a great job. yeah.

Caroline Esterson (36:33)
Yeah, love it. Thank you, Declan.

And finally, we always like to leave people with three pieces of advice, things that they can do or think about right now that could make a difference to their career. What three pieces of advice have you got?

Declan Allen (37:04)
Ooh, that's a good one. So I just plucking things out from what I've said, I would say focus on what you're doing right now and the future usually takes care of itself. That's one key point. The power of relationships cannot be underestimated. So you've got to go the extra mile to communicate with your colleagues, with your supervisors.

you've normally got to put the yards in on that face to face, which is so important these days. And as we kind of lose our way with the balance of face to face communication. So I'd really encourage a lot more face to face contact and building those relationships. And finally, in line with getting things done, would

always encourage people to think about the question you ask, not can something be done more, we're going to do this, so how do we do it? You know, that kind of example. So we really just make it very clear we're doing this. How do we do it rather than can we do it? I think that changes the dynamics on it very quickly.

Caroline Esterson (38:11)
changes the dynamics and it changes the way your brain's processing. So can we is binary, how is much more expansive isn't it? gets you curiosity and creativity. So brilliant. I love those Declan, thank you so much and thank you for joining us today. I think there's been lots of really good nuggets in this conversation. Really appreciate your time.

Declan Allen (38:13)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

no problem. was a