What’s it like to build a career around changing the way we think about disability? In this episode of Sales Leader Secrets, Amanda Downs talks with Esi Hardy, founder of Celebrating Disability and a leading voice on inclusion.
Esi’s path has been far from typical. From training as an actress and working in performing arts in LA, to moving into health and social care, she’s now running her own business helping organisations and individuals create spaces where disabled people can thrive.
If you’re interested in leadership with purpose and building workplaces where everyone belongs, this episode is worth a listen.
Here are the highlights:
00:00 Introduction
04:50 Starting a business after leaving charity work
06:42 Driving disability inclusion with Homes for Students
09:53 Learning leadership through early challenges
13:04 Building inclusive hiring practices
18:48 Choosing value-driven clients and redefining authenticity at work
22:40 Building a value-led pipeline through SEO and exploratory calls
28:36 Disability activism shifted my mindset
33:09 Faking It, Making It
Join us each month for the Uspire webinar series “Become a Better Leader” and get valuable leadership frameworks and techniques to help you achieve sustainable growth that lasts. https://theuspiregroup.com/uspire-events/become-a-better-leader-webinar-series/
About Amanda Downs:
Amanda Downs is Uspire's Director of Commercial Leadership and a commercial training and coaching expert. She has worked extensively in Europe, EMEA, the US, and Asia and is an accredited Insights Discovery practitioner. She also leads Uspire's commercial leadership proposition.
She produces the popular Sales Growth Expert blog and is currently writing her first sales leadership book.
Connect with Amanda:
Website: theuspiregroup.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandadowns2/
About The Uspire Partnership:
Uspire challenge, energise and upskill leaders to set the stage for business transformation and commercial success. Members of the Uspire team are all industry professionals and have first-hand experience of the commercial challenges you face. We develop leadership skills and commercial capabilities; delivering profitable growth and a sustainable legacy of change.
Connect with Uspire:
Website: theuspiregroup.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uspire-ltd/
About Esi Hardy:
Esi Hardy is the founder and Managing Director of Celebrating Disability, a consultancy established in 2017 to promote disability inclusion in workplaces. With a background in public services, social care, and the charity sector, Esi has consistently focused on advocating for the rights of disabled people. Her diverse career path includes experiences as a theatre actress and a psychodynamic counsellor, all unified by her commitment to disability advocacy.
As she has cerebral palsy and identifies as a hybrid wheelchair user, Esi draws on her lived experience to highlight the barriers faced by disabled people. This perspective enriches her consultancy work, enabling organisations to implement strategies that foster truly inclusive environments.
Celebrating Disability offers tailored services, including disability inclusion training, consultancy, and guest speaking engagements. The consultancy takes a pan-disability approach, addressing a range of impairments including neurodiversity, sensory impairments, and long-term health conditions. In addition to Esi, services are delivered by associate trainers, each with their own lived experience of disability, who bring diverse insights to every session.
Connect with Esi:
Website: https://celebratingdisability.co.uk/
Produced by Winter Audio
