18: Lead Well Live Well with Dee Blick and guest Debbie Gilbert18: Lead Well Live Well with Dee Blick and guest Debbie Gilbert
UK Health Radio Podcast
Dee Blick talks with businesswoman and awards founder Debbie Gilbert about inclusive networking, ethical awards and rejecting fear of failure. Their chat highlights how integrity, practical planning and helping others can shape a meaningful business journey.
51:19•13 May 2026
Integrity, Awards and Throwing Down the Rope with Debbie Gilbert
Episode Overview
- Ethical awards should have transparent judging panels, clear criteria and no pay-to-win or popularity-based voting.
- Inclusive networking works best with structure, low barriers to entry and a focus on collaboration rather than hard selling.
- Fear of failure can be reframed as feedback: if something doesn’t work, peel back the layers and learn why.
- Success creates a responsibility to others: "When you reach the top of your mountain, throw down a rope and help somebody else up."
- Loving your work can blur boundaries, so small routines like walking, local classes and short breaks still matter for wellbeing.
“When you reach the top of your mountain, throw down a rope and help somebody else up.”
What can we learn from those who have built businesses on integrity, graft and a hefty dose of courage? This conversation between host Dee Blick and guest Debbie Gilbert offers a candid look at how one determined woman keeps creating opportunities for others while building her own success.
Debbie shares her early career journey from British Gas customer services to marketing and medical repatriation, then explains how motherhood, a marriage breakdown and her father’s dementia diagnosis pushed her towards self-employment in the late 1990s. There’s no gloss here, just a very real account of piecing together a marketing business before websites and social media existed.
You’ll hear how a single invitation to a BNI meeting sparked Debbie’s love of networking and later led her to launch Business Women Unlimited, a philanthropic, pay‑as‑you‑go networking network designed for women who couldn’t afford or fit traditional memberships around school runs. She talks about the importance of structure in networking meetings and the power of collaboration-focused online sessions. The heart of the conversation is Debbie’s mission to create ethical, integrity‑driven awards.
She explains why she calls much of the awards scene a "very murky pond", criticising pay‑to‑win trophies and data‑grabbing public voting. In contrast, her Best Business Women Awards and Best SME Awards use transparent judging, give every finalist a silver, gold or special recognition trophy, and never disqualify someone for not buying a ticket to the ceremony.
Debbie also reflects on fear of failure (a phrase she simply refuses to accept), her self-confessed terrible work–life balance, her app project Leania, and her ongoing writing projects. Her personal motto sums up the spirit of the episode: "When you reach the top of your mountain, throw down a rope and help somebody else up." If you’re craving purpose, courage and more ethical ways of working, where might you throw down a rope in your own life?
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