The Truth About Leadership with Mike Logue - former Dreams CEO

What does it really take to turn around a struggling business?

In this episode of Coach Class, I sat down in person with former Dreams CEO Mike Logue for an honest conversation about leadership, resilience and the moments that shape a career.

Mike reflects on his journey from a 17-year-old at Marks & Spencer to leading some of the UK's biggest retailers, sharing the lessons he learned through success, failure and some of the toughest decisions of his career.

Rather than focusing on balance sheets and boardrooms, this conversation explores the human side of leadership, earning trust, building culture and why telling people the truth is one of the most important responsibilities of any leader.

Key takeaways

This episode is a masterclass in authentic leadership. Mike explains why respect always comes before performance, why difficult conversations should never be avoided, and why the best leaders create environments where people feel trusted, valued and heard.

It's also a reminder that careers are rarely linear. Setbacks can become turning points, and sometimes the biggest lesson isn't how to build a successful busines, it's learning to breathe.

Whether you lead a global organisation, manage a small team or simply want to become a better leader, this conversation offers practical wisdom grounded in decades of real-world experience.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to Coach Class, leave a review, and share it with someone who believes that great leadership starts with great people.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why walking into Asda felt like "going back to big school"
• The leadership lessons Mike learned from Andy Bond, Judith McKenna and the exceptional talent around him
• How great leaders ask better questions rather than having all the answers
• What it feels like to walk into a business emerging from administration
• Why Mike spent his first month at Dreams travelling the country listening to colleagues instead of sitting in head office
• How one conversation in a Clydebank store shaped the culture of Dreams for the next eight years
• The heartbreaking experience in Hong Kong that completely changed his approach to leadership
• Why honesty, even when the news is difficult, is the foundation of trust
• The importance of creating workplaces where people are proud to say where they work
• Why culture isn't built through slogans, but through everyday behaviours
• How losing his job became the catalyst for the greatest chapter of his career
• What success really means after more than 30 years in retail leadership

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