career advice Archives - Page 3 of 14

What We Loved in 2023

December 27, 2023
by Claire

And just like that… 2023 is coming to a close! We hope everyone’s enjoying the Holiday season.

In our final episode for the year, we reflect on the best and most loved books, experiences, and habits and hacks we’re taking away from this year. We made a deliberate choice to focus on all things positive and constructive to help counter all the negative news in the world. We send our love and thoughts to anyone who’s doing it tough right now . . . it can be a difficult time for many people.

In this episode you’ll hear about:

Our top fiction books as well as our favourite two non fiction books and why
Our favourite podcast memories and experiences from the year
Cultural moments that really resonated with each of us; and
The top habits and hacks we’ve learnt (often from our guests) that have worked brilliantly for us.

So as the final days for 2023 come to a close. We wish all of you a chance to rest and recuperate and all the very best for a happy, healthy and purposeful 2024. We’re taking the Australian summer to rest and relax so we’ll be back in February.

Happy Holidays and enjoy this unique ‘What we loved’ episode.

Useful Links:

WeAre8 app: Apple

WeAre8 app: Android

Future Crunch’s end of 2023 newsletter

Thursday Murder Club Series by Richard Osman

Elton John – Me

Tina Turner – Love Story

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman

Effortless by Greg McKeown

Episodes we mention:

Amy Cuddy

Sue Fennessy

Claire’s Eden Health Retreat

Not Your Everyday Lawyer – Sarah Davis

December 6, 2023December 6, 2023
by Claire

Our guest this week is someone who’s never been one to sit around and rest on her laurels. What’s more, Sarah Davis is not what you’d describe as your everyday lawyer.

Sarah’s high profile career in the UK has seen her garner much recognition for her legal career including being shortlisted for the Black British Business Awards and the UK’s Hot 100 Lawyers to name a few.

London-based Sarah, has a broad non executive board career these days and also advises other organisations as a General Counsel. During her executive career she spent more than 15 years as General Counsel at The Guardian Media Group. That meant she was there in the thick of it when The Guardian was publishing the first Wikileaks stories, the Edward Snowdon stories, and of course so much more, which we’ll hear about.

We think you can tell from Sarah’s Board career which includes Unicef UK and the Women’s Prize Trust (which awards the highly regarded Women’s Prize for Fiction) that Sarah has a huge heart and clearly a love of the written word.

In this episode you’ll hear more about Sarah’s love of books as well as:

How she came to be a lawyer and what drew her to the Media
How Sarah made a transition after nearly 17 years at one company
The challenges she faced (& lessons learnt) when things just didn’t feel right whilst navigating her new role during lockdown
How Sarah’s coped with the micro aggressions and slights she’s received during her career as a woman of colour; and
Her advice to others who are at the receiving end of similar behaviour.

There’s lots of great insights in this conversation so enjoy this episode with the warm and impact-focused Sarah Davis.

Useful Links

Unicef UK

Women’s Prize for Fiction

RGSI – global think-tank for the legal industry

International Catalogue Raisonné Association

Interview

Compassion + Contribution – Dr Lineo Thahane

November 17, 2023November 17, 2023
by Claire

If you’re anything like us and fed up with all the bleak news, then this week’s episode may be just what you need; a guaranteed dose of positivity, progress and inspiration!

We’re joined by the humble and impressive Dr Lineo Thahane. Lineo is a paediatrician and is Executive Director of a major medical clinic in the Kingdom of Lesotho called the Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation Lesotho.

Lesotho, a tiny country in southern Africa, is ranked number two in terms of the countries with the highest proportion of its adult population living with HIV in the world. Nearly one in 4 adults is HIV positive and many children are too.

Lineo was born and raised in the US but her parents were both from Lesotho and so Lineo spent summer holidays back in Lesotho with her extended family. There, she was able to experience what it was like to live in her parents’ country of birth and, as she grew older, she felt a deep sense of unfairness at the differences in the standard of living in the US versus that of Lesotho.

As you will hear, this convinced Lineo to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a doctor so that she could return to Lesotho and help make a difference to the quality of healthcare the average person could receive there.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How nearly 10% of Lesotho’s children are orphans
How Lineo stays positive despite the sometimes confronting experiences and challenges she has faced treating sick babies and children
Why she continues to work in Lesotho when she could be living comfortably in the US,
And what Lineo has learnt about the challenges of transitioning from being a specialist doctor to becoming a leader of a large organisation with nearly 800 employees.

This is a fascinating, moving and uplifting conversation. Don’t miss this episode with the compassionate and dedicated Dr Lineo Thahane.

Useful Links:

Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation website

Texas Children’s Global Health – Lesotho

World AIDS Day 2023

Interview

Bullies on Notice – Amy Cuddy

October 29, 2023October 29, 2023
by Claire

We’re super excited this week to share a conversation with the globally known best selling author, TED speaker, social psychologist, and incredible roller skater, Amy Cuddy.

Amy’s TED talk on body language, the benefits of power poses and holding an expansive body posture is the second most viewed TED talk of all time.

In this special episode where Greta met with Amy in Sydney, they focus on the work and writing that has kept Amy busy since she shot to fame with her TED talk and her follow-on best selling book on body language and power called: ‘Presence: Bringing your boldest self to your biggest challenges’.

Amy’s new work is all about bullying, particularly bullying in the workplace. This is something Amy unfortunately has had some pretty extreme first hand experience with.

Amy’s new book on dealing with bullying will be released next year (Bullies, Bystanders, and Bravehearts) and in this episode we’re super fortunate to get a sneak preview of some of her well-researched advice on dealing with bullies.

Plus on a much lighter note, Greta and Amy compare notes on ballet and roller skating too!

In this fascinating episode you’ll hear so many nuggets and stories including:

How Amy isn’t letting a broken jaw stop her
How common workplace bullying is
What to do if you are being bullied
And why the chance to roller skate everyday makes Amy that much more creative in her work.

Don’t miss this conversation with the unique, brave and insightful, Amy Cuddy.

Useful Links

Amy Cuddy’s website

Amy on LinkedIn

Amy on Instagram

Amy’s iconic TED talk

Top Tips

Burning Out? Top Tips from Claire’s Health ‘Intervention’

October 8, 2023
by Claire

Burning Out? Top Tips from Claire’s Health ‘Intervention’

Feeling burnt out? Wondering how you’ll get to the end of the year? Well that’s exactly how Claire was feeling a few weeks ago. . . until she decided an intervention was needed.

A gruelling work schedule for ten months plus a second bout of Covid earlier this year left Claire wondering if she’d ever feel 100% again. So, realising she had a short window of time, she did what any self-respecting woman lucky enough to be in a position to do: she booked herself into a health retreat!

The good news is that you don’t have to go anywhere to learn what Claire learnt during her retreat because we’re sharing all the goodies here.

In this episode you’ll hear:

What made Claire choose the retreat she did
The massive insight she had about her behaviours in the past two years
How she survived without her mobile or wifi
Fun facts about the gut, and
Her key takeaway habits and rituals – that you can easily do too.

Plus you’ll hear why you should think of your body (not your bank balance) as your retirement fund.

Suffice to say we had a lot of fun talking about Claire’s week away and we think you’ll have fun listening too. Plus, your body may well thank you for it….

Useful Links:

Eden Health Retreat

Elise de Giovanni – Functional Neurology Tops – her website has lots of great tips and videos

Interview

Revealing Their Secrets, Protecting Ours – Abigail Bradshaw

September 21, 2023September 21, 2023
by Claire

If you’re thinking the title of this week’s episode sounds distinctly like it’s describing modern day espionage and intelligence agencies you would be right!

We are super excited to share this exclusive conversation with Cyber Security leader, Abigail Bradshaw. Abi is Head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) which is part of the national Foreign Intelligence agency known as the Australian Signals Directorate.

Abi describes her job as “revealing other peoples’ secrets whilst protecting our own”. The agency she heads, the ACSC, is tasked with protecting Australia’s communications and technology networks, and all Australians, from malicious cyber activity. That includes threats from both sovereign nations and cyber criminals.

Suffice to say, Abi is a very busy person!

Abi has had a fascinating career and is passionate about serving her country. She’s also really passionate about seeing more women in leadership roles and is proud of the number of women who are working with her at the agency.

In this episode you’ll hear:

How Abi’s career journey took her from being a lawyer in the Navy to a key role in an intelligence agency
Why Abi realised she had to change her leadership style significantly when she started her current role,
The pros and cons of having to lock your mobile away all day; and
Her seriously informed tips of how we can all protect ourselves from cyber crime.

This really is a special episode so synchronise watches, put your phones on silent, and enjoy this conversation with the dynamic and patriotic Abigail Bradshaw.

Useful Links

Australian Signals Directorate website

Australian Cyber Security Centre website

Free cyber advice

Link to TAFE Cyber Essential 8 course

How To Episode

How To Be Heard

August 29, 2023August 30, 2023
by Claire

We’ve all been there, sitting in that meeting trying to get our point across and becoming infuriated because someone we work with repeatedly ignores what we say in meetings.

Being heard at work isn’t as simple as just speaking up. Research shows that particularly if you’re a woman or a minority it’s harder to have your ideas, your comments and contributions acknowledged and accepted.

But there are things we can do to help overcome the challenges we sometimes face and in this episode Claire and Greta take you through numerous ways you can improve your influence at work and ensure your messages and communications are landing as well as they can.

They look at tactics and tools you can use before, during and after important meetings, plus share stories from some of the most senior guests we’ve had on the show including a member of the House of Lords in the UK and the President of a large global health business.

In this episode you’ll learn:

When, and with whom, Claire typically finds it difficult to be heard
How to piggyback off someone else in a meeting when you’re having trouble finding the moment to speak
Why you have to stand up for yourself
And, an important meeting tactic everyone should use.

This episode is jam packed with tips and tools that can help us all increase our influence, and that we use regularly. If you know someone who’s complained of not being heard at work then why not share this episode with them as well.

Enjoy!

Useful Links

Martha Lane Fox episode

Que Dallara episode

Interview

Inspiring Others with Her ‘Why’ – Lina Xu

July 26, 2023July 26, 2023
by Claire

If you’re inspired by people who have a worthy and clear purpose or mission then you’re going to love our episode this week.

Our guest is Lina Xu, co-founder of a Medtech startup called Telecare which offers under-served people living in regional and rural areas virtual access to specialists and other healthcare professionals.

When Chinese born and raised Lina moved to Australia seven years ago and became a mum shortly after, she felt very isolated, out of touch with her new country and alone.

Whilst still breastfeeding her second son four years ago, Lina realised she needed to make a change and do something more in her new country and so this quietly spoken and determined woman, along with her husband, co-founded Telecare.

Two doctors joined them as co-founders and all were inspired by the potential of Telecare to fill a vital healthcare gap by enabling regionally based patients to have affordable access to city based specialists and allied healthcare professionals.

As luck would have it, Telecare was founded just 6 months before Covid happened, so their foresight and careful stakeholder management has really paid off. So much so that Lina was awarded a Cartier Women’s Initiative Fellowship this year as one of Oceania’s leading female entrepreneurs.

In this episode you’ll hear how:

A family tragedy helped Lina develop the resilience and adaptability that’s so valuable as a female founder
How having a clear and impact-focused Mission has made it much easier for Telecare, and Lina personally, to garner supporters
How she and her co-founders are making headway with innovative technology in what is a very conservative and risk averse healthcare sector; and
Why relationships are so important to her.

What struck us about this inspiring conversation with Lina is how clear she is about her ‘Why’ and how that’s morphed into becoming something much bigger and even more meaningful with her business.

We think you’ll love this episode with the humble and mission-driven Lina Xu.

Useful Links

Telecare Website

Lina Xu on LinkedIn

Cartier Women’s Initiative

Interview

Deep Tech Community Builder – Sally-Ann Williams

June 26, 2023June 26, 2023
by Claire

We’re really excited about the wonderful guest we have for you on episode 169 this week: Sally-Ann Williams.

Sally-Ann (aka Sally) is CEO of Cicada Innovations, Australia’s leading deep tech incubator for startups and scaleups with everything from quantum computing to life sciences, ag-tech, space and hydrogen startups. Cicada provides office space, custom labs, specialised equipment and training.

Over the years, Cicada has helped its resident companies raise 1.7 billion dollars in funding and they’ve also had 1.4 billion dollars in successful exits.

And right at the heart of the Cicada ecosystem is Sally.

Before joining Cicada, Sally spent nearly 13 years at Google in diverse roles mostly in the engineering team. There she was responsible, amongst many other things, for bringing street view to Australia and influencing school curriculum to ensure better teaching of technology and STEM subjects. She’s also always been a huge proponent for the start up ecosystem and women in particular.

In this episode you’ll hear how

Sally coped working with Google’s tech engineers without any technology background
How she goes about building or harnessing diverse systems to deliver positive long term change
The biggest challenge Sally faces running a deep tech incubator
Why she thinks seaweed is actually more exciting than generative AI; and
Her strategies for coping with chronic imposter syndrome.

Sally definitely sits in the box seat of what’s happening at the forefront of tech so we’re confident that you’ll find this conversation with her super interesting.

Enjoy this episode with deep tech and community champion, Sally-Ann Williams.

Useful Links

Sally-Ann on Linkedin

Cicada Innovations website

Interview

Winning Ways – Zali Steggall

May 2, 2023May 2, 2023
by Claire

Today we have a big ‘first’ for this podcast, our first Olympic medallist!

However Zali Steggall, Olympian, barrister and now an independent member of parliament in Australia is so much more than these labels!

Last year, Zali was re-elected to Federal Parliament after a stunning and, for some, an astonishing victory in the same seat at the previous election, three years earlier.

Zali really is a pioneer (and winner) in so many fields: she was Australia’s first ever individual medallist and first Australian female medallist at a Winter Olympic Games. Plus, when she won the World Championship slalom skiing event a year later in 1999, she became the first ever person from the southern hemisphere ever to win that event.

Not one to do anything by halves, when Zali was first elected as a member of Parliament in 2019 she defeated a former Prime Minister! What’s more, she did all this as an independent candidate with no big political party to support her, however she had an army of enthusiastic supporters and volunteers.

In this episode you’ll hear:

The key things Zali learnt from her Olympic skiing career that still serve her well today
Zali’s strategies for dealing with the fear of failure
How she made the transition from being a competitive skier to becoming a barrister
Why Zali decided to enter the competitive and often antagonistic world of politics
How she deals with negativity and criticism; and
The one thing she wants you to walk away with.

Zali truly has unique stories, experiences and advice to share so enjoy this episode with the indefatigable and purposeful Zali Steggall.

*For full transparency, Greta worked pro bono on Zali’s re-election campaign last year for several months.

Useful Links

Zali’s website:

Amazon link to Zali’s mum’s book Alpine Beach: (it’s an e book)

Photo credit: Zoom /Allsport