Empowering Leaders

Tess Madgen is the captain of the Australian women's basketball team, the Opals. With the team ready for the Olympics to begin in less than two weeks, Tess shares the strategies she uses to deal with the challenges of managing a team spread across the globe and the tools they employ to maintain connection and cohesion.  Tess also discusses her meticulous approach to her career, her goals, and the importance of her support network. She's got a unique leadership style that emphasises the importance of collaboration, communication, and self-leadership.  Her excitement and pride in representing Australia at the Olympics is tangible and we wish her and the Opals the very best for the upcoming Paris games. Show notes You'll hear Tess mention the incredible Sandy Brondello a number of times - check out Luke's chat with Sandy here: Sandy Brondello: Balancing elite level coaching and running a supportive family Learn. Lead. Collaborate. Start your leadership journey today. Head to Aleda Collective to find out more about our signature, cross industry collaboration program, Aleda Connect. Curated and facilitated by experts, running for 8 fortnightly sessions, Aleda Connect is the learning experience of a life-time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week's guest granted Luke Darcy a rare interview out of near despair over what is missing in the fight to end the increasing levels of violence against women. The Honourable Will Alstergren is the Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court, appointments that place him at the coalface of family and gender based violence in Australia. The statistics on violence against women in Australia are nothing short of disgraceful. - 13 women a day are hospitalised each day because of the injuries they receive from violent men. - A woman is killed every nine days by a current or former partner. 49 have been murdered to date in 2024. - One in three women have experienced violence since the age of 25. - Young women aged between 18 to 24 at twice as likely as the general population to experience sexual harassment. Learn. Lead. Collaborate. Start your leadership journey today. Head to Aleda Collective to find out more about our signature, cross industry collaboration program, Aleda Connect. Curated and facilitated by experts, running for 8 fortnightly sessions, Aleda Connect is the learning experience of a life-time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

James Tomkins, a Sport Australia Hall of Fame legend, discusses his career in rowing, including his participation in six Olympic games and winning seven world championship gold medals. Reflecting on the pressure of competing, the importance of teamwork, and the value of taking breaks for longevity in the sport, James also discusses the importance of balance in life, drawing on the Olympic charter's emphasis on a balanced life of mind, body, and soul. James criticises the current intensity of school sports and the stress it places on students, and also shares his admiration for his coach, Noel Donaldson, and the leadership he demonstrated during their time at the elite level.  Learn. Lead. Collaborate. Start your leadership journey today. Head to Aleda Collective to find out more about our signature, cross industry collaboration program, Aleda Connect. Curated and facilitated by experts, running for 8 fortnightly sessions, Aleda Connect is the learning experience of a life-time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Umra Omar's contribution to community and transforming the lives of others is a remarkable story. Born on the remote Patay Island just off the northern coast of Kenya, Umra earned a bachelor's degree in neuroscience and psychology and then a master's degree in social justice and intercultural relations from the world leading institute in Vermont. In 2015, during a visit to her hometown, Umra recognized the dire need for healthcare in her community and founded Safari Doctors. Safari Doctors operates mobile clinics across Kenya, reaching over a thousand patients a month, through boats, motorcycles, and on foot. Umra's incredible work has seen her named as the UN Person of the Year in Kenya and received the Africa Leaders for Change Award. She was recognized by the World Economic Forum as a young global leader, a CNN top 10 hero and featured in Business Daily's top 40 under 40 women.  Learn. Lead. Collaborate. Start your leadership journey today. Head to Aleda Collective to find out more about our signature, cross industry collaboration program, Aleda Connect. Curated and facilitated by experts, running for 8 fortnightly sessions, Aleda Connect is the learning experience of a life-time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here at Aleda, we know that you may not feel compelled to listen to a conversation about suicide on your morning commute, or during your run or workout - but we strongly urge you to try today. Why? Because listening to this episode will save lives. Luke's pointed and open discussion with bereaved father, Wayne Holdsworth, contains vital information that many people lack access to - including whether or not you should talk about suicide with someone that you're worried about. The answer: you absolutely should and this episode explains how & why.  Please listen and share it with someone you love. If this conversation has raised any thoughts or feelings you need to talk about, please contact the services below:Lifeline on 13 11 14 or text 0477 131 114Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800 For more information about Wayne or to have him visit your school or workplace: https://smacktalk.com.au/ Learn. Lead. Collaborate. Start your leadership journey today. Head to Aleda Collective to find out more about our signature, cross industry collaboration program, Aleda Connect. Curated and facilitated by experts, running for 8 fortnightly sessions, Aleda Connect is the learning experience of a life-time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you go from being deathly afraid of the water, to being one of the world's wildest professional big wave surfers? In this conversation, Australian big wave surfer, author, and mindset coach Mark Visser discusses the journey that has taken him from being afraid of bath time after nearly drowning as a 3-year old to becoming a world-renowned surfer and coach. Mark shares how he overcame his fears, his historic night surf at Jaws break in Maui, and his ongoing project to surf a 100-foot wave. As a mindset coach for successful individuals and organisations, including world champion surfer Kelly Slater and Australian Football League coach Simon Goodwin, Mark drives home the importance of self-awareness, transparency, collaboration, and continuous learning in achieving success. Learn. Lead. Collaborate. Start your leadership journey today. Head to Aleda Collective to find out more about our signature, cross industry collaboration program, Aleda Connect. Curated and facilitated by experts, running for 8 fortnightly sessions, Aleda Connect is the learning experience of a life-time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week's guest on the Empowering Leaders podcast is Mitch Marsh, the most recent Alan Border medalist and the current T20 captain of Australia heading into the World Cup. Warm and unbelievably genuine, Mitch has some incredible stories about his path to being his true authentic self and how that has provided him with the happiest and most successful period of his sporting life and his life in general. Learn. Lead. Collaborate. Start your leadership journey today. Head to Aleda Collective to find out more about our signature, cross industry collaboration program, Aleda Connect. Curated and facilitated by experts, running for 8 fortnightly sessions, Aleda Connect is the learning experience of a life-time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a week of 5 minute radio and television interviews about his campaign 36 Months, celebrated radio host and comedian, Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli, sits down with Luke Darcy for an in depth interview about what really drove him to spearhead this campaign. In this conversation, Wippa opens up about is own battle with severe mental health that gave him a crystal clear insight into the type of despair being felt by children who are struggling to find a way through. Between his trademark banter and laughter, Wippa talks about the importance of giving those 36 months from 13 to 16 back to our children, how he can't believe his 9 year old is already talking about Snap Chat, and the alarming impact social media is having on the quallity of primary and secondary education across the country. Wippa has challenged the Prime Minister and the opposition leader to support the campaign and to stop allowing harm to children - the same way we did with seatbelts and drink driving laws in years past. Show notes In this episode Luke mentions Johann Hari's incredible book: 'Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention' - you can find it here. Learn. Lead. Collaborate. Start your leadership journey today. Head to Aleda Collective to find out more about our signature, cross industry collaboration program, Aleda Connect. Curated and facilitated by experts, running for 8 fortnightly sessions, Aleda Connect is the learning experience of a life-time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A social media app that inspires you, is good for the planet, free from hate, puts money in your wallet and celebrates the good in life - sounds too good to be true, but it isn't! Zoe Kalar is the founder of WeAre8. She is a serial success in the tech entrepreneur world and has achieved incredible things. The biggest issues facing us all are the algorithms of social media, what they're doing to our young kids, the amount of time we're spending on our screens, and the the divisiveness of the way that the world is unfolding through the world of social media. But how do we change it? How do we put the genie back in the bottle?  Well, Zoe Kalar may well be the one person on the planet capable of finding a solution. The WeAre8 app is an incredible innovation. It's changing the world of social media and advertising. In this conversation, you'll hear Zoe talk about the hurdles she's overcome to be a successful female tech entrepreneur, why she believes governments need to take a stronger stand against social media platforms, and she's calling on brands to shift more of their money towards people and the planet. Zoe has a vision, energy and an inspiring way about her that is truly unique. Download WeAre8 today: https://www.weare8.com/install Learn. Lead. Collaborate. Start your leadership journey today. Head to Aleda Collective to find out more about our signature, cross industry collaboration program, Aleda Connect. Curated and facilitated by experts, running for 8 fortnightly sessions, Aleda Connect is the learning experience of a life-time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Geva Mentor is a legend of world netball. In this candid and at times wildly funny conversation, Geva talks about the routines she has in place to execute her role as a captain and a leader and the similarities and synergy she finds between the sporting field, the corporate world and the boardroom.  Geva's yet another visualiser, a trend we've seen so much of in our conversations on Empowering Leaders - she takes us through how she engages the tool of visualisation - she's been doing it since she was a teenager - and how she manages her energy on big game days and at high-profile speaking events. Geva's got also some great advice for parents who are trying to figure out how many sports to introduce their children to and she's passionately engaged with her mission to keep more young girls in sport. Learn. Lead. Collaborate. Start your leadership journey today. Head to Aleda Collective to find out more about our signature, cross industry collaboration program, Aleda Connect. Curated and facilitated by experts, running for 8 fortnightly sessions, Aleda Connect is the learning experience of a life-time.      See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.