In The Arena

I can’t remember exactly when I first heard the statement: “If it’s too obvious, it can’t be trusted.”This thought comes to mind when I am speaking with Gabrielle Dolan, a leader I have come to know over the past decade and feel so fortunate to have done so.The fact that we immediately connected is no surprise. Her leadership builds on the power of story, its nuance, and relatability. Our capacity to draw on personal lessons and learnings to understand self and what’s important to us, whilst developing the confidence to draw on these insights and tell our story to build a deeper connection with others and a commitment to a shared purpose and plan.Mostly, however, a story’s capacity to express what truly matters, your values and principles, that once told holds you accountable, as your credibility will now be judged by your capacity to live them, especially when it gets hard, as it will.I doubt, therefore, whether there is a more important skill for leaders than storytelling, including our capacity to tell our own.I understand this statement would be very challenging, if not confronting, for many leaders.For more than two decades, Gabrielle has worked with leaders across business, sport, and government, helping them move beyond jargon that can’t be trusted and into meaning that can.Notebook ready.Play on.

There comes a time when every leader must pause and take stock.For Dr Taylor, it’s the passage between age 40 and 55, a stretch of life that exposes both the weight and the cost of relentless striving. It’s a season that asks harder questions, such as:Is this still who I want to be?What truly matters now?It’s a crossroad that humbles even the most accomplished. The first mountain’s confidence gives way to doubt, yet it’s here, in the quiet and discomfort, that purpose begins to form.In turning inward, leaders learn to lead from a place that is a true reflection of who they are, and from the lessons learned, what we describe as their ‘leader’s limp’.“I don’t teach anything I haven’t fucked up”, I explain to Dr Taylor in support of his hypothesis.Success becomes less about climbing higher and more about deepening connection, to self, to others, and to purpose. It’s leadership as practice, not performance. In this space, “good enough” is not resignation but wisdom, the recognition that steadiness, kindness, and self-awareness are the new measures of mastery.When leaders learn to value calm over control, and meaning over momentum, they discover that the summit was never the goal; it was about growth, even though you never realised it at the time.Notebook ready…Play on!

Jenny George runs Melbourne Business School - #1 in Australia. "A CEO is a symbol of what matters," she says. "Every choice you make — what you wear, where you sit, how you spend your time — tells the organisation who it's becoming."A mathematician turned CEO who learned leadership at thirteen, voting on where the family's charity money went. Her parents chose impact over income - dad building electricity systems for nations, mum counselling prisoners. Both asking: where can I make the difference only I can make?"Cut off my information flow and we're done," she tells me. We both know people who wake up thinking about power over rather than power with. Now she asks every leader the same question: "What are you doing that only you can do?" Everything else is noise.We explore how small choices become systematic change, why she sings eight-part Renaissance music (if you don't show up, your note doesn't exist), and what breaks trust between leaders.For CEOs who understand that leadership isn't about control - it's about creating conditions for others to thrive.

Maggie Roberts, a former elite athlete and now CEO of Creative Factory, shares her remarkable journey from injury to leadership. She emphasizes the importance of movement over stillness, revealing how a 3 AM run changed her life. Maggie discusses her five-point daily framework for progress, the power of visualization, and balancing expectations to cultivate harmony. She explores resilience as consistency, the significance of mentorship, and her transition into an Ironman. This engaging conversation inspires listeners to focus on what truly matters in their lives.

"Unless you have a deeper sense of what sport can be, it’s impossible to navigate the ups and downs you face every day."John Didulica grew up in football clubs forged by migrants, led by his grandfather, who arrived in Australia in the early 50s with very little, but with everything to give. Those clubs became sanctuaries of the willing — places where people felt safe enough to be who they are, and strong enough to carry what the game and life would ask of them.These are the best stories. Told with love, humility, and deep insight. They lift you. They shift you. They challenge you.For John, leadership is no bullshit — just the courage to show up, really show up. To lead without fear or favour is to create spaces where people can be themselves. To serve something larger than yourself. Not just what you bring to the team — what are you prepared to do for the team?What we celebrate in sport is always built on what few get to see — the unseen heavy lifting of volunteers, families, and leaders who make it possible. This is where leadership lives.Nowhere is this clearer than in John’s work with the Afghan women’s team — formed after players fled the Taliban. With courage and care, a team was built, and a place to belong was created. Every generation needs its own Afghan women’s team — a reminder that sport’s greatest calling is the transformation of lives.Such is leadership. Such is John Didulica.Notebook ready. Play on.

When bombs exploded near the Australian cricket team's hotel in Pakistan, Paul Marsh was just 33 and only weeks into his role as CEO of the Australian Cricketers' Association. No playbook. No precedent. Just the weight of responsibility for some of Australia's most recognisable athletes in immediate danger. "I felt like I was failing," our next guest 'In the Arena' reflects, the memory still sharp decades later. In this powerful conversation, the son of cricket icon Rod Marsh and former CEO of the AFL Players Association shares hard-won lessons about finding answers when you don't have them, turning mistakes into systems that save lives, and navigating the space between competing truths. From negotiating landmark deals that doubled AFLW wages to leading 800 players through COVID's hub life, Paul's story is one of carrying the weight forward - not just for today's athletes, but for those yet to come. His mantra from predecessor Tim May still guides him: "Be smart enough to know when you're not smart enough."Notebook Ready!Play on.

For leaders, 'not knowing' is our greatest source of vulnerability. Leadership is in the business of ambiguity - if not for ambiguity, we don't need leadership.In this episode, Western Bulldogs CEO Ameet Bains shares his journey from a kid of Indian heritage in 1980s Bendigo to leading one of the AFL's most respected clubs. His story reveals how authentic leadership isn't about having all the answers, but about having the courage to show who you really are, especially when you don't know what comes next.From taking racism to tribunal as a young amateur footballer, to navigating COVID's unprecedented challenges, to managing Luke Beveridge's contract renewal with remarkable grace - Ameet demonstrates that the best leaders create space for others to shine rather than inserting themselves where they don't belong."I am only where I am because of the people who have supported me and invested in me," Ameet reflects. Sometimes the greatest strength is found in simply being who you are.Notebook ready.Play on!

Sisters in Arms The moments that meet you where you are—but never leave you where they found you.Lisa Alexander’s story doesn’t begin on the court. It begins with a diary, a pen, and the quiet courage of self-reflection. At eighteen, she was a young mother, studying to become a teacher, writing her way through the complexity of life.That simple act—making sense of experience through words—became the foundation of her leadership. Years later, as head coach of the Australian Diamonds, she led the team to an extraordinary 81% win rate across nine years. But her true legacy was never just about the victories.It was the culture.The “Sisters in Arms” ethos she helped shape still pulses through the team. Like the Sydney Swans’ “Bloods” or the All Blacks’ carved values, it’s a culture built to endure—beyond seasons, beyond leadership, beyond the scoreboard.In this episode, Lisa shares how values forged in life become the lifeblood of lasting change.Notebook ready. Play on.

Courage Over ComfortWhen I had the choice…Craig Foster was 23 when he first chose courage over comfort. Rising through the Socceroos, he saw older teammates being denied medical treatment, players without power getting pushed around. He had a choice: use his growing status for himself, or use it differently. That decision set the pattern for thirty years.Legendary AFL coach Ron Barassi used to say "the great people in life are better than human nature." Fozzie understood this is what leadership would ask of him—a 'get to' thing, not a 'got to' thing. From protecting teammates in his early football career to walking into FIFA headquarters knowing it could end his broadcasting career, all to save Hakeem al-Araibi, a detained refugee footballer facing extradition and danger.In this conversation, we explore the moments that define us: the taxi ride to Zurich where Fozzie and my brother Brendan acknowledged what their choice would cost for Hakeem, the human rights framework that guides him through ambiguous terrain, and the discovery that courage has its own rewards.Craig talks about building "the muscle of principle," why leaders must be better than human nature, and what he's learned from thirty years of choosing the harder path—from the football pitch to refugee camps in Bangladesh, from broadcast studios to evacuating Afghans from Kabul.When you had the choice, what did it say about you?Notebook readyPlay on!

Creating belonging in the unknownWhen leadership demands you build what doesn't existThis conversation with Marne Fechner, CEO of AusCycling, speaks to one of leadership's fundamental truths: it meets you exactly where you are, and then it doesn't leave you where it found you.It will reveal who you are and then ask you to choose who it is you wish to become.Eighteen months into one of the biggest leadership challenges in Australian sport, Marne Fechner faced this uncomfortable truth about herself."Be scared and do it anyway. Be underqualified and get in the room anyway."Notebook ready...Play on!