Future Fit Leadership

Right now, 735 million people face hunger and one in three of the world’s population is malnourished. But the global food crisis is  the ‘elephant in the room’ - too often ignored in political discussions and in the media. It's a climate crisis, a conflict crisis, and a cost-of-living crisis: it demands a massive and joined-up global response that is currently lacking. In a bid to meet the UN’s second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG2) of zero hunger by 2030, one campaign is asking you to eat more beans. Its argument? Beans are cheap, long-lasting, nutritious, versatile, planet-friendly, and ubiquitous. Paul Newnham is the executive director of the SDG2 Advocacy Hub, which campaigns to achieve the UN's goal of ending hunger by 2030.  I promise you this podcast will get you reaching out for more beans in your next supermarket shop See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Story telling is an art and it is a way to connect to your people, to get them connected to your vision and values and inspire people A story told well, that inspires and connects will move people to take action. Business story telling is the ability to combine the facts and figures and performance with relatable and compelling stories that may have a specific message and desired outcome. Getting cut through with your message is getting harder and harder for a number of reasons, our stakeholders are potentially multigenerational and they are all different in how they want to be communicatee with plus there are so many channels we can use and we cant be all good on all of them. Gabrielle Dolan can tell you a story or two.  In fact, it was while working in a senior leadership role at National Australia Bank that she realised the power of storytelling in effective business communication. Since that epiphany, Gabrielle has found her calling as a global thought leader on strategic storytelling and real communication.  A highly sought-after keynote speaker, educator and author, Gabrielle’s extensive client list includes Telstra, EY, Accenture, VISA, Australia Post, National Australia Bank, Amazon, Vodafone and the Obama Foundation.  Gabrielle is also the bestselling author of Real Communication: How to be you and lead true, a finalist in the Australian Business Leadership Book Awards for 2019. Her latest title, Magnetic Stories: Connect with customers and engage employees with brand storytelling was published by Wiley in March 2021 and debuted at number two on Australia’s best selling business books. Bringing humanity to the way business people communicate isn’t just a career, it’s a calling. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zoe Daniel is the Member for Goldstein, she along with a number of other Independent candidates made history in the 2022 elections. Zoe was elected on the platform to drive rapid transition to renewable energy and true climate action, renew trust in leadership and integrity, prosperity for all Australians, and true equality.   Zoe is a mum, wife, former broadcast journalist, and foreign correspondent. Before entering parliament she waited, like many, for our governments to develop costed and structured strategies to safeguard our community and economy, to innovate and to embrace the immense business and job opportunities that a renewable climate economy presents. Not seeing any action she entered politics and stood for the seat of Goldstein which had been strongly held by the Liberals.  We talk to Zoe about what it is like being in Parliament, her election and the key platforms she was elected on. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Retention and Engagement is a priority for leaders globally, most of this is driven by what the recent PWC report on “what workers want” has found and that is 38% of Australian workers are looking for a new job and the numbers could get higher. It is even more imperative now than ever to ensure that employers invest and are very clear on their employee engagement tool kit that will build loyalty, attract and retain talent. The next time you are sitting in a meeting take a look around, how many of the people around you are really not happy in their role, in the business, engaged in the culture, vision or values Are they coming into work excited  or are they simply turning up, doing what they need to do and going home. As leaders we need to ensure that we have created environments that people feel safe to share their issues, otherwise what often happens is that they will start looking for jobs and by the time they come to you it is too late.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nikki May is a creative strategist, disruptive thinker, and marketing communications professional. As a founding director of the International Women’s Forum (IWF) in Australia and a global communications chair, Nikki brings an international perspective to what better leadership may look like in Australia. By day Nikki works to develop future capabilities in Australian leaders as the Chief Creative Officer for Future Leadership. By night Nikki is a ghostwriter for emerging leaders – helping them disrupt the current power dynamics. In this podcast we discuss climate change, global security, our global diet and happiness. Key themes around all these topics was that leaders need to start thinking outside the system and we need to care more.  More on International Women's Forum  IWF is an invitation-only network of the most accomplished women in the world. They connect women leaders across every professional sector in support of each other and the common mission of advancing women’s leadership and championing equality worldwide. Nikki first joined IWF when she founded Myanmar's first original Girl Band, 'Me N Ma Girls' helping to break stereotypes and censorship in developing nations. The young women from Myanmar secured a recording deal in Hollywood and performed in New York on the global stage in front of Hilary Clinton. Nikki recently returned from the latest IWF conference where 500 leaders from 28 countries around the world gathered to discuss urgent challenges. Nikki shares with us the key takeaways and learnings in this episode of Future Fit.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leadership doesn’t come from a position or title but from actions and reactions! Peter Baines has lead teams in crisis situations such as the Bali Bombings and the Boxing Day Tsunami.  Peter shares his leadership journey across these two events and how he connected and bought the best out in his teams under extraordinary circumstances.  In response to the needs of the children left without a home or parents post the Tsunami in Thailand he would form Hands Across the Water and commence fundraising in Australia to build them a home.  Peter shares with us his leadership insights, what it takes to lead in a crisis, how we can better manage corporate and employee giving.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After 20 years working in Asia, Graeme Beardsell has returned to Australia with Fujitsu. He is a leader who walks the talk and in this conversation his key achievements and the journey that Fujitsu is on.  Fixing the gender pay gap, updating leave entitlements, having a fully flexible workplace, and improving leave policy entitlements are just few things that Graeme has achieved and shares how he did this.  Graeme leads a purpose lead business that seeks to live its values every day.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Melissa Wilson is Senior Economist (SA) at the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) and co author of the latest CEDA report on How Australian Firms can survive and thrive in uncertain times. According to the report productivity is the key driver of rising prosperity and living standards. But we are falling behind - The Productivity Commission’s recent five-year review found productivity is growing at its slowest pace in 60 years. In this conversation with Melissa we talk about the differences between dynamic and ordinary businesses, why productivity has fallen and how will the hybrid world work impact this.  We also talk about how Australian businesses are great at sensing opportunities, some are great at seizing but not many are great at transforming and how this impacts us Nationally and Globally.     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Future Fit Leadership with Future Leadership is back for Season 3. We kick off with Penny Locaso, on the topic of happiness. How often do we use or hear people justifying a decision based on how happy they were.... I left the job because I just wasn't happy". How many of you feel you are that hamster wheel, exhausted and just don't have the energy to get off? Are you prepared to make significant, intentional decisions in your life, to find happiness or flourish? How often do we let fear guide our decisions and - what changes would you make tomorrow if fear simply did not exist. Ignoring unhappiness or not taking action to change things in your life that are making your unhappy is not really living your best life. Penny shares with us how she has "Hacked Happiness"See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cyber security is an issue that needs to be talked about. There are a number of scams in the market targeting many of the vulnerable with devastating impacts. When it comes to CEO’s, Directors, and boards cyber issues need to treated as significant business risks and threats constantly assessed. The 2020 Critical Infrastructure bill is a wake-up call to all company Directors to consider their personal level of accountability and how they will manage a significant cybersecurity event that might impact critical infrastructure. In this podcast we talk to Anna Leibel on the impact of the bill on business, how to avoid being scammed and how board and board members can protect themselves. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.