DJ Forbes is Rugby Sevens royalty. He played in 512 games in 89 tournaments, winning six World Series. Last year he was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame.

In this episode, DJ talks about:

• The influence of his Samoan culture on his leadership
• Coming to grips with the idea of captaining his nation
• What surprised him in going from player to captain to coach

A huge thanks to Celebrity Speakers for supporting this episode. If you want to book DJ for a keynote and bring his special brand of leadership to your audience, visit celebrityspeakers.co.nz.

Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.

Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Raelene Castle is a woman of firsts: first female CEO of a club in the National Rugby League, the first female CEO of Rugby Australia, and the first female CEO of Sport New Zealand. She’s also unafraid to take on gnarly issues, operating at the centre of the storm for some of the biggest controversies and challenges on the world stage with a near-supernatural level of grace and steadiness.

In this episode, Raelene talks about.

• How her parents helped her cultivate a passion for debate
• How to stay calm when everything seems to be falling apart
• What she learned from her closest advisors

A huge thanks to Celebrity Speakers for supporting this episode. If you want to book Raelene for a keynote and challenge your leadership to the next level, visit celebrityspeakers.co.nz.

Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.

Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rob Penney just finished his 2nd year as head coach of the Crusaders. 

Year One: the team didn't make it to the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade. 

Year Two: complete turnaround, won the championship.

Huge credit of course has to go to Colin Mansbridge, Angus Gardiner, Brent Francis, and the entire leadership team for keeping their cool, understanding what needed to be done, and staying the course. But of course Rob was the man at the centre of the storm — and he handled it about as well as a mortal red-blooded human could handle it.

In this episode, Rob talks about:

• The shift from being driven by hate for the enemy to being driven by love of the game
• How he learned to cope with the pressure of professional coaching
• What happened in the off-season to turn things around from 2024 to 2025

Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.

Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon in 1967 — and had to literally fight off a race official to do so. Because of her, millions of women are now empowered by the simple act of running.

In this episode, Kathrine talks about:

• How her parents empowered her to think differently about what was possible
• How she has continued to leverage her experience to expand access to more women
• Forgiveness

A huge thanks to Celebrity Speakers for supporting this episode. If you want to book Kathrine for a keynote and leave your audience beyond inspired, visit celebrityspeakers.co.nz. You can find Kathrine’s nonprofit at https://www.261fearless.org/.

Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.

Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New Zealand windsurfing icon Barbara Kendall won Olympic gold in 1992 — the first Kiwi woman to win gold in any sport in more than 40 years, and only the second woman ever to do so. She is a 5x Olympian with 25 national titles and 11 world championship medals. She was also the first woman inducted into the world Sailing Hall of Fame.

In this episode, Barbara talks about:

• The impact of nearly dying on a yacht with her entire family
• How we can better set young people up for success
• The specific characteristics that made her coaches so outstanding

A huge thanks to Celebrity Speakers for supporting this episode. If you want to book Barbara for a keynote and leave your audience buzzing, visit celebrityspeakers.co.nz.

Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.

Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ian Jones MNZM is one of New Zealand's most capped locks, with 105 games and 79 tests for the All Blacks. Known as Kamo,  Ian played for the Chiefs from 1996 to 1999, and is now a rugby commentator for Sky Sports as well as General Manager of the All Blacks Experience in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

In this episode, Ian talks about:

• What it takes to be an All Black
• What his most impactful coaches had in common
• What the haka really means

Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.

Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anna Galvan's netball career spanned 17 years. She played for the Southern Sting and for the Canterbury Flames, later the Canterbury Tactix. As a Silver Fern representing New Zealand, she competed at the Commonwealth Games in 2002, where New Zealand lost the final in heartbreaking double overtime to Australia. 

In this episode, Anna talks about:

• That silver medal.
• The challenge of balancing motherhood with being a professional netballer.
• How she supports the next generation of athletes.

Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.

Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tori Moorby has been dominating the javelin throw in New Zealand since March of 2014 when she first broke the New Zealand record. She was just 19 years old. Since then, she's broken her own record over and over again, currently sitting at an astonishing 63.26 meters. 

In this episode, Tori talks about:

• Her insatiable ambition.
• Why she doesn't like team sports.
• The first person she calls after a competition.

Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.

Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam Whitelock was the fastest player ever to reach 100 international appearances, the youngest New Zealander to reach 100 tests and one of just 44 men in the world to win a Rugby World Cup more than once.

In this episode, Sam talks about:

• How his father deliberately cultivated Sam's rugby intellect
• The real reason he's obsessed with body language
• The trick he would use to get the most out of Israel Dagg

Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.

Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pulling key moments from the original conversations, Kaila shares the most powerful insights and themes that have emerged from the first three months of the podcast.

She covers:

• The role of obsession in high performance
• The essential ingredient that allows a coach to get more from their athletes (and a leader to get more from their team)
• What we’re looking for when we strive for big things

Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.

Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com

For the article Kaila references, 'It's not your employees — it's you' visit: https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/387680/its-not-your-employees-its-you.html

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.