Talking Toughness

As the year comes to a close we're delighted to share with you the 'Best of Talking Toughness 2023'. We've picked selected clips from all our guests in 2023 to give you a flavour of the fascinating discussions we've had with a range of professionals from the worlds of business, sports, education, and health & wellbeing. These are presented to you in three parts.

We are delighted that the Talking Toughness podcast series has gone from strength to strength in 2023. We are proud to have hosted 23 special guests, streamed into every corner of the world and our listeners have increased by 255% this year.

WHY CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT?

Doug Strycharczyk and elite leadership coach, Darren Whysall have collaborated to write a short and very practical book on Team Coaching.

Doug and Darren explore in this third part of their discussion why CPD is important in this fast-evolving world and in particular why CPD about the mental toughness concept is so important.

Nothing stands still and learning occurs all the time. We learn a phenomenal amount from peers and colleagues from their experiences. Not everyone does.

Questions like "How can we develop Mental Toughness" (we can!!) and "Do we even need to develop Mental Toughness?" (We don't!!), need a sensible answer.

WHY MENTAL TOUGHNESS IS A POWERFUL CONCEPT FOR TEAM COACHING

Doug Strycharczyk and elite leadership coach, Darren Whysall have collaborated to write a short and very practical book called, unsurprisingly, "Team Coaching".

In the second part of a thoughtful and hugely interesting discussion, Doug and Darren explore the theory and application of the mental toughness concept in people and team development.

Particularly the impressive body of objective evidence for the concept. This gives the client and the practitioner confidence that they are engaging with ideas that are solid and capable of achieving the kind of outcomes that both seek.

The key? It's the route to true self-awareness, the cornerstone for development.

WHY TEAM COACHING IS ON THE RISE AND HERE TO STAY

Doug Strycharczyk and elite leadership coach, Darren Whysall have collaborated to write a short and very practical book on Team Coaching.

In this first discussion, they discuss why Team Coaching is coming to the fore and why it is a vehicle for personal development – exploring team member self-awareness about what they bring to a team and how they impact on others – as well as creating the "holy grail" of high performance – team working.

Importantly they point to this being within the capability of all – provided they are thoughtful, careful and self-aware.

This is an opportunity to tap into the real experience of Darren Whysall.

Stretching Boundaries with the Mental Toughness Concept – Part Two

Doug Strycharczyk and Associate Professor John Perry have forged a remarkable and productive relationship over the last 10 years through which they have taken the understanding of the mental toughness concept to a new level.

This led to the development of the 8-factor version of the 4Cs mental toughness concept. In turn, this has become a powerful lens through which we can examine and understand many aspects of people and organisational development from a fresh perspective which is reliably based in peer-reviewed research.

The result is a concept that, in the hands of a competent practitioner can make a real difference for leaders and followers and all it entails including, building trust, promoting innovation and creating high-performing teams as components of a culture which also embraces resilience, positivity and optimism. Ultimately enabling all to be the best version of themselves that they can be.

It's a fascinating discussion.

Doug Strycharczyk and Associate Professor John Perry have forged a remarkable and productive relationship over the last 10 years through which they have taken the understanding of the mental toughness concept to a new level.

This led to the development of the 8-factor version of the 4Cs mental toughness concept. In turn, this has become a powerful lens through which we can examine and understand many aspects of people and organisational development from a fresh perspective which is reliably based in peer-reviewed research.

The result is a concept that, in the hands of a competent practitioner can make a real difference for leaders and followers and all it entails including, building trust, promoting innovation and creating high-performing teams as components of a culture which also embraces resilience, positivity and optimism. Ultimately enabling all to be the best version of themselves that they can be.

It's a fascinating discussion.

'Everyone's Talking Mental Toughness' is a sub-series to the 'Talking Toughness' series, where professionals and practitioners in the 4Cs Mental Toughness Concept and the MTQ measures talk about the reality of working with individuals and organisations, helping them to make the invisible, visible and to become the best version of themselves.

The big challenge is to open up your mind to the world of opportunity. Be prepared to be uncomfortable, explore and seize the opportunity.

Our guest is Gaj Ravichandra, an internationally acclaimed executive coach who has a down to earth approach to his craft which is truly evidence based and delivers real results.

Co-founder of Kompass The Coaching Company, Gaj shares his time between Australia and the UAE as well as working in Europe, Asia and North America. He has a deep interest in career management and he is also a board member of ARBORA Global Career Partners.

Gaj is an early adopter of the mental toughness concept which he has woven into his thinking.

In this second part, Gaj challenges the benefits of the transformation and the curse of short-termism and how this can impact on leadership practice. Interestingly, much of his work is with entrepreneurs. He has learned to recognise what he calls 'the billionaire mindset' – embracing a particular relationship with risk.

Again, understanding something that applies to all – success can often mean having the ability to be comfortable with discomfort. How to see opportunity and not be put off by the threat.

This relationship with risk is important for success at all levels.

Gaj has an uncanny ability to explain his thoughts and ideas with true clarity. Listen and learn.

Our Guest for the next two podcasts is Gaj Ravichandra. Gaj is an executive coach with an impressive record around the world. He has a down to earth approach to his craft which is truly evidence based.

Co-founder of Kompass The Coaching Company, Gaj shares his time between Australia and the UAE as well as working in Europe, Asia and North America. This enables Gaj to develop an understanding and perspectives on leadership from around the world that is so valuable in his work.

He has a deep interest in career management and he is also a board member of ARBORA Global Career Partners. Gaj has also been engaged in the mental toughness concept for more than 10 years.

In this first part, Gaj explores his experience with the mental toughness concept and how he was drawn to it early in his career when observing how people responded differently to setbacks.

He appreciated that there was more than resilience at play and that could, with an appropriate approach, even thrive in adversity. Which led him to understand the difference between safety and discomfort.

Gaj has distilled his thinking and his experience into very practical solutions for leaders and those who aspire.

And he is happy to share what he knows. Listen and learn.

In Part Two of this discussion with Zoltán Csigás, he talks about his passion for coaching as a vehicle for continuous development. People should not stop learning.

He takes the view that clients come to coaches for help with this. Coaches can help by opening new fields of thinking through the direction they are being led.

Zoltán describes coaching as a practice which opens new playgrounds. Clients can wander in whatever direction they want to or even, leave it.

Finally, he addresses diversity and inclusion through the mental toughness concept. It's not just the mentally tough who will be successful, but all those who self-reflect on their levels of mental toughness.

This is a thoughtful and insightful coach who generously shares his expertise.

Listen, learn and be inspired.

Our guest for our next pair of podcasts is Zoltán Csigás. Zoltán is someone that many would call a Coaching expert although he would never call himself that. He is very much the real thing.

Developing his own Coaching practice, Zoltán is someone who, in his work with leaders, places a premium on evidence-based practice in coaching and leadership development.

He holds a Master Practitioner accreditation from the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) and is a former Vice President of Research of EMCC International. He is also a member of the Advisory Board for the International Centre for Mental Toughness Research and Development.

Usefully, Zoltán is a Foresight Practitioner, helping others exploring their potential futures, and translating these into actionable plans.

What excites us most is Zoltán's thoughtful considerations about the future direction of coaching.

There is real learning here.