The Culture Couch

Cody's success story is actually one of failure. After going undrafted in the AFL and uninspired by a career in corporate HR, he packed up and moved to Canada at age 25. Ten years later, he coaches AFL Canada's men's national team (yes, that's a real thing), has written an influential leadership book, Where Others Won't: Taking People Innovation from the Locker Room into the Boardroom, and now spends his time interviewing leadership greats like Detroit Pistons legend Joe Dumars, Wharton professor Adam Grant, and Netflix HR supremo Patty McCord on his Where Others Won't podcast.

Tom Walley wants to be remembered as a decent bloke who cared about his people.  In this harrowing conversation, Tom, the GM of Corporate Traveller, discusses the emotion of his ‘darkest day’ where he had to stand down many of his team on zoom.  Tom describes the pain of watching the 450 familiar faces on screen while he told them of their fate and the personal anxiety this created because it breached his personal values.  On a brighter note, Tom also enlightens us on vulnerability, irreverence and how he selects and develops young leaders.  A poignant insight into one of the leaders of Australia’s travel industry.

Brett Stephens is probably the most resilient person you will ever meet.  From a small country town in Victoria’s east, Brett had a dream to play AFL football.  After trials at Essendon, Collingwood and Sydney, Brett finally made his debut at the age of 26 for Fitzroy FC where he played 133 games over 6 seasons and represented both Victoria and Australia. After retiring, ‘Moose’ became a physical fitness and mental coach to Pete Sampras and many other professional athletes. Join Moose on the couch as he discusses resilience, the effects of social media, keeping it simple and, probably most important, his belief that in the end, you’re a champion no matter what.

If you have ever wondered why Bunnings is such a trusted brand, this Culture Couch is a ‘must watch’. Michael Schneider (MD Australia & NZ) shares his belief that leadership is about inclusion, compassion and empathy.  Mike is passionate that leaders must have a growth mindset, be open to feedback, dedicated to learning and bringing their people on the journey. They must recruit for culture and provide structured development programs for young team members.  Michael’s attention to detail in creating a Covid 19 handbook and his commitment to creating safe stores for his team and customers will make you wish you worked at Bunnings.

Brian Cook is Australia’s most successful sporting CEO with 5 premierships at the West Eagles FC and Geelong FC over a 30 year period.  By his own admission, Cooky was a ‘very average’ footballer but this was instrumental in developing ‘unbelievable resilience’.  Join Brian on the Couch as he talks about managing difficult players and coaches, fighting the urge to fall in love with talent, being a part of the first interstate AFL premiership, his enormously successful time at Geelong FC and the many layers of a modern professional sporting team.  A truly values-based leader who has played an enormous part in shaping AFL football and many of those who work in it.

Brilliant Women Global (BWG) believe that diversity and inclusion drive economic growth and social well being. Janine Kirk AM (Chair Phoenix Australia) and Ana Marinkovic (Executive GM, NAB Small Business) take us on an amazing journey as they share their views on diversity, inclusion, resilience, leading through Covid 19 and Australia being the best country in the world at dealing with diversity.  Janine’s remarkable career and Ana’s incredible life story will inspire and enthral you. Enjoy.

BlueRock is an exciting entrepreneurial community that people love to be a part of. A Fast 100 company, BlueRock has also been voted one of the best places to work in Australia. Listen to Bruce McFarlane (BlueRock's CEO and MD of BlueRock Law) and Trevor Gordijn (BlueRock's Chief Commercial Officer and MD of BlueRock Accounting) as they share their personal experiences of Covid 19 and how they have supported their teams and helped their clients, many of whom are in the hospitality sector. They discuss their personal learnings on maintaining routine, looking after yourself first so that you can lead others well, young leaders ‘stepping up’, creating a people-first culture and the power of transparent leadership in difficult times.  Enjoy this chat with these two inspiring men who decided to ‘run at it’.  You will understand why BlueRock is such a unique place to work.

It was all so easy.  At 16, Bianca Chatfield won a premiership in her first season at Pheonix and 2 years later was selected in the Australian team.  For the next 6 years she was an integral member of the Diamonds winning a World Championship.  However in 2010, prior to the Commonwealth games, Bianca was dropped from the squad and had to deal with the personal disappointment of a very public omission.  Bianca’s candid assessment of what she had to change in order to improve and be re-selected in the Diamonds is frank and refreshing.  Join Bianca on the Couch to gain the benefits of her crystal clear insights into belonging, sport v corporate performance, the need to have someone believe in you and ‘The Block’.

Stephen Lester’s perspective on Australian culture is enlightening.  As a Canadian living in Australia, Stephen’s observations on mateship, humour and how Aussies care for each other are insightful.  Stephen also provides us with a thought-provoking perspective on leadership during the Covid 19 period.  The importance of daily contact, the difficulty of having to stand employees down, ‘letting go’ to allow his team to assist him in leading, seeing the opportunity in a crisis and the power of a ‘Can Do’ attitude.  Stephen’s leadership journey in a multinational company is compelling. There is a lot of luck involved, seize the opportunity!

Andrew Gaze is Australian basketball royalty. His career includes 22 seasons in the NBL (2 titles), 2 seasons in the NBA, 5 Olympics including flag bearer in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Sydney Kings Coach and Australian basketball Hall of Fame. Gazey takes us on a wonderful journey through his career, his relationship with his dad, the culture of the Australian basketball team and his experience of ‘landing the Sydney Kings plane’.  A fantastic conversation with an Australian legend.