The Leading Conversation

Dr. Phathokuhle Zondi has had a glittering career thus far - young, tenacious and caring, she heads up SASCOC's medial council, has been to an Olympic and Commonwealth games and been CEO of Sports Science institute of South Africa. She also has been team doctor in the rugby circles. She shares her wisdom, her encounters with bias and discrimination and how you need to be willing to stand up for what you believe when in leadership positions in traditional male environments. Phatho is going places, and is someone worth listening to!

USA u20 soccer coach Anthony Hudson joins us all the way from Chicago. Having been a nearly-man in getting to both the Olympics and World Cup with underdog teams he's got a riveting story to tell. He's both inspirational and incredibly passionate about his craft. Football legend, Harry Redknapp, once described Anthony as 'The new Mourinho". 

This week Olympic gold-medalist Ben Ryan, who took Fiji to glory in the rugby 7s joins us. Ben talks about being managed by a dictator and a criminal, how well the Fijians remain present, how dangerous a smiling Fijian can be, as well as why he fell out of love & back in love with coaching.

In episode 6 we are joined by Former England batsman Jonathan Trott. Jonathan was born and bred in Cape Town but had a goal to play for England. He got to number 1 in the world as a batsman, and his team got to the top too. He also experienced some difficulty with mental health leading to him having to leave an Ashes tour early. His openness about his experience, from top to bottom, is admirable and you will definitely learn something about the mind in performance.

This week we are joined by CEO advisor and founder of leadership consultancy, Lockstep, Rowan Belchers. We ask Rowan to decode leadership, explain how it's accessible to people and share some insights from the world of helping businesses thrive. He brings great insights.

We chat to Springbok and Stormers captain Siya Kolisi in the most authentic and inspirational conversation. Siya shares on his strange pre final ritual, how he doesn't always have the answers and on what is fuelling him. Kyle and Siya's views on diversity are also not to be missed.

Tom and Kyle are joined by Melbourne rebels head coach Dave Wessels. Dave, South African born, has been coaching in Australia for 8 years and is the youngest ever Super Rugby coach. Having a background in IT, and having worked in media, he found his real passion of rugby coaching. Dave is intriguing to listen to with his candidness. He shares stories of changes they've made in Melbourne, where he's succeeded & failed and how one empowers through being firm and clear.

Former Proteas head, and current Chennai SuperKings assistant coach Eric Simons joins us to discuss leading teams, how being a ‘nice guy’ is harmful, what mistakes he’s made, and the art of asking pretty tough questions. Eric is one of the most comfortably authentic coaches out there and is always happy to challenge and be challenged. His curiosity and challenge both come through strongly in this insightful conversation. Eric’s wisdom leaves you wanting more! 

Episode 1 of this podcast series with formers SA 7’s captain Kyle Brown, and Performance coach Tom Dawson-Squibb sees them joined by WP Rugby captain, Chris Van Zyl. Both Kyle and Chris have had interesting journeys in leadership experiencing some highs and some lows. They both open up remarkably on their journey and how they managed these both trying and joyful times. This is a riveting conversation not to be missed.