Work and Wellness

As AI takes over more of what we do at work, the question isn't whether your job will change. It's whether you're developing the skills that machines simply can't replicate.

In this episode, I sit down with Sonia Clarke, collaboration designer, facilitator and founder of Clever Manka, to explore what it really means to work well with other humans and why that skill has never mattered more. With over two decades of experience helping organisations communicate, think and work better together, Sonia brings a perspective that is equal parts rigorous and deeply human.

We get into why good collaboration never just happens, what the MIT research on high performing teams actually tells us, and why the way we work today was designed for factories — not knowledge workers. We also explore Sonia's upcoming book The Collective Code, which makes the case that there is another way to work, and it might be closer to how people worked hundreds of years ago than we think.

Key Topics

• Why good collaboration has to be intentionally designed and what most organisations get wrong
• The three things MIT research found in every high performing team
• Why the modern work day was built for factories and is fundamentally broken for knowledge work
• The human skills that will matter most as AI reshapes the workforce
• How to build trust and deeper relationships in hybrid and remote environments
• What collectives are, why they're growing, and what they mean for the future of work
• Why women are leaving the workforce — and why that should concern all of us

About Sonia

Sonia Clarke is a collaboration designer, facilitator, writer, yoga and meditation teacher, and the founder of Clever Manka. With more than two decades of experience helping organisations communicate, think and work better together, Sonia brings a unique blend of corporate expertise and human-centred leadership. Her career spans senior leadership roles including Director at PwC's Future of Work Practice and leader of its creative communications business. She is the author of The Collective Code newsletter and is currently writing a book of the same name — exploring the human skills that will matter most as technology continues to reshape how we live and work.

Connect with Sonia

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sonia-clarke 

• Substack: substack.soniaclarke.com

Resources Mentioned

• Humankind by Rutger Bregman

• John Demartini Values Process 

Keywordscollaboration, future of work, human skills, AI, collective intelligence, remote work, hybrid work, trust, wellbeing, leadership

What if burnout isn't the price of success — but actually a sign you're doing it wrong?

In this episode I sit down with Alex Davids, founder of Next Evolution Performance and high performance coach to CEOs and executives across the globe, to challenge one of the most persistent myths in leadership culture. That working yourself into the ground is what it takes to get to the top.

Alex brings over 20 years of experience combining psychology, applied neuroscience and business strategy — and her message is clear. True high performers don't burn out. They learn to understand how their brain works, build recovery into their day, and operate in a way that is sustainable for the long haul. We get into the neuroscience of decision making under pressure, why your values and your behaviours are probably telling two very different stories, and the surprisingly simple tools that can completely change the way you perform and lead. This one is practical, science-backed and full of things you can do today.

KEY TOPICS

• Why burnout is not a badge of honour — it's a sign your performance isn't actually sustainable
• How AI is creating a brand new kind of burnout that nobody is talking about
• The neuroscience of what happens to your brain under pressure — and the fastest way back
• A simple values exercise using nothing but sticky notes and your bank account
• Why the brain can only truly do deep work for four to five hours a day — and what to do about it
• Three non-negotiables Alex gives every leader: breath, phone-free focus time, and real recovery breaks
• The difference between control and choice — and why it changes everything

CONNECT WITH ALEX


Website: nextevolutionperformance.com


LinkedIn: Alexandra Davids


Free monthly webinars: 20 minutes of neuroscience and leadership content + 20 minutes live Q&A — recordings available. Join via the website.

John Demartini Values Process — a free online tool to help you identify your true values based on where you spend your time, money and energy. Find it at drdemartini.com

What if the success you've been chasing is sitting on the wrong mountain entirely?

In this episode I sit down with Cooper Chapman, former professional surfer, founder of The Good Human Factory and author of The One Percent Good Club, to talk about one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves — why do so many successful people still feel unhappy?

Cooper spent years ranked in the top hundred surfers in the world, doing what he loved, living what looked like a dream life from the outside. But internally, he was riding a rollercoaster that tied his entire sense of self-worth to his results. It wasn't until he shifted from chasing external achievement to living by his values that everything changed.

Since then he has delivered wellbeing programs to over 75,000 students, spoken at the United Nations, and built a free global gratitude community with over 5,000 members. His message is simple, practical and backed by science — and this episode is full of it

Key Topics

• Why basing your identity and self-worth on achievement is a trap — and what to anchor to instead
• The five values Cooper identifies as fundamental for good mental health
• The treadmill of life — why mental health requires daily action, not just awareness
• Why high performers are especially vulnerable to a dysregulated nervous system
• The one habit Cooper says has had the biggest impact on his mental health
• How to build deeper connection in a world that's wider but lonelier than ever
• The simple, free foundations that will move the needle on your wellbeing before any gadget or hack will

About Cooper

Cooper Chapman is the founder of The Good Human Factory, a movement dedicated to improving mental health through simple, practical habits. A former professional surfer ranked in the top hundred in the world, Cooper's own mental health journey sparked a passion for making wellbeing accessible and actionable. He is the author of The One Percent Good Club, and has delivered wellbeing programs to over 75,000 students and more than 100 organisations including Apple, Telstra, Red Bull, Amazon and Westpac. He has spoken at the United Nations Climate Change Conference and hosts the Good Humans Podcast.

Connect with Cooper

Website: thegoodhumanfactory.com

Instagram: @thegoodhumanfactory

Book: The One Percent Good Club — available on Amazon or signed copies at thegoodhumanfactory.com.

What if everything you were told about getting promoted was actually setting you up to struggle?

In this episode, I'm sharing something a little different — no guest this week, just me and 10 things I wish someone had told me before I stepped into my first leadership role. I did a LinkedIn post on this recently and the response told me there was more to say. So this is me going deeper.

Because here's the truth: most people are promoted into leadership because they're great at their job. Not because they've been trained to lead. And those are two completely different things. What follows is usually a quiet kind of struggle — the replaying of conversations at night, the urge just to do it yourself, the desperate wanting to be liked — that nobody warned you about and that too few people talk about honestly.

This one is for every new leader trying to find their feet, every experienced leader who never got the foundation they deserved, and anyone sitting on the edge of a leadership role, wondering if they're ready.

Key Topics

• Why becoming a leader is a complete career change — not just a promotion — and why businesses keep getting this wrong
• The accidental counsellor problem: what to do when your team brings their personal struggles to work and why it's not your job to fix them
• Hero mode and why swooping in to do the work yourself is actually undermining your team — not helping them
• The trap of wanting to be liked and the shift from being liked to being respected
• How to communicate decisions you don't fully agree with — or weren't given full context on — in a way that still motivates your team
• Why leadership is the ultimate selfless act: giving credit down and taking accountability up
• The case for fun — why injecting levity into your team isn't a nice-to-have, it's a performance strategy
• What to do when you lay your head on the pillow replaying a conversation you're not proud of
• Why repair matters more than perfection — and how to actually do it
• The greatest gift of leadership: watching the people you led go on to do remarkable things

Keywords

leadership, new leaders, leadership lessons, first-time leader, management, team culture, difficult conversations, performance, coaching, wellbeing, professional development, career growth, workplace

What if staying exactly where you are is actually the biggest risk you're taking?In this episode, I sit down with Francesca Molina, founder and principal lawyer of Her Legal Edge, to talk about building a business on your own terms — even when the circumstances feel impossible. Francesca launched her legal practice as a single mum with a toddler still breastfeeding through the night, a three-month financial runway, and no partner to fall back on. She went from dreading every day to hitting her annual income target in two and a half months.But this episode goes well beyond business. We get into the shame women carry around wanting more — more money, more success, more freedom — and why that needs to stop. We talk about losing friends as you grow, learning to receive help without guilt, and what it actually means to choose a life that feels like yours. Francesca brings the kind of honest, unfiltered perspective that only comes from having genuinely lived it.This one will make you question whether the life you're tolerating is costing you more than the leap you've been avoiding.Key Topics

• What separates intentional, proactive leaders from reactive ones and why it comes down to foundations, not personality
• Why contracts aren't scary and the clients who refuse to sign one are usually the ones you don't want anyway
• Francesca's leap: quitting her job and launching a firm within two weeks as a solo mum with a toddler and minimal runway
• The short-term sacrifice mindset that helped her hit her annual income goal in two and a half months
• Why outsourcing before you feel financially ready might be the smartest move you make
• The AI contracts trap — why using ChatGPT or Claude for your legal documents could expose you to $20,000+ in liability (Australian law is not American law)
• The moment a business stops being a hobby and what you need in place before that happens

About FrancescaFrancesca is the founder and principal lawyer of Her Legal Edge, a modern legal practice helping founders and business owners scale with confidence through strategic, practical and empowering legal support. Website: ⁠herlegaledge.com.au⁠Instagram: ⁠@herlegaledge⁠Book Mentioned: The Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie WareKeywordswomen in business, legal foundations, contracts, single mum entrepreneur, ambition, money mindset, receiving, female friendship, burnout, boundaries, business growth, legal templates, Australian business law

What if the exhaustion you're wearing as a badge of honour is actually the thing holding you back?

In this episode, I sit down with Shelley-Ann Pieterse, executive alignment coach, founder of Glimmer Coaching and former Managing Director at Accenture, to talk about one of the most important and least discussed distinctions in leadership — the difference between high performance and high functioning burnout. Because from the outside, they look identical.

Shelley spent over two decades at the top of one of the world's largest consulting firms before walking away to build something more sustainable. She brings the kind of hard-won, deeply personal perspective that only comes from having lived it. We get into the patterns she sees most in high-performing women, why ambition and wellbeing are not opposites, and what it actually looks like to lead with alignment rather than endurance.

This one will make you question whether you are truly performing or simply enduring.

Key Topics

• The difference between high performance and high functioning burnout — and why they're so easy to confuse
• Why exhaustion is not evidence of value and endurance is not the same as resilience
• The patterns Shelley sees most in high performing women — perfectionism, hyper-independence and tying worth to achievement
• What alignment actually looks and feel like in practice for a leader
• A practical red, amber, green energy audit tool you can use this week
• How to set realistic boundaries without losing your reputation for reliability
• Why most people don't need a career change — they need a different relationship with themselves

About Shelley-Ann

Shelley-Ann Pieterse is an executive alignment coach and founder of Glimmer Coaching. She works with high-performing women and senior leaders to sustain success without sacrificing their wellbeing, drawing on more than 20 years of experience, including her time as Managing Director at Accenture.

Website: Glimmer Coaching

LinkedIn: Shelley-Ann Pieterse

Free self-awareness snapshot quiz available on her website

Keywordsleadership, burnout, high performance, wellbeing, boundaries, ambition, executive coaching, alignment, resilience, sustainable leadership

Last week I ran a workshop for a group of Year 11 girls on limiting beliefs, growth mindset and grit. And it might have been one of my favourite workshops I have ever run because I kept thinking, what would have changed for me if someone had taught me this at 16?

In this episode, I share what came out of that workshop, because the truth is, most of us as adults are still operating from beliefs we formed as teenagers or even younger. Beliefs about whether we're confident enough, whether we're leadership material, whether we have what it takes. And the most dangerous thing about limiting beliefs is that they don't feel like beliefs. They feel like facts.

This episode is about understanding where those beliefs come from, why our brain holds onto them so tightly, and the practical steps we can take to start rewriting them, because the identity you created at 15 does not have to be the prison you live in at 40.

Key Topics

• Why limiting beliefs feel like facts rather than stories we tell ourselves
• The science of learned helplessness and why we stop trying
• How growth mindset and grit work together to create lasting change
• Why growth mindset is not toxic positivity — and what it actually means
• Angela Duckworth's grit equation and why effort counts twice
• Practical steps to identify, challenge and rewrite your limiting beliefs

Keywordslimiting beliefs, growth mindset, grit, self-belief, confidence, resilience, neuroplasticity, mindset, leadership, personal growth

This one might ruffle a few feathers but it's a conversation worth having.

Does the way you present yourself actually impact how much you earn? The research says yes. And while I want to be really clear that I don't agree with the system — appearance should never determine opportunity or income — ignoring that the system exists doesn't make it disappear.

In this episode I get into the science behind what's known as the beauty premium, what the research actually shows about grooming and earnings, and why for women specifically this conversation goes beyond the individual. Because when more money sits in the hands of women, more gets reinvested into families, communities and broader wellbeing.

This episode is practical, honest and not about full glam every day. It's about using what's available to us intentionally so we can show up with more confidence, be taken more seriously and ultimately earn more.

Key Topics

• The research behind the beauty premium and what it actually means for women's earnings
• Why perception of competence and credibility is shaped by how we present ourselves
• The internal wellbeing shift that happens when we feel put together
• A simple three word style framework to build a consistent, polished look without overcomplicating it
• Practical wardrobe tips and affordable brands that won't break the bank

Keywordspersonal presentation, confidence, women and money, career, earnings, self image, style, workplace, financial wellbeing, leadership

Self-awareness is everywhere right now in leadership conversations, personal development, therapy, coaching. And for good reason. But what if all that reflection is actually keeping you stuck?

In this episode, I get into the gap that nobody talks about enough — the space between knowing your patterns and actually changing them. Because most of the people I work with are already pretty self-aware. They can tell you exactly what they do under pressure, where they overthink, and what they default to when things get hard. But their behaviour? Often not much different.

Self-awareness is the starting point, not the finish line. The real work is what happens in the moment — when you're stressed, tired and overwhelmed and your brain is pulling hard towards the familiar. This episode is practical, neuroscience-backed, and ends with four concrete steps you can start today to turn what you know into how you actually show up.

Key Topics

• Why self-awareness alone isn't enough — and what we're getting wrong about behaviour change
• The neuroscience of why we default to old patterns under pressure
• The difference between a knowledge gap and a behaviour gap
• How to use if-then statements to pre-decide your response before pressure hits
• Four practical steps to start changing one behaviour today

Keywordsself-awareness, behaviour change, leadership, neuroscience, high performance, habits, neuroplasticity, personal growth, mindset, emotional intelligence

Have you ever looked at your career on paper and thought — this should feel better than it does?

In this episode, I sit down with career and leadership coach Elaine Atkinson, founder of In Wonder Coaching, to talk about one of the most unspoken experiences in the workplace. The high performer who is hitting every target, trusted by their peers, and successful by every external measure but quietly feeling disconnected, unfulfilled, and unsure how they got here.

Elaine brings over 20 years of senior leadership experience and a deeply honest perspective, including her own experience of living this from the inside.

We talk about what it costs people when their work becomes their identity, why changing jobs rarely solves the real problem, and how to start building what Elaine calls the cake — that internal sense of self that doesn't crumble when the external validation disappears.

This one is for anyone who has ever pushed harder when they should have paused, or said yes when every part of them wanted to say no.

Key Topics

• The invisible challenges high performers carry that nobody else can see
• What happens when work becomes your identity and what it costs you over time.
• Why changing jobs doesn't fix the problem when you're the common denominator.
• The difference between a career ladder and a career map and why the map wins.
• How to build internal confidence that doesn't depend on titles, promotions or praise.
• Practical first steps if something feels off but you're not sure what to do next

Connect with Elanie at https://inwondercoaching.co.uk/

Keywords: career, high performance, burnout, identity, leadership, career clarity, psychological safety, self-awareness, fulfilment, career change