Workplace Conversations Podcast

Even if you are optimistic about AI, we will run out of people before AI takes over the economy. Harvard Business School's Professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee explains what that means for business.

In this episode of Workplace Conversations, AIMWA host Sandra Holloway sits down with Professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee, author of Better, Simpler Strategy, to talk about why strategy gets overcomplicated, why companies know more about their customers than their own people, and what actually makes someone want to work for you.

Felix unpacks the value stick, willingness to pay and willingness to sell, why half of mid-size and large companies know almost nothing about their employees, and why two thirds of people who quit say they quit because of their boss.

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ABOUT YOUR GUEST AND HOST

Professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee is the Andreas Andresen Professor of Business Administration in the Strategy Unit at Harvard Business School. He is an award-winning educator and the author of Better, Simpler Strategy. He was in Perth for AIMWA's Senior Executive Forum 2026.

Sandra Holloway is Chief Customer Officer at AIMWA, Western Australia's leading workplace development institute.

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TIMESTAMPS

• [00:00] Welcome to Workplace Conversations
• [01:45] What Felix is most curious about when he teaches
• [03:15] Why executives are too busy to think about the big picture
• [04:05] Why good intentions hold companies back
• [05:27] The shopping list of strategy
• [06:16] What strategy actually is, and what it is not
• [09:00] The value stick explained
• [09:45] Willingness to pay and willingness to sell
• [11:45] How companies measure willingness to pay
• [12:50] Why half of companies know nothing about their employees
• [15:55] Why quality and cost is a false choice in services
• [16:50] Why we will run out of people before AI takes over
• [17:15] What actually makes someone want to work for you
• [19:20] Why purpose statements all sound the same
• [20:00] The Amazon example: clear expectations beat nice words
• [23:30] Why employee value propositions matter
• [27:15] Activity versus strategy
• [31:35] The light bulb lesson: automating the past
• [34:10] Redesigning a process rather than automating it
• [39:50] What separates genuinely effective leaders
• [42:00] Why open-mindedness is the hardest skill to keep
• [45:00] What leaders underestimate about their own words
• [46:20] One question every leader should ask themselves

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CONNECT WITH WORKPLACE CONVERSATIONS

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/workplaceconversationspodcast/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Workplace-Conversations-Podcast/61591403565312/
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/workplace-conversations-podcast/id6793009374
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIMWestAus/podcasts

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CONNECT WITH AIMWA

• Website: https://aimwa.com/
• LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/school/aimwa/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aim_westernaustralia
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIMWestAus
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AIMWesternAustralia

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CONNECT WITH PROFESSOR FELIX OBERHOLZER-GEE

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/felix-oberholzer-gee/

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ABOUT AIMWA AND WORKPLACE CONVERSATIONS

AIMWA is Western Australia's leading workplace development institute and a not-for-profit registered charity. We deliver practical learning that builds real capability across leadership, management and business.

Workplace Conversations is a podcast presented by AIMWA. Real people, real stories, real workplaces. We bring together sharp minds from across Australian business to talk about the issues that matter most at work.

Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Ben Harvey was a backyard mechanic who talked his way into a newspaper cadetship. Twenty-five years later he is chief reporter at The West Australian.

In this episode of Workplace Conversations, AIMWA host Sandra Holloway sits down with Ben Harvey to talk about the craft of reading people, why self-interest explains almost every workplace, and what it takes to admit you got it wrong.

Ben unpacks the death knock, the years on the crime round, how political reporting really works behind closed doors, and why owning a mistake defuses almost any conflict.

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ABOUT YOUR GUEST AND HOST

Ben Harvey is chief reporter at The West Australian. Over more than 25 years in journalism he has covered crime, politics and business in Western Australia and overseas, and held senior newsroom roles including chief of staff, state political editor and business editor. Since 2020 he has hosted Up Late with Ben Harvey.

Sandra Holloway is Chief Customer Officer at AIMWA, Western Australia's leading workplace development institute.

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TIMESTAMPS

• [00:00] Welcome to Workplace Conversations
• [02:26] From backyard mechanic to newspaper cadet
• [04:20] The first front page and the lesson that followed
• [07:05] What a real cadetship looked like
• [11:42] The death knock and how you do it
• [16:15] Two years on the crime round
• [18:35] What crime reporting taught him about people
• [22:28] Turning people who wanted to hurt him into sources
• [27:27] Why admitting you got it wrong defuses everything
• [28:25] Moving into politics and reading the play
• [30:32] How you find out what happened behind closed doors
• [32:53] Reading people in five seconds
• [33:52] How Up Late came about
• [40:04] The public Ben Harvey and the private one
• [40:46] The first-name hack that softens any criticism
• [45:05] Being publicly wrong and how he handles it
• [47:49] The stories he wishes he had handled with more humanity
• [49:44] What journalism has given him that nothing else could
• [52:29] Advice for anyone wanting to be a journalist today
• [54:05] What his 18-year-old self would think

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CONNECT WITH WORKPLACE CONVERSATIONS

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/workplaceconversationspodcast/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Workplace-Conversations-Podcast/61591403565312/
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/workplace-conversations-podcast/id6793009374
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIMWestAus/podcasts

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CONNECT WITH AIMWA

• Website: https://aimwa.com/
• LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/school/aimwa/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aim_westernaustralia
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIMWestAus
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AIMWesternAustralia

—

ABOUT AIMWA AND WORKPLACE CONVERSATIONS

AIMWA is Western Australia's leading workplace development institute and a not-for-profit registered charity. We deliver practical learning that builds real capability across leadership, management and business.

Workplace Conversations is a podcast presented by AIMWA. Real people, real stories, real workplaces. We bring together sharp minds from across Australian business to talk about the issues that matter most at work.

Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

At 15 Jordan Doropoulos was playing football in England. By 20 injuries had ended it, and he had no idea who he was without it.

In this episode of Workplace Conversations, AIMWA host Sandra Holloway sits down with Jordan Doropoulos, CEO and Facilitator of Peace Be The Journey Wellness, to talk about losing an identity, the years he spent suppressing it, and the phone call from a mate that changed everything.

Jordan unpacks what real workplace wellbeing looks like beyond a once a year wellness day, how to regulate your nervous system in 30 seconds, and why wellbeing takes more courage than most people think.

ABOUT YOUR GUEST AND HOST

Jordan Doropoulos is CEO and Facilitator of Peace Be The Journey Wellness, a health, wellbeing and personal development practice consulting to workplaces across Western Australia. A former high level footballer who played in England and Australia's National Premier League, he now works with organisations on wellbeing, nervous system regulation and workplace culture. He is also part of the team behind Cold Nips and Dawn Break, sober wellness activations touring nationally.

Sandra Holloway is Chief Customer Officer at AIMWA, Western Australia's leading workplace development institute.

TIMESTAMPS

• [00:00] Welcome to Workplace Conversations
• [00:53] The weekly wellbeing check in and what people actually say
• [03:35] Playing football in England at 15
• [05:33] Coming home and what changed
• [08:44] The injuries that ended it at 20
• [10:09] Losing an identity he had held his whole life
• [11:23] Choosing work over surgery
• [12:22] The hardest period of his life
• [14:38] Moving to New Zealand and running a billion dollar project at 22
• [16:06] The phone call from his best mate
• [17:57] Therapy and coming back to the tools that worked
• [21:29] Backpacking Europe and living in Canada
• [22:53] Starting his own business
• [25:07] What we are each responsible for in our own wellbeing
• [26:04] The wellbeing bubbles explained
• [27:18] Why showing up at 40 percent can still be giving 100 percent
• [29:13] Communication, emails and small things that shift culture
• [33:21] What employers get wrong about wellbeing
• [35:24] Why a once a year wellness day is not enough
• [37:01] Three things any organisation can start with
• [40:24] Nervous system regulation explained
• [43:12] A 30 second tool to regulate on the spot
• [46:28] Cold Nips, Dawn Break and connection without alcohol
• [51:06] Rapid fire: one thing a leader can do for their own wellbeing
• [52:50] The warning sign not to ignore
• [53:32] What his 15 year old self would think of him now

CONNECT WITH WORKPLACE CONVERSATIONS

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/workplaceconversationspodcast/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Workplace-Conversations-Podcast/61591403565312/
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/workplace-conversations-podcast/id6793009374
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIMWestAus/podcasts

CONNECT WITH AIMWA

• Website: https://aimwa.com/
• LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/school/aimwa/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aim_westernaustralia
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIMWestAus
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AIMWesternAustralia

CONNECT WITH JORDAN DOROPOULOS

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-doropoulos-1b4034216/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordan.doropoulos/

ABOUT AIMWA AND WORKPLACE CONVERSATIONS

AIMWA is Western Australia's leading workplace development institute and a not-for-profit registered charity. We deliver practical learning that builds real capability across leadership, management and business.

Workplace Conversations is a podcast presented by AIMWA. Real people, real stories, real workplaces. We bring together sharp minds from across Australian business to talk about the issues that matter most at work.

Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Jasmine Kadic knew nothing about construction when she co-founded Benang. Today the business employs over 100 people.

In this episode of Workplace Conversations, AIMWA host Sandra Holloway sits down with Jasmine Kadic, Managing Director and co-founder of Benang, to talk about leadership you never asked for, building a business while grieving, and why family is more than a value statement on a wall.

Jasmine unpacks the buddy system that grew organically across her teams, why she brought an aunty into the business, the knowledge an experienced worker holds that no manual or AI can capture, and her football approach to building safe teams.

ABOUT YOUR GUEST AND HOST

Jasmine Kadic is a proud Ballardong woman, Managing Director and co-founder of Benang, and CEO of Ergon Group. She is Chairperson of Noongar Mia Mia, a Director of the Noongar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and a board member of the Clean Energy Skills National Centre of Excellence. Before founding Benang in 2018, she spent 16 years in management and supervisory roles across the health industry.

Sandra Holloway is Chief Customer Officer at AIMWA, Western Australia's leading workplace development institute.

TIMESTAMPS

• [00:00] Welcome to Workplace Conversations
• [01:11] Growing up, community and early leadership
• [05:26] The matriarchs who shaped her
• [09:18] First job, health care and learning empathy
• [13:31] Starting Benang and what it does
• [16:21] How grief became a driver
• [18:08] Health care to construction: what she had to learn fast
• [20:48] What Benang means and why they chose it
• [21:46] Family as a value, not a slogan
• [22:45] Balancing commercial growth with social purpose
• [26:05] Breaking in as an Aboriginal business
• [29:49] The licence barrier and what stops people getting to work
• [32:44] Bringing Aunty Josie into the business
• [37:01] The knowledge no manual or AI can capture
• [39:21] How the buddy system grew organically
• [42:45] Building cultural awareness into the fabric of the business
• [45:00] The football approach to safe teams
• [48:18] Winning the award she did not know she was nominated for
• [49:30] Being a woman in a male dominated industry
• [51:15] What the Beediyar program changed for her
• [53:48] The question nobody asks men: how do you do it all?
• [59:28] Carrying the weight of legacy and responsibility
• [01:01:42] What we owe the generation coming next

CONNECT WITH WORKPLACE CONVERSATIONS

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/workplaceconversationspodcast/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Workplace-Conversations-Podcast/61591403565312/
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/workplace-conversations-podcast/id6793009374
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIMWestAus/podcasts

CONNECT WITH AIMWA

• Website: https://aimwa.com/
• LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/school/aimwa/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aim_westernaustralia
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIMWestAus
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AIMWesternAustralia

CONNECT WITH JASMINE KADIC

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmine-kadic-650710188/

ABOUT AIMWA AND WORKPLACE CONVERSATIONS

AIMWA is Western Australia's leading workplace development institute and a not-for-profit registered charity. We deliver practical learning that builds real capability across leadership, management and business.

Workplace Conversations is a podcast presented by AIMWA. Real people, real stories, real workplaces. We bring together sharp minds from across Australian business to talk about the issues that matter most at work.

Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Psychological safety has become one of the most used and most misunderstood terms in the modern workplace. So what does it actually mean?

In this episode of Workplace Conversations, AIMWA host Sandra Holloway sits down with AIMWA CEO Professor Gary Martin to unpack his Forbes article on psychological safety, the one that caught the attention of Harvard's Professor Amy Edmondson, the person who coined the term. Gary explains why comfort and safety are not the same thing, how leaders confuse kindness with avoidance, and why removing the bubble wrap is the key to growth.

ABOUT YOUR GUEST AND HOST

Professor Gary Martin FAIM is Chief Executive Officer of AIMWA, Emeritus Professor, keynote speaker, workplace strategist and columnist. He is a LinkedIn Top Voice and widely recognised for his work spotting and shaping workplace trends.

Sandra Holloway is Chief Customer Officer at AIMWA, Western Australia's leading workplace development institute.

TIMESTAMPS

• [00:00] Welcome to Workplace Conversations
• [00:36] The Forbes article that caught Amy Edmondson's attention
• [01:33] Who is Amy Edmondson and why her recognition matters
• [03:08] Why psychological safety is such a live issue right now
• [03:40] Psychosocial risk vs psychological safety: the confusion
• [04:08] What psychological safety actually means
• [06:20] The bubble wrap metaphor explained
• [08:58] How leaders confuse kindness with avoidance
• [10:00] What happens to performance when conversations are avoided
• [10:50] Why we need to stop branding conversations difficult
• [11:20] Psychological safety and high expectations together
• [12:13] Why silence is not agreement
• [13:02] Why psychological safety matters most in uncertain times
• [15:20] Where leaders can start to help their teams speak up
• [16:50] What to do in your next team meeting: pause before reacting
• [18:27] Why psychological safety is everyone's responsibility, not just leaders
• [21:20] The difference between challenging an idea and attacking a person
• [22:40] One practical thing leaders can do this week

CONNECT WITH WORKPLACE CONVERSATIONS

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/workplaceconversationspodcast/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Workplace-Conversations-Podcast/61591403565312/
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/workplace-conversations-podcast/id6793009374
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIMWestAus/podcasts

CONNECT WITH AIMWA

• Website: aimwa.com
• LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/school/aimwa/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aim_westernaustralia
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIMWestAus
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AIMWesternAustralia

CONNECT WITH PROFESSOR GARY MARTIN

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/professorgarymartin/

ABOUT AIMWA AND WORKPLACE CONVERSATIONS

AIMWA is Western Australia's leading workplace development institute and a not-for-profit registered charity. We deliver practical learning that builds real capability across leadership, management and business.

Workplace Conversations is a podcast presented by AIMWA. Real people, real stories, real workplaces. We bring together sharp minds from across Australian business to talk about the issues that matter most at work.

Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Everyone is talking about AI. But most organisations are implementing it without asking the most important questions first.

In this episode of Workplace Conversations, AIMWA host Sandra Holloway sits down with Dr Peta Chirgwin, CEO of Chameleon Mettle Group and one of Australia's leading voices on responsible AI, automation and the future of work. Peta unpacks why AI projects fail, what human-led AI actually looks like in practice, and what leaders need to understand before they hit go on their next AI implementation.

This is one of the most important workplace conversations happening right now.

ABOUT YOUR GUEST AND HOST

Dr Peta Chirgwin is CEO of Chameleon Mettle Group and a specialist in automation, responsible AI and future of work transitions. She holds a PhD in human factors in mining automation and remote operations, and has spent over 25 years working across mining and technology, including consulting to organisations across Australia and the United States on AI implementation and work design.

Sandra Holloway is Chief Customer Officer at AIMWA, Western Australia's leading workplace development institute.

TIMESTAMPS

• [00:00] Welcome to Workplace Conversations
• [00:36] Meet our guest: Dr Peta Chirgwin
• [01:44] Peta's background: 25 years in mining and technology
• [03:25] The Choice Before Us: what does that actually mean?
• [05:08] Where Australia sits in the global AI race
• [07:49] The panic and anxiety around AI implementation
• [09:38] Who should hold the power when humans and tech collide?
• [11:02] The Human Authority Index explained
• [12:10] Why organisations implement AI without a strategy
• [15:59] When IT drives AI decisions and the rest of the organisation plays catch up
• [17:45] What happens when leaders do not communicate openly about AI
• [19:20] How to bring your workforce along on the AI journey
• [20:12] Work design: why it has to come before AI implementation
• [24:04] The invisible work people do when systems do not talk to each other
• [27:14] What people are most anxious about when it comes to AI
• [30:04] Upskilling yourself for an AI-driven future
• [34:20] Reasonable concerns about AI in the workplace
• [36:09] What sociotechnical safety actually means
• [38:42] What human in the loop really means and what it does not
• [40:52] AI stewardship and what it looks like in practice
• [41:46] Executive AI literacy: what leaders actually need to know
• [44:39] The questions every CEO should be asking about AI right now
• [48:19] Shadow AI: what it is and why you need an AI amnesty
• [50:39] Will AI replace jobs? Dystopia or utopia?
• [57:15] Ethics, values and choosing which AI tools you support
• [58:09] One thing to leave leaders with as they navigate AI

CONNECT WITH WORKPLACE CONVERSATIONS

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/workplaceconversationspodcast/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Workplace-Conversations-Podcast/61591403565312/
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/workplace-conversations-podcast/id6793009374
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIMWestAus/podcasts

CONNECT WITH AIMWA

• Website: aimwa.com
• LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/school/aimwa/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aim_westernaustralia
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIMWestAus
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AIMWesternAustralia

CONNECT WITH DR PETA CHIRGWIN

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peta-chirgwin/

ABOUT AIMWA AND WORKPLACE CONVERSATIONS

AIMWA is Western Australia's leading workplace development institute and a not-for-profit registered charity. We deliver practical learning that builds real capability across leadership, management and business.

Workplace Conversations is a podcast presented by AIMWA. Real people, real stories, real workplaces. We bring together sharp minds from across Australian business to talk about the issues that matter most at work.

Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

23 years of 4am alarms. A station culture built on tight bonds and hard work. And the moment she became the first female anchor on a commercial metropolitan radio station in Australia.

In part two of Workplace Conversations with Natalie Locke, AIMWA host Sandra Holloway goes deeper into the reality of life in breakfast radio: the physical toll, the public life, the workplace culture that kept her there, and what 23 years in the industry has taught her about herself.

This is part two of a two-part conversation. If you missed part one, start there to hear how Natalie went from chiropractor to breakfast radio host in a month.

ABOUT YOUR GUEST AND HOST

Natalie Locke is the breakfast host on Nova 937 Perth, where she has been on air for over two decades. She also writes a weekly column for STM, The West Australian's Sunday magazine. Before her career in radio, she spent years as a chiropractor, running her own practice in Fremantle while building her broadcasting career alongside it.

Sandra Holloway is Chief Customer Officer at AIMWA, Western Australia's leading workplace development institute.

TIMESTAMPS

• [00:00] Welcome back to Workplace Conversations
• [00:31] The physical reality of 23 years of 4am alarms
• [01:34] What time does Nat actually get up?
• [03:40] The physical toll and how she stays well
• [06:38] Morning routines and what gets her through
• [08:12] Being the same person on air and off
• [09:11] Being private in a very public role
• [11:25] Navigating public breakups and personal stories on air
• [13:37] The gastric sleeve surgery she chose to talk about
• [14:01] Is there anything she regrets talking about?
• [14:29] Being recognised in public, from Perth to the Vatican
• [17:29] The culture at Nova from day one
• [22:39] Losing Jamie Martinovich and what it did to the team
• [28:35] How radio has changed since 2002
• [30:14] Becoming the first female anchor on metropolitan commercial radio in Australia
• [32:02] What has kept her at Nova for over two decades
• [33:47] Who were the best interviews of her career?
• [37:00] What she would miss most if it all ended tomorrow
• [37:53] What she knows about herself now that she did not know in 2002

CONNECT WITH AIMWA

• Website: aimwa.com
• LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/school/aimwa/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aim_westernaustralia
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIMWestAus
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AIMWesternAustralia

CONNECT WITH NATALIE LOCKE

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natty_nat_nat/

ABOUT AIMWA AND WORKPLACE CONVERSATIONS

AIMWA is Western Australia's leading workplace development institute and a not-for-profit registered charity. We deliver practical learning that builds real capability across leadership, management and business.

Workplace Conversations is a podcast presented by AIMWA. Real people, real stories, real workplaces. We bring together sharp minds from across Australian business to talk about the issues that matter most at work.

Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

One in three women. Hundreds of thousands of Australians. And most workplaces still treat it as a personal problem.

In this episode of Workplace Conversations, AIMWA host Sandra Holloway sits down with Dr Jennie Gray, CEO of Women's Legal Service WA, to unpack how gender and family violence shows up at work, what employers are legally required to do, and what it actually takes to build a trauma-informed workplace.

Jennie's career spans marketing, social work, a PhD, ten years in the Kimberley and Broome, and now leading one of Western Australia's most important legal services for women. This conversation goes deep.

ABOUT YOUR GUEST AND HOST

Dr Jennie Gray is CEO of Women's Legal Service WA, a specialist community legal centre supporting women at the intersection of family violence, family law, sexual violence and workplace discrimination. She holds a PhD in social work and has spent decades working with women experiencing gendered violence across metropolitan, regional and remote Western Australia.

Sandra Holloway is Chief Customer Officer at AIMWA, Western Australia's leading workplace development institute.

TIMESTAMPS

• [00:00] Welcome to Workplace Conversations
• [00:05] Meet our guest: Dr Jennie Gray
• [01:19] Jennie's career: from marketing to social work to CEO
• [03:52] What Women's Legal Service WA actually does
• [05:53] The barriers women face when accessing legal help
• [08:22] What success looks like at Women's Legal Service
• [10:06] Balancing media, confidentiality and women's safety
• [12:42] How Women's Legal Service is funded
• [16:55] Gender violence as a workplace issue
• [19:34] The legal requirements every employer needs to know
• [20:24] What best practice actually looks like beyond compliance
• [22:32] The statistics every workplace needs to know
• [24:21] One message for HR and people and culture teams
• [26:45] How to have the conversation when you suspect someone needs help
• [28:38] The cycle of violence explained
• [29:48] Why workplaces need more education on this
• [30:36] Leading an organisation slammed with trauma every day
• [32:36] Building a trauma-informed workplace: the framework
• [33:06] Supervision groups, trauma free zones and self-care checklists
• [38:08] What trauma actually looks like at work
• [40:53] Staff turnover and what keeps people at Women's Legal Service
• [42:44] What Jennie looks for when recruiting
• [44:42] What society still does not understand about gendered violence
• [46:17] What Jennie wants to see in workplaces in the next five years
• [47:44] What keeps Jennie believing change is possible

CONNECT WITH AIMWA

• Website: aimwa.com
• LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/school/aimwa/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aim_westernaustralia
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIMWestAus
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AIMWesternAustralia

CONNECT WITH DR JENNIE GRAY

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennie-gray-71676284/

ABOUT AIMWA AND WORKPLACE CONVERSATIONS

AIMWA is Western Australia's leading workplace development institute and a not-for-profit registered charity. We deliver practical learning that builds real capability across leadership, management and business.

Workplace Conversations is a podcast presented by AIMWA. Real people, real stories, real workplaces. We bring together sharp minds from across Australian business to talk about the issues that matter most at work.

Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

You have heard of a non-linear career path. But what does it actually look like when you live it?

In this episode of Workplace Conversations, AIMWA host Sandra Holloway sits down with her long-time friend Natalie Locke, breakfast host on Nova 937, to unpack the non-linear career path: how an unexpected opportunity becomes a new career, and how to know when it is worth the risk.

Natalie shares the real story behind her move from chiropractic practice to breakfast radio, including the audition no one warned her about, the imposter syndrome that came with it, and why she kept her chiropractic practice running for 12 years before fully committing to radio.

This is part one of a two-part conversation. Part two continues with more from Natalie's career and the lessons she has picked up along the way.

ABOUT YOUR GUEST AND HOST

Natalie Locke is the breakfast host on Nova 937 Perth, where she has been on air for over two decades. She also writes a weekly column for STM, The West Australian's Sunday magazine. Before her career in radio, she spent years as a chiropractor, running her own practice in Fremantle while building her broadcasting career alongside it.

Sandra Holloway is Chief Customer Officer at AIMWA, Western Australia's leading workplace development institute.

TIMESTAMPS

• [00:00] Welcome to Workplace Conversations
• [00:18] Meet our guest: Natalie Locke
• [02:00] Why Natalie became a chiropractor
• [04:34] Looking back: do you recognise who you were then?
• [06:23] The real story of how Natalie was discovered
• [09:11] The phone call that changed everything
• [11:07] Auditioning for breakfast radio with no experience
• [14:21] Starting work within a month
• [16:55] Running a chiropractic practice and breakfast radio at once
• [18:44] What imposter syndrome felt like on air
• [22:03] The skills Natalie had to learn fast
• [24:17] Why she closed her practice instead of selling it
• [28:54] What the transition taught her about taking a leap of faith

CONNECT WITH AIMWA

• Website: aimwa.com
• LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/school/aimwa/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aim_westernaustralia
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIMWestAus
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AIMWesternAustralia

CONNECT WITH NATALIE LOCKE

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natty_nat_nat/

ABOUT AIMWA AND WORKPLACE CONVERSATIONS

AIMWA is Western Australia's leading workplace development institute and a not-for-profit registered charity. We deliver practical learning that builds real capability across leadership, management and business.

Workplace Conversations is a podcast presented by AIMWA. Real people, real stories, real workplaces. We bring together sharp minds from across Australian business to talk about the issues that matter most at work.

Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

You have heard of leadership styles. But what if the leader who was brilliant yesterday is the wrong leader for today?

In this episode of Workplace Conversations, AIMWA host Sandra Holloway sits down with Dr Shaun Ridley, who spent over three decades at AIMWA, to explore contextual leadership: the idea that great leadership is not one fixed skill, but the ability to read the moment and adapt.

From Winston Churchill's wartime triumph and post-war defeat to Jacinda Ardern's crisis leadership and its limits once the crisis passed, Shaun unpacks why the right leader for one season can be the wrong leader for the next.

ABOUT YOUR GUEST AND HOST

Dr Shaun Ridley FAIM is a facilitator, speaker, consultant and nationally-recognised workplace mediator. He spent 35 years at AIMWA, including as Deputy Chief Executive Officer, before serving as Chief Operating Officer until 2023. He now leads Ridley Insights, a boutique consulting practice, and is the author of three books: One Small Step for Leaders, One More Small Step for Leaders, and I Wish I'd Said That.

Sandra Holloway is Chief Customer Officer at AIMWA, Western Australia's leading workplace development institute.

TIMESTAMPS

• [00:00] Welcome to Workplace Conversations
• [01:49] Meet our guest: Dr Shaun Ridley
• [03:19] What is contextual leadership?
• [04:27] Winston Churchill: the right leader, then the wrong one
• [05:25] Jacinda Ardern and the limits of crisis leadership
• [06:51] How different organisations need different leadership styles
• [09:39] How to judge what kind of leader a business needs
• [11:38] What to do when your leadership style is not working
• [13:16] How to read the room as a leader
• [18:34] How Covid forced leadership styles to change overnight
• [22:44] The impact of mismatched leadership on team and culture
• [26:09] Final advice for leaders navigating change

CONNECT WITH AIMWA

• Website: aimwa.com
• LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/school/aimwa/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aim_westernaustralia
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIMWestAus
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AIMWesternAustralia

CONNECT WITH DR SHAUN RIDLEY

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-shaun-ridley-faim-2b109116/

ABOUT AIMWA AND WORKPLACE CONVERSATIONS

AIMWA is Western Australia's leading workplace development institute and a not-for-profit registered charity. We deliver practical learning that builds real capability across leadership, management and business.

Workplace Conversations is a podcast presented by AIMWA. Real people, real stories, real workplaces. We bring together sharp minds from across Australian business to talk about the issues that matter most at work.

Subscribe so you never miss an episode.