Cameron Schwab grew up around footie. It’s all he ever wanted to do - run a football club. At the age of 24 he became the CEO of Richmond Football Club, and his real education began. 25 years as CEO, including at other clubs Melbourne and Fremantle, with the ups and downs in public life (like getting sacked), Cameron knows a lot about failure and rising again. He has struggled with mental health, parenting a transgender kid, and more recently, getting through cancer. His is a life of leadership deeply layered, rich and textured. Enjoy!
Read MoreZoë Routh Leadership Podcast
Podcasts
169 Culture is the number one leadership responsibility for James Bergl
James Bergl is the VP of Sales for APAC at Datto, an IT service provider. I was curious about how a sales professional goes about becoming a team leader who builds an awesome culture - what are the shifts and insights required? What are the key mindsets of a sales professional and how can that be leveraged into leadership? James shares some awesome practical insights from his experience building a team from zero to 80 in just a few short years.
Read MoreCanberra leadership expert Zoe Routh on how to deal with office politics
How do you handle the irritating and problematic behaviours in the workplace? We take a dive under the surface at what causes the Four Devils of People Stuff from my latest book of the same name, and what we can do to reduce the likelihood of triggering them.
Read More168 The importance of kindness in leadership with Rory Byrne
Former CEO of Seafood and Maritime Training, Rory Byrne, has simple leadership approaches: be kind, listen more, and don’t be too hard on yourself. In an industry that can be volatile and complex, these simple approaches have proven to be the best way to handle complex people stuff. In this interview we unpack the nuance of these approaches and see how difficult it is to ‘do simple’.
Read More167 Leadership insights from the tertiary sector wtih VC Nick Klomp
How do you lead culture when you have 16 campuses across five different states, 2500 full time staff and 16,000 more students? It’s a tough gig! In this highly energising interview, Vice Chancellor of CQ University, Nick Klomp, shares his insights on what you need for great leadership, how to measure and monitor culture, what he does daily to connect, and what he finds the toughest in leadership.
Read More166 The leadership skills you need in a crisis with David Inall
Remember the Live Export expose on Four Corners in 2011? Imagine being the CEO of the Cattle Council and handling the fallout. That was David Inall, today’s guest. In our conversation he shares his insights from leadership in agripolitics and agvocacy across the meat, milk, and eggs industry.
Read More165 Surprising leadership lessons with Adrian Armitage
What can you learn from a 6 foot 7 ex-KGB agent? Adrian Armitage shares his experience with said ex-KGB dude turned educator. It turns out that Russian culture has its norms, just like Australian culture, and they are not all that dissimilar. With leadership roles around the world, and now as Executive Officer of the Australian Medical Students’ Association with some 250 staff and 17,000 members, Adrian, has a wealth of insight he shares generously in this interview.
Read More164 The leadership mindset that has worked for 30 years with Martin Fisk
How much experience do you need in order to drop the impostor syndrome? CEO of Menslink Martin Fisk shares his three decades of leadership and answers the question this way, “do the best you can with what you’ve got’. I loved this interview! Martin has a unique perspective born of humility and deep conviction in his work. Enjoy the fabulous insights from culture to success to mental health.
Read More163 The best leadership principles work anywhere with Barnie Van Wyk
Every business has a particular context that requires a different approach to leadership. But there are principles that are true for all. Barnie Van Wyck has led businesses in South Africa, the UK, and Australia and has an enormous treasure trove of experiences from which to draw useful insights. Through it all he is sustained by his commitment to others and community. In this uplifting interview discover his secrets to doing leadership well, in the toughest of circumstances.
Read More162 Leadership attributes needed for calm under pressure with Jenny Kitchin
Working in government and the social services sector, CEO of Woden Community Service Jenny Kitchin has seen a lot when it comes to people stuff. Then, just when she thought she had seen it all, something horrendous happened. How does a leader deal with surprising behaviour? How do we deal with generational gaps? How do we stay calm and composed when our staff want to see us raw and vulnerable? Jenny shares wonderful insights on how to tread in these interesting lines.
Why you should listen:
What to do in a crisis that helps us to stay calm and centered, and our teams too
How to share vulnerability without losing control or respect
How to balance material business outcomes with values of care and compassion
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Read More161 The leadership skills needed to build trust with Edwina Hayes
One of the toughest things to deal with is people who are resistant and do not trust you or your role. CEO of Regional Development Australia for the Murray region, Edwina Hayes, shares her astute people stuff skills to showcase how you can win people over.
Why you should listen:
How to avoid a big mistake when it comes to trying to get buy-in
How to build connection with people who are highly resistant
How to shift a negative status quo by creating positive new experiences
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Read MoreCanberra based leadership expert Zoe Routh on personality conflicts
Have you got people on your team who just don’t seem to get along? They’re at each other’s throats? They rub each other up the wrong way? It’s easy to think it’s a personality conflict. The problem with THAT is that it makes us feel helpless: “Oh well, that’s just the way they are.” The truth is more complex. The good news is that we can get beyond these challenges to build a better team, even with different personalities.
Why you should listen:
How the crisis in leadership is making things hard for leaders
Avoid the big mistake leaders are making in staff conflicts
3 Myth-busters when it comes to handling “personality conflicts”
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Read More160 Leadership skills for a successful start up with Karen Porter
Divorced with 5 kids, and launching a startup, Karen Porter thinks that there are a lot easier things to do than run a business. Nine years later her business is worth 7 million plus, and she has a boatload of experience about what works and what doesn’t. She has very practical tips on what it takes to work through the tough bits of business.
Why you should listen:
How sharing problems helps the team step up and buy in
How to balance compassion for someone you fire and looking after the business
Why getting to know your numbers is a game changer
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Read More159 Top leadership principles learnt from recruitment with Sarah Rajic
80% of people leave their jobs because of a poor manager. So says recruitment specialist, Sarah Rajic, co-founder of Capital Recruit and Staff Check, who has spoken to thousands of employers and candidates. She has seen when it goes right, and when it goes wrong. How do we make it better and unwind that terrible statistic?
Why you should listen:
How to set up team members for accountability and ownership of their own targets
Why communication and expectation management is the secret ingredient to sorting out issues before they escalate
How to keep developing as a business leader through expanding perspective
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Read More158 How to work on your leadership mindset with Ian Taylor
Do you struggle with nagging self doubts as a leader? Do you ask, ‘am I on the right track’? Ian Taylor, ED of Cotton Research and Development Corporation, asks these same questions, and has found a way to check his assumptions, and validate the strategy, even in the most uncertain times. A humble and genuine person, Ian shares rich insights about culture and innovation that are useful for all leaders.
Why you should listen:
Discover what kinds of questions help check assumptions about strategy in uncertainty
How to hold each other to account when it comes to upholding your values
How to seek points of view in an innovation hub
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Read More157 Leadership strategies for uncertain times with Stuart Althaus
What kind of leadership style do you need to take a leap of faith? What strategies can you deploy when leading through massive uncertainty? What’s the most important thing to keep in mind when leading through change? Stuart Althaus is an experienced CEO and senior executive from a career that spans some forty years in the military, information and communication technology, and not for profit directorships. His hard-earned wisdom helps him to be an optimist even as we face down some of the biggest uncertainties of any generation.
Why you should listen:
How to put certainty in to uncertainty
What you need to have in place when assessing the risks in chaos
How to manage a passive aggressive employee
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Read More156 Leadership mindsets for entrepreneurs with Ian Parke
Financial technology, along with other exponential services, is facilitating a contactless and virtual business experience. Through Covid19, some businesses are suffering and others are thriving. With FinTech (financial technology) entrepreneur Ian Parke, we take a look at the opportunities and mindset needed to ride the new wave of the new now.
Why you should listen:
Opportunities that are emerging through Covid19
Which business sectors are emerging stronger as a result
What trends will accelerate through this experience
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Read MoreCanberra leadership expert Zoe Routh on leadership mindset through COVID
Are you over it yet? This crisis seems to go on and on, unrelenting. Yet, as leaders there is no timeout or time off. We’ve got to keep on keeping on. I thought I’d give us a bit of a PAUSE button to reflect on what we can take from this experience. I also go over some key highlights of this past season on the podcast so you can get a concentrated dose of leadership insights that are useful for now.
Why you should listen:
Now’s the time to get really clear on what you want: here are some things to think about
Clarify what matters most: I share my list to inspire yours
Season round up: with insights on innovation from experts and authors that are essential tools for leading next through the pandemic
Sneak preview of interviews coming up over the coming months: Leadership on the ground with CEOs from not for profits, global IT companies, agribusiness, and a Vice Chancellor! So much goodness and rich insights coming up
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Read More155 The Leadership skills needed for change with Joe Jackman
Change, transformation, pivot, unprecedented... we’ve all heard the words. Do you feel excited or scared? Joe Jackman is a brand expert, strategist, and CEO of the world’s first Reinventionist company and he is excited about what opportunities are emerging. We talk about the changing nature of change itself, what is staying in the same and what will definitely not stay the same, and importantly what we can learn from organisations that ignored the risk of not changing.
Why you should listen:
Key cultural shifts that you need to know in order to reinvent your business
How the relationship between companies and brands is changing fundamentally - and why you need to be across this now
How strategy needs to not only be understood, but FELT if an organisation is to reinvent itself
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Read More154 Leadership lessons from the military with Brigadier Nick Jans
Can you be commanding without doing command and control? Can you have authority without being authoritarian? What is the best way to avoid the traps of hubris and power? Brigadier Nick Jans OAM (retired) shares his wisdom and insight from a lifetime of leadership and learning in the military. He debunks some of the myths that exist around military leadership and culture, namely that there is a difference between being authoritative and authoritarian. Military leaders have an embedded culture where you ‘earn your spurs’ and win authority, not seize it.
Why you should listen:
The real mettle of leadership is what you do in easy times: win trust and compliance through building relationships
How to avoid the trap of “believing in your own legend”
What the military builds into its leadership systems to cut abuses of power and hubris that the business world can adopt
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