Inner Chief Podcast

“We built this school. And then over the next 12 months, we ended up building two more schools in other, other villages around. And it completely changed my perspective on what meaningful work is.”   In this episode of The Inner Chief podcast, I speak to Mike Smith, Founder and CEO of Zero Co, on how to build a tribe of loyal customers, creating a better world through business, and personal growth.

“Good character is essential because talent isn't enough to navigate through a messy time.”   This is a special episode only available to our podcast subscribers, which we call The Mini Chief. These are short, sharp highlights from our fabulous guests, where you get a 5 to 10 minute snapshot from their full episode. This Mini Chief episode features Zaklina Craig, Executive Director - People, Culture & Workplace of Business NSW. Her full episode is titled Optimising role design for peak performance, managing differences in confidence between men and women, and navigating the decision to fire someone. You can find the full audio and show notes here:

“Your brand or your reputation is what people say about you when you're not in the room.”   Chief, today we are going to guide you through the process of mastering the art of influencing stakeholders and partners, such that it catapults you forward (and upwards!) in your career. Stakeholders have a huge impact - negatively and positively - on your career and your personal life whether you like it or not. These people can be your corporate peers, suppliers, customers, board members, executive team members, your boss, the community, media, anyone out there who's got a key stake in what you do. As such, getting buy-in from difficult stakeholders is one of the most important tasks and skills of all senior executives and leaders.

“For me, the four H's were a very simple way of outlining what I stood for as a leader.”   This is a special episode only available to our podcast subscribers, which we call The Mini Chief. These are short, sharp highlights from our fabulous guests, where you get a 5 to 10 minute snapshot from their full episode. This Mini Chief episode features Mike Schneider, Managing Director of Bunnings Group. His full episode is titled Career diversity, genuine empathy, and the 4Hs of authenticity. You can find the full audio and show notes here:

“You're a business leader first, and a HR professional second.”   In this episode of The Inner Chief podcast, I speak to Zaklina Craig of Business NSW, on optimising role design for peak performance, managing differences in confidence between men and women, and navigating the decision to fire someone.

“The danger for CEOs is to allow yourself to be surrounded by people who tell you how good your ideas are. You actually need a balance of people who tell you when you’ve got something wrong or if you could have handled something in a different way.”   In this Best of Series episode, we replay a chat we had in 2019 with Mike Schneider, the Managing Director of the Bunnings Group, on career diversity, genuine empathy, and the 4Hs of authenticity. 

“The biggest thing a leader can bring to the business is the responsibility to put the right people on the bus. And to have the bravery to say that there's a reason that they need to hop off the bus.”   In this episode of The Inner Chief podcast, I speak to Carolyn Creswell, Founder and MD of Carman’s Kitchen, on how to fire people gracefully, doing what you love, understanding menopause and having genuine work-life balance.

“Your direct reports actually want you to provide a clear framework and guidance, and then get out of their way so they can do the job you're paying them to do.” Chief, today we complete our Think Like a CEO Series, and we’re going to look at how great chiefs work on the business, not in the business. As you move up the ranks, your role increasingly becomes about working on the business. If you are in a senior or executive role, this is about stepping out of the day-to-day operational grind: the thousands of tasks, the endless emails, the back-to-back meetings, the constant demands of stakeholders. That is what your employer actually employs you for. The best leaders I've ever met embrace this responsibility. They look beyond their immediate role and work to improve the entire organisation.

“All the best leaders of change I've noticed, bring their people with them.” Chief, today we continue with Part 4 of our Think like a CEO Series, and we’re going to cover how to overcome resistance to change. This is one of the most difficult and stressful parts of running a business. Getting people on the train, keeping them inspired and creative, and not slowing momentum down can be an incredibly difficult journey. I've been involved in a lot of transformations now, and I've seen every mistake under the sun. And what I've learned is that the CEOs and the senior leaders who successfully drive change happen to do a few things that others seem to skip. So I want to share with you five things that I know that if you apply them properly, it will make an immediate, tangible difference to the momentum you are getting in leading change in your organisation.

“Correctly diagnosing your people’s performance issues will mean you enjoy the benefits of watching your people grow and thrive, and they will never forget that you did that for them.” Chief, today we continue with Part 3 of our How to think like a CEO Series, and we’re going to look at how to build confidence in your people. I believe that one of the biggest problems in both sport and business - and I have seen this over and over and over again - is misdiagnosis of performance issues. Leaders will talk about their people not having the right capability, but they simply lack the skills. Luckily, misdiagnosis of performance issues is something we can fix, and I will take you through this process in this episode.

“They're thinking I must be really famous and know what I’m doing, but I'm just laughing because I wrote 20% of the content I'm sharing and 80% I'm sharing other people's.”   This is a special episode only available to our podcast subscribers, which we call The Mini Chief. These are short, sharp highlights from our fabulous CEO guests, where you get a 5 to 10 minute snapshot from their full episode. This Mini Chief episode features Ted Prodromou, America’s #1 LinkedIn Coach. His full episode is titled Perception, connecting properly with purpose, and standing out online. You can find the full audio and show notes here:

“A strong track record earns you a network. As a result, you get called upon straight away to solve a problem and that is the power of having a great network with ambassadors.”   Chief, today we continue with Part 2 of our How to think like a CEO Series. And we’re going to cover something that is 100% linked to your ability to get promoted faster, and that is the size and value of your network. I’m going to outline five core principles that CEOs and leading executives use to leverage their network fully and these will help you to get your network to work for you when you're not in the room.

“A positive brand can mean opportunities for promotion. It can mean a lack of resistance when you're trying to get results, and an endless list of positive outcomes for you and your family.”   Chief, today we are kicking off Part 1 of our How to think like a CEO Series. And we’re going to cover something that is one of the most crucial elements to career progression and outcomes, and that is personal branding. Every single time you turn on a Zoom or you walk into a meeting room or every single time you send an email, people have a filter and a bias for or against you. Your reputation enters the room before you do. People are always watching.

“83% of people will look at your LinkedIn profile now before they take a meeting with you.” In this Best of Series episode of The Inner Chief podcast, I speak to Ted Prodromou, America’s #1 LinkedIn Coach, on perception, connecting properly with purpose, and standing out online.

“I define speak-up culture as an environment in which members of a team feel that it is both psychologically safe and worth it to raise ideas, as long as it’s to make things better.”   This is a special episode only available to our podcast subscribers, which we call The Mini Chief. These are short, sharp highlights from our fabulous CEO guests, where you get a 5 to 10 minute snapshot from their full episode. This Mini Chief episode features Stephen Shedletzky, author of Speak-Up Culture: When Leaders Truly Listen, People Step Up. His full episode is titled How to foster a speak-up culture where people feel safe, trusted and worthy. You can find the full audio and show notes here:

“Without these 3 strategies, your peers will start saying things about you like you’ve hit a glass ceiling or you’ve gone as far as you can. And you absolutely do not want that, Chief.”   Chief, in today’s minisode, I’m going to discuss three incredibly powerful tactics that you need to implement immediately when working in a leadership role. As a manager of people, you need to be doing less in the weeds and more driving strategy and coaching those who report to you. That doesn't mean losing your finger on the pulse, but it does mean you now need to spend a good portion of your time working on the business and getting results as an organisation.

“The soul of the business was maintained because I drove the culture of the business so passionately.”   This is a special episode only available to our podcast subscribers, which we call The Mini Chief. These are short, sharp highlights from our fabulous CEO guests, where you get a 5 to 10 minute snapshot from their full episode. This Mini Chief episode features Cliff Gale, former MD of Lite ‘n Easy for over 20 years. His full episode is titled Leading with passion, respect for your people and keeping the soul alive in your business. You can find the full audio and show notes here:

“Know that if you are a leader, you have an impact on the health and wellbeing of the people around you. That's why leadership is either a life-depleting or life-feeding line of work.”   In this episode of The Inner Chief podcast, I speak to Stephen “Shed” Shedletzky, on how to foster a speak-up culture where people feel safe, trusted and worthy.

“There's been too much focus on profit outcomes in business rather than maybe building the process along the way through empowering people, through effective delegation.” In this Best of Series episode of The Inner Chief podcast, I speak to Cliff Gale, former Managing Director of Lite n’ Easy for over 20 years, on leading with passion, respect for your people and keeping the soul alive in your business.