Authenticity - Transforming Workplace Culture

Encouraging Emerging Leaders to Charge into Leadership Good decisions when replacing managers are critical because their actions flow through to the performance and morale of their team. Having Emerging Leaders ready to step into management roles is essential for every organisation, big or small.Ready-made successorsA robust Emerging Leaders process fosters ready-made leaders within the organisation. They already know the organisation and sector and they have lived the workplace culture. Presumably they represent your ideal culture. If not, take them of the list of candidates. This means they can focus on the biggest challenges for new managers– developing leadership skills and strategies to deal with the people they lead. If you have created a robust Emerging Leaders process, they will have been developing these skills before they need them, so they are ready when the opportunity comes.Mistake or choice?Recruiting leaders from outside the organisation isn’t a bad thing. They can bring fresh perspectives, promote positive change and enhance innovation. It just shouldn’t be your only option because of a lack of emerging leaders within your organisation.If you need to replace a manager and you have no option but to look externally, that’s a mistake. Learn from it. If it happens again, that’s a choice and it suggests you didn’t learn.The Good, The Bad or The What-The!: The Tosser from Tesla was at it again, abusing a worker with a disability, who may or may not have been sacked. Musk was eventually forced to concede he may have mis-read the situation. There’s hope for you yet, Elon!The Resource: Simon spotted a poem called Talking to The Wild by Becky Hemsley. It’s a reminder to be true to yourself as a leader instead of trying to fit the image that others may have of you.Words of Authenticity: A great observation by Kirralea. It can be the moments when we feel we may be being less of a manager that we actually become more of a manager.Our guests today are from R&J Batteries, Australia’s fastest growing battery company. Each played a pivotal role in implementing an Emerging Leaders program. Two participants took on management positions within less than 12 months & most others showed significant growth.Jo Preece, National Training ManagerGlenn Kennedy, Beresfield Branch ManagerDylan Smith, Team Member at Beresfield & participant in the Emerging Leaders programWant to check out how Authentic your organisation is? Take our free online Authentimeter Assessment tool hereYou can find full shownotes for this episode and more here Visit our website The Real Learning ExperienceFollow us on instagram or Linked InGot a question for the Podcast? You can drop us a voice message via instagram or email us at: [email protected] to our Podcasting producer, Josh at Deadset Podcasting for all his work behind the scenes. Thanks for listening!

This week’s show is all about our guest, Brett Miller. The discussion with Brett is packed with inspiration, strategies and tips to help leader’s create exceptional workplace cultures and to promote high performance – to the extent that we shortened our other segments to bring you the interview in full.Flaunting conventional wisdom, we will start with the punchline. At the end of the interview, after hearing Brett’s journey, challenges and insights, we asked him what today’s version of himself would say to the 2000 version. The answer: it’s worth it. Keep that in mind as you listen to his story.Let’s start with some background information on Brett to highlight how well founded his insights are. Then we will dive into his eight-point framework for Leadership – including the stories, examples and quotes he shared with our listeners.If you want something done, ask a busy person!You can check out Brett’s LinkedIn profilehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-miller-95905120/ to see the full details, but here is the executive summary.Brett is the Group CEO for Miller Dental Services, an organisation he founded with his brother, Greg (who is a dentist), and transformed from a single site service with a great reputation into a business with 16 sites, 180 team members, and who provides around 4% of all dental services in South Australia.Brett is also a member of several boards and committees.It’s all about the teeth but not always about the money.Alongside their business, Brett and Greg established Australian Dental Foundation, Australia’s leading dental charity, after seeing firsthand the consequences of a system unable to deal with the dental needs of some of our most vulnerable citizens.When Greg visited his grandmother, in her 90s, in an aged care facility, he realised that she wasn’t receiving the dental care she needed. Soon, Greg was providing care to his grandmother and other residents of the facility. When that grew to encompass multiple locations and most of Greg’s Sundays, Brett became involved, and the foundation was born.The Wisdom ToothThis is either a Dad joke or a Dental joke – probably both. Either way, Brett loves it and we have shamelessly stolen it. It’s all about the wisdom he has accrued along the way and that he shared with our listeners in the pod.1.       Authentic2.       Engaging3.       Innovative4.       Transformative5.       Self-reflective6.       Courageous7.       Balanced8.       Long-termismWant to check out how Authentic your organisation is? Take our free online Authentimeter Assessment tool hereYou can find full shownotes for this episode and more here Visit our website The Real Learning ExperienceFollow us on instagram or Linked InGot a question for the Podcast? You can drop us a voice message via instagram or email us at: [email protected] to our Podcasting producer, Josh at Deadset Podcasting for all his work behind the scenes. Thanks for listening!

After our series of episodes with tech leaders from the Silicon Valley, this week we hear from Peter Whalley -  entrepreneur, visionary and leader from the thriving IT sector right here in our own backyard.The Good, the Bad, or the ‘What-the!’Simon shares two experiences of receiving feedback and mentoring around something he feels vulnerable about – and how one experience paralysed future performance while the other validated, challenged and empowered him. Worth the TimeAn oldie but a goodie. We discuss one of the first business books that Simon ever read – Maverick by Riccardo Semmler, who inherited a struggling manufacturing business in Brazil. Words of Authenticity: This week we have pulled an extract from an e-book we wrote (and will publish soon) on Leading Change.During change, people tend to overestimate what they are leaving behind and underestimate what they are gainingSimon and Kirralea discuss why change efforts tend to struggle (and often fail) and provide a few tips on how to approach change better. Our Guest Our guest is Peter Whalley, Managing Director of Plus Software and VisionAI Head of APAC of Computer Vision.Peter has a great story to tell and he shares it in an engaging and captivating way. We discuss the roller coaster journey he embarked on, starting as a young and uncertain adult in South Africa. That journey brought him to Australia, initially on behalf of head office, to bring a struggling IT business into line.After beginning a transformational change process with two of the senior leaders in Australia, they bought the organisation from the South African owners and took it to new levels of success.Peter discusses:The personal changes he needed to make when he discovered his default leadership styles didn’t always land as intended in an Australian contextHis approach to engaging people, inside and outside the company, in a change to the fundamental way the business operated – a change that was essential to the ongoing survival of the organisation but that was also a radical departure from the traditional modelThe imposter syndrome he struggled with as young leader in his first board room environmentYou can connect to Peter via LinkedIn here (https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterbwhalley/)Unpacking the interviewSimon and Kirralea discuss the key messages that emerged from the discussion with Peter and share some of their experiences working with those dynamics in organisations. They focus on helping listeners apply Peter’s wisdom to their own work lives.Want to check out how Authentic your organisation is? Take our free online Authentimeter Assessment tool hereYou can find full shownotes for this episode and more here Visit our website The Real Learning ExperienceFollow us on instagram or Linked InGot a question for the Podcast? You can drop us a voice message via instagram or email us at: [email protected] to our Podcasting producer, Josh at Deadset Podcasting for all his work behind the scenes. Thanks for listening!

**CONTENT WARNING - in todays episode we discuss trauma associated with sickness but also the sudden loss of our guests son, which we know can be distressing. It might be a lot to take in, so if you need a breather— take a break, come back later or skip this episode if it is too much. There is a strong leadership message in our discussion, and we haven’t delved into the underlying grief and trauma (because we aren’t qualified to), but understand this may be a lot for people to hear ** Gail Lloyd has experienced significant grief and trauma but she refuses to let it define who she is, or how she leads her life.  After losing both her parents within 12 months of each other, her 26 year old son suddenly and unexpectedly passed away due to a reaction to the medication he had been put on whilst on the waiting list for psychological help.  You would think this would be enough for the family to endure, but then, early last year, Gail received a breast cancer diagnosis. Gail shares her story, what she has learned and how she has applied that in her role as a leader.  She is vulnerable and willing to share what she has learned as she showed up for some of the toughest days anyone could ever imagine, let alone live through. Gail shares her story with us to help Matthew’s legacy live on. While her story is confronting, Gail tells it with breath taking honesty and vulnerability and is even some humour.  "I have learnt so much through these experiences, but my greatest wish is no one else has to go through the extremes I have been through to find similar life and work lessons . . ."Some key messages Gail shares:I have learnt I'm not indispensable, other people can do things that I was doing, even if they sometimes do them differently or if things sometimes need adjusting afterwards. If you aren't at work and your team continues to function in a strong manner, you've done your job properly.  I have learnt that delegation is really good and really important, if you keep waiting till you think you've got time to teach someone something properly it will never happen.Find the right professional help that is right for you if you need it. Don't wait till something goes wrong to address succession planning, it is so importantHave a no blame culture, make it safe for people to admit they made a mistake, then work as a team to fix and learn from it. Don't make them feel like they will get into trouble.Work on your negotiating skills, if you know something is important, have the difficult conversations and find a solution. **During this episode we discuss the challenges of mental health  which we know may be distressing for some. So if you need resources or support please visit beyondblue.org or for 24 hour free counselling in Australia, the number for Want to check out how Authentic your organisation is? Take our free online Authentimeter Assessment tool hereYou can find full shownotes for this episode and more here Visit our website The Real Learning ExperienceFollow us on instagram or Linked InGot a question for the Podcast? You can drop us a voice message via instagram or email us at: [email protected] to our Podcasting producer, Josh at Deadset Podcasting for all his work behind the scenes. Thanks for listening!

Three weeks ago we asked our network if we had any leaders that would like to join us on the podcast - we have been blown away by the response! We are so excited to bring you the next few episodes where we speak to these leaders.  The Good: Simon talks about a recent experience of Leadership he had in a local sporting environment he is a part ofThe Bad: (8:00) This week we celebrated 30 years since Simon started The Real Learning Experience. Simon gives  us an insight into how The Real Learning Experience came about being created back in 1993.The What: Kirralea shares a funny example she saw during the week where a council in Melbourne, Victoria Aus resurfaced a road that had a car parked on it - so went around the parked car.Worth the Time: Simon has gone back for another episode on the Netflix series Live to Lead - Gloria Steinham.   Words of Authenticity:   The conditions for growth. It is not possible for growth unless two things exists: 1. They must know that a gap exists and 2. They have to care about the gapWe discuss and unpack this quote that we often use in our workshops.  Our Guest:  Todays episode, we spoke with John Hardy, CEO RSL Tasmania was kindly nominated by his Ops Manager Jo. John is the ultimate story teller, and takes us on his own leadership journey which started in the UK Military and has led him to now being CEO of RSL Tasmania, and living in his own slice of paradise near Hobart. His ability to always remember where he began and the challenges he has had throughout life leads him to be an incredibly grounded and insightful leader - and a bit of a character that we just loved listening to. There was very little interviewing in todays episode because John just told his story, and we listened and learned. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did. You can connect to John via Linked In hereWant to check out how Authentic your organisation is? Take our free online Authentimeter Assessment tool hereYou can find full shownotes for this episode and more here Visit our website The Real Learning ExperienceFollow us on instagram or Linked InGot a question for the Podcast? You can drop us a voice message via instagram or email us at: [email protected] to our Podcasting producer, Josh at Deadset Podcasting for all his work behind the scenes. Thanks for listening!

Leadership Silicon Valley Style - Aaron Sarnoff @ Next Door. Our first episode for 2023, its great to be back recording! Todays episode:The Good - The Cycling Podcast - "The Team of the Year" Podcast episode.  You can listen to this episode here. Topics discussed in this episode: - Disruptive v Destructive - Creating change and innovation - "The Dennis Rodman" of the team-  Honest but not personal discussions- the road to team success at times travels through discomfort The Bad - The Three Leadership Qualities that Elon Musk replacement at Tesla should have. Simon discusses how there could be some other aspects that have been forgotten about in this article. The ‘What The’ -  Elon Musk breaks world record for largest loss of personal fortune in historyWorth the Time: Live to Lead on Netflix - Jacinda ArdernWords of Authenticity:  "The golden bookends of high performance are clear expectations and feedback"  - Simon Thiessen.The Guest:27:30Aaron Sarnoff left Facebook to join Next Door as the had of Engineering and Growth. Nextdoor is where you connect to the neighborhoods that matter to you so you can belong. By bringing neighbors and organizations together, we can cultivate a kinder world where everyone has a neighborhood they can rely on.  Their goal is to bring Next Door to every single neighbourhood, in every single country.  Aaron leads a team of around 70 engineering managers. He has been at Next Door for the past 3 years, and prior to that worked on the Facebook messenger team for 8 years. He was the 2nd Android engineer on the messenger team and saw their team grow to around 800 people. In this episode Aaron talks about the different between cultures at Facebook compared to Next Door, but also what makes him so passionate about his leadership role at Next Door. Specifically he talks about culture and expectations, the way people behave within the organisation and reinforcing the behaviours that support the culture they are buildingWant to check out how Authentic your organisation is? Take our free online Authentimeter Assessment tool hereYou can find full shownotes for this episode and more here Visit our website The Real Learning ExperienceFollow us on instagram or Linked InGot a question for the Podcast? You can drop us a voice message via instagram or email us at: [email protected] to our Podcasting producer, Josh at Deadset Podcasting for all his work behind the scenes. Thanks for listening!

As the close of 2022 approaches, we encourage leaders to ask - Will you be a better leader in 2023 than you were in 2022? Great leaders are constantly improving through a process of reflection and planning. In this episode, we share a simple framework – and unpack the reflection and planning process of four exceptional leaders we work with, as well as discussing our own plans to grow as leaders in 2023.Episode outline: At the end of a year, people often make New Year’s resolutions – and the majority fail to stick to those resolutions for any meaningful timeThat happens for a few reasons – they are made on a whim and often over a few too many drinks – but there are a couple of critical lessons for leaders who want to be an even better leader in 2022The first is that many resolutions are made without doing any real reflection. Before looking forward, it is useful to look back and identify the connection between actions and outcomesThe second is that most resolutions are just statements of intent with no specific actions to support themIn this episode, we will be using a simple framework for reflecting on 2021 and setting some targets for 2022. It is called STOP-START-CONTINUEWe will hear submissions from four leaders we work with – and will unpack their reflection and planning with some specific tipsWe will also share our own STOP-START-CONTINUE The aim is that we will inspire you to undertake a similar reflection and give you some tips to do it effectivelyAn overview of the frameworkSTOP – what did you do in 2021 that wasn’t helpful in achieving the leadership outcomes you wanted  (and that you will stop doing in 2022)START – what new habit or action could you commence in 2022 that will help you become an even better leaderCONTINUE – what worked well for you as a leader in 2021, and that you will continue in 202As you identify actions, ask the question, ‘how will I do that?’ When that feels like a redundant question, you have probably been specific enough – you are looking for simple, repeatable actionsOur guests for todays episode that share their own Stop, Start and Continue are:David Osman - a facilitation partner and team member of TRLERashelle Leahy - our TRLE Marketing Manager - The Social BeaverKathryn Keenihan -  Executive Manager People & Culture - JunctionJo Preece - National Training Manager, R & J BatteriesBrett Baillie - Chief Operations Officer, ResvuWant to check out how Authentic your organisation is? Take our free online Authentimeter Assessment tool hereYou can find full shownotes for this episode and more here Visit our website The Real Learning ExperienceFollow us on instagram or Linked InGot a question for the Podcast? You can drop us a voice message via instagram or email us at: [email protected] to our Podcasting producer, Josh at Deadset Podcasting for all his work behind the scenes. Thanks for listening!

Todays episode:The Good - Simon shares a story about a recent happening that made him realise the strong link to leadership and trust and what a privelage it is when you have it. The Bad - The Tossa from Tesla continues... we discuss recent reports that the Twitter takeover is starting to take its effect on Tesla brandingThe ‘What The’ -  Last week in South Korea, country leaders decided to change the laws around the way a persons age is calculated, we discuss how this relates to leadership and some organisations need to make rules, and more rules whilst forgetting about intention. You can read about this here.  Words of Authenticity: Simon recently said this in one of our sessions, and we chat about how this plays out in the workplace - ”There are very few remarkably good or poor people in the workplace. There are just people responding to the workplace culture and the leadership they are exposed to”. Worth the Time: This weeks resource is a book Kirralea often refers to in facilitation with our clients, written by Tim Gallway called The Inner Game of Tennis. Not just for tennis lovers, in fact you dont have to understand tennis at all. In this book Tim talks about how everything in life is a game and although the outer game may change (the players, rules, objectives) the Inner Game (the struggle against things like anxiety, loss of focus and self doubt) is common to just about every new challenge we face. “The key to better tennis, or better anything - lies in improving the relationship between the conscious teller (Self 1) and the unconscious automatic doer (Self 2).”The Guest: Jack Wanderman is an experienced product manager with a history in consumer electronics hardware, autonomous technology, and user experience development. Extremely enthusiastic about robots and generally excited to turn new technology into tangible products that people can actually use - as described by him on his Linked in profile.Having worked in Silicon Valley at tech giant Apple, and now Waymo we have a great discussion about what culture looks like at each of these organisations. For those of you who have not heard of Waymo - it is an autonomous driving technology company with a mission to make it safe and easy for people and things toWant to check out how Authentic your organisation is? Take our free online Authentimeter Assessment tool hereYou can find full shownotes for this episode and more here Visit our website The Real Learning ExperienceFollow us on instagram or Linked InGot a question for the Podcast? You can drop us a voice message via instagram or email us at: [email protected] to our Podcasting producer, Josh at Deadset Podcasting for all his work behind the scenes. Thanks for listening!

In this episode we discuss Elon Musk and the recent middle of the night email he has sent all Twitter staff.At 2 a.m. on Wednesday November 16th, Musk sent an email to all Twitter employees telling them to be “extremely hardcore” and work “long hours at high intensity,” the Washington Post reported.All employees have to agree to this new workflow by 5pm Thursday – around 40 hours after the email was sent – or they will be fired and given three months of severance. Musks message said, his subject line was “a fork in the road”. While it is unclear how many employees had chosen to stay, the numbers certainly highlight reluctance of most to stay at a company where its owner has ruthlessly changed the culture to emphasise long hours at such an intense pace.Want to check out how Authentic your organisation is? Take our free online Authentimeter Assessment tool hereYou can find full shownotes for this episode and more here Visit our website The Real Learning ExperienceFollow us on instagram or Linked InGot a question for the Podcast? You can drop us a voice message via instagram or email us at: [email protected] to our Podcasting producer, Josh at Deadset Podcasting for all his work behind the scenes. Thanks for listening!

Nick Reynolds is a Director of Engineering for Core Experiences @ Discord, a runner, a dog parent and a party animal (as described by him on his Discord profile!) Having worked throughout Silicon Valley (Facebook, Air BNB) giving him the experience to know about the culture within Silicon Valley tech giants as well as what good leadership looks like. In this episode we talk about: Podcast rebrand3:30 - The Good, The Bad and the WHAT THEThe Good – Facebook redundancysThe Bad – Elon Musk and his middle-of-the-night email to all staffWhat The? – Australian Netball and Gina Rinehart14:10 - Words of Authenticity17:10 - Resource recommendation: Podcast - Max Gawn - The Comment That Changed Everything25:00 - Guest Introduction28:00 - Interview with Nick ReynoldsA little bit about Discord, who they are and what they doHis journey from Australia to Silicon ValleyThe fork in the road - Individual Contributor and LeadershipChoosing leadership because you align with the roleEmpowering people to make decisions and have ownershipPerceived Authority "Is this a one way decision"?Remotely hired, and working during CovidThe culture differences in Silicon ValleyThe way Discord articulate and live their values1:07:00 - Simon and Kirralea debrief interviewDiscord and the first 60 days for employeesLeadership & Management structure @ DiscordHorizontal shifts from technical leader to people leaderPerceived Authority creating barriers for people to make decisions"Is this a one way decision"Framing a difficult conversation - the goal, the gap and the reality. Want to check out how Authentic your organisation is? Take our free online Authentimeter Assessment tool hereYou can find full shownotes for this episode and more here Visit our website The Real Learning ExperienceFollow us on instagram or Linked InGot a question for the Podcast? You can drop us a voice message via instagram or email us at: [email protected] to our Podcasting producer, Josh at Deadset Podcasting for all his work behind the scenes. Thanks for listening!