In this series, Luke Darcy is joined by iconic leaders to unpack learnings and life lessons from these game changers in their chosen field, whether it’s sports, art, business or education. We’ll break down the fundamentals of the new style of leadership, such as collaboration, integrity and innovation, through the stories of these iconic leaders.
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August 25, 202653 min
Chris Judd: The Mindset of an Outlier - From AFL Legend to Investment Powerhouse
Chris Judd is one of the most decorated players in AFL history, but his second chapter is proving to be equally as compelling as his first. In this conversation, Chris discusses his transition from elite sport to the world of finance and investing, and the attributes and lessons he has carried across both careers. From the discipline required to think differently and stay calm under pressure, to why great leaders are the most important factor when investing in a business, you’ll hear the mindset behind Chris’s approach to success. He also shares how he got his start in finance, tracking all the way back to the beginning of his AFL career, and a conscious decision to avoid media commentary of his performance. You’ll also hear about the importance of financial literacy, AI and the future of work, family, leadership, and why knowing yourself is the most important skill of all. … Aleda Connect was created to provide unique collaborative opportunities for leaders at the top of their fields. We connect a small but diverse group of successful leaders who understand the challenges of high-level leadership. With them, they bring their willingness to share, learn and grow. Aleda Connect provides a supportive, confidential environment where creativity and connection thrive. Ready to be in the room with exceptional leaders? Take the next step here: https://bit.ly/3IYnLrS Empowering Leaders is proudly partnered with Victoria University. Find more information about studying at VU here . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
August 18, 202627 min
Nick Truelson: Using the Power of Sport to Create Meaningful Change
Nick Truelson's career has taken him from a university work experience placement at Cadbury Schweppes, to senior leadership roles at some of Australia's most iconic sporting organisations. He has played integral roles at the AFL’s Essendon and Western Bulldogs football clubs, and now, he serves as CEO of the NBL’s Melbourne United basketball team. During his time as CCO of the Western Bulldogs, Nick played a pivotal role in the development of the Sons of the West Men’s Health Program, using the power of sport and community to support the health and wellbeing of men in Melbourne’s west. An achievement he reflects on as being one of his proudest to this day. You’ll hear Nick’s beautiful approach to leadership, including the importance of maintaining curiosity, and building genuine relationships with those around you. He also shares the powerful story of Melbourne United player Isaac Humphries coming out publicly, and what it meant to create an environment where a player felt safe enough to be his true, authentic self. This episode is a masterclass in what’s possible when you use your time to help others, nurture relationships, and work together to create something that really matters. … We’re so proud to have Nick as part of our Aleda Connect community. Aleda Connect was created to provide unique collaborative opportunities for leaders at the top of their fields. We connect a small but diverse group of successful leaders who understand the challenges of high-level leadership. With them, they bring their willingness to share, learn and grow. Aleda Connect provides a supportive, confidential environment where creativity and connection thrive. Ready to be in the room with exceptional leaders like Nick? Take the next step here: https://bit.ly/3IYnLrS Empowering Leaders is proudly partnered with Victoria University. Find more information about studying at VU here . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
August 11, 202641 min
Ben Cousins + Scott Miller: Addiction, Recovery, and the Courage to Ask for Help
Ben Cousins and Scott Miller have both experienced the extraordinary highs that come with sporting greatness. However, behind the wins and accolades, they were both fighting personal battles that would eventually play out on a very public stage. In this conversation, Ben and Scott open up about their experiences with finding (and losing) their identity through sport, the terrifying spiral into addiction, and the role that prison played in forcing the change they both needed to recover. Ultimately, this conversation is one that looks at the most important leadership of all - self-leadership, and the role it plays in re-discovering yourself, re-defining your purpose, and re-building your life from the ground up. … Aleda Connect was created to provide unique collaborative opportunities for leaders at the top of their fields. We connect a small but diverse group of successful leaders who understand the challenges of high-level leadership. With them, they bring their willingness to share, learn and grow. Aleda Connect provides a supportive, confidential environment where creativity and connection thrive. Ready to be in the room with exceptional leaders? Take the next step here: https://bit.ly/3IYnLrS Empowering Leaders is proudly partnered with Victoria University. Find more information about studying at VU here . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
August 4, 202635 min
Dr Lucy Hone: How to Rebuild a Meaningful Life When the Unimaginable Happens
Dr Lucy Hone has spent her career researching resilience, wellbeing and human flourishing. But when her 12-year-old daughter Abi was tragically killed in a car accident, the science she had dedicated her life to suddenly became deeply personal. In this profoundly moving conversation, Lucy shares the lessons she has learned from both decades of research and her own experience of grief. She speaks about why adversity is an unavoidable part of life, how we can become active participants in our own recovery, and the practical habits that help us navigate both death and the "living losses" that so many people face, from divorce and illness, to career setbacks and unexpected life change. She also discusses the importance of self-compassion, psychological safety, embracing struggle rather than avoiding it, and why resilience isn't about pretending everything is OK; it’s about finding hope, meaning and purpose, even when life doesn't go to plan. Find out more about Lucy's work here . … Aleda Connect was created to provide unique collaborative opportunities for leaders at the top of their fields. We connect a small but diverse group of successful leaders who understand the challenges of high-level leadership. With them, they bring their willingness to share, learn and grow. Aleda Connect provides a supportive, confidential environment where creativity and connection thrive. Ready to be in the room with exceptional leaders? Take the next step here . Empowering Leaders is proudly partnered with Victoria University. Find more information about studying at VU here . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
July 28, 202651 min
Tom Allen: A Peek Behind The Curtain of Arsenal’s Transformation
Tom Allen has spent more than 15 years at the highest level of professional football, including leadership roles at Aston Villa and Arsenal FC, where he helped shape one of the Premier League's most admired high-performance environments. Tom shares the leadership principles that transformed Arsenal from a club in turmoil, into Premier League champions under Mikel Arteta. You’ll hear some of the creatively brilliant strategies used to deliver messages with lasting impact, and the importance of curiosity, connection and clarity in creating a club where culture, not tactics, are their biggest competitive advantage. This episode explores what leaders in every industry can learn from elite sport. From creating psychological safety to build genuine trust across teams, to embracing continuous learning that allows people to perform at their very best, there’s something here for everyone. You can listen to the live podcast in London with Mikel Arteta and Steve Kerr that Tom references in this episode here and Luke's conversation with Milwaukee Bucks' Troy Flanagan here. We’re so proud to have Tom - and many others from Arsenal’s leadership team - as part of our Aleda Connect community. … Aleda Connect was created to provide unique collaborative opportunities for leaders at the top of their fields. We connect a small but diverse group of successful leaders who understand the challenges of high-level leadership. With them, they bring their willingness to share, learn and grow. Aleda Connect provides a supportive, confidential environment where creativity and connection thrive. Ready to be in the room with exceptional leaders? Take the next step here: https://bit.ly/49tn4AD Empowering Leaders is proudly partnered with Victoria University. Find more information about studying at VU here . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
July 21, 202638 min
Bruce Djite: How Elite Sport Shapes Business Success
Former professional footballer and Socceroo Bruce Djite knows what it takes to perform at the highest level on the field, but his most impressive achievement may be what came AFTER football. After retiring from a sporting career that saw him play across five countries, including representing Australia on the world stage, Bruce made the successful transition from elite sport into executive leadership. In this conversation, Bruce shares the mindset that made that transition possible, and the leadership lessons he's carried from the football pitch into the boardroom, where he now serves as Executive Director of the Property Council of South Australia. Bruce reflects on the power of perseverance, resilience and preparation required to make it as a professional athlete, and how those traits become the greatest benefits former athletes bring to the workplace. He also opens up about balancing a demanding career with family life, what success looks like in this season of his life, and why making time for the people who matter most is his greatest priority. ... Aleda Connect was created to provide unique collaborative opportunities for leaders at the top of their fields. We connect a small but diverse group of successful leaders who understand the challenges of high-level leadership. With them, they bring their willingness to share, learn and grow. Aleda Connect provides a supportive, confidential environment where creativity and connection thrive. Ready to be in the room with exceptional leaders? Take the next step here: https://bit.ly/49tn4AD Empowering Leaders is proudly partnered with Victoria University. Find more information about studying at VU here . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
July 14, 202642 min
Chris Lendrum: Winning with Mana: Why HOW You Win Matters at New Zealand Rugby
For more than two decades, Chris Lendrum has been immersed in the world of elite sport. A significant period of that time was spent leading the systems, culture and people behind one of the world's most successful high-performance sporting organisations, New Zealand Rugby, where he worked with the All Blacks, Black Ferns and the Olympic gold medal-winning sevens teams. In this episode of Empowering Leaders , Chris shares the leadership principles that have driven sustained success at the highest level of world sport. From building trust through connection and creating teams that thrive under pressure, to making difficult leadership decisions with empathy and integrity, he generously offers practical lessons that apply to leaders across all industries. At the heart of this conversation is the beautiful and powerful Māori concept of winning with mana, and the belief that success isn't just about the result, but about how you achieve it. Learn. Lead. Collaborate. Aleda Connect was created to provide unique collaborative opportunities for leaders at the top of their fields. We connect a small but diverse group of successful leaders who understand the challenges of high-level leadership. With them, they bring their willingness to share, learn and grow. Aleda Connect provides a supportive, confidential environment where creativity and connection thrive. Ready to be in the room with exceptional leaders? Take the next step here: https://bit.ly/3IYnLrS Empowering Leaders is proudly partnered with Victoria University. Find more information about studying at VU here . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
July 7, 202630 min
Sally Gould: The Art of Staying Calm Under Extreme Pressure: Advice from a Paramedic
As an intensive care paramedic, Sally Gould has spent over 15 years on the front lines of emergency medicine, witnessing both the chaos of life-and-death situations and the quiet resilience that defines her profession. In this episode of Empowering Leaders, Sally reveals how she stays calm in high-pressure situations, the role humour and humanity play in managing trauma, and why empathy is one of the most important skills in a crisis. She also shares her thoughts on why building trust through great leadership, camaraderie and emotional support isn’t just advised - it’s critical. Whether you lead a team, work in a high-pressure environment, or simply want to maintain composure when life gets stressful, this episode is packed with practical insights and advice you’ll want to add to your life skills tool kit. You can learn more about Sally’s life and career in her brilliant memoir, Frog: The Secret Diary of a Paramedic. Find out more here . Learn. Lead. Collaborate. Start your leadership journey today with Aleda Connect, our signature, cross industry collaboration program. Curated and facilitated by experts, running for 8 fortnightly sessions, Aleda Connect really is the learning experience of a life-time. Curious about what makes us so different? Head here and we'd love to tell you more. Empowering Leaders is proudly partnered with Victoria University. Find more information about studying at VU here . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
June 30, 202639 min
Bryony Cole: Intimacy, AI and What It Means to Be Human
What happens to our relationships when the most available, most responsive, most patient listener in our lives is an AI? Bryony Cole has been sitting with that question longer than almost anyone. As the founder of the Future of Sex platform, she stepped into one of the most uncomfortable conversations a person could choose to have, more than a decade ago, and never looked back. What started as a curiosity about technology and sexuality has expanded into something far broader: a serious, global reckoning with what intimacy, loneliness, and human connection look like in an increasingly digital world. In this conversation, Luke and Bryony go to places that feel both strange and surprisingly close to home. From children in Australia using AI for companionship, to couples outsourcing their arguments to ChatGPT, to the very real question of what it means when your partner turns to an algorithm instead of you at 3am, this is a conversation that holds a mirror up to habits most of us already have but haven't fully examined. Bryony is not an alarmist. She is also not naive. She calls herself a through-topian: someone who believes we will find our way through, but only if we are honest about what we are already doing and clear about what we want to protect. Learn. Lead. Collaborate. Start your leadership journey today with Aleda Connect, our signature, cross industry collaboration program. Curated and facilitated by experts, running for 8 fortnightly sessions, Aleda Connect really is the learning experience of a life-time. Curious about what makes us so different? Head here and we'd love to tell you more. Empowering Leaders is proudly partnered with Victoria University. Find more information about studying at VU here . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
June 23, 202649 min
Matt Wadewitz: What 250 Episodes Taught Us About Leadership
There's a moment in this conversation where Matt Wadewitz describes getting a phone call at 3am. He'd saved the name in his phone just in case - because he'd hoped it was coming. The voice on the other end had a beautiful Spanish accent. It was Mikel Arteta. That call is a good entry point into who Matt is and what he's built. Because Aleda Connect - the global leadership program he co-founded with Luke - didn't find Mikel Arteta through a cold pitch or a clever marketing strategy. It found him the same way it's found nearly every one of its 700-plus members: through word of mouth, through one curious leader telling another, through the simple and powerful idea that great people want to be around other great people. This is episode 250 of Empowering Leaders, and it felt right to mark it with the person who was there for episode one. Matt and Luke go back further than Aleda - further than podcasting, further than leadership development - all the way to a cold Saturday morning at South Adelaide when a tall kid showed up without having trained, nicked Matt's position on the team, and still somehow left with a new best mate. In this conversation they go back to the beginning. The ankle injury that ended Matt's AFL dream the night before he was supposed to sign with Essendon. The year he took a group of disengaged kids to a beach in Adelaide and told them they were going to solve an unsolved murder. The conversation with Luke where he was expecting a high-five and instead got talked out of a job he was about to take. And the question Luke put to him that changed everything: why not just take it further? Eleven years later, the answer to that question is a community of leaders spanning sport, business, the arts, and everything in between - connected not by industry or geography, but by the shared conviction that you can always be better for the people you lead. People mentioned and their conversations with Luke on Empowering Leaders Steve Kerr & Mikel Arteta LIVE: The Leadership Playbook Emma Hayes LIVE from London: For Women, By Women, Football & Beyond Dr Troy Flanagan: Making history in the NBA with a 'no burnout' mindset John Bertrand - Achieving the impossible Eddie Jones - Striving to be the greatest of all time Dr Michael Hewitt-Gleeson - The Thinking Teacher (Part 1) Ben Northey — conductor, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Anna West — sleep specialist, Arsenal FC Craig McRae — Collingwood AFC head coach, Aleda member Stacey Morlang — Aleda team member Timmy Bristow — school principal, Aleda member, previous podcast guest Paul Waterson — founder, Australian Venue Co., Aleda member Luke Beveridge — Western Bulldogs head coach Neale Daniher — episode with daughter Bec Daniher — CEO of FightMND Learn. Lead. Collaborate. Start your leadership journey today. Meet with co-founder Matt Wadewitz or one of the amazing Aleda Connect facilitators to learn how you can grow within our signature leadership program. Head here to find out more about our signature, cross industry collaboration program, Aleda Connect. Curated and facilitated by experts, running for 8 fortnightly or monthly sessions, Aleda Connect is the learning experience of a life-time. Empowering Leaders is proudly partnered with Victoria University. Find more information about studying at VU here . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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