Fireside Leadership Podcast

Aegis Leadership
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Every leader has a story. The Fireside Leadership Podcast explores the decisions, challenges and lessons that shape exceptional leaders across business, sport, the military and public service. Presented by Aegis Leadership, our mission is to make practical leadership conversations freely available to anyone who wants to lead better. Every episode delivers real-world lessons from people who have earned the right to speak through experience.

  1. 5d ago

    What Workplace Jokes Reveal About Your Team | Dr Allanah Johnston

    A joke in a meeting can lighten the mood. It can also say something people are hesitant to raise directly. Dr Allanah Johnston joins Chris to talk about her research into workplace humour and what it can reveal about trust, tension and team culture. They discuss the line between banter and a pointed remark, why leaders should not try to force humour, and how clips from The Office helped one organisation discuss workplace behaviour. The conversation also turns to change. Allanah explains why leaders should listen to people who push back: they may see consequences the change team has missed. Allanah is the founder of Future Calibrate, a consultancy focused on organisational change. Connect with Dr Allanah JohnstonFuture Calibrate: https://www.futurecalibrate.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-allanah-johnston-9973a812/ Connect with Aegis Leadershiphttps://www.aegisleadership.co.nz/ Thanks to Dark Horse Coffee for powering the showhttps://darkhorsecoffee.co.nz/

  2. Sep 13

    Why Capable Leaders Lose Control at Home | Jacqlin Richards

    Capable leaders can stay composed at work and still lose control at home. Jacqlin Richards says that is not a knowledge problem. It is a capacity problem. When pressure rises, the space between being triggered and reacting begins to disappear. We may know exactly how we want to respond but still find ourselves yelling, avoiding, shutting down or trying to keep everyone happy. Jacqlin is an international bestselling author and founder of the Resourced Parenting Method™. She joins Chris Turkington to discuss parenting as our first experience of leadership, the five survival states and the danger of needing your children or your team to like you. She also shares why she called the police on her seven-year-old son, what that moment taught her about firm boundaries and how her rewind tool helps repair the relationship after a reaction. This conversation is for parents and leaders who know how they want to behave but cannot always access that response when the pressure is on. Find Jacqlin, her book and the Resourced Parenting Method: https://jacqlinrichards.com/ Explore Aegis Leadership and the Fireside Leadership Podcast: https://www.aegisleadership.co.nz/fireside-leadership-podcast Thanks to Dark Horse Coffee for powering the Fireside Leadership Podcast. You can check out their latest roasts at: https://darkhorsecoffee.co.nz/

  3. Sep 13

    Why Grit Isn’t Enough: The Biology of Leadership | Rachel Taylor

    Most leaders know how they are supposed to lead. The harder question is whether they can still access that judgement, patience and self-control when their system is depleted. Rachel Taylor is a geneticist, biochemist and co-founder of Taylored Health. In this conversation, she challenges the idea that declining performance is always a grit or resilience problem. She explains how biology, behaviour, leadership and environment form a Capacity Wheel that can either build a leader or steadily drain them. Rachel and Chris explore why the same workload affects people differently, how chronic stress narrows attention and weakens judgement, why the people at home often notice depletion first, and what genetics may reveal about individual stress and recovery. They also examine why organisations invest heavily in leaders but continue treating their capacity as a private wellbeing issue. The central message is simple: the future of leadership is not about extracting more from people. It is about helping them become capable of more without constantly pushing. Learn more about Rachel and Taylored Health:https://taylored.health/ The Fireside Leadership Podcast is produced by Aegis Leadership and powered by Dark Horse Coffee. You can check the out below.https://darkhorsecoffee.co.nz/ https://www.aegisleadership.co.nz/ This conversation is for general information only and is not medical advice.

  4. Sep 6

    When Pushing Through Becomes the Problem | Josh Komen

    Josh Komen built his identity around being able to outwork almost anything. Then leukaemia took away his health, athletic future and the identity he had built around them. Josh is a former competitive New Zealand 800-metre runner, two-time acute myeloid leukaemia survivor, author, speaker, breathwork coach and father. In this conversation, Josh and Chris explore what happens when relentless effort becomes the only response you have. Josh discusses losing an identity built around performance, learning to ask for help and discovering that real strength sometimes means adapting rather than pushing harder. They also examine pressure, breathwork, resilience, fortitude, fatherhood and why our greatest strengths can become liabilities when they are used without flexibility. Connect with Josh: https://www.joshkomen.com/ Learn more about Aegis Leadership: https://www.aegisleadership.co.nz/ Thanks to Dark Horse Coffee for powering the Fireside Leadership Podcast, you can check out their latest roasts here: https://darkhorsecoffee.co.nz/ This episode includes discussion of cancer, depression and suicidal thoughts. In New Zealand, call or text 1737 at any time for free support. If there is an immediate risk to someone’s safety, call 111. CHAPTERS 00:00 When hard work becomes a trap 00:30 Meet Josh Komen 01:19 What running taught Josh 02:27 Discipline when motivation disappears 03:43 Visualisation and mental repetitions 07:41 Learning to tolerate pain 09:02 When discipline becomes a trap 11:14 Cancer and the loss of identity 12:48 The strength required to ask for help 17:11 Finding meaning after survival 18:18 Pressure, breathing and better decisions 23:08 Resilience versus fortitude 28:27 Why discomfort matters 33:42 Controlling attitude and attention 37:40 Redefining success 40:58 Fatherhood and protecting attention 43:35 Slow is fast 45:46 Connecting with Josh

  5. Aug 30

    Rejected Four Times. Then He Won Olympic Gold | Joe Sullivan

    Four junior trials. Four rejections. Then Joe Sullivan went on to win five consecutive World Rowing titles, Olympic gold and the America’s Cup twice with Emirates Team New Zealand. But the real story is not simply that Joe proved people wrong. It is what repeated doubt did to his self-belief, how easily systems can suppress exceptional talent and the difference made by people willing to fight for someone who has been overlooked. Joe takes Chris inside the London 2012 Olympic final, where he and Nathan Cohen came from the back of the field to win gold. He explains why Nathan told him they were “in the mix” when they weren’t, how rehearsing failure kept them calm and why complete trust mattered more than knowing their true position. He also speaks candidly about returning to rowing after the Olympics, losing the career and identity around which he had built his life, and the unexpected opportunity that eventually led him to Emirates Team New Zealand. For leaders, this episode offers a clear warning: when we confuse compliance with capability, we risk losing the people with the most to contribute. It is also a reminder of what becomes possible when someone is given belief, trust and a fair opportunity. Who are you missing? Learn more about Aegis Leadership:https://www.aegisleadership.co.nz Explore the Fireside Leadership Podcast:https://www.aegisleadership.co.nz/fireside-leadership-podcast Follow Joe Sullivan:https://www.instagram.com/sullivannz/ Thanks to Dark Horse Coffee for powering the showhttps://darkhorsecoffee.co.nz/

  6. Aug 24

    When Pressure Hits, Preparation Takes Over | Dougal Allan

    Pressure rarely arrives when life is orderly. When it hits, the quality of your preparation matters more than how confident or motivated you feel. Dougal Allan is a two-time Coast to Coast champion, endurance coach and America’s Cup winner. Across more than 20 years of elite competition, he learned how to remain present through pain, recover from failure and perform when the stakes were at their highest. In this conversation, Dougal explains why the process matters more than the finish line, what a failed Team New Zealand power test taught him about comparison, and how trust and role clarity operate inside a world-class team. He also shares how years of preparation allowed him to perform during the America’s Cup while facing significant upheaval in his personal life. This episode explores how to build preparation that survives pressure, uncertainty and self-doubt, so you can continue delivering when others depend on you. ABOUT DOUGAL ALLAN Website: https://dougalallan.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dougal_allan/ Lake Hāwea Epic: https://www.lakehaweaepic.co.nz/ ABOUT FIRESIDE LEADERSHIP Fireside Leadership shares honest conversations and practical ideas to help you become a better leader tomorrow. Learn more about leadership training, coaching and Aegis Leadership: https://www.aegisleadership.co.nz Thanks to our mates at Dark Horse Coffee for powering the podcast, you can check them out at: https://darkhorsecoffee.co.nz/ Subscribe for more conversations about leadership, high-performing teams and decision-making under pressure.

  7. Aug 15

    Why Trying to Have All the Answers Is a Leadership Trap | Marius van der Pol

    Marius van der Pol has operated inside two environments where weak leadership is quickly exposed: the NZSAS and Emirates Team New Zealand. In this conversation, Marius explains why effective leadership is not about having every answer. It is about setting clear standards, remaining calm under pressure and trusting capable people with genuine ownership. He shares what happened when he encountered a problem effort alone could not solve, why micromanagement removes accountability and how calm communication helped Team New Zealand respond to setbacks and dangerous moments. Marius also discusses discipline, fear of judgement and why taking a chance on someone’s potential can create extraordinary commitment. This is a practical conversation for leaders learning to relinquish control without lowering their standards. CONNECT WITH AEGIS LEADERSHIPLeadership coaching, team development and decision-making under pressure:https://www.aegisleadership.co.nzSubscribe to Fireside Leadership Podcast for genuine conversations and practical ideas that will help you become a better leader tomorrow.With thanks to Dark Horse Coffee for supporting Fireside LeadershipCheck out their new blends at https://darkhorsecoffee.co.nz/

  8. Aug 9

    You Don’t Need Confidence to Start Again | Nichole Lewis

    You do not need to feel confident before starting again. Sometimes action is what rebuilds belief. After losing her income, property portfolio and family home during the Global Financial Crisis, Nichole Lewis had to decide whether to retreat into safety or rebuild from the ground up. Her starting point included selling horse manure for $2 a bag while working out how to return to property with no money. In this conversation, Nichole explains how the right coach helped restore her sense of possibility, why values should guide major decisions and how she turns fear into a practical process of examining emotions, facts, choices and risk. Nichole and Chris also explore why doing nothing still carries risk, how small wins create momentum, the importance of measuring progress backwards and why worthwhile opportunities must be followed through to a definitive outcome. This is a practical conversation about starting again, acting before you feel ready and rebuilding self-belief one decision at a time. Connect with Nichole: https://www.thepropertylifestyle.com Q4 Property: https://www.q4property.co.nz/ Explore Aegis Leadership: https://www.aegisleadership.co.nz With thanks to Dark Horse Coffee for supporting Fireside Leadership. Check out their new blends at https://darkhorsecoffee.co.nz This conversation shares personal experiences and general information. It should not be treated as personalised financial advice.

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Every leader has a story. The Fireside Leadership Podcast explores the decisions, challenges and lessons that shape exceptional leaders across business, sport, the military and public service. Presented by Aegis Leadership, our mission is to make practical leadership conversations freely available to anyone who wants to lead better. Every episode delivers real-world lessons from people who have earned the right to speak through experience.

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