Work and Wellness

Have you ever felt stuck but couldn't quite explain why — or felt like you were doing all the right things but still felt deeply unsatisfied?

In this episode, I sit down with Dr Emily Musgrove, clinical psychologist, author and resident psychologist on The Imperfects podcast, to explore the psychology behind why we feel stuck, what we're really searching for beneath the surface, and what it actually takes to build a life that feels meaningful rather than just successful.

Emily brings over 15 years of clinical experience and a refreshingly honest perspective — including her own experience of a breast cancer diagnosis that completely reframed how she thinks about resilience.

We get into the difference between belonging and fitting in, why people pleasing quietly costs us our identity over time, what the research says about meaning versus purpose, and the one psychological skill Emily believes every leader needs above all else.

Key Topics
What resilience actually means and why it has nothing to do with holding it together
The difference between belonging and fitting in and why fitting in is exhausting
How people pleasing quietly erodes your sense of self over time
Why feeling stuck is not a problem to fix, it's a signal to pay attention to
The difference between meaning and purpose and why purpose doesn't have to come from work
The one psychological skill Emily says every leader needs: curiosity

Show Notes 

Emily's Book is Unstuck: A Guide to Finding Your Way Forward to Live the Life You Want to Live — ⁠available here. ⁠

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dremilymusgrove/ 

Join Emily's ⁠mailing list⁠ to be the first to hear about her upcoming membership community focused on finding meaning and purpose in midlife.

As AI takes over more of what we do at work, the question isn't whether your job will change. It's whether you're developing the skills that machines simply can't replicate.

In this episode, I sit down with Sonia Clarke, collaboration designer, facilitator and founder of Clever Manka, to explore what it really means to work well with other humans and why that skill has never mattered more. With over two decades of experience helping organisations communicate, think and work better together, Sonia brings a perspective that is equal parts rigorous and deeply human.

We get into why good collaboration never just happens, what the MIT research on high performing teams actually tells us, and why the way we work today was designed for factories — not knowledge workers. We also explore Sonia's upcoming book The Collective Code, which makes the case that there is another way to work, and it might be closer to how people worked hundreds of years ago than we think.

Key Topics
Why good collaboration has to be intentionally designed and what most organisations get wrong
The three things MIT research found in every high performing team
Why the modern work day was built for factories and is fundamentally broken for knowledge work
The human skills that will matter most as AI reshapes the workforce
How to build trust and deeper relationships in hybrid and remote environments
What collectives are, why they're growing, and what they mean for the future of work
Why women are leaving the workforce — and why that should concern all of us

About Sonia
Sonia Clarke is a collaboration designer, facilitator, writer, yoga and meditation teacher, and the founder of Clever Manka. With more than two decades of experience helping organisations communicate, think and work better together, Sonia brings a unique blend of corporate expertise and human-centred leadership. Her career spans senior leadership roles including Director at PwC's Future of Work Practice and leader of its creative communications business. She is the author of The Collective Code newsletter and is currently writing a book of the same name — exploring the human skills that will matter most as technology continues to reshape how we live and work.

Connect with Sonia
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sonia-clarke 
Substack: substack.soniaclarke.com

Resources Mentioned
Humankind by Rutger Bregman
John Demartini Values Process 

Keywordscollaboration, future of work, human skills, AI, collective intelligence, remote work, hybrid work, trust, wellbeing, leadership

What if burnout isn't the price of success — but actually a sign you're doing it wrong?

In this episode I sit down with Alex Davids, founder of Next Evolution Performance and high performance coach to CEOs and executives across the globe, to challenge one of the most persistent myths in leadership culture. That working yourself into the ground is what it takes to get to the top.

Alex brings over 20 years of experience combining psychology, applied neuroscience and business strategy — and her message is clear. True high performers don't burn out. They learn to understand how their brain works, build recovery into their day, and operate in a way that is sustainable for the long haul. We get into the neuroscience of decision making under pressure, why your values and your behaviours are probably telling two very different stories, and the surprisingly simple tools that can completely change the way you perform and lead. This one is practical, science-backed and full of things you can do today.

KEY TOPICS
Why burnout is not a badge of honour — it's a sign your performance isn't actually sustainable
How AI is creating a brand new kind of burnout that nobody is talking about
The neuroscience of what happens to your brain under pressure — and the fastest way back
A simple values exercise using nothing but sticky notes and your bank account
Why the brain can only truly do deep work for four to five hours a day — and what to do about it
Three non-negotiables Alex gives every leader: breath, phone-free focus time, and real recovery breaks
The difference between control and choice — and why it changes everything

CONNECT WITH ALEX

Website: nextevolutionperformance.com

LinkedIn: Alexandra Davids

Free monthly webinars: 20 minutes of neuroscience and leadership content + 20 minutes live Q&A — recordings available. Join via the website.
John Demartini Values Process — a free online tool to help you identify your true values based on where you spend your time, money and energy. Find it at drdemartini.com

What if the success you've been chasing is sitting on the wrong mountain entirely?

In this episode I sit down with Cooper Chapman, former professional surfer, founder of The Good Human Factory and author of The One Percent Good Club, to talk about one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves — why do so many successful people still feel unhappy?

Cooper spent years ranked in the top hundred surfers in the world, doing what he loved, living what looked like a dream life from the outside. But internally, he was riding a rollercoaster that tied his entire sense of self-worth to his results. It wasn't until he shifted from chasing external achievement to living by his values that everything changed.

Since then he has delivered wellbeing programs to over 75,000 students, spoken at the United Nations, and built a free global gratitude community with over 5,000 members. His message is simple, practical and backed by science — and this episode is full of it

Key Topics
Why basing your identity and self-worth on achievement is a trap — and what to anchor to instead
The five values Cooper identifies as fundamental for good mental health
The treadmill of life — why mental health requires daily action, not just awareness
Why high performers are especially vulnerable to a dysregulated nervous system
The one habit Cooper says has had the biggest impact on his mental health
How to build deeper connection in a world that's wider but lonelier than ever
The simple, free foundations that will move the needle on your wellbeing before any gadget or hack will

About Cooper
Cooper Chapman is the founder of The Good Human Factory, a movement dedicated to improving mental health through simple, practical habits. A former professional surfer ranked in the top hundred in the world, Cooper's own mental health journey sparked a passion for making wellbeing accessible and actionable. He is the author of The One Percent Good Club, and has delivered wellbeing programs to over 75,000 students and more than 100 organisations including Apple, Telstra, Red Bull, Amazon and Westpac. He has spoken at the United Nations Climate Change Conference and hosts the Good Humans Podcast.

Connect with Cooper
Website: thegoodhumanfactory.com
Instagram: @thegoodhumanfactory
Book: The One Percent Good Club — available on Amazon or signed copies at thegoodhumanfactory.com.

What if everything you were told about getting promoted was actually setting you up to struggle?

In this episode, I'm sharing something a little different — no guest this week, just me and 10 things I wish someone had told me before I stepped into my first leadership role. I did a LinkedIn post on this recently and the response told me there was more to say. So this is me going deeper.

Because here's the truth: most people are promoted into leadership because they're great at their job. Not because they've been trained to lead. And those are two completely different things. What follows is usually a quiet kind of struggle — the replaying of conversations at night, the urge just to do it yourself, the desperate wanting to be liked — that nobody warned you about and that too few people talk about honestly.

This one is for every new leader trying to find their feet, every experienced leader who never got the foundation they deserved, and anyone sitting on the edge of a leadership role, wondering if they're ready.

Key Topics
Why becoming a leader is a complete career change — not just a promotion — and why businesses keep getting this wrong
The accidental counsellor problem: what to do when your team brings their personal struggles to work and why it's not your job to fix them
Hero mode and why swooping in to do the work yourself is actually undermining your team — not helping them
The trap of wanting to be liked and the shift from being liked to being respected
How to communicate decisions you don't fully agree with — or weren't given full context on — in a way that still motivates your team
Why leadership is the ultimate selfless act: giving credit down and taking accountability up
The case for fun — why injecting levity into your team isn't a nice-to-have, it's a performance strategy
What to do when you lay your head on the pillow replaying a conversation you're not proud of
Why repair matters more than perfection — and how to actually do it
The greatest gift of leadership: watching the people you led go on to do remarkable things

Keywords
leadership, new leaders, leadership lessons, first-time leader, management, team culture, difficult conversations, performance, coaching, wellbeing, professional development, career growth, workplace