
Being Leaders Podcast
By Brett White


Keisha Gani: Challenging traditional leadership models
In this episode I am chatting with a super young leader, Keisha Gani, who was born and raised in Sri Lanka. Keisha is an emerging leader who is now working as the Acting Country Manager at SHE Investments, a social enterprise based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Keisha is passionate about creating opportunities for other young leaders to challenge traditional leadership models, try new things, fail, and learn from their mistakes - after all, that's the only way to grow! We chat about opportunity and permission, challenging traditional leadership models, imposter syndrome and releasing that special 'gift' in a person that sets them apart. www.sheinvestments.com

BLUE WEST: Shame, trusting yourself & being true to your own story.
In this episode, I am chatting with Blue West, a vulnerable, creative and colourful young leader from Sydney. Blue is a facilitator at 'The Man Cave', a charity organisation designed in delivering programs of Emotional Intelligence Skills to youth, in particular boys. Blue has had a spectrum of professional and personal experience in Leadership and Well-being across Australia and is an advocate for mental health and Queer inclusion for people of all ages. I have personally known Blue his whole life, and it was exciting to connect with them in this podcast. We chat about the power of shame, trusting and knowing yourself, owning your story and whole lot more. An honest, raw and insightful conversation, with another incredible young leader. www.themancave.life

LOUISA KECK: Feedback, taking risks, using your voice and relationships before results.

MOLLY TAYLOR: leading through volunteering, building resilience and sharing your story

HARRY MORTON: seeing the person first, before the role
In this episode I am chatting with an incredible human being & young leader, Harry Morton from Sydney, Australia. “If there’s one thing that drives everything in my life and every action I take, it’s people. Connecting with people, understanding them, supporting them & learning from them. From my involvement training and working with young people at the Reach Foundation as a teenager, studying the art of Journalism at University (spoiler: I never went on to become a Journo), to now working in the People & Culture team of a global tech scale-up, I’ve been exposed to some incredible leaders. Leaders who always saw the person first and the position or the outcome second. It’s this approach that has inspired me most in my relatively short experience of the world.”
www.mypassglobal.com

OLIVIA HOUGH: being the leader you want others to become
Olivia is also passionate about positive psychology, mental health, and the arts. She runs an initiative called ‘The Happiness Project Cambodia’ where she leads workshops on different wellbeing themes, and has run workshops on wellbeing for entrepreneurs, changemakers and NGOs across South East Asia.

KIMHOUR HOR: leading impoverished young people
In this episode I am chatting with an inspiring young leader, Kimhour. He is currently the leadership trainer at Cambodian Children's Fund in Phnom Penh, where he trains, mentors and equips impoverished high school students with leadership skills and behaviour. His story is inspiring, and we chat about mentoring, being grateful, overcoming limiting thoughts and believing in yourself.
www.cambodianchildrensfund.org

EMMETT GRAHAM: owning your leadership journey
In this episode, I am chatting with Emmett Graham from Melbourne. Emmett was probably what you could call the “typical leader” in high school; Good grades, the school captain, involved in numerous sports teams and music bands. Although after graduating, in an attempt to get away from everything “typical”, he spent all his savings on a 1984 campervan and travelled around the east coast of Australia. He spent a lot of time surfing or playing gigs (mostly so he could afford food or fuel to get to the next town!), but he also spent a lot of time meeting and speaking with so many different people. What was meant to be a fun trip after VCE became an experience that fostered a love for making connections with people, especially when those connections led to conversations about who we are and who we want to be.
Since then, Emmett has spent five years working and studying to learn more about those two questions; who are we, and who do we want to be? He received an undergraduate degree, majoring in Psychology, from the University of Melbourne. Through his involvement with organisations like The Reach Foundation, Batyr and Headspace, he has worked to design and deliver programs for over 100 000 young people across Australia.
Currently, he is studying his Honours in Psychology with the hope to one day run a clinical practice of his own where anyone can come to explore who they are and who they want to be.
www.reach.org.au

MATT DESTRY: self awareness, commitment, trust and permission.

PINY LY: Being a female, Asian and young leader in the Corporate world.
In this episode, I am chatting with an incredible young leader Piny Ly. Piny is now a Transformation Coach based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A former corporate M&A lawyer for 14 years in Sydney and Hong Kong, she moved to Cambodia 2 years ago to reconnect with her roots. She helps change makers, executives and aspiring leaders hone their authentic leadership skills for more purpose and impact in their lives.
www.pinyly.com

BONUS EPISODE: Chatting about insecurity, judgement, mentoring and accountability +more
In this BONUS episode, that I recorded last year, I am chatting with Steff Fenton. Steff Fenton (they/them) is Co-Pastor and Co-Founder of New City Church, an inclusive community exploring faith in new and engaging ways. Steff is also Uniting Church Chaplain at University of New South Wales and Chair of Equal Voices Sydney, an interdenominational network of LGBTIQA+ Christians and allies across Sydney. They have also just finished a Master of Divinity through the University of Divinity, writing a thesis about masculinity, male entitlement, and gender-expansiveness in the Gospel of Matthew. As a queer Christian leader, Steff is passionate about cultivating safe spiritual spaces for LGBTIQA+ people and others.

Resilience & Bullies: Brett with Julie Alexander, Head of Culture Shift
www.cultureincorporated.com.au

Embracing Failure: Brett with Manu Rajan, Divisional CEO for Wing Banking, Cambodia.

Trust and culture: Brett with Scott Neeson, founder and director of Cambodian Children’s Fund
Scott spent 26 years in the film industry, lastly as President of 20th Century Fox International, where he managed revenues in excess of $1.5 billion and oversaw the release and marketing of several blockbuster Hollywood films, including Braveheart, Titanic, Star Wars and X-Men. In 2004, Scott left the film industry to set up Cambodian Children’s Fund (CCF) after a life-changing visit to the Southeast Asian country. Paying for all of the start-up costs out of his own pocket, Scott started CCF to help just a handful of children. CCF now educates around 1,900 children living in one of the most impoverished parts of Phnom Penh and supports families with community-based projects. Since 2004, CCF has transformed thousands of the most impoverished kids into tomorrow's leaders.

Learning Self Leadership: Brett with Suzanne Storrie, non executive director, executive coach, mentor and keynote speaker.
In this episode, I'm chatting with Suzi Storrie on some of her fears, failures and freak outs in her leadership journey. For the past twenty years, she has successfully developed and led customer focused, strategic change initiatives in large organisations, including IAG, the NRL, Leighton Holdings, Commonwealth Bank, Qantas and Unisys, that have delivered improved governance, sustainable productivity improvements and innovation.
She is an inspiring leader and an experienced coach, mentor and key note speaker. She is passionate about the benefits of diversity and inclusion and has established and sponsored mentoring programs to grow and develop leaders and leadership networks at Surf Life Saving Australia, the National Rugby League and Insurance Australia Group. In 2019, Suzanne was awarded ISG Australia and New Zealand Paragon Leadership Award and life membership of Surf Life Saving Australia. She is an alumni of the Australian Financial Review/Qantas 100 Women of Influence (Boards and Management) and was the Australian Surf Life Saver of the Year in 1996.
She is a co-founder of UnRetreat, which supports leaders to achieve their career, health and life priorities.
For more information you can find Suzi at her executive coaching business here: www.skycoaching.org

Daily failures & the fear of being found out: Brett with John O'Sullivan, founder of Changing the Game Project, USA.
In this episode, I am chatting with John O'Sullivan, an incredible leader, speaker, coach and author. Internationally known TEDx speaker, author of two best selling books (Changing the Game & Every Moment Matters), host of the Way of the Champions Podcast (one of the top-rated podcasts in the world for coaches) and has consulted with the US Olympic Committee, US Soccer, USA Football, US Lacrosse, USA Swimming, Ireland Rugby, Aussie Rules Football and many more. John is a regular great guy, with a big heart to make a difference in the lives of young people through their experiences in youth sport, a dad and a husband, a lover of sport and brings some amazing insights and perspectives into fear, failures and freak outs.
www.changingthegameproject.com

The value of trust: Brett with Sadia Sheikh, founder of the first women's football club in Pakistan.
On this episode, I am chatting with Sadia Sheikh, an incredible woman who is making huge impacts in the lives of girls and young women in Pakistan. In 2002 she founded DIYA, the first ever women’s football club in Pakistan and has since worked as a coach and mentor to over 2000 young women. UNICEF has called her the ‘mother of football’ in Pakistan, and her influence in the lives of women is inspiring. Sadia shares some of her story, her challenges, fears and failures over the last 20 years, and it is a delight to have her on the being leaders podcast.
Founder of the First Women Football Club Pakistan, AFC Certified Match Commissioner, FIFA Qualified Administrator, AFC C License, Projector Coordinator Girl Power Denmark, President Sindh Women Futsal Association, Ponds Miracle Women 2018 and Mentor 2019, Chairperson Sindh Women Football Association, Member of LAS for Early Child Marriage.
www.diyawfc.org.pk

Growing pains: Brett with Celia Boyd, co-founder and director of SHE Investments, Cambodia.
In this episode I am chatting with Celia, an experienced leader specialising in gender, women's economic empowerment, business development and enterprise-driven social impact, and has spent the past 8 years specialising in building inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems for women in Cambodia. Since 2015 SHE has been supporting women entrepreneurs to scale up and create long-term social, environmental and economic impact for people and communities. They strive to be a leader and strong voice for the promotion of women’s empowerment; to build structures of support to enable women to lead as role models and change agents in business. A world where investing in women is opportunity; not charity.
We’re building an ecosystem of support – training, mentoring, access to information and financing – to help build them up and create impact for thousands more people. Rather than providing charity, our purpose is to build women’s confidence and ability to provide for themselves, their families, and entire communities.
She loves her people (and her cats), is a brilliant visionary leader and a wonderful human. www.sheinvestments.com