Never Too Far Gone

The word “leadership” has become tired.


It’s been gentrified—repackaged as a job description, overselling its glamour whilst underselling its beauty.

Real leaders don’t chase titles. They stay in the hard places, where there’s pushback and limited resources. They endure the subtle and overt ridicule that comes with believing things can be different.

My podcast is for the weird and wonderful ones—the people who keep believing and keep building, even when the system seems designed to make them fail.

If that’s you, let’s be friends. Because the biggest threat to people like us is isolation. The second is never having the skills involved in rebuilding from the ground up taught to us, studied or recognised.

That’s why I created The Academy of Systemic Renewal: a place that champions the science of what we do.

http://systemicrenewal.com

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Episodes

Thursday Apr 18, 2024

This is the fourth of an eight-part series called Transition Plans: How to Transition Well. Change is something that happens as an external event or situation, whereas 'transition' is an inner, psychological process that people go through as they internalise and come to terms with change. Based on William Bridges' groundbreaking work in Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes, this series unpacks the practical implications of his three-part Transition Model. This episode provides practical exercises for identifying the life stage of an organisation or sector, and the developmental needs to be met for healthy transition.  

Monday Apr 15, 2024

This is the third of an eight-part series called Transition Plans: How to Transition Well. This week features again special guest, Shivani Gopal, passionate feminist and the Founder and CEO of Elladex. Heather connects the themes in Shivani's practical experience of supporting women to transition into senior leadership with William Bridge's theories about how to transition well at work. The episode highlights stages of transition that we face as individuals in our career journey, as well as organisationally, and how at each juncture there is a process of letting go of old neworks, old identities and old self-talk. 

Rebirth with Shivani Gopal

Thursday Apr 04, 2024

Thursday Apr 04, 2024

This is the second of an eight-part series called Transition Plans: How to Transition Well. This week is with special guest Shivani Gopal, passionate feminist and the Founder and CEO of Elladex. Get ready for an intimate journey with Shivani into her experience of rebirth. She and Heather unearth the heart-experience of braving an end to destructive attachments and relationships, grieving the associated loss, and achieving rebirth. Shivani is proud to be proud of her achievements and challenges the narrative that it's 'prideful' for women to be ambitious or want more for themselves. This week explores the personal transition that gifted the world with Elladex. Next week, we will hear about the global impact Elladex are having on assisting women to transition into executive-level leadership. 
 
Here are some reflection questions you might like to take into your week after listening to this podcast:
1. How often do you tell yourself you are proud of yourself? How do you feel about the word 'pride'?
2. Is there someone in your life, or a community in your sphere of influence, who needs permission to start over, or to be reminded that they are enough?
3. What parts of you are 'traditional' and what parts are 'progressive'? How do these interplay? How does this question apply to the system you are in?

Saturday Mar 30, 2024

This is the first of an eight-part series called Transition Plans: How to Transition Well. Change is something that happens as an external event or situation, whereas 'transition' is an inner, psychological process that people go through as they internalise and come to terms with change. Based on William Bridges' groundbreaking work in Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes, this series unpacks the practical implications of his three-part Transition Model. It explores how to help a system end well, move into a neutral zone and then embrace a new beginning. This is a must-listen for anyone leading sector-wide or organisational transition. 

Good Apples and Bad Apples

Saturday Mar 23, 2024

Saturday Mar 23, 2024

This is the final of a six-part series about the practice in Systemic Renewal called 'Following Favour.' An often neglected aspect of systemic change is the 'who' question. How do you get the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus? In this final episode, Heather ties the topic together and draws from Jim Collins' research, highlighting how to avoid biting into a poisoned apple. She draws out three points: bad apples don't turn into good apples, bad apples aren't all bad, and bad apples are usually lazy, jealous or cheap. 

Friday Mar 15, 2024

This week's podcast in the Following Favour series is with Elisha O'Dowd, a Renewalist, a Nurse and Effectiveness and Outcomes Manager at CLEO, an organisation designing digital care pathways and using the latest technology and research to improve patient outcomes. Elisha shares her journey into nursing, management in emergency departments and now into leading systemic change within health care. Elisha's story is a powerful reminder of the need to find favour with ourselves first, to know that just as our community's sense of purpose CAN shift, so can our own, and so can the system's belief in its own capacity. 

Thursday Mar 07, 2024

This week's podcast in the Following Favour series is with Brooklyn White, a Renewalist, Social Worker and Founder of Renewing Hope Agency, Canada. Brooklyn shares her story of being drawn to macro-level change, why it can be lonely being that person in the system, and the secret she discovered that frustration and disappointment for Renewalists, comes from "actually loving the system." We suggest three reflection questions to take into your week after listening to this podcast:
1. Are you drawn to the macro? If so, how have this been received in your work context?
2. Do you experience situational ethics in the leadership around you? If so, what steadfastness is needed and how could you bring it?
3. Do you really love the system?

Group Work That Doesn't Suck

Thursday Feb 29, 2024

Thursday Feb 29, 2024

This is the third of a six-part series about a practice in Systemic Renewal called 'Following Favour.' An often neglected aspect of systemic change is the 'who' question. How do you get the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus? In this episode, Heather draws from Jim Collin's research to unpack how to gather the right people in the right way to make group work effective (and fun). She describes what research reveals are key strategies for good group work: being selective and having a leader, but one who is led by the group. 

We Don't Need Another Hero

Thursday Feb 22, 2024

Thursday Feb 22, 2024

This is the second of a six-part series about a practice in Systemic Renewal called 'Following Favour.' An often neglected aspect of systemic change is the 'who' question. How do you get the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus? In this episode, Heather draws from Jim Collin's research to unpack why starting small and slow wins the day. She describes what research reveals are key strategies for attracting the right people, repelling the wrong people and developing a succession plan. 

Who Are Your People?

Friday Feb 16, 2024

Friday Feb 16, 2024

This is the first of a six-part series about a practice in Systemic Renewal called 'Following Favour.' An often neglected aspect of systemic change is the 'who' question. How do you get the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus? Heather draws from Jim Collin's research which shows that 'who' questions come before 'what' questions, and shares from her own experience how to tell who your people are. 

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