Keeping It Real with Jac and Ral

Time for a little self assessment if you’re a leader who wants to be better. In this episode Jac & Ral outline the common signs of an insecure leader, ignore these at your peril!   They cover your need for control, your defensive reactions, your comms gaps and your need for validation and  recognition. Being the humble, shy (yeah right!) leaders they are, Jac & Ral both admit to a few of t...

Listen to part 1: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1x2R4b4mRuTzYri3kpn6Ts?si=ZFD9Jo6zRECRFw_NtdIk4w Best selling author Margie Warrell chats with Jac & Ral in part 2 of the Courage Gap episode to unpack the psychology of everyday bravery, leadership, and resilience. Margie opens up about holding back when she spotted Oprah’s best friend, to her bold leap of faith after working out next to Jill...

When business moves at the speed of culture, things get really interesting…   In this episode Jac and Ral break down the 5 cultural trends every leader, brand, and professional needs on their radar today:   The Loneliness Paradox:  High digital connectivity vs. real-world isolation. Side Hustle Nation:  Why top talent is building side ventures (and how to support them). The Human Premium:  The gro...

Want more courage? Here’s your masterclass in how to identify your courage gap and gain more courage. Jac & Ral are joined by leadership advisor and six times author Dr Margie Warrell who has just released her book the Courage Gap and what Margie shares is fascinating!   Know the difference between confidence and courage Learn about the timidity tax Find out if women and men are equally courag...

In this episode, Jac & Ral break down what it actually means to meet your "Future Self" - moving past daily survival mode and into intentional design. We explore why forward-planning is your ultimate leadership life hack, how anticipation beats reaction every single time, and how to stop white-knuckling a path that stopped serving you months ago.   If you're ready to: Stop being...

Ever wondered what it takes to build a high-performing team today? In this episode Jac & Ral dive deep into modern talent, high-density teams, and future-fluent leadership.   They discuss what the modern “A-Team” looks like, how to hunt for real talent, how to be an “A-Team” leader and share some world class examples where brands maintain high density talent (yes it’s a thing!) and protect psy...

Are you drawing down on your personal energy reserves faster than you’re replenishing them? In Part 2 of our deep dive with neuroscientist and DNA expert Alessandra Edwards, we unpack why caffeine dependency, shorter fuses, and workouts that leave you exhausted are red flags.   Jac & Ral also learn what happens to your mind and body in your 30s, 40s, and 50s (reality check!) and why midlife is...

She invented the portfolio career before we knew it was a thing…  In this episode Jac and Ral pay tribute to the legendary Dolly Parton  and break down her timeless business and leadership lessons.    From her masterclass in self-reinvention (more than a few times over!) to owning her IP, Dolly proved she was far more than just a talented singer, she was a visionary business mastermind who expande...

Are you running on empty, struggling to switch off, or finding it harder to bring your best self to work?   In this episode, Jac and Ral are joined by Alessandra Edwards, author of  The DNA of Performance  and expert advisor on the biology of high performance.   They explore the critical distinction between your  capability  (what you know) and your  capacity  (what you can physically access each...

Ever caught yourself saying,  "I'm just bad at tech,"   "I'm terrible at public speaking,"  or  "I'm too old for this shit" ?  Be careful... your brain is listening, and it’s gullible as hell. In this episode Jac and Ral discuss neuroplasticity - the science of how your brain constantly rewires itself based on what you feed it.  Learn why your internal narrative is either building neural highways...

In this episode Jac & Ral take a fresh batch of listener questions from our global community and answer them.   They cover dealing with WFH slackers, false accusations at work, where the Keeping it Real podcast ideas come from, why nobody reads the meeting pre-reading you send out and more great questions from our curious global community of Keepers.   Maybe you too have a colleague who seems...

Get ready to see how many of these you're doing without even realising...     In this episode Jac and Ral talk through the habits quietly wrecking your reputation, from over-relying on AI to over-promising things you never actually deliver, to gossiping your way into "everyone secretly doesn't trust me” and trying too hard. And there’s a couple of surprise killers of credibility you might be shock...

This one’s all about career reinvention and designing your next chapter. And why the word and associated feeling behind "retirement" needs a serious rebrand, because the idea of doing nothing for 20 years is nobody's dream. Jac and Ral unpack the real reasons people stay stuck - money fears, the terrifying question of "who'd actually pay me for this," and the myth that “certainty’ exists anywhere....

Gen X is 1 in 5 Australians and roughly a third of the workforce, and they're leaving. Not always retiring either. Stepping down, going portfolio, consulting, or just saying "I'm done."   Jac and Ral are Gen X and together they unpack why Gen X is leaving en masse… Is it  the manager? Is it missing purpose? Is it the micromanagement? And for those who don’t leave (but wish they c...

Should you take the big promotion?  Walk away from a bad leader?  Move overseas?    Facing tough career decisions can feel overwhelming. In this episode, Jac and Ral tackle a question from a Keeper - How do you navigate high-stakes career decisions?   From turning down top-tier roles due to leadership clashes to balancing major international promotions with family life, Jac and Ral break down a pr...

Inspired by the Keepers who attend our immersions along with a few Jac is currently coaching, we share stories about women stepping beyond their comfort zone to seek out their number (salary) they want, achieve the promotion they deserve and take on new reimagined career opportunities in a changing workforce.   The thing that stops people in their careers, especially women, isn’t their capability,...

*Warning* This could be a confronting episode! Jac & Ral discuss the tragedy of the traditional retirement model…. If you die with money in the bank, you’ve essentially wasted life energy it took to earn that money. A theory also shared by Bill Perkins who wrote the book Die With Zero. Ral convinces Jac (and herself recently when booking expensive accommodation!) when you spend money on an exp...

Everyone has an opinion on what makes a great leader and Jac and Ral say most of them are wrong.   In this episode they cut through to land on one definition: leadership is unlocking the potential of others. Everything else is just the work.   They get stuck into what actually costs a leader who doesn’t do the “leading work”, why trust is now the real competitive advantage (not AI), the $7 return...

…How did she talk me into this one??? Kylie Minogue's documentary on Netflix dropped and Ral decided we should do an episode on it. Not for the sequins, but for the sparkling career strategy Kylie has put in place! Turns out the girl next door built her whole reinvention playbook on advice from two bad boys: Michael Hutchence and Nick Cave. Not exactly who you'd expect to hand out career w...

Ever held on to something which wasn’t working because you felt you’d “invested” and your fear of what was next outweighed your current shitshow?   In this episode Ral shares some personal stories of letting go and how it helped her to go forward way more than if she’d stayed put!   Jac reminds us hope isn’t a strategy and why we should all embrace uncertainty because it’s not about our mistakes…...

"Follow your passion." Sounds inspiring, right? Wrong. Jac and Ral reckon this might be the worst career advice and they're not sorry about it.   In this episode, they unpack why passion is wildly overrated as a career compass, what mastery has to do with it, and tackle the two big questions: What's the difference between loving your job and being passionate about it? What happen...

Find out why cancelling this one thing as a leader loses you the most money…   In this episode Jac & Ral dive deep into a massive blind spot for many leaders: the appreciation gap. While nearly 60% of managers believe they regularly recognise their team, just over a third of employees say they actually receive that recognition.   Ral and Jack unpack why traditional leadership styles have taugh...

Feeling tension, friction, or total exhaustion at work, but can’t quite put your finger on why? It might not be the workload… it might be a misalignment of values.   In this episode of  Keeping it Real , Jac and Ral tackle the real culprit behind career unhappiness, when your personal values clash with your job, your leadership, or even your clients. Sharing raw, firsthand experiences, they break...

Oh, the joy. Your work bestie - the same one you shared eye-rolls with in the Monday morning status update, just got promoted. And yes, they are now your boss. Deep breaths…   Jac and Ral are here to save your career (and your sanity). In this episode, we tackle the awkward, ego-bruising reality of what happens when a peer becomes your manager.   What we unpack: For you: How to congratulate your c...

In a world rapidly dominated by technology and AI prompts, how do you actually stand out?   It’s getting better at being human.   In this episode we dive into the newly developed  Future Fluency Index  to explore the single biggest blind spot in corporate AI adoption: how we activate human potential in an alien world.   We unpack why "decision integrity" and "moral courage" are the ultimate modern...