Actsplore This

Moving abroad is exciting… until you realise you have to start over at work. We often hear stories about courage, resilience, and chasing opportunities overseas. But what people don't always talk about is the emotional side of rebuilding your career in a new country. In Part 2 of our three-part miniseries, What No One Tells You About Moving Abroad, we unpack what it's really like to naviga...

Moving abroad is exciting, transformative, and often romanticised. But what about the friendships that quietly change along the way? In Part 1 of our three-part miniseries, What Nobody Tells You About Moving Abroad, we unpack the realities of maintaining meaningful friendships across time zones while building a new life in a different country. From missing milestone moments like weddings and new b...

When was the last time you actually trusted your gut - not just physically, but in life? In this episode, we sit down with Julian Koh, founder of Supergulp - a homegrown sparkling prebiotic brand making gut health fun, accessible, and part of everyday life. From creative design to tech, and now entrepreneurship, Julian shares the exact moment a simple supermarket visit turned into a business idea....

You’ve heard the phrase: people don’t quit jobs, they quit bosses. So why does “managing up” still feel a little misunderstood when it’s so central to how we experience our work? In this episode, we’re joined by award-winning executive coach and author, Melody Wilding, to unpack how managing up is less about politics, and more about taking ownership of your career. For over a decade, Melody has wo...

Recorded live from the Actsplore This Building Influence workshop in Kuala Lumpur, we sat down with Prof Dr Ong Kian Ming and Zalina Jamaluddin to unpack how we can lead with impact -  through intention, curiosity, and the courage to act before you feel “ready.” Together, we explored: What influence really means and why it matters How to lead and create impact before you have the title Building tr...

Before 2025 clocks out, we’re pulling up the chair (& our mics!) for a cozy, honest, no-filters reflection on the year that flew, stretched us, and quietly changed us in ways we didn’t see coming😌 In our final episode of Season 6 for the year 2025, we crack open the Year Compass and reflect about the highs that grounded us, the plot twists we didn’t sign up for, and the lessons we’re choosing...

Today, we speak to  Jimmy McLoughlin OBE  , former Special Advisor to the UK Prime Minister on business, technology and entrepreneurship. Jimmy now hosts  Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future , one of the UK’s top careers podcasts, and is the founder of  Boxlight , a creative video agency. In this conversation, Jimmy shares his remarkable journey: from shaping business policy at No.10 to swapping Downing St...

Julia Korn is an executive career coach and the founder of the Women’s Leadership Accelerator, a community dedicated to the growth of female leaders. A self-described recovering people-pleaser, Julia has reshaped the career coaching landscape, earning recognition as a Business Insider Most Innovative Career Coach.  She’s also a sought-after Forbes Contributor and was featured on global platforms s...

Is meaning and fulfilment at work a universal need, or just a nice to have? In this episode, Frank Koo, Founder & CEO of Nextplay, joins us to explore what it really takes to design a career that feels both successful and significant. With a career spanning IBM, Oracle, Pearson, and most recently as Head of Asia of Talent & Learning Solutions at LinkedIn, Frank shares how he made the leap...

We’ve all heard the career advice: “Find a mentor.” But here’s the twist. Mentorship alone won’t always get you the big opportunities. That’s where sponsorship comes in. In this episode, we sit down with Rosalind Chow, Associate Professor at Carnegie Mellon, to unpack what really makes sponsorship such a career game-changer. Rosalind walks us through: 🔠 The ABCDs of sponsorship—Amplify, Boost, Co...

What if confidence at work starts in the bedroom? In this provocative conversation, entrepreneur  Jingjin Liu  challenges the myths that women must be “likable” to lead. From becoming the “triple only” in a male-dominated German boardroom to launching Asia’s first sexual wellbeing hub, Jingjin shares how respect, not approval - fuels true influence. We explore the hidden cost of the good-girl scri...

In a world that often celebrates the loudest voice in the room, what happens when you lead with quiet confidence instead? 💡 We discuss: ✨ Why being quiet doesn’t mean being invisible ✨ The dangers of overvaluing charisma in leadership ✨ Practical ways to grow influence without changing who you are ✨ The power of appreciating fully and adapting purposefully ✨ What organizations miss when they...

Layoffs are among the most difficult and disorienting experiences we face in our careers, and yet, they remain one of the least openly discussed. In recent months, it’s been hard to scroll through LinkedIn without seeing the ripple effects of widespread job cuts, especially across the tech industry. In this insight-filled and actionable episode, we’re joined by Lorraine K. Lee, award-winning keyno...

What happens when a former corporate exec walks on stage in a bathing suit... in front of 120 professional women? 🔥 Penny Locaso — Happiness Hacker , Harvard writer, TEDx speaker, and authentic leadership trailblazer — did just that to prove one bold point: true change starts where your comfort zone ends. In this raw and revealing conversation, Penny takes us behind the scenes of her midlife awak...

In this episode, we’re sharing six mindset shifts that have helped us navigate change, growth, and new chapters. These aren’t just surface-level reframes, but meaningful shifts that have shaped how we show up in our work and personal lives. From embracing the discomfort of being a beginner, creating space for reflection, to leaning into difficult conversations - we reflect on what it really takes...

CONNECT WITH US HERE: ✨Instagram: Actsplore This Podcast 🎙 (@actsplorethispodcast) • Instagram photos and videos ✨Youtube: Actsplore This Podcast - YouTube ✨Apple Podcast: Actsplore This on Apple Podcasts ✨Email: actsplorethis@gmail.com ✨Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/actsplorethis

What if the key to winning hearts (and boardrooms) isn’t data... but your X-Factor? Yamini Naidu is the world's only Economist turned Bollywood dancing business storyteller. In this high-impact episode, Yamini reveals how to ditch dull presentations and turn your message into something people feel—and remember. Whether you're leading a team, pitching an idea, or navigating career change, this epis...

What does it take to go from starting out in a foreign country to shaping national policy and earning one of the UK’s highest honors -the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)?  In this episode, we get up close and personal with the remarkable Jane Chelliah-Manning, who is the Assistant Director, Senior Policy Lead at the UK Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy.  With...

Anne Marie Chaker went from breaking news at The Wall Street Journal to breaking personal records on the bodybuilding stage, and her story is anything but typical. After weathering a series of personal curveballs, a lift session in a hotel gym flipped Anne Marie’s whole world. Now, she’s living proof that it’s never too late to build strength, own your power, and rewrite your story. In this conver...

Happy International Women’s Day from us to you!🌷 This week’s episode is an Actsplore This Podcast Favourite - a re-release in conjunction with International Women's Day on 'Owning Your Story & Billion Dollar Goals’. If there's one person who embodies dreaming big, wild, and audacious, it's none other than Malaysian born and bred, Washington based Sarah Chen-Spellings! In this...

NGL - 2024 has been a year of HUGE change for us 🙈😌 From changing jobs to moving countries on totally opposite sides of the world to each other, we’re learning to ride this rollercoaster 🎢 of change with our arms lifted high and as open as possible!🙌🏻 While change is never easy, it’s always an opportunity to grow 🌱. In this episode, we dive into the twists and turns of navigating these life...

This week’s episode is a re-release of one of our favorite conversations on Career Prototyping with the incredible Bill Burnett. This conversation feels especially timely as we reflect on fresh starts and set intentions for the year ahead. We speak to Bill Burnett, the co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Designing Your Life and Executive Director of the Design Program at Stanford Univers...

Featuring our beloved friend and pod guest extraordinaire, Crystal Cha, we explore how life changes, global events, and personal growth shape our narratives. In this episode, Crystal shares her journey and the inspiration behind her brand new 'Ground and Grow Guided Journal', offering a unique blend of storytelling and actionable prompts for self-reflection, just in time for the start of this new...

Let’s be real, sharing the personal stuff can feel daunting, but we wanted to bring our #ActsploreThis fam along as we dive into the highs, lows and in betweens of life in our 30s! In this episode, we reflect on this new chapter: shifts in our career, evolving family & friendship dynamics, and how our relationships have evolved since our 20s. It’s raw, real and relatable as we unpack themes of...

It's been a hot min, fam and we're back with a belated episode: Ask Us Anything & Life Updates with Sarah-Ann and Janice. Huge thanks to our listeners for submitting a range of deep & thought-provoking questions to us, from the best and most underrated piece of career advice we've received, to our audacious goals, how we nurture our inner selves and the 'What Ifs' if li...