Keeping It Real with Jac and Ral

2024 has seen a lot of talk about choosing our hard … but we’re hear to tell you to get the easy things right first! In this episode Jac & Ral discuss being on time, appreciation, hygiene, appearance, manners and a whole raft of other things they reckon you should nail and nail everytime if you want your personal brand to have strong foundations. Find out the types of ‘easy’ things you should...

How do you know when it’s time to go?   In this episode Jac & Ral share the leading indicators you should assess yourself on to help you figure out if it is in fact time for you to change jobs.   The future of work says we will have 50 year careers and our job will not be a title, a position or a static role but a constantly changing number of tasks, outcomes and deliverables in a globalised a...

What is Executive Presence really? And why does it matter?   In this episode Jac & Ral unpack what executive presence actually is, and how it’s changed since the good ol days when white, middle-aged men ruled the hallways of business.   Times have changed and with it how you dress, behave and communicate needs to be relevant in the age of online and offline leadership. Commanding a room and co...

There are 15.4m Aussies on Linked In and 97% of HR and recruit professionals use Linked In to recruit, with over 14 million open jobs on Linked In at any one time.   It’s Jac & Ral’s favourite social media platform for so many reasons, yet a lot of people don’t know how to use it for impact. In this episode we talk about what we have learned (what to do and what not to do!) and we share tips o...

People come and go when it comes to our work and our careers, especially women. Whether you’re starting out or restarting, this episode will give you some great tips on how to set yourself up for success at any stage of your working life. Starting out, our advice is be a sponge and soak everything up! You don’t know what you don’t know. Find out what Ral learned about eating breakfast in a hotel a...

Nearly everyone who has been employed for 10 years or more has been sacked or made redundant.   And if you’re shaking your head saying “not me” then it will come… And that is okay.   In this latest episode we discuss what work really is, why it’s highly likely you will face being ‘let go’ at some point (for Jac, more than once) and what to do about it when it happens, either the first time or a su...

We often take on a lot… more than we should which is stressful.   So Ral shares a fascinating concept from Harvard when it comes to better prioritising what we take on. It’s called the water we carry and she talks us through a great exercise you can do to help you manage your daily life.   Jac could feel something in her waters… Ral told her it was more than likely the great wine offer she could g...

88% of people feel extremely valued when given a compliment… yet 70% of us feel embarrassed or uncomfortable giving and receiving compliments.   Enter Pookie! And Tony, Phil, Wes and Digger… our characters in this episode.   Find out the impact of giving a compliment at work – and why we should get more deliberate in handing them out.   But equally important is how you receive a compliment. It’s v...

Have you worked for a toxic leader before? Do you work for a toxic leader today? Are you a toxic leader??   One in 5 leaders are toxic and 80% of professionals have had 1 toxic leader… 30% of professionals have had more than 1 toxic leader!   Toxic leaders are destructive to teams and to an organisation. They demonstrate a selfish abuse of power, and they only ever have their own self interest at...

Two ENTJ’s walk into a room… and Keehlan starts producing their podcast Myer Briggs personality test has identified Jac and Ral as both ENTJ’s – extroverts, no surprise there. However personality is not your destiny. And personality is different to character.   “Oh that’s just the way I am” is a line many of us have used… However when we say this we are giving up personal responsibility for our ac...

Do you work long hours? And continue to work long hours… and complain about this? Are you in an unhappy relationship? And remain in this relationship… and complain about this? Do you love a good pity party?   The final question you should be asking yourself is: Could you be a victim? Or perhaps you know a victim? Someone who often doesn’t take responsibility, feels they have no control, looks for...

Some say culture eats strategy for breakfast but in this episode, Jac & Ral (the culture queens) reckon you should drink culture and make it a buffet! So how is your culture? We’re not talking yoghurt, but how people (and you) feel in your workplace.   And in the spirit of keeping it real… hot tip: Everyone is responsible for culture. Jac & Ral talk about: If you’re going for a new role? B...

Want to know the 3 most important relationships in your life?   Relationship 1: can set you up for life Relationship 2: can determine your career success Relationship 3: can shape your character   Find out what these relationships are (and why they’re SO worth knowing, finding and maintaining) and what Ral was looking for in one of her important relationships… blue eyes and a small head!   And if...

They could talk underwater… especially Jac! In today’s episode Ral continues her interview of Jac and what inspires her (listen to part 1 last week if you haven’t already). Today Jac talks about an entertaining series on Netflix she’s inspired by and calls out one of the cast members, her new role model “Susie Glass”. There’s a great book about the second stage of our career lives and how we can l...

In today’s episode Ral interviews Jac about what inspires her and because Jac’s life philosophy is “more, not less” this is part 1 of her inspiration download. Today Jac talks about the people who inspire her – American dudes who speak directly (and Ral helps Jac understand the difference between a hood and a bonnet for our US listeners!) along with Parents, Progressives and a couple of Product sh...

You can learn a lot from others. If you’re prepared to listen, ask questions and explore things, there’s a very good chance you will encounter interesting opportunities through who you hang out with, what you watch, listen to and read.   In today’s episode Jac interviews Ral about what inspires her. Ral shares so many great things across business, people, technology, reading and life. Who knew Ral...

Does everyone at your work agree with you all the time? Do they also laugh at your jokes regularly?   If the answer to these two questions are ‘yes’ and you’re a senior leader, more senior than those agreeing and laughing… you might want to listen to this podcast.   Success delusion. The higher we move up the organisational ladder, the more our employees let us know how wonderful we are. And we al...

Critical Thinking. Creativity. Collaboration. Communication.   Once upon a time you’d be taught reading, writing and arithmetic which was helpful but not enough… especially when it came to entering the workforce!   Today we need to learn differently and we need to know more in order to achieve in life and as leaders at work. The 4 C’s are a framework to broaden your mind, help you solve problems,...

At any given moment you are in control of how the story ends. Life is 10% of what happens to you, and 90% of how you respond to it. It was a beautiful day and then it could have gone to sh*t… but I didn’t let it. Because we all have a choice… a choice about our attitude.   Perspective is everything and so is a good memory! Ral reminds us of the FISH training program from the 90’s and 2000’s which...

Learn the art of questions to gain a career advantage.   Do you ask (enough) questions?  Most of us don’t and it’s holding us back. We need to ask more and better questions so we can deepen our knowledge, challenge beliefs, uncover new opportunities and be considered a curious and intelligent leader.   In this episode, Jac reveals the key to asking great questions and she shares a story about her...

Would you go to the opening of a wound?? If so, maybe you have FOMO! Do you experience the Fear of Missing Out…Or maybe you embrace the Joy of Missing Out?   Which ever one it is, you can learn from both these acronyms born out of social media. Jac did some research and learned there are 2 processes to FOMO, both are a bit sad… so it’s good to be aware when you get FOMO, and then make a decision b...

Imagine if someone came up to you and gave you the title GENIUS. And you had to just own it. You would be more reluctant to self censor, you would be more confident to speak up and act, you would demand more from others and yourself. You would dare more, learn more and commit more. SIGN US UP! Listen in to really understand the true meaning of the word Genius. It has nothing to do with academia or...

They create legends. And we create keepers! “They”… are the team at Eleven Madison Park (EMP), one of the world’s top restaurants who we are a bit fascinated with. Not because this restaurant is fancy, and not because it is in one of our favourite cities in the world, New York, but because the leadership at EMP believes in the remarkable power of giving people MORE than they expect .   In today’s...

This episode could be a coaching session to ourselves… we both could talk under water and we’ve never met a microphone we didn’t like but that doesn’t mean we should keep talking. In fact we need to remind ourselves regularly to shut the f**k up! If you find you talk too much when it comes to interviews, public speaking or presenting, when introducing others or in meetings then it’s time you learn...

There’s a few things that annoy us (at work and in our personal lives) and we reckon they are universal. No manners (especially in adults!) People who litter Those who run late… regularly! Plastic apologies People who waffle… Inconsistent leadership A meeting that should have been an email And there’s quite a few more! Listen in and see if you agree with our list and let us know if we have missed...