Social Mastery Podcast

As a part of the Indo-Pacific International Maritime Exposition in Sydney, Andrew May hosted “Investing in Self: The Foundation of the Social Mastery Equation” session which was recorded as a podcast. Andrew interviewed Rear Admiral Wendy Malcolm, Commander Dean Thompson and Petty Officer Sam Tickle on the topic of Social Mastery, the Program designed originally for the Maritime Domain, which has...

How would you put together a crack corporate team? Andrew gets an insight on how optimism and positivity expert Dr Suzy Green would build the best team to accomplish any task through the recognition and use of diversity in thinking and mindset. Dr Suzy Green is recognised as Australia’s leading positive psychologist. She is the founder and CEO of the Positivity Institute, a positively deviant orga...

In another Coaching Corner episode of the Social Mastery Podcast Andrew and Angela sit down with 2 participants from the Social Mastery program and run a joint coaching session to help solidify some of the lessons from the program as well as resolve any issues that may have come up since the conclusion of the program. Listen in as Andrew, Angela, Brenda and Joseph discuss their issues and fin...

Australian netball superstar Caitlin Bassett joins the podcast in this bite size episode to discuss the state of female professional sport and how it has evolved since before she started playing to now. Caitlin shares how happy (and maybe a little bit jealous) it makes her to see new players getting more pay than ever before. Andrew and Caitlin also touch on the higher rate of education for women...

Todays bite size comes from episode #15 where Kamal Sarma, a beacon of positivity and energy explains why he got into working in the mental health space and what it means for him to have a positive impact on people, particularly younger children and teenagers. Kamal also shares the story of how he helped his son overcome his own fears and mental health issues by imparting some stress and suffering...

Caitlin 'CBass' Bassett is former captain of Australia's national netball team, the Diamonds. Starting netball at the age of 11, she dominated the netball scene and scored 2,038 of 2,268 attempted shots at goal when playing for Australia, with an unbelievable 90% accuracy rate.  Caitlin is always looking to learn when it comes to leading teams. In her words "I don’t pretend to be perfect but...

Dr Suzy Green is recognised as Australia’s leading positive psychologist. She is the founder and CEO of the Positivity Institute, a positively deviant organisation dedicated to applying positive psych to life, work and school. Dr Suzy is an official ambassador for the Starlight Children’s Foundation and maintains a strong media profile appearing on TV, radio and print. In this episode Andrew and D...

Worldwide godfather of slow turned anti ageing expert Carl Honoré chats with Andrew on how he believes the world tries to shove older people into a certain stereotype and how he plans on fighting those stereotypes by simply doing whatever it is he feels like doing without making any apologies. Carl also touches on the idea of being ashamed of growing older and lying about your age, whereas he has...

In this episode, we revisit the podcast with the First Assistant Secretary Stacie Hall.    During our interview with Stacie, one of the things that left a lasting impression was her serene demeanor. Although gauging someone's energy through a video call can be challenging, Stacie's calm composure emanated through the screen, is it nature or nurture that fuels her composure? Listen to dis...

In the latest episode of the Social Mastery Podcast Commander Dean Thompson joins Andrew and Angela to discuss the origins of the Social Mastery Program: where it came from, its goals and the legacy Dean hopes it will leave. Dean also tells us about his personal story of growing up in the Navy and what that has taught him about being a follower as well as a leader, and how the Navy and the overall...

Kamal Sarma is the monk who didn’t sell his Ferrari, that’s because he never had one! Born in the East Indian state of Assam, Kamal came to Australia when he was four. He turned into a “rugby hungry, girl hungry, fiend”. Not happy with this iteration, Kamal’s parents sent him back to India when he was 13 to live in an ashram and study to be a monk, for seven-long-years. Back in Australian at 19, K...

Stacie Hall joins the Social Mastery podcast and together with Andrew May and Angela Poon they discuss why Stacie left a rapidly rising but unsustainable career in accounting firms for a more fulfilling and manageable role in the APS, Stacie's lessons from working with her mum and the values she was imparted and what she got out of the first social mastery program. That's only a fraction of what's...

What is it that makes high performers tick? In this Bite size from episode #7 Rear Admiral Wendy Malcolm gets asked the High performance baker’s dozen – a series of 13 questions that give you an insight into how Wendy ticks and the sort of things she does to perform at a high level. Starting at simple things like her favourite music and movies, before diving a bit deeper into daily routines and ho...

In another Coaching Corner episode of the Social Mastery Podcast Andrew sits down with 2 participants from the Social Mastery program and runs a joint coaching session to help solidify some of the lessons from the program as well as resolve any issues that may have come up since the conclusion of the program. Listen in as Andrew, Scott Lockey and  Beth Seivers  discuss their is...

Which leadership habits are good to focus on, and which habits and behaviours do you need to drop? In this Bite Size from episode #5, Padraig O’Sullivan, my former study buddy from the Coaching Psychology Masters at Sydney University, outlines an experiment he ran with some of Australia and Asia’s most prominent business leaders in relation to the habits they had built to keep them at the top of t...

Carl Honore is a world-renowned journalist, speaker and author and is globally recognised as the godfather of the slow movement. After speed-reading a bedtime story for his son involving a scaled-down version of Snow White and the 3 Dwarfs, he had an epiphany that he was rushing through everything in life without taking the time to savour what really matters. That is how the revolutionar...

How much does your digital distraction cost? Dr Kristy shares some incredible stats on digital wellbeing and how the cost of being distracted by digital devices can not only take a toll on your brain power but also the economy as a whole. Dr Kristy also gives some tips to ensure that you are working to the best of your ability, with strategies on how to make your schedule more flexible while still...

In this episode of the Social Mastery Podcast Andrew sits down with 3 participants from the Social Mastery program and runs a joint coaching session to help solidify some of the lessons from the program as well as resolve any issues that may have come up since the conclusion of the program. Listen in as Andrew, Anthony Duncan, Rob Bryson and Hannah Demkin discuss their issues and find so...

Did you ever have a moment when you realise you love what you do? Wendy Malcolm joins the podcast with Andrew May and Angela Poon to talk all things navy, from how she joined as a teenager to explore the world through to how she found meaning and purpose in doing piles of paperwork. Wendy tells us how a long career in the navy has left her with many mentors and friends she can call on for life and...

Have you ever felt on the verge of burnout? In this Bite Size from episode #2 Andrew and Dr Tom explain their research into and discovery of the 5 factors that are guaranteed to innoculate you against burning out. The 5 factors include Purpose Alignment, Active Recovery, Restorative Sleep, Physiological Capacity and Social Connectedness Andrew and Dr Tom have been working together for 17 year...

Have you ever been down to the last $20 in your bank account? Padraig O'Sullivan started out as a prospective priest in Ireland, moving to nursing in one of the UK’s top heart health clinics and eventually moved to Australia where he found himself with a total of $24.45 in his bank account, Pod has definitely seen the ups and downs of life. Padraig is a coach and consultant working with some of Au...

This is the first in a series of shorter podcasts called “bite size” where we take some of the key moments from previous podcasts and amplify them in a snack sized format. Today’s bite size comes from episode #1 with Tony Dalton where Andrew asks him our “high Performance Bakers dozen” – 13 questions based around Tony’s personal and professional life to give a quick insight into his personality an...

Are you a slave to your digital devices? Dr Kristy Goodwin joins Andrew and Angela Poon, StriveStronger Operations Director on the podcast to discuss all things digital wellbeing.  Dr Kristy takes us through why we find it so hard to put our devices down and why we always feel the need to check them - no matter what we are doing! (Hint: Behavioural scientists have purposely designed devices a...

When was the last time you came close to burning out? In this podcast Andrew is joined by Dr Tom Buckley and the pair talk all things burnout, from Dr Tom’s experience with burnout working in the healthcare industry to the 5 factors they emphatically state will prevent you from burning out if you build them into your life. The 5 factors include Purpose Alignment, Active Recovery, Restorative Sleep...

In the inaugural Maritime Domain Social Mastery Podcast, Andrew May interviews DEPSEC Tony Dalton on what it took to get to his current position as Deputy Secretary National Naval Shipbuilding and how his time as a pilot helps him cope with the different pressures put on him.  Tony talks about how his experience in the Navy has helped him be a successful member of a team, both at work and hom...