Work Savvy

In this special 100th episode of Work Savvy, Karen sits down with entrepreneur and author Jason T. Smith to explore what it really takes to build and lead a successful business. Jason’s journey—from a failed medical missionary to the founder of Australia’s largest physiotherapy network, which he sold for over $100 million—is filled with hard-earned lessons in resilience, leadership and strategic t...

Karen chats with leadership expert and author Louise Gilbert about how leaders can cultivate high performance and wellbeing simultaneously, without sacrificing one for the other. Louise’s book, Make Work Work For You, lays out 27 essential leadership practices that help individuals, teams and organisations achieve excellence in a sustainable way. Drawing on over 15 years of experience working with...

Karen welcomes Dr. Jenny Brockis—bestselling author and board-certified Lifestyle Medicine Practitioner—for an eye-opening conversation about the powerful impact of nature breaks. Together, they uncover how spending more time outdoors can enhance mental clarity, lower stress levels and support overall well-being. Jenny’s new book, The Natural Advantage: How More Time Outside Reduces Stress, Improv...

Karen is joined by Genevieve Hawkins, seasoned business leader and author of Mentally at Work and Shrinking Elephants, to tackle the unspoken tensions that can undermine team cohesion and productivity. Together, they explore how leaders can recognize, address, and resolve workplace conflicts before they escalate.  Karen and Genevieve discuss why team members often avoid difficult conversations, th...

Karen and Roxanne Calder, Founder and Managing Director of EST10 and author of Earning Power: Breaking Barriers and Building Wealth for Women, to explore the realities of the gender pay gap and the barriers that continue to hold women back financially. Together, they unpack the systemic issues contributing to the million-dollar earnings discrepancy many women face over their careers.  Karen and Ro...

In this episode, we explore supercharging your productivity. Karen and award-winning psychologist Simi Rayat, author of "Productivity Joy," dive into Simi's 5Qs formula—five essential questions that enhance productivity.   They start with discussing how emotions impact productivity and methods for emotional regulation. Next, they explore how gratitude enhances brain function and productivity.   Th...

In this episode, we dive deep into transforming feedback conversations with Sue Anderson, a Speaker, Trainer, Author, Coach, and Mentor. Karen and Sue talk about overcoming the common fears associated with giving and receiving feedback and how this can change the way we communicate at work. Sue introduces her three-step "Feedback Fit" formula, designed to shift workplace cultures from feedback-fea...

Ever wondered why HR sometimes gets a bad rap?   Karen is joined by Ilona Charles, an experienced C-Suite executive who works with CEOs, founders, executives and boards, to talk about the HR Credibility Deficit: How to Bridge the Perception Gap.  In this episode, Karen and Ilona dive deep into the common misconceptions about HR and explore strategies to help HR professionals earn respect and demon...

Karen welcomes Glin Bayley, a seasoned Negotiation Specialist, Non-Executive Director (GAICD) and author of The Negotiation Playbook: Strategies That Work and Results That Last, for a conversation on mastering negotiation in both life and business. Together Karen and Glin explore how negotiation is an evolutionary journey, highlighting how our need to feel valued influences our approach. They disc...

Karen is joined by Richard Triggs, author of Winning the War for Talent, to explore the strategies and insights that can help organizations attract and retain top talent in today's competitive market. They dive into the most effective ways to draw in high-caliber candidates and discuss how companies can differentiate themselves to become employers of choice. The conversation also highlights the cr...

Karen is joined by Bryan Whitefield, the author of "Team Think" and an expert with 30 years of experience in engineering, insurance and management consulting. Karen and Bryan explore: What does collective decision-making mean, and why is it important for organizations? Common challenges that teams face when making decisions together. The potential benefits of involving teams in decision-making pro...

Join Karen as she engages in an enlightening conversation with Rena Harvey, a respected Reiki master, intuitive psychic, and spiritual mentor. Together, they delve into the transformative journey of self-discovery and empowerment. In this episode, uncover six essential principles that guide you toward deeper self-awareness, healing from past trauma, and realizing your full potential. Explore strat...

Karen sits down with retired airline captain Chris Smith for an insightful conversation on leadership.  Chris, a seasoned aviation professional and author of Leadership at 43,000 Feet, shares his personal journey from trainee pilot to airline captain. Discover the unique challenges faced by leaders in the aviation industry, including safety, high-pressure situations, and managing diverse teams.  L...

Karen welcomes Shivani Gupta, an award-winning entrepreneur, business coach, and speaker, to dive into the intricacies of handling difficult and disruptive employees. In this insightful conversation, Karen and Shivani delve into: Defining Noisy and Challenging Employees: What does it mean to be a "noisy" or "challenging" employee?   Common Causes: Discover the most common reasons why employees mig...

Karen sits down with Krystal Xylander, CEO of Indigo Support and Founder & Director of GameSpec Pty Ltd. Krystal shares her journey of transitioning from a career in nursing to building a successful business in the NDIS sector. They explore how her nursing background has influenced her business approach, the challenges she encountered while scaling her company, and the transformative role a bu...

Karen is joined by Danielle Colley, author of "The Chocolate Bar Life," who is an integrative life coach, speaker, event facilitator, and writer, to talk about redefining Success and Finding Fulfillment on Your Own Terms.  In this episode, Karen and Danielle explore the philosophy behind The Chocolate Bar Life and discuss how it can transform your approach to everyday living. They dive into the ch...

Karen is joined by Karen Ferris, the organisational change and service management rebel with a cause! As the author of "The Leadership Mindset – Be R.E.M.A.R.K.A.B.L.E.," she offers a transformative blueprint for leaders to thrive with vision, empathy, and resilience in the 21st century.    Karen and Karen explore the "REMARKABLE" acronym that speaks to essential leadership qualities:  Resilience:...

Karen is joined by Michelle Gibbings, an accomplished author, global keynote speaker, and workplace culture expert, to discuss the High Cost of Poor Leadership: Why Bad Bosses Can't Stay  Karen and Michelle explore:  Real cost of poor leadership. The need for leadership at all levels of the organisation. The criticality of the leader of leaders not side-stepping the tough conversations when they h...

Joe Pane, a renowned expert in human behavior and creator of the Emotional Fitness Formula, joins Karen to discuss how you can find the courage to be yourself.   Karen and Joe explore 5 core principles of emotional fitness:  Identity:  know who you are  Life stages: know where you are  Values:  know where you are going  Emotional flexibility:  know how to get there  Perspective:  know what matters...

Karen is joined by Filipa Bellette, a Clinical Nutritionist, Functional Medicine Practitioner, Coach, Trauma Therapist, and PhD Scholar, to discuss about ending body burnout. Karen and Filipa explore:  The impact of stress on body systems & how to test for imbalances.  The deepest root causes of body burnout   Why pain and symptoms in the body stick around, even after “physically” treating wit...

Karen is joined by Fran Pratt the Founder and Director of Metisan – Sales Solution Architects to talk about Sales Leadership - Building a High-Performance Sales Team and Culture.  Karen and Fran explore:  Fran’s soon-to-be-released book – More Sales, Less Marketing  Hiring and Onboarding:  Identifying the right sales personalities for your team. Building a strong onboarding process to equip new hi...

Karen is joined by Graham Winter the brilliant mind behind the best-selling book "Think One Team" and co-author of new book Toolkit for Turbulence:  the mindset and methods that leaders need to turn adversity to advantage, to talk about Achieving both high performance and wellbeing.  Karen and Graham explore the often-perceived conflict between pushing for high achievement and maintaining mental a...

Karen is joined by Adam Blum, the author of "Easy Target: Taming the Blackdog," a keynote speaker, First Responder Firefighter, and host of the TrueBlueConversations Podcast, to discuss the steps you can take to overcome depression. Karen and Adam share their own experiences of battling for mental health, and explore:  Childhood experiences and their impacts  Tools they each used to go from surviv...

Karen welcomes Leah Mether, an expert in communication and human skills, a seasoned speaker, trainer, facilitator, and two-time published author, to explore why soft skills have become the essential hard skills every leader needs.   Karen and Leah explore:  What soft skills are and how do they differ from hard skills  Why soft skills matter as much as they do to being an influential leader  Essent...

Dr. Paige Williams, a renowned keynote speaker, organizational psychologist, and Honorary Fellow at the University of Melbourne, joins Karen to discuss why leadership is broken and what we need to do about it. Karen and Paige explore:  What we’ve been told good leadership looks like simply isn’t enough to meet the needs, challenges and opportunities leaders are facing now and in the future.  Leade...