ZestPal: Life Skills & Life Lessons

What if self-leadership is the bottom line of leadership? We sit down with Neha Chatwani, organisational psychologist and founder of the Workplace Atelier, who walks us through her path from psychology to HR and leadership advisory. Neha tells us that leadership is not about your intention, but about the impact you actually have, and the question that every leader should ask themselves: why would...

You can “win” at corporate life and still feel a quiet pull that something is missing. We sit down with Mike Kearney, who spent 30 years at Deloitte, made partner, led major initiatives and then chose to leave early so he could have real freedom in his 50s and be more present with his family. He unpacks the moments that forced the question “Is this everything?” and the practical life plan that hel...

Holding on through stress can feel like strength, but what if it is just survival mode with a nice label? We sit down with Alexandra Lefort, career and life coach and founder of Moving Forward Coaching, to get clear on what resilience actually is, and why bouncing back is less about pushing harder and more about restoring stability in your nervous system. We dig into the practical core of her work...

The moment in midlife when you finally have space again might not be what you imagined. The kids are older, the career is stable, the house runs, and still a sharp question lands: is this it? I’m joined by Baya Salman-Hawk, an “enchantress” with roots in psychotherapy, EFT tapping, and shamanic healing, to talk about what happens when a woman is done performing the roles and is ready to come back...

What if the way back to hope starts with curiosity, openness, and talking to people outside your bubble? We sit down with Catherine Macquart-Martin, inclusive leadership coach—exploring how we learn, grow, and stay connected in a complex world.  Catherine takes us through her journey from a small French town to an international career in diplomacy, training and coaching. Her perspective is candid...

What if your impressive job on paper is not aligned with your life and values? We sit down with career transition mentor and author Gaurav Gandhi to unpack how reinvention really works across countries, roles, and life stages, and how not to lose yourself in the process. From a two-decade run at the Tata Group and global postings in Germany and Canada to building a portfolio career in Austria, Gau...

What if fulfilment became your operating system for work, family, and the country you choose as your home? We sit down with Laszlo Kiszely, entrepreneur, angel investor and startup mentor, to unpack how curiosity, clear rules, and honest tradeoffs can shape a life. From early side hustles to corporate launches and startup pivots, Laci shares why skin in the game teaches faster than any classroom....

What happens when your dream job stops loving you back? Alexandra Dolea, archeologist, career mentor, and creator of the Career Excavation Framework, walks us through how she spent nearly two decades in field archaeology across Europe and the Mediterranean, only for everything to unravel during the pandemic: work disappeared, burnout set in, and the story she told herself about success no longer f...

If you’ve ever had to build a life in a new culture, this conversation will meet you right where you are. It was a pleasure to sit down with  Sarah Leibovitz‑Dambre , intercultural trainer and expert in French and English language and culture, to unpack the emotional and practical realities of moving to France: navigating bureaucracy, managing language anxiety, and finding belonging without losing...

I created this short episode to mark the transition from Wellbeing in Focus to ZestPal.  First of all, I want to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who listened to Wellbeing in Focus. That podcast focused on wellbeing and parenthood through conversations with experts, and it’s something I’m still very grateful for. But over time, something shifted for me. I realised that while wellbeing is impor...

It was a pleasure to interview Lee Chambers and hear his thoughts on workplace wellbeing. Lee is an award-winning business psychologist, keynote speaker on wellbeing, inclusion, and leadership, and the founder of Essentialise Workplace Wellbeing . As a highly respected Black, disabled entrepreneur, Lee is a champion of inclusive wellbeing. He’s also a supporter of gender equity, and he’s an award-...

I thoroughly enjoyed this inspiring conversation with Valerie Cockerell about how parenthood equips us with valuable leadership skills. Valerie is a consultant, keynote speaker, and author of the book “ Manage Like a Mother: Leadership Lessons Drawn from a Mother's Playbook ”. After a brilliant career at Disney, Valerie is now part of Cockerell Consulting with her husband Dan, where she facil...

It was great to talk to Matt Pinkett and learn more about the mental health of boys in this podcast episode.  Matt is a leading authority on gender and masculinity in schools, and as a teacher who has worked in a variety of educational settings, he challenges toxic masculinity and calls for schools to do more to help boys’ mental health and wellbeing. Matt is also the best-selling author of ‘ Boys...

It was a pleasure to interview Valerie Lynn and learn more about Malaysian postpartum practices in this podcast episode. Valerie is a postnatal care specialist and has been a significant force in introducing after-birth recovery practices from Malaysia, its traditions, techniques, and treatments to women globally. Valerie has benefited first-hand from Eastern medical modalities while living in Asi...

It was lovely to chat with Elly Taylor about perinatal relationships in this podcast episode. Elly is a relationship counsellor, award winning author of "Becoming Us: The Couple's Guide to Parenthood" , keynote speaker, and founder of Becoming Us : a perinatal relationship education and training for care professionals.  We talk about how preparations for birth and parenting are impo...

In this podcast episode I'm interviewing Emma Jarvis , founder of Dearbump and co-founder of Parent Promise , helping workplaces support parents during pregnancy, parental leave, and early parenthood. Emma shares with us how her own experience of feeling unsupported  and overlooked as a new mum at her workplace made her leave the company and set up her own business instead supporting parents....

In this podcast episode I'm interviewing Dr Jacqueline Kerr , behaviour change scientist, TEDx and Keynote speaker, podcast host, and burnout expert. Jacqueline is not only familiar with burnout as an academic, but she is a burnout survivor herself, who now helps employers and leaders tackle this issue throughout their organisations. Burnout is a very complex problem with different factors an...

In this podcast episode I'm interviewing Sanjeev Sandhu, happiness and wellbeing trainer, speaker, PhD researcher in positive psychology and wellbeing, and published author. Sanjeev tells us how during his first career in finance and accounting he noticed that the key difference between people who were fulfilled and unfulfilled was the spark in their eyes, and how he subsequently went on to f...

In this podcast episode I'm interviewing I lona Bannister , author of When I Ran Away and Little Prisons . Ilona is a writer, mother, and a New Yorker living in London. She was a dual qualified US attorney and UK solicitor and practiced immigration law in the UK before she started writing fiction. Ilona tells us about her debut novel When I Ran Away ,  which was longlisted for the Center for...

In this podcast episode I'm interviewing Sally Singleton , mindfulness consultant and trainer, and Founder of Mindful Interlude , delivering evidence-based mindfulness courses to individuals and organisations. Sally tells us about the different aspects of mindfulness,  and explains how they all focus on slightly different things. She reassures us that the mind chatter that so many people expe...

In this podcast episode I'm interviewing Debi Yadegari , Founder and CEO of Villyge , an employer-paid benefit and full service, B2B solution supporting working parents and caregivers. Villyge connects employees and their family members 1:1 with a community of career coaches, parenting experts and healthcare specialists. They also provide management training and work with employers to shape c...

In this podcast episode I'm interviewing Steven Kennedy , Founder of the PREPARE Foundation and Birthing Dads .  Steven is dedicated to helping families thrive from the get go, and aims to prevent perinatal mental health impacts to families by engaging expectant fathers and inspiring greater paternal involvement in maternity care.  Steven tells us about modern birth culture and how the gaps i...

In this podcast episode I'm interviewing Naomi Stadlen , existential psychotherapist and best-selling author of three books: What Mothers Do: especially when it looks like nothing , How Mothers Love: and how relationships are born , and What Mothers Learn: without being taught . For over 30 years, Naomi has listened to hundreds of mothers at her weekly discussion meetings, Mothers Talking, an...

In this podcast episode I'm interviewing Pamela Gail Johnson , happiness advocate, speaker, author, and Founder of the Society of Happy People .  Pamela shares with us the story of how she founded the Society of Happy People more than 20 years ago and how attitudes towards happiness have been changing since then. We talk about her recently published book Practical Happiness: Four Principles t...

In this podcast episode I'm interviewing Michael Ray , solo dad, author, public speaker, and advocate for gender equality.  Michael tells us about how outdated gender stereotypes hurt fathers and men in general. He highlights that personality traits and behaviour associated with masculinity or femininity are not determined by gender, but by character and values. Michael also shines a light on...