We often talk about leadership as if we all shared a common understanding of its purpose. But what is leadership for, really? Is it to ensure things get done? Is it to inspire others to a shared goal or purpose? What if its purpose were both grander and more noble than that? What if leadership practice exists to effect the 'common good' in society and those that dwell within it?

According to Associate Professor Samuel Wilson, from Swinburne University and researcher for the Australian Leadership Index, the concept of the 'common good' is an idea whose time has come, and leadership practice is very much at the forefront of shifting it beyond an abstract concept to real, lived experience.

Join Paul & KG as they talk to Sam Wilson to try and get their heads around the idea of the common good, and the forms of leadership practice that might make this common good a reality.

Today's wine is a delicious and fruity one from Gounyan Wines, in Australia's capital, Canberra. The wine is a 2023, Murrumbateman Syrah. A smooth and medium bodied red wine that fills the mouth with soft fruit and spice. A lovely drop provided by our friends at Annandale Cellars. Check them out for this and other outstanding wines.

Sláinte friends!

Some useful resources from this episode:

1. Australian Leadership Index

We're keen to hear what you thought of this conversation. Please let us know through either of the options below.

Please reach out on askus@leadershipdecanted.com or visit us at www.leadershipdecanted.com

Disagree or agree with anything we've said? How wrong are we?!? Are there any leadership topics you'd like us to discuss (or perhaps other books or podcasts that might set us straight!)? Maybe you'd like to recommend a favourite wine!

Whatever tickles your fancy, we'd love to hear from you!!

Cheeky Half episodes are Paul and KG's attempts at articulating ideas on leadership they've been tossing around but not fully comprehended. It's a way of starting a conversation and seeing whether anything 'sticks'. It is also a great vehicle for engaging with a growing, and increasingly vocal, audience. And it's the latter that really pumps them up!

In this short episode they address some listener questions and concerns triggered by a recent episode where Paul and KG asked, "What makes a great leader?" (Ep 4.04). We're so grateful for these listener interactions, please keep them coming. This question is yet to be fully resolved.

Join us and let us know what you think!

We'd love to hear what you thought of this conversation.

Please let us know through either of the options below.

Please reach out on askus@leadershipdecanted.com or visit us at www.leadershipdecanted.com

Disagree or agree with anything we've said? How wrong are we?!? Are there any leadership topics you'd like us to discuss (or perhaps other books or podcasts that might set us straight!)? Maybe you'd like to recommend a favourite wine!

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that, "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." It is an affirmation as well as a promise made by many countries via the ratification of a number of Human Rights treaties. Australia is one of the countries that has made the 'promise' to uphold those treaties. However Australia has not fully incorporated these treaties into its own domestic laws through a comprehensive national human rights act, which has been a point of ongoing confusion, contention, debate and advocacy for some time.

This has tested many people in leadership positions time and again, shedding light, not always positive, on the many fraught decisions and uncertain paths that need to be explored if the fundamental principles of Human Rights are to have any meaning or value in our society.

To unpack what all this means, and to explain the purpose and future of Human Rights in Australia, Paul & KG had the privilege and absolute pleasure of sitting down with Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher who, at the time of recording this conversation, is the President of the Australian Human Rights Commission.

We think you will find this conversation as entertaining, informative and inspirational as KG & Paul did. And of course, it was well-served by a most unconventional, yet delicious, wine from Gilbert Family Wines, in Mudgee, NSW. The wine is a 2022, Pétillant-Naturel Rosé. A gently frizzante wine that is both refreshing and holds its weight with generous mouthfuls of fine fruit, including strawberry and watermelon. A lovely drop provided by our friends at Annandale Cellars. Check them out for this and other outstanding wines.

Sláinte friends!

Some useful resources from this episode:

1. Australian Human Rights Commission
2. Universal Declaration of Human Rights
3. Free and Equal: An Australian conversation on human rights

We're keen to hear what you thought of this conversation. Please let us know through either of the options below.

Please reach out on askus@leadershipdecanted.com or visit us at www.leadershipdecanted.com

Disagree or agree with anything we've said? How wrong are we?!? Are there any leadership topics you'd like us to discuss (or perhaps other books or podcasts that might set us straight!)? Maybe you'd like to recommend a favourite wine!

Whatever tickles your fancy, we'd love to hear from you!!

The need to present a professional persona to the world is now pretty much assumed. In fact, in some circles it is expected. Social media platforms have paved approaches and practices that allow us to reach thousands, if not millions, of eye balls. The process and outcomes of shaping our image and narrative for the consumption of others is often referred to as 'branding'. But questions remain: do these efforts work (to what end is yet another question), and is it worth our time?

In this Cheeky Half Paul takes his usual contrarian position, while KG tries to talk some practical sense into his cynical tone. To brand, or not to brand. Is that really the question?

Join us and let us know what you think!

We'd love to hear what you thought of this conversation.

Please let us know through either of the options below.

Please reach out on askus@leadershipdecanted.com or visit us at www.leadershipdecanted.com

Disagree or agree with anything we've said? How wrong are we?!? Are there any leadership topics you'd like us to discuss (or perhaps other books or podcasts that might set us straight!)? Maybe you'd like to recommend a favourite wine!

What makes a great leader?!?

It wasn't until a listener emailed Paul & KG this question that it dawned on them they had never actually discussed this topic. After some time together at the podcast desk, and a gorgeous bottle of wine, they realised why this had been the case. It's a bloody hard question to answer. It's complex and, in some circles, a little muddled, heated or controversial. But that's never stopped them before!

So join KG & Paul as they deflect, qualify and oversimplify what is, in effect, a very simple question with some very complex answers. Please join us to help us make sense of it. What is great leadership for you? Please email us and let us know how far off the mark they might be (though messages of support and encouragement are also welcome!)!!

And, as always, this great conversation is aided and abetted by a funky (in a good way) and most rewarding wine - a 2022 Barossa Tangerine Dream, by Smallfry Wines. It is an 'Amber' wine, with light skin contact and an unusual blend of Semillon, Pedro Ximenes, Riesling, Roussane and Muscat. Light and refreshing, yet layered enough to challenge any wine lover or someone who simply wants to try something different and delicious. It was generously provided by Annadale Cellars. Delectable.

Sláinte friends!

We're keen to hear what you thought of this conversation. Please let us know through either of the options below.

Please reach out on askus@leadershipdecanted.com or visit us at www.leadershipdecanted.com

Disagree or agree with anything we've said? How wrong are we?!? Are there any leadership topics you'd like us to discuss (or perhaps other books or podcasts that might set us straight!)? Maybe you'd like to recommend a favourite wine!

Whatever tickles your fancy, we'd love to hear from you!!

We do love a 'straight talker'. Someone who is courageous enough to call out the BS. Someone who feels comfortable to speak their mind, and call it 'as they see it'. But sometimes it doesn't take much for a virtue to transform into a form of 'violence'; all of a sudden, we feel disempowered by someone else's 'truth'. A 'truth' held so tightly that it suffocates dialogue and goodwill, disregarding unconscious biases and unspoken intentions. Often, these are 'convenient' truths - declarations that exist to advance an agenda and stifle dissent. You may know what we're talking about.

This 'violence' can be amplified when there is a power imbalance. When leaders call things 'as they see them' it can spell doom for diversity and innovation, and sometimes even cultivate fear, as those around them dare not contradict those above them.

In this Cheeky Half Paul & KG talk about how productive leadership practices can be hijacked by such pernicious assumptions around our own perceptions of the world around us.

Join us and let us know what you think!

We'd love to hear what you thought of this conversation.

Please let us know through either of the options below.

Please reach out on askus@leadershipdecanted.com or visit us at www.leadershipdecanted.com

Disagree or agree with anything we've said? How wrong are we?!? Are there any leadership topics you'd like us to discuss (or perhaps other books or podcasts that might set us straight!)? Maybe you'd like to recommend a favourite wine!

*** WARNING: SOME STRONG LANGUAGE IN THIS EPISODE. ***

Many of us might regularly reflect on the big concerns confronting our generation - climate action and our nation's relationship to first nations people are just two of these. And many of us would like to do something about these complex issues. However, for whatever reasons, we might feel like it's not our place, or perhaps we feel we are not authorised nor have the power to do anything at all.

For many years now, writer, comedian, journalist and filmmaker, Dan Ilic has been pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the public domain, challenging what he considers to be a lack of action from our leaders on climate change, amongst other things. His mantra? Don't wait for someone to give you permission to 'shake the tree'. No one's going to give it to you. If you feel strongly enough, use whatever power is available to you and exercise any leadership you can to start that conversation.

Join KG & Paul as they talk to Dan about his use of comedy and satire to generate awareness and, on occasion, actually get something done.

As is our custom, this great conversation is held together by an elegant and complex Chardonnay from vines in the cooler regions, southwest of the Australian capital. A 2022 CLO Tumbarumba Chardonnay. It is smooth, full without being heavy, carrying tasty flavours of pear, lime and green apple. It was generously provided by Annadale Cellars. And, as usual, it is utterly delicious!

Sláinte friends!

Here are a few links to Dan's work. Worth checking out!

1. A Rational Fear Podcast. Winner of the Best Comedy Podcast Award 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
2. "Where the f**king hell are you?" A satirical spoof of the much maligned 2006 Australian Tourism campaign.
3. Times Square billboard project. Where Dan crowdfunded enough money, and collaborated with many creatives and supporters, to buy 10 minutes of time in Times Square. Displaying were a number of rolling ads that were, essentially, satirical messages and protests commenting on the Australian Government's inaction on climate change.
4. Dan's is interviewed by Jake Tapper, the lead Washington anchor for CNN.

We're keen to hear what you thought of this conversation. Please let us know through either of the options below.

Please reach out on askus@leadershipdecanted.com or visit us at www.leadershipdecanted.com

Disagree or agree with anything we've said? How wrong are we?!? Are there any leadership topics you'd like us to discuss (or perhaps other books or podcasts that might set us straight!)? Maybe you'd like to recommend a favourite wine!

Whatever tickles your fancy, we'd love to hear from you!!

Many of us know someone in a Leadership position that oozes self-confidence. They are highly skilled, backing every one of their decisions, as if they were fated. However, what happens when those people lack self-awareness? Many of us have experienced that fallout too.

But this leadership character 'equation' may also be turned upside down. What if we worked with a very skilled leader, high in self-awareness, but awfully short on self-confidence?

On this Cheeky Half Paul & KG riff on these seemingly simple questions which often generate complex outcomes. How do the dynamics of self-confidence and self-awareness 'show up' in leadership practice. Is there such a thing as 'balance' between each, or are we merely chasing rainbows?

Join us and let us know what you think!

We'd love to hear what you thought of this conversation.

Please let us know through either of the options below.

Please reach out on askus@leadershipdecanted.com or visit us at www.leadershipdecanted.com

Disagree or agree with anything we've said? How wrong are we?!? Are there any leadership topics you'd like us to discuss (or perhaps other books or podcasts that might set us straight!)? Maybe you'd like to recommend a favourite wine!