Episodes

In this episode, Leanne Hughes engages in a captivating conversation with Douglas Ferguson, the founder of Voltage Control facilitation academy. Watch the interview on YouTube. They dive into various topics, including the art of facilitation, the concept of Integrated Autonomy, and the potential impact of AI on the field. Douglas shares insights from his experience in software development, his passion for music, and his deep understanding of facilitation. About our guest: Douglas Ferguson: Do...

Yesterday, my best friend — my fearless four-legged buddy, Milo — crossed the Rainbow Bridge. If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll know Milo was always by my side: sitting under my desk while I worked, joining me for countless coffee runs, and barking during livestreams just to remind me who was really in charge. He was the calm (and sometimes neurotic!) constant in my every day. In this episode, I read aloud the article I wrote for Work Fame about saying goodbye to him — and I share a fe...

In today’s episode, I share a gem of a quote that came from Fiona Kruger (thanks Fiona!) — one her manager used to repeat almost daily: “The first draft is the hardest.” Simple, powerful, and so true. I unpack how that idea plays out across everything from corporate projects to book writing — and why accepting that the first draft will always be hard takes the pressure off. It’s not supposed to be perfect. It’s supposed to exist. You’ll hear me riff on: 💡 Why getting the first draft out is ...

In today’s off-the-cuff travel chat, I’m diving into something I’ve been obsessing over lately: carry-on luggage. After my trusty old suitcase zip finally gave up on my flight home from Melbourne, I went down a deep rabbit hole comparing July, Antler, and a surprising dark horse — Kathmandu. I share: ✈️ Why I’m done with hard shell suitcases (and the Mumbai hotel porter who convinced me years ago). 💼 How much suitcase weight really matters when your carry-on limit is only 7–10kg. 🧳 Why I cho...

This weekend marks a pretty wild milestone — it’s my 25-year high school reunion. Yep, class of 2000. I can’t quite believe it’s been that long. I talk about what’s different this time around (spoiler: it’s being held at the actual school), what I noticed at our 10-year reunion (how everyone was still so themselves), and why I think personal development is really about unpeeling layers rather than completely transforming who we are. I also explore the social dynamics of reunions: how a simple ...

Hey friends, happy Monday (or Sunday, depending on when you’re tuning in)! I’ve just wrapped up a three-hour hike — the first of three workouts today — part of my prep for Everest Base Camp next month. My performance coach Kyle is ramping things up: morning hike, midday jog, and a weighted vest walk tonight before I settle in for the Broncos’ grand final. It’s all about simulating what it’s like to move, rest, and then get moving again — just like trekking days in Nepal. Over brunch yesterday w...

This week I’m diving into team development and team dynamics with Phil Brown from High 5 Adventure. Remember those high-ropes days where the best part was the debrief? Same. Phil is the guy who designs those experiences—and, more importantly, the reflections that turn “fun” into behaviour change. We jam on what happens after you graduate from being a first-time facilitator: Where’s the career progression? How do we explain “facilitation” to people outside our bubble? And how do we design activi...

This week on Talk the Walk, Alan and I riff on quitting—firing clients, pausing projects, and stopping things that technically “work” but don’t work for you anymore. We dig into ego, sunk-cost traps, scope creep, and how to communicate a graceful stop without burning bridges. Alan shares a simple pre-flight test to help you avoid quitting later by deciding smarter upfront. In this episode Why “don’t be a quitter” is terrible advice for grown-ups with goals Alan’s 5 When-Not-to-Start filters (...

It was a massive weekend of sport in Brisbane – and I couldn’t let it slip by without sharing a few reflections (even if you’re not a footy fan, there are still lessons in here about timing, trust, and big-moment leadership). In this episode, I recap: 🎟️ Why I almost flew to Melbourne for the AFL Grand Final (and why I didn’t) 🦁 The Brisbane Lions’ gutsy win over Geelong – and the game-changing moment when coach Chris Fagan finally unleashed two-time Brownlow medalist Lachie Neale 🎤 Snoop Do...

How do you build deep, trusting relationships in business (and in life)? In today’s episode, I dive deeper into Give to Grow by Mo Bunnell—a book I recommended recently that’s already sparking action from listeners like Julia Van Gra. This isn’t your typical business development book; it’s human, practical, and all about shifting from “doing the work” to “winning the work.” I share some of Mo’s biggest insights, including: Why execution and business development are opposite skill sets—and why...

I had my week mapped out perfectly. Color-coded Gantt chart, every project, every sub-task—even down to outfits for upcoming events. I was feeling smug, confident, and in control. Then life happened. At midnight, my sausage dog Quincy needed an emergency trip to the vet. Suddenly my “perfect plan” didn’t matter one bit. In this episode, I share the story of how my Gantt chart collided with real life (and John Lennon’s line: “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans”). I talk ...

📚 Thanks for coming back for part three of my book prescription series! Over the last couple of episodes, I’ve been sharing the books I recommend constantly—not just because they’re great reads, but because they solve specific problems my clients, friends, and colleagues bring to me. In today’s episode, I cover books that will help you if you: Are doing great work, but feel like no one notices Hate selling, but need to build business and relationships Want inspiration without the eye-rolls ...

Last week I shared my first seven Book Prescriptions—titles I recommend constantly because they solve very specific problems. Today I’m back with the next seven. These are the books I turn to (and re-read) whenever someone asks me things like: “How do I come up with a catchy name for my idea or business?” “I want to become a paid speaker—where do I even start?” “Why do I keep making expensive mistakes?” “How do I stop procrastinating and actually create?” “How can I host a gathering where ...

As facilitators, our clients don’t pay for the 50% version of us—they pay for the fully-charged, present, 100% edition. In this chat with Brisbane-based facilitator, trainer, and speaker Nicholas King, we talk about how to show up at our best, design “winning” workshop moments, and make deliberate choices about what we feed our minds so we can serve the room. Why listen: You’ll steal practical facilitation moves (hello, post-lunch energy!), pick up a few killer equipment hacks, and hear the one...

Today’s convo is an extract from Virtually Possible 2.0 with the brilliant Marissa Agrasut (Singapore) and Joeri Schilders. Marissa walks us through an online spin on the classic Fishbowl format to sharpen listening, observation, and the craft of facilitation—then we demo it live. What’s inside Why I left the livestream mostly unedited (and why you might, too) Fishbowl, but online: how we split “speakers” and “observers” The note-taking sheet that forces real listening (points + evidence) F...

Every week, someone asks me: “Leanne, what book should I read next?” And my response is always: “Well…what problem are you trying to solve?” Because you don’t need another list of “top 10 business books” that just recycle the same titles. You need the right book, at the right time, for the right problem. Jenny Blake calls this a Book RX — a book prescription. Like a doctor scribbling on their pad, except instead of antibiotics, I hand out stories, strategies, and mindset shifts. So today, I’m ...

If you’ve ever thought, “This meeting could have been an email”… today’s episode is for you. I’m sharing why agendas aren’t just nice-to-haves, they’re the thing that keeps meetings short, sharp, and actually useful. I’ll take you behind the scenes of some 25-minute listening tour calls I’ve been running, and how a 10-minute pre-email with sample questions changed the whole dynamic. We’ll also talk about David Grady’s hilarious TED Talk on Meeting Acceptance Syndrome (yes, it’s a real thing) a...

I’m back with a short and sweet episode today—and it’s all about a new Apple feature I’ve fallen in love with. If you’ve ever been mid-flow and suddenly interrupted by a random call from a solar panel company (even though you already have solar 🙄), then you’ll get why this is such a game-changer. With iOS 26, you can now: Turn on Call Identification so your iPhone checks Apple Business Connect, carriers, and call ID apps to figure out who’s ringing you. Screen or silence unknown numbers—your ...

Today, I’m handing the mic back to Jason Knight. You might remember him from last month’s episode where we jammed on branding and how to think of your positioning like a newspaper headline. This time, Jason’s diving into one of my absolute favourite topics: frameworks. Whether it’s a Venn diagram, a 2x2, or a hand-drawn sketch, frameworks have this magical way of taking complex ideas and making them unforgettable. In this conversation, Jason shares his Pain-to-Results model—a signature system ...

Today I’m taking you behind the mic into what’s actually on my mind right now: the AFL Grand Final. My Brisbane Lions are chasing back-to-back wins, Snoop Dogg is headlining the pre-game entertainment, and I’m scheming about whether I can somehow score a last-minute ticket. This episode is less “self-development” and more about the fun of throwing out a wild idea and seeing what’s possible. From reminiscing about Meatloaf’s infamous performance to predicting Snoop’s opener (I’m calling What’s ...

This weekend rewind is with my friend Sally Porteous. Sally is the Managing Director of Red Lanyard, an event production company where she produces festivals, conferences and meetings. She also runs the Event Planners Workshop and the Event Managers Network, bridging the gap between theory and the real world. In this conversation, you’ll hear parallels between workshops and events—how both are about creating environments that feel safe, memorable and impactful. Sally shares practical strategie...

In this NEW episode of First Time Facilitator, I chat with Dr Liz O'Riordan about her leap from the operating theatre to the workshop room. After being diagnosed with cancer and leaving surgery, Liz turned to speaking, writing, and now — facilitation. With only days to prepare, she discovered my book The 2-Hour Workshop Blueprint, raided her kitchen cupboards for props, and built a session that participants called “brilliant — don’t change a thing.” We unpack how she: Transformed complex canc...

So here’s the question I’m now wrestling with: Am I about to break up with Kindle? On today’s walk (weighted vest and all), I stumbled into an audio summit via Hello Audio and ended up learning something completely unexpected from Vanessa Poin. She shared how she uses Substack for discoverability (hello, generative engine optimization) and then dropped a perspective that stopped me in my tracks: PDFs are way more valuable than Kindle books when it comes to embedding knowledge into your business....

This one is less about “what I learned” and more about the process of an experience I just had in Melbourne — a Wizardly Walk designed by Dr. Jason Fox and Michael Bungay Stanier. Across pubs, cafés, buses, bushland, trains, and communal dinners, the whole thing unfolded like a story. What stood out to me wasn’t just the 20km walk (that got cut short thanks to wild winds and falling branches!) but the way the experience was curated to spark reflection. Jason and Michael opened with five powerf...