Episodes

Today, I’m talking about a phenomenon I see everywhere — in workshops, in virtual calls, in team meetings, and even at home in my kitchen: diffusion of responsibility. Here’s what I cover: Why the more people you have in a room, the less likely it is someone will speak up The difference between “we should…” and “I will…” How this shows up in virtual breakouts (and what I do to get around it) A classic household example (starring Chris and the eternally soaking frypan) What it means for acc...

I’ve been thinking a lot about accountability—that word we see plastered on corporate value statements like it’s the golden ticket to high performance. But here’s my hot take: accountability isn’t binary. You’re not either “an accountable person” or you’re not—it’s contextual. Today I’m challenging the ever-popular quote: “How you do one thing is how you do everything.” Honestly? I call BS. I can consistently show up and record this daily podcast (go me!), and at the same time, be completely ho...

Hi from Melbourne, where the weather went full four-seasons-in-one-run today 🌦️ In this episode, I share a little travel tale from this morning—one that had me sweating over an Uber notification and questioning whether I should cancel, rebook, or just… wait. I walk you through: My ritual for getting to the airport without stress (spoiler: it involves scheduling an Uber + morning cardio) The moment things went off-script with the driver and I had zero control The 20-minute window where I had...

You’re already playing Calendar Tetris, whether you know it or not. The real question is—are you placing your blocks with intention, or are you letting everyone else drop them on you? This one’s for anyone who feels like their calendar is stacked to the ceiling and teetering on collapse. I walk through eight shifts that help me play a better, more forgiving game of time management—from deleting the dead blocks (bye, recurring meetings!) to stacking similar energy tasks (hello, center-stage days...

Today’s episode is one that’s incredibly special to me—it’s a conversation with my dad, Anari Hughes. You’ll hear me give him a proper intro in the recording, but here’s some extra context: Dad is a retired civil engineer, but the impact he’s had on people—both professionally and personally—is far from retired. When he finished up work, we threw him a surprise retirement party. I got to run a panel at the event, and I also secretly reached out to his former colleagues and mates from Wales to re...

Hey, thanks for tuning into the Weekend Rewind. I completely forgot I had this incredible conversation with Jordan Harbinger—one of the biggest influences on my podcasting journey—and it’s too good not to bring back. This was originally recorded as Episode 100 of the First Time Facilitator podcast, and it’s such a full-circle moment. I first saw Jordan speak at We Are Podcast in Brisbane back in 2017, and I had zero plans to start my own show—I just wanted to watch him live. But a lucky draw, s...

I’m halfway through a big week working with a team—lots of rich convos and aha moments. One theme that popped up today? Naming things. Not just for the sake of it, but naming as a way to clarify, energise, and bring ideas to life. In this episode, I chat through: ✨ Why I love naming things and how I approach it 🧠 My favourite naming tools: portmanteaus, alliteration, rhyming, clarity 💬 The questions I ask before naming anything 🎯 Why AI can’t (yet) compete with human nuance in naming 🌾 The...

Today’s episode is part two of a CliftonStrengths mini-series (but don’t worry, you don’t need to listen to part one to jump into this one). I’m diving into my Top 5 strengths and how they actually show up in my life and business. This tool has been such a game-changer for me—not just in understanding myself better, but also helping teams I work with tap into their own brilliance. Here are my five: Ideation – My brain is a popcorn machine. Ideas, everywhere. All the time. Maximizer – Good is...

Today I’m diving into something I absolutely love—strengths. Specifically, I’m chatting about a tool I’m using with a team this week to help uncover individual strengths and map them across the team landscape. The tool? CliftonStrengths (by Gallup), which completely changed my life back in 2017 after I read Jenny Blake’s book Pivot. At the time, I felt like the odd one out in my job, questioning my fit and contribution. Then I took the CliftonStrengths assessment—and BOOM! Everything shifted. ...

Hey, thanks for tuning in today. This episode is for my fellow runners—and travel lovers. I’m sharing my absolute favourite running routes around the world. These are the runs that bring me pure joy. You know the ones—those flat-ish, scenic, energising 5–10K loops where you just feel alive the entire way. Now, I’ll be honest—I'll probably remember a dozen more the minute I hit publish (so expect a part two!). But here’s what made the cut today: 🏃‍♀️ London: Running past the London Eye, Bucking...

This episode was sparked by a great comment I got on LinkedIn from Sally Portus (hi Sally!), asking: How do you consistently prioritize things like training for a hike—outside of just ‘putting it in your calendar’? So today, I’m sharing how I approach consistency—not with rigid discipline, but with a very healthy dose of fear. 🧗‍♀️ I’ve got a goal that genuinely scares me: Trekking to Everest Base Camp and Lobuche Peak in November. I’m terrified of not making it… and that fear is a brilliant mo...

I'my, joined by the hilarious and legendary Dave Jackson. You might know him from the School of Podcasting, or maybe you've seen him speak at one of the many podcasting events around the world (including the one where I first met him—We Are Podcast!). But here's the twist: instead of diving deep into podcasting tips, I wanted to tap into Dave's decades of experience as a technical trainer and uncover how he brings humor, energy, and storytelling into his sessions. Dave has taught Microsoft Off...

In this episode, I’m bringing back a firecracker of a guest: Sarah Cordiner — course creation expert, published author, former youngest university director in Australia and all-around powerhouse. We talk about: How she went from losing a $2.7M business overnight to building a global, seven-figure online course empire from a spare bedroom in Broome Her exact content repurposing process (seriously, she lays it all out!) The “celebrity chef” strategy she uses to give away her best stuff—and why...

Yesterday I posted about my experiment interviewing with an AI recruiter called Jane, created by the tool Tavus. Jane represents a global consulting firm, and honestly, the experience felt surprisingly real, yet clearly robotic. I shared this encounter on LinkedIn thinking the response would be intrigue or curiosity, but instead it triggered strong pushback about AI being "dehumanising" and "disrespectful." At first I felt neutral about this tech—just curious, experimenting, and seeing what's p...

This episode starts with a contradiction: a gorgeous blue-sky walk... paired with a doomsday AI podcast. In this reflection, I explore: What I actually think about AI (spoiler: no one really knows) A sharp, pragmatic post by Greg Isenberg on the real impact of AI on jobs My commentary on what’s already playing out in workplaces I consult with How this will affect facilitators, consultants, educators — and the entire idea of “relevance” Why trades and creativity are about to see a big upswi...

In today’s episode, I’m digging up a concept I wrote about last year that’s suddenly getting a second life: The Influence Manifesto. While I didn’t get to cover every part of it, one line in particular really stood out to a client today—and I wanted to explore it with you here. That line? “Learn the lyrics. Sing them back to your stakeholders.” Credit to Pat Flynn for sparking the idea in his book Superfans, but the principle is something I use all the time—in facilitation, in writing, in infl...

Hey friends! In today’s episode of Leanne on Demand, I’m diving into a concept that helped me have one of my most productive (and weirdly peaceful) mornings in a while: Signal vs Noise. Yesterday, I mapped out my top 3 priorities. Today, I smashed out one of the big ones—a client proposal—and stayed laser-focused on designing two workshops. But here’s the twist: I didn’t check email obsessively, didn’t scroll LinkedIn, didn’t even look at my WhatsApp messages. Why? Because none of that was sign...

This episode is a little different — it’s a behind-the-scenes walkthrough of a live experiment I ran last week. If you’re subscribed to my Friday Substack, you may have already seen the video, but even without the visuals, I think there’s so much value in hearing the thinking behind what I built. So, what’s this episode about? I’m showing you my first foray into vibe coding — a fancy name for talking out your ideas and having AI turn them into working software. No code. No developer. Just you...

Hey, friends! Welcome to Talk The Walk — and this one’s for all the writers, podcasters, LinkedIn post-drafters, and idea hoarders who know they have something to say… but just can’t seem to hit publish. In this live episode, I’m joined (as always) by my favorite co-host Alan Weiss — the guy with 54 books (and counting), multiple bestsellers, and absolutely zero fear when it comes to shipping his ideas out into the world. We explore: Why publishing anything (from blog to book) is a credibilit...

In today's Weekend Rewind, I'm revisiting a conversation from 2019 with my virtual friend Kirsty Lewis, founder of the School of Facilitation based in the UK. Kirsty is deeply passionate about the art of learning, training, and facilitation, and she's dedicated to helping individuals and businesses enhance their facilitation capabilities. In our chat, Kirsty shares her inspiring journey from working in global sales roles at Diageo to becoming an influential facilitator and coach. We delve into ...

In this episode, I dig into a hot topic here in Australia: The Right to Disconnect—that new law that lets you legally ignore after-hours work emails. On the surface, it feels like a win for boundaries... but when you pair it with headlines screaming about Australia’s worst productivity levels in 60 years? We've got a real contradiction to unpack. Or do we? I share why I initially thought this was a collision of ideas—and why, after a deeper dive, I think this clash points to a much deeper, sys...

This one’s a bit of a brain spill from my pre-Everest Base Camp trek prep — but there’s a sneaky behavioural insight tucked in there too. I share: Why I’m buying a neoprene cover for my hydration straw (spoiler: negative 20°C is not your friend). How my long-standing relationship with mochas is going through a breakup… and how hard it is to change even tiny habits when people know you as someone else. The surprising social pressure of baristas. Jim Rohn’s five people quote, and why environm...

Today I took a scroll down memory lane… via my Notes app. Looking for inspiration for today’s episode, I wasn’t vibing with anything recent, so I went way back—to my first note ever, from 2013 (hint: it was bad stock advice 🫣). Then I landed on a list I wrote in 2016 called “Where I Work Best.” And you know what? Despite almost a decade passing, not much has shifted. This episode is part nostalgic trip, part career reflection, and part invitation for you to do the same. I share: The surprisi...

I just got back from a dream of a Monday down the Gold Coast with my brilliant friendtor, Petra Zink. Ocean views, whale sightings, big chats — you know the ones that meander between business and life and make you rethink everything? This episode was born from one of those. We started talking about ROI — not return on investment, but return on I. Because here’s the truth: You’re not just buying a course, event, or speaker. You’re placing a bet on yourself to turn that into value. In today’s ep...