Fireside Leadership Podcast

Josh Komen built his identity around being able to outwork almost anything. Then leukaemia took away his health, athletic future and the identity he had built around them.

Josh is a former competitive New Zealand 800-metre runner, two-time acute myeloid leukaemia survivor, author, speaker, breathwork coach and father.

In this conversation, Josh and Chris explore what happens when relentless effort becomes the only response you have. ...

Four junior trials. Four rejections. Then Joe Sullivan went on to win five consecutive World Rowing titles, Olympic gold and the America’s Cup twice with Emirates Team New Zealand.

But the real story is not simply that Joe proved people wrong. It is what repeated doubt did to his self-belief, how easily systems can suppress exceptional talent and the difference made by people willing to fight for someone who has been overlooke...

Pressure rarely arrives when life is orderly. When it hits, the quality of your preparation matters more than how confident or motivated you feel.

Dougal Allan is a two-time Coast to Coast champion, endurance coach and America’s Cup winner. Across more than 20 years of elite competition, he learned how to remain present through pain, recover from failure and perform when the stakes were at their highest.

In this conversation, D...

Marius van der Pol has operated inside two environments where weak leadership is quickly exposed: the NZSAS and Emirates Team New Zealand.

In this conversation, Marius explains why effective leadership is not about having every answer. It is about setting clear standards, remaining calm under pressure and trusting capable people with genuine ownership.

He shares what happened when he encountered a problem effort alone could not solve...

You do not need to feel confident before starting again. Sometimes action is what rebuilds belief.

After losing her income, property portfolio and family home during the Global Financial Crisis, Nichole Lewis had to decide whether to retreat into safety or rebuild from the ground up. Her starting point included selling horse manure for $2 a bag while working out how to return to property with no money.

In this conversation, Nichole e...

The best leaders don't react faster. They think better.

After more than 30 years in the New Zealand Defence Force—and now serving as the Warrant Officer of the Defence Force, New Zealand's senior enlisted leader—Wiremu Moffitt has learned that leadership isn't about having all the answers. It's about creating the time and space to think clearly, empower others and make better decisions under pressure.

In this episode of ...

Strategy matters. But culture determines whether it succeeds.

Leadership consultant and culture strategist Jerry Beale believes the biggest mistake leaders make is focusing on performance before people. Organisations don't thrive because of better strategies alone—they thrive when trust, belonging and genuine human connection create the conditions for people to do their best work.

In this episode of the Fireside Leadership Pod...

Your work doesn't always speak for itself. Sometimes, you have to.

Many talented leaders stay invisible because they believe good work alone will be recognised. Leadership strategist Rochelle Moffat argues that influence isn't about self-promotion—it's about making your ideas visible, building genuine relationships and creating opportunities before you need them. In today's world, if people don't know what you stand for, they ...

Confidence isn't something you find. It's something you build.

Professional cricketer Dane Cleaver knows that confidence comes and goes. In elite sport, performance is your currency, and there are days when self-belief is low but the expectation to deliver never changes. The difference isn't feeling confident—it's trusting your preparation, controlling what you can and continuing to perform anyway.

In this episode of the Fires...

Championships aren't won on game day. They're built in the daily grind.

Four-time NBL champion and New Zealand Breakers President of Basketball Operations Dillon Boucher has spent decades inside elite teams—as a player, captain and executive. His biggest lesson? High-performing teams aren't defined by talent. They're defined by discipline, culture and the willingness to do the hard, often unseen work that success demands.

In t...

The best leaders build teams that thrive—even when they're not in the room.

Too many leaders become the bottleneck. They make every decision, solve every problem and unintentionally teach their teams to depend on them. Former SAS Commander James Jensen believes great leadership is the opposite: developing people, creating ownership and building the confidence for others to step up when it matters most.

In this follow-up conver...

Most leaders don't have a conflict problem. They have a feedback problem.

Conflict is inevitable in every team, but it doesn't have to become destructive. People and culture leader Lisa Oakley believes the biggest mistake leaders make is avoiding difficult conversations until small issues become major problems. Great leaders don't shy away from feedback—they create environments where honest conversations are normal, trust is p...

What if the hardest moments in your life become your greatest advantage?

Former Australian SAS operator Mark Direen has spent decades operating in some of the world's most demanding environments. From combat deployments and surviving an IED strike to leading teams under extreme pressure, he's learned that hardship isn't something to avoid—it's where character, leadership and wisdom are forged.

In this episode of the Fireside L...

What if pressure isn't something to fear—but something you've earned?

Four-time Olympian and high-performance coach Shea McAleese believes pressure isn't the enemy. In fact, if you've prepared properly, pressure becomes proof that you're doing something meaningful. Across a 17-year international hockey career, Shea learned that sustained performance isn't built on confidence alone—it's built on preparation, conviction an...

Negotiation isn't just for salespeople. It's one of the most important leadership skills you'll ever develop.

Whether you're leading a team, negotiating a salary, managing conflict or influencing stakeholders, every conversation is a negotiation. According to negotiation strategist Noa Sheer, the biggest mistake people make isn't being too soft—it's approaching negotiation without a clear methodology.

In this episode of the Fi...

What does leadership look like when the pressure never stops?

As CEO of Basketball New Zealand, Belinda Edwards leads one of the country's fastest-growing sporting organisations. From balancing grassroots participation with elite performance to making difficult organisational decisions, she believes great leadership isn't about having all the answers—it's about building trust, staying true to your purpose and creating an envir...

Why do so many capable leaders struggle to communicate with impact?

Executive public speaking coach Miriam Chancellor believes the problem usually isn't confidence—it's clarity. The best communicators don't overwhelm people with information. They understand their audience, deliver a simple message and create genuine human connection.

In this episode of the Fireside Leadership Podcast, Chris Turkington sits down with Miriam to ...

Why do so many high performers struggle once success stops feeling sustainable?

Former military pilot and clinical psychologist Dr. Carsten Grimm believes the answer isn't a lack of discipline. It's that many leaders eventually reach the limits of the strategies that got them there. Perfectionism, relentless drive and control can fuel success early on, but over time they can become the very things holding us back.

In this episode of...

What really separates high performers from everyone else?

After coaching world champions, Olympic athletes, CEOs, political leaders and elite sporting teams, James Laughlin has discovered that sustained success isn't built on talent alone. It's built on habits, self-awareness and the ability to perform consistently without sacrificing the things that matter most.

In this episode of the Fireside Leadership Podcast, Chris Turkington s...