Never Too Far Gone

Sometimes the smallest, messiest, most depleted organisation still has more life in it than you might think. In this episode Heather shares why she believes that external partners might offer quicker solutions, but it is almost always a false economy. She unpacks why she has chosen to focus her life on renewing long-established systems from within, assisting them to develop their own in-house solutions. Heather shares insights from Maria Mazzucato and Rosie Collington's research at UCL, into why an over-dependence on external advice creates a fear-driven economy in which actors lose the skill of learning.

In this episode Heather explains what a 'Renewalist' is and why it is a different style of leadership to two more readily recognised categories, being management and advocacy. Heather explains from the example of Beauty and the Beast, how Renewalists are people who humanise systems by stepping into them fully. The episode ends with a time for reflection about whether you are "all in" to lead the community you stand within, or whether you feel one-toe-out.

In this quick Learning Byte, Heather shares about the importance of planning for the unplanned, or making space for what John Paul Lederach describes as "Serendipity." Heather shares an example of serendipitous discoveries that have been taking place for her at Holy Trinity in Port Melbourne. This episode finishes with an exercise in observing the unplanned experiences and opportunities that may be nudging you in an unexpected direction.

Every great leader experiences small, medium and big setbacks along the way. Knowing how to weather and metabolise these experiences can make the difference between going the distance, and not. This is the fourth of a series that draws from John Paul Lederach's book, The Moral Imagination (2005) in which he describes the place of patience, place, time and serendipity in the practice of peacebuilding. This episode shares three exercises for practicing Stillness by observing the place of the past, present and future at each juncture of our story.

This is the third of a four-part series called Stillness, a practical guide to creating pause in the midst of conflict. 'Stillness' is not a meditation or spiritual practice, but the art of suspending judgement to observe what is happening in a conflict, be it an inner-conflict, intergroup or intragroup storming. This series draws from John Paul Lederach's book, The Moral Imagination (2005) in which he describes the place of patience, place, time and serendipity in the practice of peacebuilding. This episode shares two exercises for practicing Stillness by observing place. These are designed to help us notice clues about the best levers for change in our environment.

This is the second of a four-part series called Stillness, a practical guide to creating pause in the midst of conflict. 'Stillness' is not a meditation or spiritual practice, but the art of suspending judgement to observe what is happening in a conflict, be it an inner-conflict, intergroup or intragroup storming. This series draws from John Paul Lederach's book, The Moral Imagination (2005) in which he describes the place of patience, place, time and serendipity in the practice of peacebuilding. This episode shares three types of patience involved in the startup phase of building new ideas, initiatives or organisations, which are: Patience with the 'yes' people; Patience with the 'no' people; and Patience with the 'yes but not yet' people.

This is the first of a four-part series called Stillness, a practical guide to creating pause in the midst of conflict. 'Stillness' is not a meditation or spiritual practice, but the art of suspending judgement to observe what is happening in a conflict, be it an inner-conflict, intergroup or intragroup storming. This series draws from John Paul Lederach's book, The Moral Imagination (2005) in which he describes the place of patience, place, time and serendipity in the practice of peacebuilding. This episode introduces the concept of Stillness with three stories from Heather's recent experience of lobbying in Parliament.

This is the final episode of an eight-part series called Policy Matters, journeying into how to be a successful policy entrepreneur, based on Michael Sheldrick's From Ideas to Impact. This episode explores how to discern your career journey, featuring Carl Stauffer, Senior Expert in Reconciliation at the United States Institute for Peace. Carl looks back over his 30 years of experience as a strategic leader in peace, justice and reconciliation initiatives and reflects on how he came to understand his vocation and discern his 'next steps' at each juncture. This episode frames our career journey in three areas:- 'The Stirring' or times when we feel restless in our current role; 'The Closed Door' which is about how to manage when opportunities we thought would open up to us suddenly do not; and 'The Title' which is about the various ways that people and life experiences communicate to us who we are and what unique gift we bring to the world.

This is the seventh of an eight-part series called Policy Matters, journeying into how to be a successful policy entrepreneur, based on Michael Sheldrick's From Ideas to Impact. The final two episodes of this series take a slightly different turn, as we meet with Carl Stauffer, Senior Expert in Reconciliation at the United States Institute for Peace. Carl is a strategic leader with over 30 years experience in peace, justice and reconciliation initiatives, including 16 years on the ground in South Africa. He has conducted training and consultation in 37 countries and 6 continents and comes with 11 years experience as Associate Professor of Justice and Peacebuilding at the Eastern Mennonite University. In this episode, Carl shares how he has witnessed radical attempts to cross dividing lines in our world today, referencing: The building of a parallel democratic process in Myanmar; The Comprehensive Agreement signed between the United States and Vietnam in 2023; and A legislated framework for transitional justice in Colombia.

This is the sixth of an eight-part series called Policy Matters, based on Michael Sheldrick's newly released book From Ideas to Impact: A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World. Michael Sheldrick is the Co-Founder of Global Citizen and has worked with a range of stakeholders to distribute over $40 billion worldwide in the past decade to end extreme poverty. In this episode, Heather explores the third of three phases of policy entrepreneurship, which is what Michael calls 'Implementation.' Once you have a policy change on the table and you've managed to get the right people to that table, how do you make sure it doesn't fall off the agenda?

This is the fifth of an eight-part series called Policy Matters, based on Michael Sheldrick's newly released book From Ideas to Impact: A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World. Michael Sheldrick is the Co-Founder of Global Citizen and has worked with a range of stakeholders to distribute over $40 billion around the world in the past decade to end extreme poverty. In this episode, Heather interviews Michael as he shares three tips for how to make the most out of a ten-minute pitch to a busy person.

This is the fourth of an eight-part series called Policy Matters, based on Michael Sheldrick's newly released book From Ideas to Impact: A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World. Michael Sheldrick is the Co-Founder of Global Citizen and has worked with a range of stakeholders to distribute over $40 billion around the world in the past decade to end extreme poverty. In this episode, Heather interviews Michael, as he shares about the people in his life who influenced him to try against the odds, to not run away from hard things, and the big "yes" from a high school teacher that changed the direction of his life.

This is the third of an eight-part series called Policy Matters, based on Michael Sheldrick's newly released book From Ideas to Impact: A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World. Michael Sheldrick is the Co-Founder of Global Citizen and has worked with a range of stakeholders to distribute over $40 billion around the world in the past decade to end extreme poverty. In this episode, Heather sets out two safeguards when partnering with imperfect institutions and people: 1. Never assume you know everything; 2. Commit but don't get married. This episode includes a practical exercise for discerning strategic partnerships for policy entrepreneurship.

This is the second of an eight-part series called Policy Matters, based on Michael Sheldrick's newly released book From Ideas to Impact: A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World. Michael Sheldrick is the Co-Founder of Global Citizen and has worked with a range of stakeholders to distribute over $40 billion around the world in the past decade to end extreme poverty. In this episode, Heather exposes six enemies to vision: overwhelm, playing shy, polarisation, short-termism, judgement and depersonalisation. She reveals the weapons she has used to overcome these 'enemies' and why love wins every time.

This is the first of an eight-part series called Policy Matters, based on Michael Sheldrick's newly released book From Ideas to Impact: A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World. Michael Sheldrick is the Co-Founder of Global Citizen and has worked with a range of stakeholders to distribute over $40 billion around the world in the past decade to end extreme poverty. In this episode, Heather shares her own mindset shift towards elevating the importance of policy in effecting social change, away from preferencing grassroots activities. Whilst she argues that "policy entrepreneurship" has an indispensable place in effecting tangible change, she queries, is it the MOST important lever?

This is a time capsule, where Heather shares her 'vision of victory' for Systemic Renewal, as it came to her on an ordinary day, in her study.

This is the final of an eight-part series called Transition Plans: How to Transition Well. Change is something that happens as an external event or situation, whereas 'transition' is an inner, psychological process that people go through as they internalise and come to terms with change. This episode is with regular guest, Brooklyn White, Founder of Renewing Hope Agency, Canada. Heather and Brooklyn explore the art of describing a clear ‘vision of victory’ when leading a new beginning. This episode provides a guided reflection on three aspects to successfully stepping into a new beginning, inspired by William Bridges. These are: Just do it. Let it be incremental. Picture it.

This is the seventh of an eight-part series called Transition Plans: How to Transition Well. Change is something that happens as an external event or situation, whereas 'transition' is an inner, psychological process that people go through as they internalise and come to terms with change. This episode is with regular guest, Brooklyn White, Founder of Renewing Hope Agency, Canada. Heather and Brooklyn explore the balance between being ambitious for change without being naive about the pace. This episode provides a guided reflection on three aspects to successfully stepping into a new beginning, inspired by William Bridges. These are: Just do it. Let it be incremental. Picture it.

This is the sixth of an eight-part series called Transition Plans: How to Transition Well. Change is something that happens as an external event or situation, whereas 'transition' is an inner, psychological process that people go through as they internalise and come to terms with change. Based on William Bridges' groundbreaking work in Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes, this series unpacks the practical implications of his three-part Transition Model. This episode provides strategies for knowing when our long-term relationships are in a transition period and how to move through it well. Why? Because the bottom line is, leaders of large scale social change will unavoidably go through transitions in their core relationships.

This is the fifth of an eight-part series called Transition Plans: How to Transition Well. Change is something that happens as an external event or situation, whereas 'transition' is an inner, psychological process that people go through as they internalise and come to terms with change. This episode is with special guest, Ignacio Packer, Executive Director of Initiatives of Change, Caux Foundation. The conversation traverses three transitions occurring for global leadership today. First, a transition away from cynical or naively optimisitic leadership, towards a grounded, proactive choice to be hopeful. Secondly, a transition away from directive management styles to choosing vulnerability. Thirdly, a transition away from blind acceptance of white, male privilege, towards conscious decisions to choose diversity in leadership representation.

This is the fourth of an eight-part series called Transition Plans: How to Transition Well. Change is something that happens as an external event or situation, whereas 'transition' is an inner, psychological process that people go through as they internalise and come to terms with change. Based on William Bridges' groundbreaking work in Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes, this series unpacks the practical implications of his three-part Transition Model. This episode provides practical exercises for identifying the life stage of an organisation or sector, and the developmental needs to be met for healthy transition.

This is the third of an eight-part series called Transition Plans: How to Transition Well. This week features again special guest, Shivani Gopal, passionate feminist and the Founder and CEO of Elladex. Heather connects the themes in Shivani's practical experience of supporting women to transition into senior leadership with William Bridge's theories about how to transition well at work. The episode highlights stages of transition that we face as individuals in our career journey, as well as organisationally, and how at each juncture there is a process of letting go of old neworks, old identities and old self-talk.

This is the second of an eight-part series called Transition Plans: How to Transition Well. This week is with special guest Shivani Gopal, passionate feminist and the Founder and CEO of Elladex. Get ready for an intimate journey with Shivani into her experience of rebirth. She and Heather unearth the heart-experience of braving an end to destructive attachments and relationships, grieving the associated loss, and achieving rebirth. Shivani is proud to be proud of her achievements and challenges the narrative that it's 'prideful' for women to be ambitious or want more for themselves. This week explores the personal transition that gifted the world with Elladex. Next week, we will hear about the global impact Elladex are having on assisting women to transition into executive-level leadership. Here are some reflection questions you might like to take into your week after listening to this podcast: 1. How often do you tell yourself you are proud of yourself? How do you feel about the word 'pride'? 2. Is there someone in your life, or a community in your sphere of influence, who needs permission to start over, or to be reminded that they are enough? 3. What parts of you are 'traditional' and what parts are 'progressive'? How do these interplay? How does this question apply to the system you are in?

This is the first of an eight-part series called Transition Plans: How to Transition Well. Change is something that happens as an external event or situation, whereas 'transition' is an inner, psychological process that people go through as they internalise and come to terms with change. Based on William Bridges' groundbreaking work in Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes, this series unpacks the practical implications of his three-part Transition Model. It explores how to help a system end well, move into a neutral zone and then embrace a new beginning. This is a must-listen for anyone leading sector-wide or organisational transition.

This is the final of a six-part series about the practice in Systemic Renewal called 'Following Favour.' An often neglected aspect of systemic change is the 'who' question. How do you get the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus? In this final episode, Heather ties the topic together and draws from Jim Collins' research, highlighting how to avoid biting into a poisoned apple. She draws out three points: bad apples don't turn into good apples, bad apples aren't all bad, and bad apples are usually lazy, jealous or cheap.

This week's podcast in the Following Favour series is with Elisha O'Dowd, a Renewalist, a Nurse and Effectiveness and Outcomes Manager at CLEO, an organisation designing digital care pathways and using the latest technology and research to improve patient outcomes. Elisha shares her journey into nursing, management in emergency departments and now into leading systemic change within health care. Elisha's story is a powerful reminder of the need to find favour with ourselves first, to know that just as our community's sense of purpose CAN shift, so can our own, and so can the system's belief in its own capacity.

This week's podcast in the Following Favour series is with Brooklyn White, a Renewalist, Social Worker and Founder of Renewing Hope Agency, Canada. Brooklyn shares her story of being drawn to macro-level change, why it can be lonely being that person in the system, and the secret she discovered that frustration and disappointment for Renewalists, comes from "actually loving the system." We suggest three reflection questions to take into your week after listening to this podcast: 1. Are you drawn to the macro? If so, how have this been received in your work context? 2. Do you experience situational ethics in the leadership around you? If so, what steadfastness is needed and how could you bring it? 3. Do you really love the system?

This is the third of a six-part series about a practice in Systemic Renewal called 'Following Favour.' An often neglected aspect of systemic change is the 'who' question. How do you get the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus? In this episode, Heather draws from Jim Collin's research to unpack how to gather the right people in the right way to make group work effective (and fun). She describes what research reveals are key strategies for good group work: being selective and having a leader, but one who is led by the group.

This is the second of a six-part series about a practice in Systemic Renewal called 'Following Favour.' An often neglected aspect of systemic change is the 'who' question. How do you get the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus? In this episode, Heather draws from Jim Collin's research to unpack why starting small and slow wins the day. She describes what research reveals are key strategies for attracting the right people, repelling the wrong people and developing a succession plan.

This is the first of a six-part series about a practice in Systemic Renewal called 'Following Favour.' An often neglected aspect of systemic change is the 'who' question. How do you get the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus? Heather draws from Jim Collin's research which shows that 'who' questions come before 'what' questions, and shares from her own experience how to tell who your people are.

Heather shares the second of the Four Methods that encompass Systemic Renewal as a practice. This episode outlines why changing mindsets is fundamental to effecting lasting systemic change and why we need training in the science of how to do this. We currently live in a world that tries to change mindsets by changing personnel, policy and conversations. These are secondary outcomes of deeper changes that can't happen working purely from these levels. This episode dives into examples from Heather's experience of how to craft and peform renewed narratives within a system.

Heather shares the first two of the Four Methods that encompass Systemic Renewal as a practice. This episode outlines why changing mindsets is fundamental to effecting lasting systemic change and why we need training in the science of how to do this. We currently live in a world that tries to change mindsets by changing personnel, policy and conversations. These are secondary outcomes of deeper changes that can't happen working purely from these levels.

Heather the Four Modes of Leadership that encompass Systemic Renewal. She terms these the Mountain, the Table, the Green Room and the Stage. She shares how effective change leaders move in and out of these modes in balanced and intentional ways, and once they get this right, specific methods for effecting change can be released effectively.

Heather answers a question about how to stay burning when serious setbacks and discouragements happen. This episode offers three tips and a guided reflection about how to metabolise experiences of feeling comprised or betrayed. First, acknowledge what was plain unfair. Second, assign oneself a grieving period. Third, repurpose disappointment so that it becomes a resource in the rebuilding process.

Heather introduces Systemic Renewal, a methodology for changing the software and hardware of systems. She explains that changing software isn't soft, but practical, measurable, brave and sophisticated work. Heather introduces three reasons why changing mindsets can feel lightweight or fluffy, and four methods that make it not so.

In this first episode of Never Too Far Gone, Heather shares the personal story that started her journey towards becoming a 'Renewalist' and theorising Systemic Renewal. It begins with discovering an unlikely thirteenth century change leader, who began his journey in a 'Dilapidated Space.' This podcast offers you half an hour to be renewed in your own practice, and consider the experiences of Disrupted Narratives, Dilapidated Spaces and Disillusioned Corporates in your story.