Resilience Unravelled

In the final episode of Resilience Unravelled, Dr Russell Thackeray reflects on recording nearly 450 episodes that began as a way to build interest in resilience thinking, once focused on topics like burnout, mental toughness, and emotional intelligence. He explains his growing frustration with repeatedly revisiting old ideas and with organisations requesting “resilience training” to compensate for poor leadership, low psychological safety, and workplace burnout without changing systemic issues. Emphasising that resilience includes building capacity to bounce forward and seize initiatives, he recalls standout guests who challenged, debated, or collaborated with him, and notes that early guests have gone on to do great things. Concluding that it’s time to move on when it’s no longer fun or adding value, he thanks listeners and agents, teases three new projects, and says goodbye for now. 00:00 Final Episode Announcement 00:39 Why Resilience Got Recycled 01:02 Resilience Training vs Culture 01:45 Podcast Highlights and Guests 02:19 Knowing When to Move On 02:47 New Projects Ahead 02:58 Thank You and Farewell 03:29 Closing Wishes You can contact us at [email protected] #resilience, #burnout, #intuition

In this episode of Resilience Unravelled, Dr Russell Thackeray and guest Carol Murray discuss her resilience after a skydiving accident 29 years ago in which both parachutes failed, causing a 3,100-foot fall; she endured 26 surgeries, chronic pain, two and a half years in a wheelchair, and relearned to walk, noting fear was a major psychological barrier and that hydrotherapy helped rebuild confidence. Murray reflects on risk, emphasising considering consequences and ripple effects, and critiques inadequate safety training and oversight at the skydiving school. She explains her career as a professional fundraiser who has helped raise over $50 million, describing fundraising as donor-centered relationship building across mail, major gifts, and legacy giving. Murray shares a resilience framework focused on community, values, perspective, and mindset, and encourages being true to oneself, not giving up, and “borrowing strength” from others; she can be found at carolmurray.ca. 00:00 Welcome and Introductions 01:33 Meet Carol Murray 01:55 Skydiving Accident Story 02:36 What Went Wrong 05:16 Aftermath and Recovery 05:47 Risk and Consequences 07:52 Learning to Walk Again 10:50 Career in Fundraising 11:49 How Fundraising Works 15:12 Resilience Framework 17:17 Borrowing Strength 19:22 Connect and Closing You can contact us at [email protected]

Host Russell Thackeray welcomes guest Andrew Gregor, a British-born, California-based architect and residential remodelling contractor who has transitioned into publishing novels. Gregor recounts being born in Beirut, sent to UK boarding school at 10, studying architecture, building an award-winning practice in Germany, then moving to the US and starting a renovation company. He discusses how architecture taught him practical skills like managing people, money, and materials, and reflects on AI’s potential impact as he plans to retire and write. Gregor’s novel ‘Roscoe,’ set over 12 hours in the life of a homeless man in San Francisco, draws heavily on his own voice and experiences, including briefly sleeping in his truck after the 2009 crash and divorce. He describes outreach work, the need to treat unhoused people with dignity, and endorses Housing First; the book won first place at the New York Book Festival and is available on major platforms. 00:00 Welcome and Introductions 00:46 Andrew’s Global Journey 01:52 From Building to Books 03:11 Architecture Skills and AI 05:19 Beirut Roots and Languages 07:07 Writing Roscoe and Voice 07:49 Orwell and Experiencing Homelessness 10:19 Close to the Edge in 2009 12:29 Dignity and Outreach Stories 15:32 Humanising Homelessness Solutions 17:56 Veterans, War, and Hypocrisy 19:41 Where to Find the Book 20:15 Connect and Closing Thanks You can contact us at [email protected] Resources can be found online or link to our website https://resilienceunravelled.com

In this Resilience Unravelled episode, host Dr Russell Thackeray interviews Dr. Joel Davis Brown about consciousness as worldview and self-positioning within society, and how marginalised communities often lack the “luxury” of drifting through life unaware of systemic inequities. Brown defines marginalised communities as those denied full access to life, liberty, and freedom, and discusses causes of marginalisation including discomfort with difference, scarcity thinking, greed, apathy, and historical inequality. He explores reclaiming the term “queer,” describing it as a generationally contested but increasingly inclusive political and cultural umbrella within LGBTQ+ identity. Brown outlines his work as an author, poet, professor, and organisational development consultant focused on culture, strategy, and leadership, arguing effective leadership requires self-interrogation, inclusion, and resisting groupthink. He explains why he wrote Souls of Queer Folk (2023) to uncover LGBTQ+ values and leadership lessons, and previews his upcoming healing book, I Had to Become the Father, releasing mid-August. 00:00 Welcome and Banter 00:53 Who Is Joel Brown 02:02 Defining Consciousness 04:08 Awake in Margins 06:58 What Marginalised Means 10:19 Why Marginalisation Happens 13:37 Reclaiming Queer 19:38 What Joel Does 23:02 Souls of Queer Folk Origins 29:54 Leadership Lessons From Queer Culture 41:16 Healing Book Preview 43:43 Where to Find Joel 44:18 Closing Thanks You can contact us at [email protected] Resources can be found online or link to our website https://resilienceunravelled.com

Host Dr Russell Thackeray interviews Georgina Woodley in Perth, Australia about her background in big-four consulting, strategy, and 20+ years in market research, and her interest in applying personal-development “energy” concepts to organisations. They discuss how people sense workplace culture, how individual mood and “underlying human state” affects meetings, authenticity, and leadership responsibilities to support mental wellbeing. Woodley introduces Joy-o-meter, a measurement framework/program that assesses customer and staff experience plus the underlying human state to reveal patterns, capacity, and friction points affecting performance, loyalty, burnout risk, absenteeism, and turnover. She argues joy is a strategic advantage linked to creativity, flow, and psychological safety, and contrasts joy measurement with satisfaction and NPS. Joy-o-meter uses succinct quantitative surveys with open-ended comments, can isolate current issues from past experiences, and is delivered flexibly via reporting, workshops, or dashboards. Contact is via LinkedIn and joy-o-meter.com. 00:00 Summer vs Aussie Winter 01:39 Meet Georgina Woodley 02:30 What Energy Means at Work 06:19 Authenticity and Mood Responsibility 10:11 Measuring Joy with Joy-o-meter 12:59 Why Joy Drives Performance 16:36 Beyond NPS and Satisfaction 19:34 How Joy-o-meter Works in Practice 21:57 Finding Friction and Burnout Risk 26:30 Expectations and Better Signals 29:08 Where to Learn More 29:56 ROI Proof and Closing Thoughts You can contact us at [email protected] Resources can be found online or link to our website https://resilienceunravelled.com