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 Announcement00:39 Why Resilience Got Recycled01:02 Resilience Training vs Culture01:45 Podcast Highlights and Guests02:19 Knowing When to Move On02:47 New Projects Ahead02:58 Thank You and Farewell03:29 Closing WishesYou 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 Introductions01:33 Meet Carol Murray01:55 Skydiving Accident Story02:36 What Went Wrong05:16 Aftermath and Recovery05:47 Risk and Consequences07:52 Learning to Walk Again10:50 Career in Fundraising11:49 How Fundraising Works15:12 Resilience Framework17:17 Borrowing Strength19:22 Connect and ClosingYou 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 Introductions00:46 Andrew’s Global Journey01:52 From Building to Books03:11 Architecture Skills and AI05:19 Beirut Roots and Languages07:07 Writing Roscoe and Voice07:49 Orwell and Experiencing Homelessness10:19 Close to the Edge in 200912:29 Dignity and Outreach Stories15:32 Humanising Homelessness Solutions17:56 Veterans, War, and Hypocrisy19:41 Where to Find the Book20:15 Connect and Closing ThanksYou can contact us at [email protected] 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 Banter00:53 Who Is Joel Brown02:02 Defining Consciousness04:08 Awake in Margins06:58 What Marginalised Means10:19 Why Marginalisation Happens13:37 Reclaiming Queer19:38 What Joel Does23:02 Souls of Queer Folk Origins29:54 Leadership Lessons From Queer Culture41:16 Healing Book Preview43:43 Where to Find Joel44:18 Closing ThanksYou can contact us at [email protected] 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 Winter01:39 Meet Georgina Woodley02:30 What Energy Means at Work06:19 Authenticity and Mood Responsibility10:11 Measuring Joy with Joy-o-meter12:59 Why Joy Drives Performance16:36 Beyond NPS and Satisfaction19:34 How Joy-o-meter Works in Practice21:57 Finding Friction and Burnout Risk26:30 Expectations and Better Signals29:08 Where to Learn More29:56 ROI Proof and Closing ThoughtsYou can contact us at [email protected] can be found online or link to our website https://resilienceunravelled.com