This episode contains discussions of suicide, mental health crises, and related topics. If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available. You can contact [Lifeline: 13 11 14] or your local helpline for help

Burnout does not arrive with a warning. It arrives quietly, after years of carrying pressure, expectation, and identity without pause. In this episode, Kirsty sits down with Mark Jones, author of The Story Code for Leaders, to explore the moment his body said “enough” and how that breaking point became the beginning of a new story.

From a panic attack in a Bunnings aisle to rebuilding his life, work, and identity, Mark shares a deeply human conversation about burnout, anxiety, fear, and the stories leaders tell themselves to survive. This is not a conversation about fixing yourself. It is about remembering who you are, separating your identity from your struggle, and learning how to take the pen back.

This episode goes beneath the title, beyond success, and into the messy middle where real leadership is formed.

Mark recounts his “Bunnings moment” – a panic attack that stopped him in his tracks and forced him to confront the cost of years of unrelenting pressure. It is a powerful reminder that burnout often appears after long periods of silent endurance, not visible failure.

This conversation reframes burnout as an identity issue, not a productivity issue. When work becomes who you are, exhaustion does not just drain energy – it erodes self-worth. Mark explains why losing a sense of self is often more devastating than losing a job.

Alongside sleep, movement, and nutrition, Mark introduces the fourth pillar most leaders ignore: self-talk. Through narrative therapy, he learned to identify the inner critic, separate the problem from the person, and replace a story of doom with one of possibility.

“The problem is the problem. You are not the problem.”

Fear and anxiety are present in many leaders, even when life looks successful from the outside. Mark speaks openly about how anxiety shapes internal narratives, why men in particular struggle to name it, and why prevention begins with asking the second question: Are you really okay?

Rewriting your story requires stepping into uncertainty. Mark shares the concept of “willingly entering a crisis of faith” – the moment where leaders must choose between staying comfortable or becoming honest. Growth begins when we lean in, not back away.

Mark breaks down the four steps he now uses to help leaders rewrite their internal narrative:

• Challenge – Identify the inner critic and limiting beliefs.
• Overwrite – Define a new, preferred story and personal archetype.
• Decide – Commit to aligned choices that support well-being and identity.
• Encode – Build small, repeatable habits that make the new story real.

This is not about overnight change. It is about steady alignment between who you are and how you live.

True leadership begins when your internal story and external life come back into alignment. As Mark shares, success is not certainty. It is peace. It is living in a way that feels honest, sustainable, and human.

If you are feeling tired, disconnected, or quietly questioning the story you are living, this episode offers something rare: permission to pause, reflect, and rewrite.

You are not broken. You are not behind. You are allowed to choose a different story.

Connect with Mark Jones: LinkedIn | Website

This episode is brought to you by: Naturally Glutenfree

Connect with Kirsty Gee: LinkedIn | Instagram | Website

Dean Salakas has built his career around decisions most people avoid, and the discipline to stand by them.

From turning down public opportunities to letting go of a legacy family business at the right moment, Dean’s leadership has been shaped by judgment, not noise. He grew up inside retail, questioned how things were done, and learned early that progress comes from clear thinking, not applause.

In this episode, Dean reflects on the decisions that defined his path, the discipline behind his success, and how clarity, not hype, has guided every reinvention.

1. Learning leadership from the ground up Dean started working in his family’s party shop as a child, doing the unglamorous work that taught him how businesses really operate. That early exposure shaped his leadership style and his respect for the work behind the scenes.
2. Innovation driven by usefulness, not trends From early ecommerce to click-and-collect and Google Ads before the industry caught up, Dean explains why he only backed ideas that genuinely improved the customer experience.
3. Choosing profit and discipline over fast growth Rather than chasing scale, Dean focused on building a profitable, sustainable business. Growth came from cash flow, clarity, and discipline, not external pressure or validation.
4. Courage as a decision-making muscle Dean shares the thinking behind turning down a Shark Tank deal, selling parts of the business at the right time, and ultimately exiting the family company. For him, courage shows up quietly, long before the outcome is obvious.
5. Why community matters more than ever After exiting, Dean co-founded a fast-growing retail community built on connection and shared learning. His belief is simple: leadership is harder in isolation, and progress accelerates when people learn together.

Dean’s story is not about retail alone. It is about how leaders make decisions when the stakes are real and the answers are not obvious.

This conversation is a reminder that reinvention rarely comes from bold announcements. It comes from small, consistent decisions made with clarity and intent. When leaders stay grounded in what matters, the next chapter tends to reveal itself.

If you are building, leading, or standing at a crossroads, this episode will resonate.

Connect with Dean Salakas: LinkedIn

Connect with the Retail Doctor: LinkedIn | Website

Whatsapp Retail Community: LinkedIn | Whatsapp Community

This episode is brought to you by: Naturally Glutenfree

Connect with Kirsty Gee: LinkedIn | Instagram | Website

Some conversations stay with you long after the microphones turn off. This is one of them.

In this episode of Leadership Odysseys, Kirsty sits down with Raj Nanra, CEO of SLE Worldwide Australia, for a powerful conversation about leadership shaped through lived experience, cultural belonging, resilience, and loss. From growing up as the child of one of Melbourne’s first Sikh families, to leading businesses across Asia for two decades, to building culture through human connection, Raj’s story reveals how leadership is built not in boardrooms alone, but in the moments where listening, empathy, and courage meet.

Raj speaks openly about the devastating loss of his 21-year-old son, Sachin to cancer, and how that grief became the catalyst for purposeful action. In response, he founded the annual You Can Charity Golf Day in partnership with the Sony Foundation, mobilising his industry community to support young Australians facing cancer. Over the past four to five years, these events have raised close to $250,000 to fund youth cancer programs and provide tangible support to families during their hardest seasons. What emerges is a story of choosing to transform pain into service and leadership into something that extends far beyond business.

This episode explores the human side of leadership: culture as behaviour, presence over performance, and the deep power of staying curious about people.

Key Highlights

1. Culture is built in conversation, not slogans Raj grew up learning to speak with anyone, without judgement, background bias, or status filters. That lesson still defines how he builds teams today. Culture, he believes, is not written on walls. It is shaped by daily behaviour, attention, and genuine conversation.
2. Asia taught him how connection earns trust Twenty years across China, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and beyond taught Raj that leadership begins with curiosity. Learning names, languages, foods, and customs became a bridge to trust. His willingness to listen before leading turned short assignments into long partnerships and shaped his approach to people-first leadership.
3. Listening is a leadership discipline Raj draws a clear line between leaders who speak and leaders who listen. He prefers presence over performance, relationship over hierarchy, and dialogue over distance. From meeting every staff member personally to prioritising uncomfortable conversations, listening became both his cultural strategy and leadership edge.
4. Turning grief into impact The loss of his son Sachin changed everything. Supported by his industry community, Raj chose to respond with purpose rather than retreat. By founding the You Can Charity Golf Day alongside the Sony Foundation, he created a practical way to support adolescents and young adults with cancer, raising nearly $250,000 to fund programs that care for families as they walk through the most difficult chapters of life.
5. Purpose comes from action, not sentiment For Raj, giving back is about more than fundraising totals. It is about showing up with time, care, and presence. Whether supporting families facing the long road of treatment or donating simple items that restore small moments of joy, leadership, he says, is measured by how you help when no one is watching.

Raj’s odyssey reminds us that leadership is ultimately human work. Culture grows through conversation. Trust is built through listening. Purpose is forged when pain meets service.

His story shows leadership matters most when leaders lift others, even while carrying their own moments of challenge.

Connect with Raj Nanra: LinkedIn

Connect with SLE Worldwide Australia: Linkedin | Website

Sony Foundation Australia: Website | LinkedIn | You Can Golf Day

This episode is brought to you by: Naturally Glutenfree

Connect with Kirsty Gee: LinkedIn | Instagram | Website