Career Stories

The podcast that shares other people's career stories, to help you with yours. Career Stories is a podcast for people who want a better working life. Hosted by Dr Luella Forbes - consultant, researcher and founder of The Career Library. Each episode features an honest conversation with a leader, entrepreneur or expert about the real story behind their career: the transitions, the setbacks, the decisions that didn't go to plan, and the lessons that shaped where they ended up. Every month, Luella is joined by Associate Professor Michelle Gander (Murdoch Business School), an experienced leader and specialist in career development and organisational careers, to unpack the themes from that month's episodes and offer practical, evidence-based advice. Whether you're navigating a career crossroads, leading through change, or simply trying to build a working life that fits — Career Stories gives you the real picture, from people who've been there. Topics include: leadership, organisational change, career development, women at work, management, workplace culture, career transitions, and what it really takes to build a meaningful career.

Career Stories is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 34 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts Career Stories, a business show with 34 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Career Stories

  Engineering Your Own Work Fame - Leanne Hughes

  Sep 15, 202642 min

  "The world doesn't reward intent - it rewards action." Everyone tells you their big break was luck. It wasn't. It was a habit of showing up with your head up instead of your AirPods in. This week Luella sits down with thought leader, speaker and author Leanne Hughes to unpack the real story behind her new book, Work Fame - out 30 September. Forget the highlight reel of stages and airports. Leanne breaks down what actually got her noticed in a big organisation, and why the same mindset now powers her solo consulting business. From a childhood dream of playing netball for Australia to a corporate role that inspired an entire book, Leanne's career story is a masterclass in creating your own momentum instead of waiting for a conveyor belt to move you. She and Luella talk through the reality of solopreneurship, the "walk of fame vs walk of tame" concept at the heart of her book, why being hard to explain might be your biggest asset in the age of AI, and the Canada workshop disaster that accidentally launched her first podcast. Episode highlights: 00:36 - The reality of being a "thought leader" - what Leanne's week actually looks like behind the Instagram highlights 05:01 - Why being "unexplainable" is a strength, not a weakness, in the age of AI 10:38 - The idea behind Work Fame and how one piece of blunt career advice sparked it 13:36 - The "walk of fame vs walk of tame" - the mindset shift behind getting noticed 18:20 - Her formative years at Wicked Campers and the "seek forgiveness, not permission" lesson 24:38 - The workshop that went wrong in Canada - and accidentally launched her first podcast 34:03 - What success actually looks like to Leanne (and why she talks openly about money) 41:07 - Quickfire round - coffee order, WFH vs office, and the best career advice she's ever received Resources: Leanne Hughes Linked In New episodes on a Wednesday, with interviews with leaders or experts every week and a monthly discussion episode at the end of the month. We would love to hear from you. Share your thoughts on recent episodes or questions you would like Luella and Michelle to answer to stories@the-career-library.com. Support this podcast by becoming a member and get access to bonus episodes containing work related advice from Luella, Michelle and expert guests as well as a monthly newsletter with access to tools and guidance from this week's advice episode. Join here Connect & Subscribe Subscribe to Career Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Career Stories on Instagram , YouTube, and LinkedIn. Career Stories is brought to you by The Career Library.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Career Stories

  From Law Firm to the United Nations - Sally Richardson

  Sep 8, 202650 min

  "Sitting behind the nameplate and thinking of an extraordinary privilege to represent Australia on that world stage." Today's News: Luella has recently launched new change leadership services - training programs for middle managers and senior leaders, keynote sessions, and a methodology developed through her doctoral research. Find out more here. Most people think corporate affairs means writing press releases. Sally Richardson's version of the job means coordinating with state governments during a live incident, running on what she calls the "no surprises doctrine," and keeping 3,500+ staff aligned when a transport network is in the headlines. Her path there wasn't linear. A commercial lawyer who moved to New York for what was meant to be one year and became ten, did a masters at Columbia, then joined Australia's diplomatic mission to the UN - working the campaign that got Australia elected to the Security Council, then serving on it herself. She came home, worked in Victorian state government, then jumped to Tennis Australia just months before COVID, ending up deep in the biosecurity and border coordination that got the Australian Open delivered safely. Corporate affairs at Yarra Trams, then Keolis, followed. In this episode, Sally Richardson, Chief of Corporate Affairs at Keolis, joins Luella to unpack what corporate affairs actually involves, how a "no surprises" relationship with government clients holds up under pressure, and how staying open to unplanned opportunities took her from law to the UN to national transport leadership. In this episode 00:01 - What Corporate Affairs actually covers at a national transport operator 00:13 - Wanting to be a paediatrician, coming from a family of lawyers, and Arts/Law at Monash 00:16 - Starting out as a graduate lawyer 00:17 - Moving to New York for one year and staying ten 00:20 - Joining Australia's Mission to the UN and the Security Council campaign 00:29 - Luella's Aristotle framework on trust, and doing what you say you'll do 00:35 - Joining Tennis Australia weeks before COVID, and delivering the AO through border restrictions 00:48 - The best career advice she's been given: be open to opportunities 00:49 - Her proudest career moment Resources & links: Sally’s LinkedIn New episodes on a Wednesday, with interviews with leaders or experts every week and a monthly discussion episode at the end of the month. We would love to hear from you. Share your thoughts on recent episodes or questions you would like Luella and Michelle to answer to stories@the-career-library.com. Support this podcast by becoming a member and get access to bonus episodes containing work related advice from Luella, Michelle and expert guests as well as a monthly newsletter with access to tools and guidance from this week's advice episode. Join here Connect & Subscribe Subscribe to Career Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Career Stories on Instagram , YouTube, and LinkedIn. Career Stories is brought to you by The Career Library .

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Career Stories

  From Art Gallery Director to Behavioural Scientist: One Winding Path - Angela Bliss

  Sep 1, 202633 min

  "I was telling them their baby was ugly. That's the last thing they wanted to hear." Today's News: This episode marks the launch of Luella's new change leadership services - training programs for middle managers and senior leaders, keynote sessions, and a methodology developed through her doctoral research. Find out more here. Ever gone from being the outside expert everyone wanted in the room to being the person who actually has to live with the decision - and noticed people stopped listening to the exact same advice? In this episode, Dr Luella Forbes talks to Angela Bliss, Head of Behavioural Science at NAB, about a career that's moved through art history, gallery direction, web design and freelance consulting before landing in a discipline built on one idea: it's easier to change someone's environment than to change their behaviour. They cover why personality predicts behaviour better than demographics, the very ordinary origin of her career (she wanted to be a police officer at eight), and the hardest lesson of her career - learning that being right isn't the same as being heard. In this episode: 00:00 - Introducing Angela Bliss, Head of Behavioural Science at NAB. 00:47 - What behavioural science actually means, and the ATM story that explains it best. 06:15 - Why personality traits predict behaviour better than demographics. 08:29 - Studying behavioural science at the London School of Economics. 13:25 - Childhood ambition: wanting to join the Queensland police at age eight, and the winding path through Japan, London and art gallery direction that followed. 19:35 - Reimagining a NAB bank branch as a design studio. 22:01 - Leaving NAB, going freelance, and being invited back to work on romance scams. 25:04 - The hardest period of her career: moving from consultant to insider, and why the same advice landed differently once she was "inside." 29:23 - Wellbeing, upbringing, and how both shaped her approach to career. 31:11 - Quick-fire round and the best career advice she's ever received. Resources & links: Angela Bliss on LinkedIn New episodes on a Wednesday, with interviews with leaders or experts every week and a monthly discussion episode at the end of the month. We would love to hear from you. Share your thoughts on recent episodes or questions you would like Luella and Michelle to answer to stories@the-career-library.com. Support this podcast by becoming a member and get access to bonus episodes containing work related advice from Luella, Michelle and expert guests as well as a monthly newsletter with access to tools and guidance from this week's advice episode. Join here Connect & Subscribe Subscribe to Career Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Career Stories on Instagram , YouTube, and LinkedIn. Career Stories is brought to you by The Career Library.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Career Stories

  Read Your Own Leadership Habits Before Your Team Does at Work

  Aug 25, 202639 min

  "On their worst day, the shadow kind of looms over everybody and stops them being able to do what they need to." Today's News: This episode marks the launch of Luella's new change leadership services - training programs for middle managers and senior leaders, keynote sessions, and a methodology developed through her doctoral research. Find out more here. Ever walked into a meeting already flat, distracted, or just not yourself - and wondered afterwards why the room felt off? Turns out your team feels it too. And there's a name for it. In this month's Career Advice episode, Dr Luella Forbes and Associate Professor Michelle Gander unpack the "leadership shadow" - the idea that what you say, measure, prioritise and how you act on your best and worst days shapes your team far more than you realise. Sparked by a listener email and a comment from August guest Ron Christianson, it's a practical framework for turning self-awareness into better leadership, plus a look at why big organisations seem to grow leaders differently, and Luella's exciting news about a brand new chapter in her own career. In this episode: 00:00 - Michelle's quiet winter of reading (including her ongoing octopus obsession) and Luella's trip to Melbourne. 03:23 - Luella shares the new change leadership services she's launching today - training for middle managers and senior leaders, keynote sessions, and a methodology built from her doctoral research. Full details below. 07:06 - Quick take-aways from Ron Christianson, Asha Bhat and Janette O'Neill's episodes. 08:45 - What McDonald's, Mars and Mercedes get right about talent development - and what gets lost for people who've only ever worked in one place. 20:22 - A personal story about applying for - and not getting an interview for - a role, and what it revealed about how leaders are chosen. 24:48 - Luella breaks down the four-part framework - what you say, measure, prioritise and how you act - and why your bad day doesn't have to become your team's bad day. 32:29 - Michelle shares an example of a leader whose emotional, honest town hall speech landed better than a polished one would have. Resources mentioned: Dr Luella Forbes' new services - Lead Better Change at The Narratologist Gravitas by Dr Louise Mahler New episodes on a Wednesday, with interviews with leaders or experts every week and a monthly discussion episode at the end of the month. We would love to hear from you. Share your thoughts on recent episodes or questions you would like Luella and Michelle to answer to stories@the-career-library.com. Support this podcast by becoming a member and get access to bonus episodes containing work related advice from Luella, Michelle and expert guests as well as a monthly newsletter with access to tools and guidance from this week's advice episode. Join here Connect & Subscribe Subscribe to Career Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Career Stories on Instagram , YouTube, and LinkedIn. Career Stories is brought to you by The Career Library.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Career Stories

  A C-Suite View on Adaptability Over Resilience with Janette O'Neill

  Aug 18, 202641 min

  "I think what I'm most proud of is the relationships that I've built along the way." - Janette O'Neill She built a global sustainability function from the ground up, led people and culture transformation across Australia, the UK and Ireland, and was named interim Chief HR Officer for North America right as Covid upended everything about the role. Thirty years in, people still ask her the same question: how do you actually make sustainability work inside a business, instead of it just being a slogan on a slide. Along the way there's a New York apartment lined up in the West Village, a view of the Chrysler Building, and Billy Joel tickets for Madison Square Garden - and then, as she puts it, "the Covid happened." Janette O'Neill is a former Global Head of Sustainability at QBE, with a career spanning strategy consulting, culture and HR transformation, and sustainability leadership across Andersen Consulting, PwC, NAB and QBE in Australia, the UK, Ireland and the US. In this conversation, Janette talks with Dr Luella Forbes about how she built a global sustainability function from scratch, her interim posting to New York and the Covid timing that upended it, what she's learned about resilience versus adaptability, and what it's like navigating a workplace that assumes childless employees have nothing else pulling at their time. Timestamps 00:01:06 - Meet Janette: Global Head of Sustainability at QBE 00:03:09 - A Deliberate Pause: Stepping Away On Her Own Terms 00:09:10 - Decoding Sustainability: Beyond the Paper Cups 00:13:44 - AI's Hidden Cost: Convenience vs Consequence 00:16:19 - From Art Curator to Andersen Consulting: How It All Started 00:32:07 - The New York Dream That Covid Cancelled 00:35:14 - Redefining Resilience: Why Adaptability Wins 00:38:54 - Success, Wellbeing and Life Without Kids at Work 00:44:34 - Quickfire Round 00:45:42 - What She's Proudest Of Resources Mentioned: Janette O’Neills LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/janette-o-neill-a60343/ Connect & Subscribe New episodes on a Wednesday, with interviews with leaders or experts every week and a monthly discussion episode at the end of the month. We would love to hear from you. Share your thoughts on recent episodes or questions you would like Luella and Michelle to answer to stories@the-career-library.com. Support this podcast by becoming a member and get access to bonus episodes containing work related advice from Luella, Michelle and expert guests as well as a monthly newsletter with access to tools and guidance from this week's advice episode. Join here Subscribe to Career Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Career Stories on Instagram , YouTube, and LinkedIn. Career Stories is brought to you by The Career Library.

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on Career Stories. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.