Samantha Wells: Olympic Freestyle Aerial Skier What was your role/were your roles before attending Transition Hub? Olympic Athlete; Freestyle Aerial Skiing What brought you to Transition Hub? After retiring from elite sport, I was unclear in the direction that I wanted to take in life after sport, even after completing an undergraduate degree! A fellow Olympian recommended Transition Hub. What was a highlight moment of the week for you? The highlight moment of the week was di

Performance anxiety, stage fright, nerves, butterflies, brain freezes are more common than you think. Estimates place it as high as 73% of the population experience glossophobia (the fear of public speaking) and it is one of the highest experienced phobias in the developed world. Commonly, we accept the explanation that performance anxiety is part of the human fight and flight and freeze response. In that when we are separated from our tribe, even to the extent of standing in

2020 has brought more change than any of us could have imagined. Our personal lives look extremely different now than they did this time last year. For many of us, our working lives have also undergone serious change. However, change does not always have to be a negative thing. If you have the right tools at your disposal, and you know how to use them properly, you can design a future that bears a lot more resemblance to the life you would like to live. LinkedIn could be the

Sarah Skold - Transitioning from L&D to Client Experience at Macquarie Bank. What was your role/were your roles before attending Transition Hub? Learning and Development Consultant most recently, and various other HR roles before that. What brought you to Transition Hub? I have always been driven by new challenges and change. I had been working in the HR space for 12 years, and over that time had been given some fantastic opportunities to take on different roles within this a

There is a special satisfaction that comes from working in a team. Being a part of something bigger than ourselves, experiencing the highs and lows together, supporting each other and learning to step up. Connection and communication become collaboration. This is the future of work. Last week, we hosted Transition Hub in the beautiful setting of Bundanon Trust on the banks of the Shoalhaven River, NSW South Coast of Australia. A place of artistic inspiration from the landscap

It’s the morning of day 5, before the start of the first session on the final day of Transition Hub’s foundation week. There is a warm hum in the room as people mingle and chat. The ease and obvious connection between them is testament to the trust and deep bonds that have formed over the past 4 days of the ‘Reimagine Your Future’ program. In storytelling terms, this week long program mirrors the archetypal hero’s journey - put very simply, it begins with the main character (

Many things have changed in our working lives in recent times, but one thing has remained constant and that is our desire to present with impact. Knowing how to bring focus, connect with an audience and create a compelling argument are universal skills that we all need to master if we are to create impact both in-person and online. As coaches, our role is to help others develop the confidence to communicate with passion, energy, and authenticity. Everything we work on through

2020 has changed all of our lives and perspectives, probably more so than any other year we have experienced. For me, however, 2019 was also a year of great change and adjustment. But I got through it with the help of the wonderful Transition Hub program. Here I want to share how the program helped me deal with both personal and professional situations, and to express my deep and heartfelt gratitude to the program’s principals, Karen Thomas and Louise Watts, for the life-chan

One of the many benefits of undertaking Transition Hub’s ‘Reimagine Your Future’ program is the curated journey that carefully guides your flow of thoughts and ideas over the course of a week. The program starts with a process of self-reflection, allowing your ideas to flow without restriction to discover blue sky possibilities. The journey encourages you to align your values, strengths, and skills with future career pathways. As described in our previous articles, Transition

Everyone has a leadership role to play during these complex times as we recalibrate and reimagine the future we need. You might be guiding your family, mentoring a team remotely, or motivating your friends to stay active and connected. As we continue to make sense of our new world order, it’s natural to reflect on what we are truly missing. Something is begging the question… How do we manage ourselves during this transition? What is yearning for our attention? How can we bett

When it comes to having more energy, where do you start? This is a question often asked by our Transition Hub cohorts. There’s so much information out there about wellbeing that it’s natural to feel a bit overwhelmed about where to start. Every single decision we make whether consciously, or not, impacts our energy and potentially the energy of others. This is magnified in times of stress, particularly when in career transition. That’s why we have partnered with Transition Hu

Why have I spent the last 10 years as an Executive Coach introducing mindfulness skills to my clients and encouraging the practice? Because I am living proof this life skill can be learnt and has a big impact on our wellbeing! I was first introduced to mindfulness practice a decade ago while studying positive psychology. Initially, my response to the concept was conflicted. On the one hand, I had tried yoga over the years and hadn’t particularly enjoyed it – I was a gym junky

In ancient Greece, some 2500 years ago, the philosopher Aristotle suggested that ‘change in all things is sweet’ - in that, it is inherently positive. This may seem counterintuitive, yet with change a constant in our lives - how we embrace it can create the conditions to learn, develop and grow. Understanding and focussing on the positive - and what is working in our lives is encompassed within the field of positive psychology. Positive psychology is concerned with what works

We are all navigating disruption, to our home and work lives, our cultures and communities. Now, more than ever, elevating interpersonal flexibility and adaptability is critical as we traverse unprecedented and unpredictable change. COVID 19 has rapidly disrupted lives, livelihoods and markets. We have had to reset, quickly reimagine and construct a new normal within which to live and work. Our homes have become our place of work. For many, ‘going to work’ now means logging o

Transitioning to the new work reality? You need to learn to improvise. What would you do if a lightbulb blew up in your face in the middle of a webinar? Yes, this actually happened to me - and thanks to Transition Hub, I was able to recognise that the only thing I could do was improvise. Here’s why improvisation matters more than ever in the current work climate, and how Transition Hub changed my approach to my LinkedIn presentations. Why improvisation matters We’ve all faced

One thing I am certain of is the need for new and creative approaches to help people in career transition consider potential pathways to employment. Less than six months ago, most writing about the Future of Work focused on automation and AI as the key drivers of workplace change. The horizon was indefinite, and many organisations were struggling to identify how best to upskill and transition their employees into new ways of working. Fast-forward to mid-year and our working l

If there ever was a time to explore your Power of Possibility, that time is now. For those of you who’ve been following this series, we are highlighting every activity that is woven into Transition Hub’s, Reimagine Your Future Week, and you may be surprised to know that we are just at the end of day 2. The whole development week is crafted to nurture people to a place of confidence and as one’s confidence grows, so does the freedom to think big. If you were fortunate enough t

One of the most challenging aspects of career disruption is feeling like a ‘nobody’ when we lose the confidence that comes with an external identity like a business card, title and company to represent. It’s not unusual to feel stripped not only of our identity, but also our sense of worth and credibility. This negative self-perception can be crippling and lead to isolation and a downward mental spiral. In these moments, the very thing we need is the very thing we feel unwort

Last week I was interviewed by Sally Patten for the Australian Financial Review's BOSS Magazine, about the growing trend and need for executives and mid-level managers to proactively manage their own career. Whilst we may think this demographic would generally be well planned, strategic, and aware of their transferable skills, this is not necessarily the case. 2020 is posing all sorts of concerns for those who have been focusing entirely on their job, rather than working on t

Globally, the past several months have been a true test of our ability to communicate. We have spent more time with our families and loved ones than ever before and certainly more time communicating with our colleagues via Zoom, phone and email than we could ever have imagined. Throughout all of this change, we have had to develop new levels of acceptance, tolerance and flexibility. As a leader, the strength of your relationship with others leans heavily on the effectiveness