THE COURAGE TO LEAD INTERVIEW SERIES

89. ROB ROGERS

In this episode of The Courage to Lead, Allan Sicard sits down with former NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Rob Rogers.
Rob reflects on 45 years of service, including leading through Australia’s most devastating bushfire season. He shares insights into crisis leadership, organisational transformation, and the complexity of decision-making in high-stakes environments.
From managing 100+ simultaneous fires to navigating COVID challenges across a 70,000-strong volunteer workforce, Rob offers practical leadership lessons grounded in experience.
Now in retirement, he’s embracing new challenges—learning to fly and redefining life beyond leadership.
This episode is a powerful exploration of
Resilience   Humility   Learning
the true nature of leadership.
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The Courage to Lead - The Book
Listen now to The Courage to Lead Podcast and explore more stories of leaders who are redefining courage into action, empowering others to create supportive and inclusive workplaces where people can thrive.

88. KATE BAKER

In this episode of The Courage to Lead Interview Series, Allan Sicard speaks with former NSW Police sergeant Kate Baker, founder of The Kind Rebellion and author of Staying Kind in an Unkind World.
Kate shares her journey from hospitality to policing, her mission to improve relationships between police and the queer community, and the leadership lessons shaped by exceptional mentors and challenging environments.
This episode explores the power of kindness in leadership, the importance of team culture, and the courage required to pivot when personal capacity is reached.
A must-listen for leaders seeking to build resilient, inclusive, and high-performing teams.
KINDNESS, COURAGE, CRAFT
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The Courage to Lead - The Book
Listen now to The Courage to Lead Podcast and explore more stories of leaders who are redefining courage into action, empowering others to create supportive and inclusive workplaces where people can thrive.

87. KYLEE DENNIS

In this powerful episode of the Courage to Lead interview series, Allan Sicard speaks with Kylee Dennis, Director of Two Face Investigations, forensic romance scam investigator, author, and winner of Micro Business of the Year 2025 at the Women Changing the World Awards in London.
Kylee shares her remarkable leadership journey — from growing up in a policing family, to serving as a detective and negotiator in some of NSW’s toughest policing environments, to navigating the deep personal loss of leaving a career she loved.
The conversation takes a moving turn as Kylee explains how her mother becoming the victim of a romance scam in 2023 reignited her sense of purpose and led her to establish Two Face Investigations.
Drawing on her policing, investigative and negotiation experience, Kylee now helps individuals and families identify romance scams, understand offender tactics, and escape the devastating emotional and financial damage these crimes cause.
This episode is a deeply honest conversation about leadership, identity, reinvention, service, resilience, and turning pain into purpose.
If you want to hear what authentic leadership really sounds like, this is an episode not to miss.
Be you. Give things a go. Stay curious.
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The Courage to Lead - The Book
Listen now to The Courage to Lead Podcast and explore more stories of leaders who are redefining courage into action, empowering others to create supportive and inclusive workplaces where people can thrive.

86. AMANDA DAVIES

In this episode of The Courage to Lead Interview Series, Allan Sicard speaks with Professor Amanda Davies, PhD — currently based in Dubai, leading research acceleration with Dubai Police and supporting policing curriculum at their academy. Amanda shares how a single opportunity (sparked by supportive leaders and family) led her from Charles Sturt University and the NSW Police Academy in Goulburn to senior academic leadership roles in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Amanda explores the power of mentorship, how inclusive leadership means listening to the people closest to the work, and why informed decision-making matters — especially in high-stakes policing environments. She reflects on earning credibility as a non-police academic in policing settings, leading as a woman in predominantly male environments, and the importance of checking how communication lands across cultures and languages.
This is an inspiring conversation about service, courage, and the quiet leadership choices that change lives — including your own.
3 words to describe Amanda's leadership style:
Thoughtful   Courageous  Generous  
 
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The Courage to Lead - The Book
Listen now to The Courage to Lead Podcast and explore more stories of leaders who are redefining courage into action, empowering others to create supportive and inclusive workplaces where people can thrive.
 

85. BEN PRONK

In this episode of The Courage to Lead Interview Series, Allan Sicard speaks with Ben Pronk DSC — former Commanding Officer of the Australian SAS, co-author of The Resilient Shield, and co-host of the Unforgiving 60 podcast. Ben shares his earliest experience of leadership (surprisingly, in junior cricket), the influence of his father’s belief that “everything is figure-outable,” and why leadership is a learnable skill — not something you’re simply born with.
The conversation moves through Ben’s transition from infantry to special operations, the realities of leading in complex environments, and the often-unspoken loneliness of command. Ben reflects on Afghanistan, the importance of peer support, the need for humility and vulnerability in leadership, and why certainty can be dangerous in a polarised world.
Ben also discusses organisational identity and cultural transition during his time commanding the SAS, plus the role of family, stability, and relationships in shaping a meaningful life. He closes with a standout three-part guide for any leader:
 
Educate. Back yourself. Fail.
 
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The Courage to Lead - The Book
Listen now to The Courage to Lead Podcast and explore more stories of leaders who are redefining courage into action, empowering others to create supportive and inclusive workplaces where people can thrive.

84. ANTHONY BURKE

In this episode of The Courage to Lead Interview Series, Allan Sicard speaks with Professor Anthony Burke—architect, educator, broadcaster and TV presenter—about leadership, purpose, and human connection. Anthony shares his philosophy of “leading from the middle,” lessons from studying at Columbia University in New York, and how great leaders hold opposing ideas in balance. He reflects on setbacks, resilience, and the discipline of reflection through running and meditation. Anthony also reveals why he landed major TV roles: he didn’t perform to the camera—he connected with people.
A powerful conversation on curiosity, courage, and building a life driven by purpose.
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The Courage to Lead - The Book
Listen now to The Courage to Lead Podcast and explore more stories of leaders who are redefining courage into action, empowering others to create supportive and inclusive workplaces where people can thrive.

83. DEB WALLACE APM

In this deeply powerful episode of The Courage to Lead Interview Series, Allan Sicard speaks with Deborah Wallace APM — one of Australia’s most respected policing leaders. From frontline policing to organised crime, from tragedy to reform, Deb shares extraordinary insights on leadership, integrity, community safety, and resilience. This conversation explores authentic leadership beyond rank, the power of listening, and the human moments that define great leaders. An essential episode for anyone passionate about courage, service, and making a difference.
 
COURAGE   COMPASSION   LEGACY
 
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The Courage to Lead - The Book
Listen now to The Courage to Lead Podcast and explore more stories of leaders who are redefining courage into action, empowering others to create supportive and inclusive workplaces where people can thrive.

82. DEBBIE LEE

In this episode of The Courage to Lead Interview Series, Allan Sicard speaks with Debbie Lee, owner and publisher of Ginninderra Press and Festival Director of Melbourne Jewish Book Week. From her childhood instinct to protect the kid being left out, to her early days as a book rep, to inheriting Ginninderra Press from its founder Stephen Matthews, Debbie’s story is all about connection.
She shares how she builds strong networks across the publishing world, champions First Nations and social justice stories, helps an 81-year-old survivor bring a lifelong secret to light, and supports advocates tackling gambling harm and homelessness. Debbie also reflects on identity, antisemitism, and hosting Israeli–Palestinian peace-builders in an era of deep division.
This conversation is a powerful reminder that leadership can simply be the courage to
Connect, Include and Listen.
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The Courage to Lead - The Book
Listen now to The Courage to Lead Podcast and explore more stories of leaders who are redefining courage into action, empowering others to create supportive and inclusive workplaces where people can thrive.

81. MATT LAHOOD

In this episode of The Courage to Lead Interview Series, I sit down with Matt LaHood, founder and real estate CEO of The Agency. Matt shares how his leadership was shaped by his parents — a father who brought thongs to Australia and a mother who backed him to take courageous risks — and by giants like John McGrath and John Symond.
We explore how he built an “attraction business” where people queue to join, why he believes you “can’t coach care,” and how he spots and supports team members with “black clouds” over their heads. Matt opens up about difficult conversations, rejection, retention, and doing the right thing every time.
This is leadership with
Heart, Consistency and Courage.
 
 
 
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The Courage to Lead - The Book
Listen now to The Courage to Lead Podcast and explore more stories of leaders who are redefining courage into action, empowering others to create supportive and inclusive workplaces where people can thrive.

80. MICHELLE HUNTINGTON

Captain Michelle Huntington — pilot, author of Lady MacGyver, and breast-cancer survivor — shares how curiosity, preparation, and mentoring forged her leadership. From conquering air-sickness by teaching the lesson to ferrying a Beechcraft across the Pacific with a 750-kg fuel bladder and a syringe-fed oil hack, she shows why you must “fly one hour in a thousand different ways.” As a 737 Captain she led with questions, analogies, and trust, proving that checklists and compassion can coexist. Her three beacons: don’t take “no” as final, choose the hard reps, and treat every person as significant. This is a blueprint for staying calm when the air gets bumpy — in the cockpit and in life.
This conversation is about:
COMPASSION, PREPARATION, KINDNESS
 
Follow Allan Sicard on LinkedIn, Instagram and ALLANSICARD.COM.
The Courage to Lead - The Book
Listen now to The Courage to Lead Podcast and explore more stories of leaders who are redefining courage into action, empowering others to create supportive and inclusive workplaces where people can thrive.