Be scared and do it anyway

Creating belonging in the unknown

When leadership demands you build what doesn't exist

This conversation with Marne Fechner, CEO of AusCycling, speaks to one of leadership's fundamental truths: it meets you exactly where you are, and then it doesn't leave you where it found you.

It will reveal who you are and then ask you to choose who it is you wish to become.

Eighteen months into one of the biggest leadership challenges in Australian sport, Marne Fechner faced this uncomfortable truth about herself.

"Be scared and do it anyway. Be underqualified and get in the room anyway."

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In this episode of "In the Arena," coach and author Cody Royle explores what might be the greatest irony in leadership: those of us who believe deeply in coaching often refuse to be coached ourselves.

Having spent decades in leadership positions, I've experienced firsthand that moment when "the weight of responsibility sits heavy on your chest before your feet even touch the floor." It's the silent experience of leaders everywhere, and it reveals our profound contradiction.

Cody shares the deeply personal origins of his powerful book "Tough Stuff" – born from his own pain after losing a player to suicide and finding no resources to help navigate that trauma as a leader. "I went looking for things that could help me with that and found nothing," he told me.

Our conversation challenges the mythology we've constructed around leadership that equates self-sufficiency with strength. The true courage isn't found in going it alone—it's found in the vulnerability of acknowledging we don't have all the answers.

As Cody wisely notes, "Leadership is an exchange of humanity... it's supposed to be connective and it's supposed to be a shared weight." Join us as we explore why having "A Second Set of Eyes" isn't merely support – it's an acknowledgment that our job isn't to have all the answers but to create spaces where better questions can flourish.

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Neil Balme is one of those people that you immediately feel good about. Charismatic with a big presence, quick and eager to find humour even in the most challenging situations, disarmingly intelligent in the most humble of ways. He cannot help but draw people to him, but somehow he stays fully present with them with wonderful generosity and decency. Yet, as impactful as this is, what makes Neil Balme special is his wonderful capacity to make you feel good about you.

We explore the "multiplier effect" that Balme has cultivated throughout his remarkable career – where collective success exponentially exceeds individual contributions, and where genuine care creates championship cultures.

As Neil simply puts it: "There's nothing else - it's only people helping each other."

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