Grit Diaries: From Grit to Grace with Mon and Mazz

Locked Out: How a Senior Public Servant Sued Parliament House — Jo Tarnawsky | Grit Diaries

Locked Out: How a Senior Public Servant Sued Parliament House | Jo Tarnawsky | Grit Diaries Jo Tarnawsky entered Parliament House at 12 after winning a TV competition, carrying a dream forged in that single afternoon. She built a two-decade career as a diplomat and political operative, thriving in crisis zones and complex postings. In 2022, she returned to Australia as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Prime Minister—her childhood dream role. Within two years, she was locked out of her office, barred from her workplace, and pushed toward silence. Rather than slip away quietly, she chose to speak publicly, eventually filing suit against the Deputy PM, the PM's Chief of Staff, and the Commonwealth. The case settled on a no-liability basis in early 2025. Since then, she has redirected her energy into helping others navigate toxic workplaces through educational resources, videos, and advocacy work. Jo Tarnawsky is a career diplomat and political staffer who worked for the Australian Government across multiple continents—from Iraq to Italy to Zimbabwe—before returning to Australia as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Prime Minister. In 2024, she took the federal government to court over workplace bullying in Parliament House. In this Grit Diaries conversation with Mon & Mazz, Jo shares the story behind the moments below. 🎙️ IN THIS CONVERSATION: • Workplace bullying in institutional settings is often covert and sophisticated—exclusion, email omission, and exclusion from meetings rather than overt aggression—making it harder to name and easier to doubt yourself. • High performers and ethical people are targeted specifically because they pose a threat to systems that want to remain unchanged; the bullier's insecurity manifests as a need to neutralize those who shine a light. • Early intervention with human dignity, apology, and reasonable accommodation can prevent escalation to litigation; institutions that default to legal protection and risk management often create the very crisis they're trying to avoid. • Isolation is the most damaging weapon in workplace bullying; when you cannot eat in the cafeteria, access your own office, or know what's happening in your own portfolio, the psychological toll accelerates rapidly. • Children offer clarity in moments of despair; a child's simple suggestion to tell someone what is happening can become the permission slip to stop protecting the system that harmed you. • Speaking publicly about a painful experience does… 🕒 CHAPTERS: 00:31 Introduction: Workplace bullying in Parliament House 04:12 The moment at Parliament House that changed everything 09:11 Falling into diplomatic career with DFAT 12:11 Deputy Ambassador posting to Italy and family 15:42 Starting dream job and initial success 20:00 Locked out of Parliament House 24:30 The choice: be pushed out quietly or call them out 29:13 First press conference and initial requests 35:12 Final return to office and settlement 38:25 Pivoting to purposeful work helping others 42:39 Upcoming resources for safe work transitions 48:11 Book-ending: starting and ending career at Parliament with press conference 🎧 If this story moved you, follow Kintsugi Heroes in your podcast app so you never miss an episode. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎙️ ABOUT KINTSUGI HEROES ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Kintsugi Heroes is a not-for-profit Australian podcast network sharing real stories of resilience and transformation. Named after the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold — the philosophy that what's been broken can become more beautiful for the mending — every episode honours the cracks, the rebuild, and the human underneath. We believe every story matters. Every scar has something to say. And every person quietly finding their way through deserves to be heard. 📺 Series on this channel: – Kintsugi Heroes — real stories of resilience | hosted by John Milham – Animals & Us | hosted by Natalie Stockdale – Grit Diaries: from Grit to Grace | hosted by Simone Allan & Maryan Bova – Golden Threads — stories of disability & resilience | hosted by Dan Dougherty ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🔗 CONNECT WITH US ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🌐 https://kintsugiheroes.com.au ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/@kintsugiheroes 📘 https://www.facebook.com/kintsugiheroes 📸 https://www.instagram.com/kintsugi.heroes 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/company/kintsugi-heroes ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 💛 SUPPORT THE NETWORK ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Kintsugi Heroes is listener-supported and run entirely by volunteers. Your support helps us keep sharing stories that matter. ❤️ Donate (tax-deductible): https://kintsugiheroes.com.au/donate 🤝 Partner with us: https://kintsugiheroes.com.au 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week and join a community that believes in the power of human stories. We're all in this together. 💛 #GritDiaries #KintsugiHeroes #FromGritToGrace #WorkplaceBullying #ParliamentHouse #ToxicWorkplace #MentalHealth #AustralianPolitics #CourageToSpeak #WorkplaceCulture #ConstructiveConflict ——— Show notes by Tony Bailey · Approved by Tony Bailey · Australian English

Lindsay Ziehl: From Grief and Cancer to Humanitarian Change-Maker

Episode Summary Lindsay Ziehl has lived enough lives for ten people — and at 77, she’s still not done. Born in Britain and raised across Australia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, Lindsay survived two cancers, raised her son Andrew alone after her husband walked out, and was stranded in South Africa during COVID when she received the phone call every parent dreads. Rather than be consumed by grief, she channelled it into the Andrew Ziehl Foundation and a lifetime of frontline humanitarian work — training over 3,000 women escaping domestic violence and personally intervening to secure the release of trafficked women. In this conversation with Mon and Mazz, Lindsay shares two unforgettable pieces of wisdom: a rabbi’s three-word reframe, and a little cat with a frozen chicken that changed the way she saw her own strength. Episode Pillars • The Nomadic Foundation: How a childhood of constant movement across Australia, the UK and Africa shaped Lindsay’s resilience and her lifelong instinct to help others. • A Son Called Andrew: Raising him alone, letting him fly back to Australia, and receiving the phone call no parent ever expects — during a global pandemic, unable to travel. • Turning Grief Into Purpose: The rabbi’s three-word reframe — “Not why, but what now?” — and how that single shift led to founding the Andrew Ziehl Foundation. • Two Cancers and a Cat: Surviving Paget’s disease and breast cancer, riding a four-hour bus to chemo alone, and the moment a tiny cat with a frozen chicken reminded her to get back up. • Domestic Violence Frontlines: Over 25 years running shelters, training 3,000 women, and securing the release of trafficked women just one day before they were sent abroad. The Kintsugi Connection To see the visual story of Lindsay’s journey and explore more episodes of resilience, visit our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@kintsugiheroes/videos If Lindsay’s story moved you, explore these related Hero conversations: • Navigating grief and loss? Explore another Grit Diaries episode on life after unimaginable loss. • Finding purpose after adversity? Explore another episode on turning pain into action

Sarah de Jong: From a Childhood Without Mum to a Global Kindness Movement

Episode Summary Sarah de Jong grew up in rural Tasmania with a mother who left for Greece when Sarah was almost four — not out of abandonment, but out of her own battle with anorexia and mental illness. From that early experience of love stretched across distance and grief, Sarah built something quietly extraordinary: A Thousand Hearts, a global kindness movement now in its tenth year, delivering handmade pocket hearts to hospitals, palliative care settings, schools, and communities across the world. In this episode of Grit Diaries, Sarah unpacks what kindness actually means — the science behind it, the difference between being kind and being nice, and why inhabiting kindness as a daily practice might be the most powerful thing any of us can do. Episode Pillars * Humble Beginnings, Global Reach: How a handful of handmade pocket hearts given away for free in 2015 grew into a global kindness movement across the US, UK, Japan, Greece, Mexico, and beyond. * The Science of Kindness: Why kindness works on the brain like a natural antidepressant — boosting serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins — and why even witnessing kindness has the same effect. * Kind vs Nice — A Crucial Distinction: Niceness is transactional and external. Kindness comes from your core values and sometimes means saying what needs to be said. Sarah unpacks why we confuse the two and what we lose when we do. * Stop Pushing the River: The wisdom Sarah's dad gave her during a difficult marriage — and how it became a guiding philosophy for learning to let go, say no, and stop mistaking busyness for purpose. * Self-Kindness as a Practice: Why self-compassion goes far beyond bubble baths and treats — and how learning to look after yourself is one of the kindest things you can do for the people who love you. The Kintsugi Connection To see the visual story of Sarah's journey and explore more episodes of resilience, visit our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@kintsugiheroes/videos If Sarah's story moved you, explore these related Hero conversations: Exploring purpose and community? Listen to Ian Westmoreland's story of building Kintsugi Heroes from a place of personal adversity. Turning pain into purpose? Discover how Daniel Lloyd's journey of resilience inspires millions to find meaning after hardship. About Kintsugi Heroes: An Australian not-for-profit (DGR endorsed) dedicated to strengthening mental wellbeing through the power of storytelling. Partner with Us: https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/partners/ Donate (tax-deductible): https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/donate/#donate Website: https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kintsugi-heroes/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kintsugi.heroes/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Kintsugi-Heroes-100084850387170/

Siobhan Wilson: Turning Anaphylaxis and Adversity Into Advocacy at 16

Episode Summary Siobhan Wilson was born at 27 weeks, weighing less than a kilogram. By 16, she had survived open heart surgery at one month old, roughly 130 resuscitations in the NICU, seven anaphylaxis episodes — including one where paramedics ran out of adrenaline — and founded her own social enterprise at age 6. In this episode of Grit Diaries, Siobhan shares what it takes to turn a lifetime of medical complexity into a mission to make Australia safer for everyone living with anaphylaxis. Episode Pillars ● Finding Magic in the Hard Stuff: How Siobhan's mum raised her to see possibility in the world despite a childhood filled with hospital visits, trauma, and medical uncertainty. ● The Night She Nearly Didn't Come Home: Siobhan recounts the 2024 awards dinner where she won Young Entrepreneur of the Year — and spent the ride home in an ambulance needing the equivalent of 12 EpiPens. ● What Australia's Labelling Laws Are Missing: Why 'dairy free' on a packet doesn't mean what you think it does — and how a mashed potato nearly cost Siobhan her life. ● Shame, EpiPens, and Why People Wait Too Long: The embarrassment that stops people with anaphylaxis from acting in time, and why that silence is deadly. ● What Actually Helps: From breathwork and hand pan music to becoming a sports medic — the unexpected tools Siobhan uses to heal her brain and show up for others. The Kintsugi Connection To see the visual story of Siobhan's journey and explore more episodes of resilience, visit our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@kintsugiheroes/videos If Siobhan's story moved you, explore these related Hero conversations: ● Navigating a serious health diagnosis? Listen to Ian Westmoreland's story of launching Kintsugi Heroes while facing melanoma. About Kintsugi Heroes: An Australian not-for-profit (DGR endorsed) dedicated to strengthening mental wellbeing through the power of storytelling. Partner with Us: https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/partners/ Donate (tax-deductible): https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/donate/#donate Website: https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kintsugi-heroes/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kintsugi.heroes/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Kintsugi-Heroes-100084850387170/

Why Most Leaders Get It Wrong (And How to Fix It) | Dave Chauhan

EPISODE SUMMARY In this episode of The Grit Diaries, we sit down with Dave Chauhan — author, leadership consultant, and former corporate executive — to explore what leadership really means in today’s world. After nearly two decades in the corporate world, Dave realised that traditional definitions of success — titles, income, and status — weren’t aligned with what truly matters. Shaped by a childhood between two very different value systems, he began questioning everything he thought he knew about leadership. This conversation challenges outdated leadership models and explores what it takes to lead with purpose, empathy, and responsibility. EPISODE PILLARS ● Two Worlds, One Identity Growing up between two sets of parents and conflicting values — and how this shaped Dave’s leadership philosophy ● Success vs Purpose The moment Dave realised corporate success wasn’t enough — and chose a different path ● Why Leadership Is Broken How outdated, KPI-driven leadership models are failing people and organisations ● The Captain Set Sail Framework Beacon (purpose), Wayfinder (adaptability), and Seafarer (courage) — a new way to lead ● The Hidden Weight of Leadership Decision fatigue, emotional pressure, and the responsibility leaders carry every day THE KINTSUGI CONNECTION Dave’s journey reflects the essence of Kintsugi — where life’s fractures become the foundation for growth, purpose, and impact. Rather than being defined by pressure or misalignment, Dave used those experiences to rebuild a new understanding of leadership grounded in values and humanity. ABOUT KINTSUGI HEROES Kintsugi Heroes is an Australian not-for-profit (DGR endorsed) dedicated to strengthening mental wellbeing through the power of storytelling. We believe that lived experience is a gift to be shared, not a scar to be hidden. PARTNER WITH US https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/partners/ [https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/partners/] DONATE https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/donate/#donate [https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/donate/#donate] CONNECT WITH US Website: https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au [https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kintsugi-heroes/https://www.linkedin.com/company/kintsugi-heroes/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/kintsugi-heroes/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kintsugi.heroes/https://www.instagram.com/kintsugi.heroes/ [https://www.instagram.com/kintsugi.heroes/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Kintsugi-Heroes-100084850387170/https://www.facebook.com/p/Kintsugi-Heroes-100084850387170/ [https://www.facebook.com/p/Kintsugi-Heroes-100084850387170/]