This podcast is brought to you by Ashton Media, producers of Australia’s leading independent conferences. for the CX, Customer Insights, Contact Centre, Marketing, Learning & Development and HR industries.
In this series we’ve lined up an incredible list of industry leaders who have been brave enough to put their myriad successes to one side and explore a time that it all went wrong and how those lessons have impacted their leadership today.
"HOSTED BY NOTABLE CX THOUGHT LEADER,
TOMAS HAFFENDEN
Tomas started his career with arguably the toughest CX challenge of all - teaching mathematics to teenagers. Now an accomplished MC and keynote speaker on all things CX, his long list of directional shifts includes conversational consultant, comedian, futurist and currently Head of Service Design. Needless to say, Tomas is no stranger to how missteps can impact the journey and inform the leader you become as a result.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This podcast is brought to you by Ashton Media, producers of Australia’s leading independent conferences. for the CX, Customer Insights, Contact Centre, Marketing, Learning & Development and HR industries.
In this series we’ve lined up an incredible list of industry leaders who have been brave enough to put their myriad successes to one side and explore a time that it all went wrong and how those lessons have impacted their leadership today.
"HOSTED BY NOTABLE CX THOUGHT LEADER,
TOMAS HAFFENDEN
Tomas started his career with arguably the toughest CX challenge of all - teaching mathematics to teenagers. Now an accomplished MC and keynote speaker on all things CX, his long list of directional shifts includes conversational consultant, comedian, futurist and currently Head of Service Design. Needless to say, Tomas is no stranger to how missteps can impact the journey and inform the leader you become as a result.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leadership Is a Muscle – And Tough Conversations Are the Workout with Stephanie Walters, Customer Experience Head for Contact Centres at Emirates
In this episode, Stephanie reflects on a pivotal leadership mistake: avoiding the difficult conversations.
With decades of experience managing global contact centre teams and millions of customer interactions each year, Steph knows that delivering great CX starts from the inside out. That means leaders have to create cultures of safety, accountability, and, yes, honest feedback.
She shares how she learned (the hard way) that shying away from uncomfortable conversations can fracture trust and stall team performance. And why facing them, with empathy and courage, is the key to building teams that thrive.
You’ll learn:
This episode was recorded onsite at the Contact Centre Symposium. The leading conference for Senior Contact Centre leaders in NSW.
Apply for your place for 2026 now: https://ashtonmedia.com.au/symposiums/contact-centre-symposium/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.