On the 116th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I’m delighted to welcome Sue McDonnell—an executive coach, psychotherapist, and lifelong student of leadership, transformation, and human systems. With decades of experience guiding senior leaders and teams, Sue helps people break free from old patterns and embrace new possibilities.
Her approach is deeply systemic, recognising leadership as an interconnected dance rather than an isolated act. She has worked with executive teams at renowned companies, across several industries, facilitating interventions that honour both the seen and unseen forces shaping leadership.
Drawing on a wealth of experience—over 8,000 coaching hours—and influences from a range of great teachers, Sue blends relational intelligence, emotional agility, and adaptive leadership. For her, true leadership isn’t about control—it’s about presence.
Rooted in curiosity about the human experience, the wisdom of her Irish heritage, and a deep commitment to growth, Sue brings a unique perspective to leadership and change.
In this wonderfully soulful conversation, we explore what it means to navigate uncertainty, stay open-hearted in difficult times, and a connection with something bigger than ourselves. We also explore eternal ties with ancestors, touching on the unseen threads that weave through our lives.
00:00 Our relationship with uncertainty
04:00 Reconnecting with the land of your birth
09:35 Overwhelming connections with the divine feminine
13:10 Curiosity around our lineage and ancestors
17:52 Feeling held and protected by ancestors
24:00 Feeling the presence of the dead
26:40 Allowing our hearts to open
30:00 The conversation and connection is eternal
34:00 An awareness of the range of this life
38:45 The role of expectations in suffering
45:31 We are always disappearing and growing
48:40 Connecting with the divine
54.40 What is a good life for Sue?
What is What is a Good Life??
This isn’t a podcast about fixing you. It’s about living life more fully.
What Is a Good Life? is a long-form conversation project exploring how people actually live, feel, and make meaning of their lives.
Over the past four years, I’ve sat with more than 300 people — artists, parents, executives, wanderers, therapists, and strangers — and invited them into a simple but profound inquiry: What is a good life for you?
These conversations aren’t about advice, formulas, or self-improvement. They explore presence, paradox, uncertainty, and the moments that quietly shape a life — love and loss, trust and fear, clarity and not knowing.
This podcast isn’t here to give you answers.
It’s here to slow you down, to listen deeply, and to invite you into conversation with your own life.
New episodes weekly.