Episode 4, A Purposeful Edge: Leading in Uncertainty
When systems fail to care for those who need them most, leadership must carry both moral weight and emotional depth.
In this episode of A Purposeful Edge: Leading in Uncertainty, Dr Peter Collins is joined by Rachel Green, CEO of SANE, to explore what it means to lead through the layered crisis of mental health in Australia — a system fragmented by funding gaps, stigma, and historical neglect.
Rachel doesn’t just advocate for reform — she is living its demands every day.
As the leader of a national organisation supporting Australians with complex mental health needs, Rachel is both a strategist and a witness. She speaks with searing honesty about the human toll of systemic inertia, and the leadership it takes to stay in the work without becoming hardened by it. Her leadership is relational, resilient, and deeply rooted in justice.
“The mothers I’ve collected along the way — I walk with them. They shouldn’t have had to lead change through grief.”
Rachel calls for a new kind of mental health leadership — one grounded in lived experience, powered by digital innovation, and capable of sustaining the long haul of cultural and systemic change. She challenges the silence that often surrounds mental illness, especially when it comes to suicide and severe, persistent mental health conditions.
And she refuses to let policy timelines dictate the pace of progress.
Rachel shares how SANE is using technology to bridge access gaps, support regional communities, and provide real-time interventions for those who are often left out of mainstream care. But the work isn’t just digital — it’s emotional, ethical and relentlessly human.
She reflects on the need for leaders to lean into discomfort, sit with complexity, and tell the truth about where systems fall short. Because behind every data point is a person — a life that matters.
“You can’t scale empathy. But you can lead with it.”
Rachel also speaks about the importance of trust and humility in leadership. At a time when public confidence in institutions is shaky, she argues that real progress will come from leaders who listen first, who elevate the voices of those with lived experience, and who hold space for grief and hope at the same time.
Her vision is not one of quick wins or overnight solutions. It’s a call for persistent, purpose-driven leadership that refuses to let injustice become normal. A leadership that stands in the gap — not just to observe, but to act.
Dr Peter Collins and Rachel explore the emotional labour of leadership in mental health reform, and how to remain compassionate without collapsing under the weight of the work. They discuss how courage, innovation and care can work in tandem to build systems that don’t just treat illness — but nurture dignity and belonging.
Listening to Rachel is a reminder that mental health leadership is not a policy cycle — it’s a human commitment. It requires leaders who are willing to stay when things get hard, to challenge silence, and to transform broken systems into spaces of connection and care.
This is leadership for the long haul — courageous, connective and anchored in the belief that every life is worth showing up for.
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🎧 Tune into the full conversation between Dr Peter Collins and Rachel Green to explore what it takes to lead through the complexity of mental health reform — and why courage, compassion and persistence are the foundations of change.
🔗 Access podcast episode
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