Shaping the Future of Leadership with Truth and Storytelling – Interview with Michael J McCusker

Michael J McCusker is a dynamic storyteller and podcast host who uses the power of voice to spark meaningful change. As a seasoned leader with lived experience, they’ve dedicated their life to guiding others toward purpose, self-leadership, and impact. Through powerful interviews and transformative conversations, their podcast The Lived Experience Series amplifies voices that are often unheard but deeply needed.

A published author, Michael J McCusker writes with clarity and conviction, Hidden Potential: Unlocking The Door Within, turning personal insight into universal lessons. Their work empowers individuals to own their story, speak with influence, and lead with authenticity. Whether on stage, behind the mic, or on the page, The Resilient-Irishman: How to Tackle Life's Adversities. Michael J McCusker is committed to shifting narratives and building a legacy that inspires others to rise.

Michael J McCusker, Founder/Podcast Host

Who is Michael J McCusker?

How long have we got?

I’m a podcast producer, writer, founder, and multiple author with decades of leadership experience spanning fitness, marketing, operations, and social justice. Born and raised in Belfast during “The Conflict,” I carry with me a lived understanding of adversity, transformation, and resilience experiences that now shape every story I tell and every room I enter.

My career began in the fitness industry, but my journey quickly evolved. Over the years, I’ve led strategic change across sectors while building a powerful voice in narrative media. I combine creative storytelling with operational and cultural insight, helping individuals and organisations find purpose, voice, and impact through content that matters.

I hold a BSc (Hons) in Sport, Exercise and Leisure from Ulster University, and I’m a passionate advocate for amplifying underrepresented voices, particularly through podcasting and narrative platforms rooted in lived experience.

My writing journey began during the COVID-19 pandemic a moment of personal reckoning that opened the door to using storytelling as both a healing tool and a catalyst for change. Today, my work sits at the intersection of personal growth, cultural commentary, and narrative justice.

When I’m not behind the mic or working on my next book, you’ll find me judging podcast awards, staying active, creating meaningful content, enjoying the occasional Guinness, and most importantly, spending time with my twin daughters and partner.

What personal experiences inspired you to use storytelling as a catalyst for change?

Growing up during “The Conflict” in Belfast, chaos wasn’t just a backdrop it was the atmosphere I breathed. But through the noise, I discovered something deeper: resilience isn’t a trait you're born with. It’s built, shaped, and earned one challenge at a time.

From childhood adventures on Belfast’s backstreets to chasing soccer dreams, enduring corporal punishment, navigating the justice system, and getting caught up in pyramid schemes, I’ve lived the chapters that don’t always make the highlight reel.

But they made me.

I’ve faced negative equity, failed businesses, leadership pressure, and the quiet grind of starting over more than once. I’ve walked through university life as a mature student, managed a franchise, led teams, lost sleep, and found unexpected strength in fatherhood, failure, and finding my voice.

Today, I’m a podcast host, public speaker, founder, senior leader, and multi-author, but titles don’t tell the full story. Experience does.

And that’s what I share: the raw, real, and resilient lessons that life taught me the hard way. I tell these stories not to relive the past, but to light the path for others ready to turn setbacks into comebacks.

Why did you create The Lived Experience Series Podcast, and what makes its mission so vital today?

After years of working across various sectors and living through everything from political conflict to personal reinvention, I realised something: people with lived experience, especially those impacted by systems like justice, addictions, poverty, or trauma, are often spoken about but rarely given the platform to speak for themselves.

This series was born out of a need for authentic, unfiltered storytelling. Not for pity. Not for headlines. But for truth, dignity, and connection. No matter how fancy the editing, how glossy the intro music, or how famous the guest, the most memorable episodes are those with a clear, emotionally resonant story.

In a world that’s increasingly divided, numbed by information, and distracted by surface-level narratives, we need authentic voices that cut through the noise voices that carry both pain and possibility.

The mission of The Lived Experience Series Podcast is to challenge stigma, elevate human stories, and remind us that transformation is possible. Not just for individuals, but for systems. For communities and culture. These stories aren’t polished to perfection, but they were honest. And that honesty connected.

What makes it vital today is simple:We cannot build more just, compassionate futures without first listening deeply and courageously to those who’ve lived what most only read about.

If you’re thinking about starting a podcast, here’s my encouragement: Start where you are, say what’s real, and serve your audience with intention. You don’t need studio-level gear or a celebrity guest list. You need a voice, a story, and the courage to connect.

And if you’re already creating? Keep going. Keep growing. Keep listening.

Because the world is full of noise but your voice, when it’s aligned with truth and purpose, cuts through.

How can people begin to recognize and activate the leadership potential within themselves?

I will be honest if you’d asked me that question 30 years ago, I would’ve laughed. Leadership? That word didn’t belong to people like me. I grew up in Belfast during the conflict. Leadership back then wasn’t something you read about in a business book. It looked like adapting to survive, sometimes minute by minute.

Nobody handed me a microphone or a name badge and said, “You’re a leader now.”But looking back, I see it clear as day, I was learning the fundamentals of leadership in the chaos. Resilience. Resourcefulness. Responsibility. And later, through mistakes, failures, bad choices, and painful consequences, I learned another essential skill: how to begin again.

In a world obsessed with external achievements, job titles, follower counts, and curated success, it’s easy to forget that the most powerful kind of leadership begins within. Before we can lead others, we must first learn to lead ourselves. This requires fortitude, self-respect, courage, honesty, values, and boundaries. These are not buzzwords. They are inner pillars, and without them, leadership collapses under the weight of ego or insecurity.

People follow those who walk their talk. Who leads themselves when no one is watching. Real leadership is not about commanding others. It’s about inspiring them through your presence, your discipline, your consistency, your story.

Whether you're navigating systems of injustice, leading a team, rebuilding after failure, or chasing a dream no one else understands, self-leadership is what keeps you grounded, focused, and evolving.

When your inner world is in alignment, when your thoughts, your words, and your actions are speaking the same truth, that is when you begin to lead with power.

And that is where legacy is born.

What’s next for you any upcoming projects, themes, or directions you're excited to explore?

I’ve spent years building a digital footprint piece by piece. And now, after the toil, the sweat, the tears, and some serious self-reflection, I’ve arrived at the edge of something I know is real. Finally, I’m ready to share what I’ve been buildin,g not just a project, but a platform. A space where narrative becomes influence, where lived experience becomes leadership, and where every story we were told to hide becomes the very thing that sets us free.

Using my digital footprint across publishing, podcasting, writing, and public speaking, I’m creating a platform rooted in lived experience, leadership, and legacy. This isn’t just content, it’s a movement of narrative power.

Every blog post, every podcast episode, every keynote, every article I’ve writte,n they’ve all been pieces of a bigger vision: To redefine what it means to lead with lived experience, and to help others do the same.

I’m building a narrative media platform that doesn’t just tell stories, it builds influence, challenges stigma, and creates space for real voices to rise. Whether it’s speaking truth on stage, publishing work that matters, or helping others turn their story into strateg,y this next chapter is all about purposeful visibility and platform building.

This isn’t about ego. It’s about emergence.

Because when you own your story, you own your future.

Follow me on Instagram, and visit my website for more info!

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