From Refugee to Community Leader — Mamuch Chuol on Leadership, Mentorship & Mental Health

Mamuch Chuol on confidence, starting before you're ready and learning to look after yourself first

TL;DR

• To Mamuch, leadership means stepping out of your comfort zone to support people who need guidance.
• Resilience is the ability to get back up, and leaning on the people around you makes that easier.
• Community sport is one of the best ways to find mentors.
• Start before you're ready. Every failure teaches you something.
• Look after yourself first, learn to say no, and swap "I" for "we".

Introduction

Mamuch Chuol was five years old when he came to Australia with his mum and dad from a refugee camp in Ethiopia. His uncle sponsored the family, picked them up from the airport and took them in for their first year. Today Mamuch is a first-generation South Sudanese Australian, a university student, a public speaker and the founder of NextGen Unite, a nonprofit supporting South Sudanese and multicultural young people through sport, education and mentorship.

He's done a huge amount in a short time. What I loved about this conversation was how honest he was about what's happened behind the scenes, including burnout.

Lesson 1: Leadership starts with stepping up

Insight: When I asked Mamuch what came to mind when he heard the word "leader", he said someone who takes it upon themselves to support people who need guidance. Someone has to step out of their comfort zone and be that person.

He's had that in him since he was young. He and his friends formed their own basketball team, and he was the one organising it. He says it helped that he's always been comfortable speaking to people. His mum was a leader too, setting up fundraisers in their church. Her advice still guides him: be confident in yourself, put God first and love everyone.

Action: Look for one small situation this week where nobody is stepping up, and be the one who does.

Outcome: You build the confidence that leadership grows from.

Lesson 2: Resilience means getting back up

Insight: One of Mamuch's favourite values from primary school was resilience, because it means getting back on your feet no matter what happens. He believes every time you get back up, your confidence grows.

His advice to young people going through something hard is to remember it's not the end. There's always a better day, week, month and year ahead. And use the people around you. Call your mum, your dad or your friends. He thinks people don't lean on their support network enough.

To process hard times, he runs, plays sport and reads. He says it's good to sometimes not think about things and just enjoy the fresh air. He also loves reading other people's journeys, because in a world of social media and get-rich-quick promises, books show what the real journey looked like.

Action: Next time you're struggling, reach out to one person before trying to sort it out alone.

Outcome: You get back up faster with people beside you.

Lesson 3: Find mentors through community

Insight: As a first-generation South Sudanese Australian, Mamuch says there aren't many people in his community who've gotten to where he wants to go. So he's sought out people who believe in him, and often it's as simple as catching up for a coffee. Those mentors help him understand how the Australian system works.

His biggest source of mentors has been community sport. Growing up in the commission flats, he used to show up every weekend, and one day two people knocked on his door and asked if he wanted to play football. That's how he got into community sport. He says it's all about the sport on the surface, but what comes with it is connection.

Sport isn't the only way, and if one thing isn't for you, try something else. The people you surround yourself with will eventually lead you to a mentor.

Action: Join one local group this month, whether it's a sports club, a run club or a volunteer group.

Outcome: You put yourself in the places where mentors are found.

Lesson 4: Start before you're ready

Insight: Mamuch finished school in 2019, not knowing what he wanted to do. During COVID, an older role model in his community passed away. Mamuch went off social media for six months and started thinking about what helping his community could look like. He gathered friends who were also passionate about community, and NextGen Unite was born. The name came from his belief that the community was struggling because it wasn't united, and that the way forward was building the next generation.

He was 18 and had no idea how to build an organisation. So he reached out to people. Their first initiative was collecting 220 pairs of basketball shoes and 50 basketballs and sending them to South Sudanese basketball organisations in South Sudan, Uganda and Kenya. They didn't even register as an organisation until 2023, when his cousin, a lawyer, connected them with pro bono help.

In October 2023, they ran their first South Sudanese Australian community football day, which they organised in six weeks and raised $25,000 in sponsorship for. At the time, the community was often in the news for the wrong reasons. Mamuch wanted to change that narrative. The day brought together teams from the south-east and the western suburbs, two groups that had been divided, and South Sudanese Australian AFL players came to play and coach.

His advice to anyone who wants to start something is simple. The first step is just starting. If he'd waited, he wouldn't have failed, succeeded and learnt all he has.

Action: Write down the one thing you've been waiting to start, and take the smallest possible first step this week.

Outcome: You start learning from doing rather than planning.

Lesson 5: Look after yourself first

Insight: Mamuch was open about what he's carried. His mum is a single mum raising a big family in a three-bedroom house, and he felt the pressure of having to build everything himself. For a while, he was working at Woolworths from 6 until 12, then doing a night shift, to support his family.

More recently, he said, everything was going well. He was earning more than ever, getting speaking gigs and building relationships with schools, politicians and philanthropists. But his fire was going out. He was a "yes man", saying yes to everyone, and he forgot about himself. He was living alone and constantly in his own head.

His first step was telling his mum. Then he told his friends, people in his organisation and his mentors, and they rallied around him and told him to take a break. He says that's when he realised how important mental health is.

His non-negotiable now is to look after himself first. If you can't take something on, say no. He used to feel guilty about putting himself first, but he now believes it's the only way to give the best version of yourself to everyone else.

Action: Say no to one request this week that you don't have the capacity for.

Outcome: You protect the energy you need for what matters most.

Lesson 6: Delegate and trust your team

Insight: In the early days, Mamuch did everything. He picked up uniforms, spoke to sponsors, wrote grants and looked after the finances. He felt he could do it better than anyone else. Now he has five board members and around 20 people involved, including an advisory board. He built the board using a skills matrix to work out what the organisation needed.

A board also keeps him accountable, so he's not the only one making every decision. And he's learnt that being as professional as possible matters, which sometimes means building with skilled people from the broader community, not just friends.

When I asked what he'd say to someone who thinks it has to be perfect before they start, his answer was clear: there's no such thing as perfect. Believe in yourself, trust your team and prepare them well by telling them how you want things to look. This was advice I took for myself, because I'm learning to hand over parts of the podcast editing.

Action: Pick one task you always do yourself, explain clearly how you want it done, and hand it over.

Outcome: You free up time and help someone else grow.

Lesson 7: Words matter, so say "we"

Insight: Mamuch has noticed how easy it is to get stuck in "me, me, me" and "I, I, I". He's working on replacing "I" with "we". He's careful with his words whether he's speaking to students, teachers, his board or his team, because once you say something, it's hard to take back. He wants to speak with purpose and conviction, and to follow through on what he says.

Action: In your next team conversation, notice how often you say "I" and try "we" instead.

Outcome: People feel part of the journey rather than spectators of yours.

Quick wins

• Write a to-do list every morning and enjoy ticking things off.
• Go for a run or play a sport when your mind is busy.
• Read a book about someone else's real journey.
• Tell someone you trust when you're not okay.
• Say no to one thing that drains you.

Closing insight

When I asked what one thing Mamuch would get every Australian to do, he said to write a to-do list every morning. Getting things out of your head and onto paper is the first step, and the next is doing it. He also told me his purpose has shifted. He used to think it was his community. Now he believes it's being the best version of himself, because that's what lets him give the most to his family and his community.

Connect with Mamuch Chuol

Find out more about NextGen Unite or read about Mamuch at the Multicultural Youth Awards. You can also find him on social media at @MamuchChuol and on LinkedIn.

Listen to the full episode

The full conversation is on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube, or press play at the top of this page.

Related episodes: Redefining Mental Health Through Culture, Connection and Gratitude with Nyachan and The Real Meaning of Resilience