The extraordinary events of the last eighteen months have compelled organisations and leaders to adjust how they operate. With new variants of Covid periodically popping up in communities around the globe, an end to this protracted and testing global phenomenon still seems a long way off.

Not all organisations and leaders have been impacted in the same way. However, we know from our experience of working with many organisations across different sectors, that key adaptive themes are emerging from which we can all learn.   Please join us for a facilitated discussion of how organisations and leaders are adapting to this turbulent epoch and consider what changes are here to stay.

To help explore the shifting leadership landscape we are delighted to have Peter Wallace (Director of Sales & Marketing, Briggs & Stratton, Australia & NZ), and Paula Coates (HR Business Partner, Briggs & Stratton Australia) joining us. 

Paula and Peter are both key members of the Briggs & Stratton Senior Leadership Team (SLT). Each bring unique insights into how they have adapted their personal leadership styles, reflections on how members of the SLT at Briggs & Stratton have supported each other, and how the SLT have evolved to successfully lead the organisation through some tough challenges.

Among the specific areas we will explore in this short interactive session are:

• How have leaders and organisations adapted to challenges over the last eighteen months? What works well and what doesn’t work?
• What changes in follower expectation are here to stay and what are the implications for leaders?
• Is wellbeing now emerging as a genuine priority for organisations and a key enabler of productivity?

We are not out of this yet and we are all on a long, steep learning curve. In this session we will share leadership learnings that can benefit you personally, the teams you are part of and the organisations you work in. And, of course, there will be an opportunity for you to share insights from your own worked and lived experience.

The central importance of culture in shaping how we act within the places we work has been starkly illustrated in recent months. When unacceptable workplace behaviour is caught in the spotlight, it is to culture that our attention turns for solutions. As we emerge from this time of Covid we are presented with renewed opportunities to positively shape the cultures in our organisations.

But what does it take to create lasting positive culture change?

How do we capture the energy generated by the national conversation into potential inflection points and turn the rhetoric into reality?

Join us for a panel discussion to hear from a range of leaders and experts who have a pivotal role in influencing culture in the organisations in which they work.

Our Panel:

The Hon Kate Lundy
Company Director with a demonstrated commitment to technology and future-oriented industries.

Kate is a Non-Executive Director for the NRMA and holds a number of other board positions including for the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, Electro Optic Systems Holdings Limited, National Youth Science Forum and the Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre. She is also an ACT Defence Industry Advisory Board Member and an ACT Government Defence Industry Ambassador. Kate was formerly an Australian Senator representing the ACT.

Matt Anderson PSM
Director of the Australian War Memorial.

Prior to his current role Matt was the Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and was a former Ambassador to Afghanistan, High Commissioner to the Solomon Islands as well as Samoa. He has also had postings to South Africa, Papua New Guinea and served as the Chief Negotiator of the Peace Monitoring group on Bougainville (2001-02). Matt was awarded the Public Service Medal for his role in leading the humanitarian and consular response to the 2009 Pacific tsunami.

Paula Goodwin
Group Executive & Chief Operating Officer at the Bureau of Meteorology.

Paula has held a number of First Assistant Secretary roles, including Chief Operating Officer and First Assistant Secretary in the Department of the Environment and Energy. Her passion is organisational transformation and partnering with the business to achieve this – particularly from a people and culture perspective. She previously led the integration of the People Divisions of the Department Immigration and Border Protection and the Australian Customs and Border Protection while driving the development of people strategies for the integrated Department. Prior to that, Paula worked across a range of Policy and Human Resource functions both in the public and the private sector. She is a member of the AHRI ACT Council and a Fellow Certified Practitioner Human Resources

Tim Grenfell
Chief Psychologist with the Australian Federal Police.

Tim has 20 years’ experience as a Clinical Psychologist and 15 years’ experience in a range of management roles. He has been employed in ACT and NSW Health in a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings. In 2015 Tim transitioned from working in purely clinical settings to working in organisations with “operational” roles. He spent several years in the role of Manager of Organisational Psychology for a Commonwealth agency attached to the Attorney General’s Department. In 2019 he moved into the Chief Psychologist role heading up psychological services across the Australian Federal Police.

If 2020 taught us anything, it was to roll with the punches and focus on our people first: the rest will follow. As we work with clients across the planet in the early days of 2021, the focus has shifted. We are settling into uncertainty again but it feels like as always culture is front of mind. But in the face of a world and economy that keeps throwing curveballs and hybrid workforces, how do you understand your organisational culture and continue to make it great?

Join us for a conversation about all things culture. We will share latest research on trends and findings; some stories of what we are seeing in working with businesses around the globe; and explore what is happening for you. It’s a chance to pause, reflect and refocus – with maybe a great idea or two to take away and put into action.

And of course as we know: “culture eats strategy for breakfast”. (Peter Drucker)

In this COVID-19 world, leaders have been dealing with challenges in leading their teams remotely. Everyday examples of these challenges include finding your way around the changes in how we communicate with others and the impact that this Covid mess has had on organisational and team culture. But, there is also a somewhat hidden challenge lurking beneath the surface of the homebased office, psychological safety, which impacts on how people feel about raising questions, concerns, and ideas without fear of personal repercussions.

In the next in the series of Steople Virtual Events we will unpack the above, provide you with some insights based on the research but more importantly give you the opportunity to discuss this with others so that you can share your ideas and experiences.

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, many employees across a range of industries must now figure out how they can adapt to changing workplace conditions, and companies have to learn how to match those employees to new roles and activities. Join us for a virtual event where we will explore current workplace challenges including:

• How do leaders reskill and upskill their workforce to deliver new business models?
• How do individuals develop capability and build new skills?
• What are the critical skills for the future workplace?

The event will provide you with an opportunity to network with like-minded individuals and ensure there is plenty of time for conversation, sharing stories, experiences and ideas that others are currently trialling.

As our workplaces and teams are emerging from the COVID-19 bubble, we are entering a changed ‘normal’ where we will no doubt be tested, at the team, leadership and organisational level. Join us for our next virtual event to explore this critical phase of re-emergence and a bit of networking. We will gather a group of like-minded individuals to grapple with questions like:

• What have you learned about leading a team through this unique environment?
• How do we as leaders create the conditions for resilient and high performing teams?
• What capabilities do you need to lead in this changed environment?

While we will provide you with some insights based on research findings and our recent experience, we will make sure you have lots of time for conversation with others to share ideas and experiences.