When Colm Maguire arrived at the Pharmacy Guild of Australia as COO, he realised the team culture wasn’t quite as described. Colm is a driven and loyal character with a long history of building successful team dynamics with the help of Leading Teams. So, it wasn’t long before he brought them into the Guild and got to work on building trust, ownership, compassion, and high performance. Mel-Sykes Bridge, now HR Director at the Guild, echoes those initial misgivings, but today, along with Colm...

Matt O’Connell has been in the pipeline industry since 1986. As President of NACAP Australia, he understands all too well that it’s a high-risk industry, for people and the environment. So, when NACAP was taken over in 2013 by Qanta, it provided an opportunity for the business to not only explore greener operations but to build a stronger sense of culture, as the company took on this new phase under new management. Matt began working with Leading Teams Facilitator Justin Peckett just before...

Bringing private sector learnings into a government environment can be advantageous, especially if the person has a career's worth of customer-focused roles. Tash Tobias is just that kind of person, a leader who understands not just what customers need, but how to build teams that work well together, in order to deliver the best customer service. Tash met challenges at Brisbane City Council, familiar to many businesses - siloed staff, lack of support amongst the team, and more. But it was...

Family businesses can be great places to work, they’re often warm environments, with nice relationships between staff and with external stakeholders. But can ‘nice’ impact progress and performance? Dahlsens’ is a 150-year-old family business, in the building supplies space. But when General Manager, Mark Cooper started in 2018, he found that ‘nice’ wasn’t really cutting the mustard. So, just prior to the 2019 Victorian bushfires and COVID pandemic, Mark along with Head of Operations, Mick...

Transforming an organisation at the brink of collapse, to a flourishing resource, is no small feat. Brimming with financial and cultural challenges, Shaun Pearce’s capacity for connection, mentorship and drive saw him take over as CEO of Ironbark Aboriginal Corporation. Since then, he’s built an organisation that supports communities across the Northern Territory and provides a diverse range of work opportunities within the business. Shaun has been working with Leading Teams Facilitator,...

For Rebecca Ackland, People & Culture Officer at Southern Cross Austereo, defining the core purpose of the business has been a game changer for the Australian media giant. It’s altered how staff communicate, the onboarding process, and how to motivate for high performance. Within five years at SCA, Rebecca has created a seat at the Executive table, ensuring that People and Culture answer directly to the CEO. Leading Teams Facilitator, Daniel Healy, has been on the journey with Bec, and...

Head Coach, John Longmire has been pivotal to the evolution of AFL team, the Sydney Swans. From the beginning he understood the importance of player empowerment and honest conversations. He also knew that a framework or roadmap was required, not just to achieve success on the field, but as a guide back from failure and loss. The Swans’ story is one that acknowledges the club’s heritage, that allows not only the players but club stakeholders and fans to stand on the mighty foundations of the...

Welcome to Season 3 of the Leading Conversations podcast! Eight brand new business leaders; from an accounting firm in country Victoria, to one of Australia's largest media organisations, to an international eco contractor, they're all in discussion with their personal Leading Teams Facilitators, who over many years, have become almost part of the team. Together they've helped shape business culture and leadership, all of which has had a direct and measurable impact on performance.  But...

Di Marchment was told by one of her first employers that she’d never make it. In 2023 Di is celebrating 30 years as owner of Dianne Marchment & Associates, an accounting firm based in country Victoria. Not only has Di made it in the industry, she’s excelled. It’s this determination that’s driven her success and helped develop skills and leadership for herself and her staff. Di’s in conversation with her long-time Leading Teams Facilitator, Jesse McLean about the road to success, and the...

Season 3 of the Leading Conversations podcast is launching on Wednesday 26 April!  Eight brand new business leaders; from an accounting firm in country Victoria, to one of Australia's largest media organisations, to an international eco contractor, they're all in discussion with their personal Leading Teams Facilitators, who over many years, have become almost part of the team. Together they've helped shape business culture and leadership, all of which has had a direct and measurable impact...

When the patriarch of the family business passes unexpectedly, the impact can lead the business to fold.  In the case of RD Jones Group, that’s what many looking in from the outside expected. But for Danielle and Luke Donaldson, the daughter and son in law of Richard Jones, the impact was seismic, in fact you can still hear it in Danielle’s voice, 6 years since Richard’s accident. But they’re made of tough stuff, they’re resilient and with a strong team backing them up, they’ve not only...

Chris Fagan is an AFL senior coach with the Midas touch. Throughout his coaching career, he’s been involved in the success of the Melbourne Football Club and the string of consecutive Grand Final wins at Hawthorn. So why in 2016, go from the extraordinary wave of success at the Hawks to build back a battered club, at the Brisbane Lions? Well build back he did, and Chris explains to his long-time Leading Teams Facilitator, Simon Fletcher, why he made that decision. He also gives an insight...

It’s often through the fresh eyes of a new team member or after some time away from the office that the state of workplace culture can truly be seen. Steph Alekna is the Regional Construction Manager QLD/PNG for Keller Group, and it was after six months on maternity leave, that she was able to identify what was really going on within the business. Steph is in conversation with Marine Harkin, Leading Team Facilitator for Keller, over the last five years or so. They discuss what issues came to...

Running a business is hard and running a family business can bring its own issues. Add mental health challenges to the mix and that’s when Tom Caesar,  CEO and Founder of Nodifi, a cloud-based, asset finance solutions business, reached out for help. Tom speaks to Daniel Healy, the Leading Teams Facilitator he’s been working with for the last six years, about how they navigated a path through the tough times and celebrate where he and the business are today.   Leading Conversations is...

When the goal is to stretch your team's performance by just one or two per cent, what does that roadmap look like, particularly in the more conservative legal profession? Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers, General Manager, John Willey and Human Resources Manager, Kim Turnbull, discuss the journey towards incremental improvement and cultural change, with Kurt Wrigley, the firm's Leading Teams Facilitator for the last four years.   Leading Conversations is produced for Leading Teams...

For years Kristen Buik was trying to please others by being who she thought they wanted her to be. It didn't work, for her or her colleagues. Kristen found herself working within a male-dominated industry, as the Director and Co-Owner of business consulting firm, Altitude Advisory. Having experienced some personal trauma of her own, Kristen was used to facing challenges head-on.  And so, she began working with Daniel Healy, a Leading Teams Facilitator at Leading Teams, who helped her find...

In the best of circumstances, an educator’s role is a challenge. Throw in a pandemic, and the successful transformation of Staughton College is nothing short of remarkable. Thanks largely to Principal, David Lord and Vice Principal, Kristy Herridge. Both are talking to their Leading Teams Facilitator, Brendan Maher, who for the last seven years has helped guide them to strengthen communication amongst staff, parents and children and streamline hiring practices. All of which have improved the...

With 20 years at Flight Centre under his belt, Brent Novak, now Head of Sales, Operations and Network, still loves it. His passion is palpable, and it’s driven him to seek peak performance at work, with his team and in his personal life. Brent talks to Jake Bridges, his Leading Teams Facilitator for the last few years, about his approach to cultural change, the difference it’s made to the business and how one of the biggest challenges in his own life, sharpened his focus on who he is as a...

Welcome to Season 2 of the Leading Conversations podcast, another golden opportunity to hear from senior executives, across Australia, discuss challenges they’ve faced in their professional and personal lives, which have led to extraordinary cultural change within their workplace. This season they're talking directly to their Leading Teams Facilitators, so the conversations are open, frank and familiar. If like many people, you're facing trying circumstances or considering a cultural shift in...

This final episode takes a slightly different approach, Mary Campbell, CEO of TAFE Queensland reflects on her 30 years at TAFE, sharing her insights into leadership and cultural development, as she talks with host Lisa Alexander AM.  There are no shortcuts to achieving a strong culture and high performing teams, it’s about the long game. Leaders must believe in the work they do, be driven to achieve goals and passionate about the journey. With three decades in the vocational training and...

We don’t think much about water utilities until things go wrong of course, it’s just there and we kind of take it for granted. Jeff Rigby is the Managing Director of Western Water, an organisation bound by the strictures of the tightly regulated public sector. Talking to host Lisa Alexander AM, Jeff explains that he's been in the water game for three decades,  inspired by the Victorian drought of 1983. But not only is he committed to best practice, Jeff encourages innovation, transforming...

Steve Baird is a whip-smart operator. He works through challenges, finds quick solutions, leads with trust and is always supporting his team. Steve has spent 17 years in airline marketing, ten at Qantas and seven at Virgin, as Head of Marketing for the Velocity Frequent Flyer program.  He tells host Lisa Alexander AM, about his time in the eye of the storm as COVID ripped through the travel industry in 2020, and the leadership experience he called on during that unprecedented time.  But it...

Note - This episode might involve dressing up. John Bedwell is Chairman of Australian, family-owned business and pet specialty retailer, PETstock. While John isn’t a member of the Young family, he’s like a third brother to co-founders and siblings, David and Shane Young. But as PETstock expanded across Australia and over the ditch to New Zealand, how were the strong family values instilled in staff and brought to life across each store?   Leading Conversations is produced...

When workplace culture is set up to reward the stars and not the workhorses, opportunities to create high performing teams can be diminished. This is true in business as it is in elite sport. Clare Ferguson is a quiet achiever, with a do-nothing-by-halves attitude, and as a squad member of the Australian National Netball Team, The Diamonds, she wasn’t quite considered leadership material. Not until a massive cultural shift in 2015, that shook Clare and the team.  Clare is in conversation...