Pre-Conference Workshop

The Practical LGBTIQA+ Leadership Playbook: Leading with Clarity & Courage

9:00AM - 4:00PM

Step into the next level of leadership — unapologetically you.

This workshop is designed specifically for LGBTIQA+ leaders and emerging leaders, equipping you with practical tools, tested strategies, and the confidence to lead with clarity, courage, and authenticity.

You’ll walk away with a comprehensive toolkit—proven templates, practical techniques, and conversation guides—designed to help you lead boldly, support others, and build inclusive teams that thrive. Everything you learn will be immediately applicable in your workplace and across your leadership journey.

“I wish I’d done this workshop when I first stepped into leadership — it would’ve changed everything.”

What You’ll Learn:

Grounded in research and guided by inclusive leadership practice, this masterclass will help you:

• Strengthen self-awareness and emotional resilience: Understand your leadership style, regulate emotional responses, and build confidence in your unique strengths as an LGBTIQA+ leader.
• Create psychological safety for others: Build inclusive environments with clear boundaries and shared expectations that empower authenticity and accountability.
• Support and lead your team through challenges: Recognise what team members need to succeed—and lead with empathy, especially in environments where being out or different can carry extra weight.
• Deliver feedback that supports growth and inclusion: Learn how to give constructive feedback that builds trust, addresses issues early, and uplifts others with respect and clarity.
• Navigate hard conversations with courage and care: Use the Correction Continuum to approach tough conversations authentically, avoiding conflict avoidance and people-pleasing tendencies.

“This is the first leadership program I’ve done that gave me the tools to lead like myself, not like someone else’s idea of a leader.”

What You’ll Take Away:

Built for real-world impact, this masterclass provides you with:

• A practical leadership playbook filled with scripts, templates, and frameworks designed for inclusive, values-based leadership.
• A peer learning experience where you’ll connect with others navigating similar challenges in leadership and identity.
• Confidence to lead authentically—without code-switching, hiding, or holding back.
• A space to explore how your identity can strengthen, not limit, your leadership.

Conference Day One

9:00 AM: Welcome to Country

09:10 AM: Opening Remarks From Emcee

She is a staunch advocate of equality for women in business and believes women should be helping other women every chance they get. 

Dana established Konnect Learning in 2013 and the Leadership Institute in 2017. Since then she has advocated for equality for women in all aspects of her entrepreneurial and professional life – 
in particular by chairing and assisting the production team in the development of TLI’s Women in Leadership line of events.

Session 1:
09:30AM Leading Beyond Visibility: Many Voices, One Vision

For ten years, Zurich's PrideZ network has shown that inclusion isn't built by one voice, but by many. To open the summit, three PrideZ Co-Chairs — Michael Simitsis, Fiona Miller and Katrin Stoecker — take the stage together to share how sustainable change is built through shared accountability, diverse perspectives and a strong sense of belonging.

Each brings a distinct lens: Michael on Awareness & Education, Fiona on Celebration & Community, and Katrin on Partnerships & External Engagement. Together, they weave these threads into one integrated story of collective leadership, marking PrideZ's 10-year anniversary with reflections on the journey so far and aspirations for what comes next.

Discover how leadership shared across many hands can build something no single voice ever could.

10:20 AM Leadership Networking

10:40 AM Morning Tea

Session 2: Joint Case Study
11:10 AM: Leading Beyond Visibility: Creating Cultures Where Everyone Can Thrive

Creating inclusive workplaces takes more than good intentions. It requires leaders who are willing to listen, learn, and create environments where people feel empowered to bring their whole selves to work.

In this opening conversation, Courtney Pond, Group Inclusion & Diversity Manager, and Jessica McLennan, SHINE Co-Chair at The NRMA, explore how organisational strategy and employee voice work together to create lasting change. Discover how psychological safety, authentic allyship, and employee resource groups can help embed inclusion into everyday culture, strengthen belonging, and move organisations beyond visible support to meaningful action. Leave with practical ideas to help create workplaces where people, teams, and organisations can truly thrive.

SESSION 3
12:00 PM: Turning Identity Into Leadership Strength

For many LGBTIQA+ professionals, identity can often feel like something to navigate rather than something to leverage. Yet the experiences that shape who we are can also strengthen how we lead, influence others, and build meaningful professional relationships.

In this session, Finley K explores how authenticity can become a source of credibility, resilience, and connection in the workplace. Discover how embracing your unique perspective can strengthen your leadership impact, build trust with colleagues and stakeholders, and create environments where people feel empowered to contribute and thrive. Gain practical insights into leading with confidence, influence, and authenticity in today’s evolving professional landscape.

1:00 PM Lunch

2:00 PM From Insights to Action: What lessons have we learned so far?

Session 4: Belonging Doesn't Happen by Accident
02:00 PM: How Employee Networks Create Culture From the Inside Out

3:10 PM Afternoon Tea

Session 5
3:30 PM: Leading with Courage, Authenticity and Influence

Paul Zahra has built a distinguished leadership career across some of Australia’s most recognised organisations, while remaining a strong advocate for authenticity, inclusion, and values driven leadership.

In this inspiring closing keynote, Paul reflects on his journey from the shop floor to the boardroom, sharing lessons on resilience, self acceptance, and the courage required to lead authentically in high pressure environments. Drawing on decades of executive and board leadership experience, Paul will explore how leaders can build influence, navigate complexity, and create meaningful impact without compromising who they are. Leave inspired to lead with confidence, purpose, and integrity.

4:20 PM Closing Reflections and Insights to Action

4:40 PM Close of Day one & Networking Drinks

Conference Day Two

9:00 AM Opening Remarks from Emcee 

Session 1:
09:10AM Influencing Senior Leaders and Decision Makers

Influencing senior leaders isn't just a corporate skill — it's one Professor Michelle Power has had to master from inside a university. As a parasitologist leading Macquarie's One Health disease ecology research, Michelle also built the university's LGBTQ+ Ally Network from the ground up, work that earned her a national Pride in Diversity Leadership Award and the Co-Chair role at Queers in Science NSW.

In this session, Michelle shares how she's influenced senior decision-makers and secured institutional buy-in for grassroots advocacy, without a formal mandate or budget of her own. Drawing on her experience translating complex science (and trying her hand at stand-up comedy) to bring sceptical audiences along, she offers practical, often unconventional lessons on building credibility, communicating with impact, and getting the people at the top to listen.

Session 2:
10:00 AM From Inclusion to Impact: Embedding Change in Organisations

Creating inclusive workplaces requires more than good intentions. It requires leaders who can turn advocacy into action and build support for meaningful change across their organisations.

Drawing on her experience as a People Risk leader and QBE Pride Lead, Nikki Lyon explores how inclusion initiatives can move beyond awareness and become embedded in everyday workplace practices. Learn practical approaches to influencing stakeholders, building momentum for change, and creating environments where people feel valued, supported, and empowered to succeed. Gain insights into how leaders at every level can help shape more inclusive cultures while delivering positive outcomes for both people and organisations.

10:50 AM From Insights to Action: What lessons have we learned so far?

11:10 AM Morning Tea

Session 3
11:40 AM: Beyond the Game: Visibility, Courage and the Cultures That Shape Us

For generations, elite sport has celebrated strength, resilience and performance, but rarely made space for vulnerability or authenticity. When Mitch Brown became the first male AFL player, past or present, to publicly come out as bisexual, he didn't just share his own story. He challenged long-held assumptions about masculinity, belonging and what it truly means to be seen.

In this powerful keynote, Mitch reflects on his journey from elite athlete to nationally recognised advocate, exploring the personal cost of hiding who you are and the courage it takes to lead with authenticity. Through honest storytelling and hard-earned insight, he examines how culture shapes behaviour, why psychological safety matters, and the responsibility leaders have to create environments where people can thrive without fear of judgement. Discover how vulnerability can become strength, how visibility can inspire lasting change, and why building cultures of belonging benefits every person, every team and every organisation.

Session 4:  Building Cultures Where Everyone Can Thrive
12:30 PM:  How Leaders Turn Inclusion Into Everyday Leadership

Creating an inclusive workplace isn't the responsibility of one team or one initiative. It is shaped by the everyday actions, behaviours and decisions of leaders across an organisation.

In this practical session, Jo Gobbo shares how organisations can move beyond awareness campaigns to create cultures where people feel valued, respected and able to contribute at their best. Explore the leadership behaviours that build psychological safety, strengthen trust and embed inclusion into everyday practice.
Learn how organisations can measure progress, maintain momentum and create workplaces where inclusion becomes part of how leadership is experienced, not simply how it is described.

1:20 PM Lunch

2:20 PM From Insights to Action: What lessons have we learned so far?

SESSION 5: Panel Discussion
2:20 PM: Beyond the Policy: What It Actually Takes to Embed Inclusion

Policies and strategy documents are only the starting point. The real work of inclusion happens in the everyday decisions, conversations and behaviours that either reinforce belonging or quietly undermine it.

In this panel, Lori Turner and Angus Lade from AustralianSuper are joined by delsi Moleta from RMIT to compare notes across two very different sectors — superannuation and higher education — on what it actually takes to move inclusion from stated value to lived practice. Drawing on RMIT's Being Valued toolkit and AustralianSuper's culture and DEI programs, the panel explores building psychological safety, embedding accountability at every level, and navigating the gap between what organisations say and what employees experience.

Expect a candid, cross-industry conversation on what's worked, what hasn't, and what's next.

Session 6: Closing keynote

3:10PM Owning Your Story and Leading With Impact

Most conversations about LGBTQIA+ inclusion focus on the barriers people face. Brandon Bear has spent his career studying the opposite question: what actually helps people thrive.

His Master's research at UNSW examined salutogenic behaviours in same-sex attracted individuals — the health-promoting factors that build resilience, rather than the deficits that erode it. As Head of Inclusion, Diversity & Equity at St Vincent's Health Australia, and a former Director and Co-Chair of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Brandon has translated that research into governance, advocacy and everyday practice across some of Australia's most recognised institutions.

In this closing keynote, Brandon draws on his story and research to explore what sustains LGBTQIA+ leaders through adversity, and how owning your story becomes the foundation for leading with lasting impact.

3:30 PM Bringing it all together: Final From Insights to Action

4:00 PM: CONFERENCE CLOSE

Post-Conference Workshop

09:00AM - 4:00PM 
The Practical LGBTIQA+ Leadership Playbook: LeadingwithClarity & Courage

Step into the next level of leadership — unapologetically you.

This workshop is designed specifically for LGBTIQA+ leaders and emerging leaders, equipping you with practical tools, tested strategies, and the confidence to lead with clarity, courage, and authenticity.

You’ll walk away with a comprehensive toolkit—proven templates, practical techniques, and conversation guides—designed to help you lead boldly, support others, and build inclusive teams that thrive. Everything you learn will be immediately applicable in your workplace and across your leadership journey.

“I wish I’d done this workshop when I first stepped into leadership — it would’ve changed everything.”

What You’ll Learn:

• Strengthen self-awareness and emotional resilience: Understand your leadership style, regulate emotional responses, and build confidence in your unique strengths as an LGBTIQA+ leader.
• Create psychological safety for others: Build inclusive environments with clear boundaries and shared expectations that empower authenticity and accountability.
• Support and lead your team through challenges: Recognise what team members need to succeed—and lead with empathy, especially in environments where being out or different can carry extra weight.
• Deliver feedback that supports growth and inclusion: Learn how to give constructive feedback that builds trust, addresses issues early, and uplifts others with respect and clarity.
• Navigate hard conversations with courage and care: Use the Correction Continuum to approach tough conversations authentically, avoiding conflict avoidance and people-pleasing tendencies.

“This is the first leadership program I’ve done that gave me the tools to lead like myself, not like someone else’s idea of a leader.”

What You’ll Take Away:

Built for real-world impact,this masterclass provides you with:

• A practical leadership playbook filled with scripts, templates, and frameworks designed for inclusive, values-based leadership.
• A peer learning experience where you’ll connect with others navigating similar challenges in leadership and identity.
• Confidence to lead authentically—without code-switching, hiding, or holding back.
• A space to explore how your identity can strengthen, not limit, your leadership.

“Every time I need to have a brave conversation, I go back to the tools from this session. It’s changed the way I lead.”