Pre-Conference Workshops

09:00AM – 05:00PM

Step beyond operational excellence and into strategic influence. This immersive full-day workshop is designed for ambitious EAs ready to strengthen their commercial thinking, deepen executive alignment and elevate their impact at the highest levels.

Through practical frameworks and guided reflection, you will explore how to think like an executive and contribute with greater confidence and clarity. Throughout the day, you will examine how to anticipate priorities, strengthen your leadership positioning and communicate with strategic intent. Leave with a sharper understanding of your value, a clear roadmap for expanding your influence, and practical tools to operate as a trusted, commercially aware executive partner.

Key Learning Outcomes:

• Develop a stronger executive mindset and commercial awareness
• Learn practical frameworks for influencing decisions and shaping priorities
• Strengthen your credibility and leadership positioning
• Improve how you communicate insights with clarity and authority
• Identify opportunities to expand your scope and strategic contribution
• Create a personalised action plan to elevate your executive partnership
  
  

By the conclusion of this workshop, you will leave with a comprehensive blueprint for achieving leadership success that does not compromise your personal happiness or well-being. This session promises to be a dynamic and interactive experience, providing a safe space for women to explore, learn, and grow together, free from the constraints of judgement or organizational politics.

Join us on this enlightening journey to redefine what success looks like for women in leadership. Together, we will discover how to create a life of impact and fulfillment, proving that it is indeed possible to have it all.

Conference Day One

09:05 Welcome to country + Opening Remarks from Chair

SESSION 1: OPENING KEYNOTE 9:20 AM: The Trusted Partner: What Executive Level Influence Looks Like in Government

The role of the executive assistant has evolved far beyond coordination and administration. Today’s most effective EAs operate as trusted partners, helping leaders navigate competing priorities, manage stakeholder relationships, and make informed decisions in complex public sector environments.

In this opening keynote, Andi shares insights from supporting senior leaders within the Australian Public Service and explores what it takes to build trust, credibility, and influence as an executive assistant. Drawing on her experience working closely with executive leaders, Andi will discuss the importance of anticipating needs, communicating with confidence, and contributing to effective decision making behind the scenes.

This session will set the tone for the summit, offering practical reflections on how EAs can strengthen their impact and become indispensable partners in public sector leadership.

SESSION 2:12:00 PM: The AI-Smart EA: Judgement Beyond Prompts

Most AI training treats Executive Assistants like data entry clerks with better tools. That misses the point entirely.

The EA sits at the most sensitive intersection in any organisation: the place where confidential information, executive judgement, and operational tempo meet. AI is reshaping every part of that role right now. The question is whether you shape it back, or get shaped by it.

This session moves past prompt libraries and productivity hacks. It looks at the real shift underway: EAs are becoming the first line of AI judgement in the business. You decide what AI sees, what it touches, what it remembers, and what it should never go near. That is not a productivity question. It is a trust question, a security question, and a strategy question.

You will leave with:
A clearer view of where AI strengthens your executive's position, and where it quietly exposes them
Practical frameworks for workflows that scale judgement, not just speed
Cyber awareness habits that protect confidential information in an AI-saturated environment
Confidence to lead AI conversations in your office, not just respond to them

But the real prize sits one level deeper. Used well, AI does not just speed up your work. It changes how you think, what you notice, and the quality of the questions you bring to your executive. Multiply that across an EA function, and something rare starts to happen: the organisation begins to compound its intelligence rather than just its output. That is the EA's hidden lever, and almost no one is pulling it yet.

SESSION 3: 12:50 PM: Executive Presence: The Key to Recognition & Career Growth Opportunities

Walking into senior leadership meetings and high-stakes environments is not just about being present, it is about how you position yourself in the moments that shape your career.

Executive presence is not defined by title. It is built through how you think, communicate, and show up under pressure.

In this session, you will learn how to elevate your presence from trusted support to strategic partner, so you are recognised, trusted, and considered for greater opportunities.

• Position Yourself as a Strategic Partner - Move beyond task execution and contribute at a higher level by aligning your input to business priorities. This is how you build a more senior, credible presence in the room.

• Communicate with Clarity and Authority - Executive presence shows up in how you communicate. Speak with clarity, confidence, and control in high-pressure environments, so your voice is heard and respected.

• Turn Visibility into Career Growth - Use key moments to build trust, advocacy, and recognition. This is how your presence translates into real opportunities, progression, and next-level roles.

12:50 PM LUNCH

SESSION 5: 2:40 PM: From EA to Strategic Career Architect: Building Influence, Visibility and Opportunity

Career progression is rarely a straight line. It is shaped by resilience, self belief, adaptability and the willingness to keep moving forward through both professional and personal challenges. The most successful executive assistants do more than wait for opportunities. They actively shape their careers, build influence and create pathways for growth.

In this inspiring and highly relatable session, Linda shares her personal journey of navigating adversity, embracing change and building a successful career supporting senior leaders across government. Through lived experience, Linda will explore how resilience, confidence and a strategic mindset can help you overcome setbacks, strengthen your professional profile and create opportunities for advancement.

This session will leave you feeling empowered to back yourself, take ownership of your career journey and pursue your goals with greater clarity, courage and confidence.

3:30 PM AFTERNOON TEA

SESSION 6:  KEYNOTE + EXTENDED Q&A 3:30 PM: The Courage to Be Yourself in Rooms That Expect You Not To Be

4:30 PM: REFLECTION, FROM INSIGHT TO ACTION DAY CLOSE, MEET & GREET

Conference Day Two

9:00 AM: From Insight To Action – Key Take Aways From Day 1

Session 1: 9:15 AM: Sustainable Success in High Pressure Roles

Executive support roles in the public sector often involve fast paced environments, high expectations and constant change. While the work can be rewarding, sustaining performance over time requires balance, resilience and self awareness.

In this inspiring session, Danielle explores how to maintain energy, focus and clarity while operating in demanding roles. Learn how to manage competing pressures, establish healthy boundaries, and sustain your effectiveness without burnout.

10:15 AM MORNING TEA

SESSION 2: 10:45 AM: Brave Conversations: Managing Up in Complex Public Sector Environments

Working closely with senior leaders requires the ability to communicate openly and constructively, even when conversations become difficult. Whether managing expectations, raising concerns, or addressing competing priorities, the ability to manage up effectively is a critical leadership skill.

In this practical session, explore how to approach challenging conversations with professionalism and confidence while maintaining trust and strong working relationships.

SESSION 3: KEYNOTE + EXTENDED Q&A 11:50 PM: Reinvention and Resilience: Rebuilding After Life Changes Course

Leadership journeys rarely follow a straight path. Careers evolve, unexpected challenges arise, and sometimes life forces us to start again.

Drawing on her remarkable personal and professional journey, Indira Naidoo reflects on resilience, reinvention and the courage required to rebuild after adversity. Through powerful storytelling and honest reflection, she explores how setbacks can become turning points and how resilience is often forged through life’s most difficult moments.

This inspiring session invites leaders to rethink failure, embrace change and recognise the strength that can emerge when life does not unfold as planned.

12:50 PM: From Insight to Action

1:10 PM LUNCH

SESSION 4:  12:10 PM: Building High Trust Executive Partnerships

The strongest executive assistant and leader relationships are built on more than effective communication and organisation. They are founded on trust, discretion, mutual understanding, and a shared commitment to achieving outcomes.

In this practical session, Samantha draws on her experience supporting senior leaders across government, including within the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman, to explore what makes high trust executive partnerships successful. Samantha will share insights into building credibility, managing competing priorities, navigating sensitive issues, and maintaining strong alignment with executive leaders in complex environments.

This session will provide practical strategies for strengthening trust, enhancing communication, and developing the judgement and confidence required to become an indispensable partner to executive leadership.

SESSION 5: 3:00 PM: Trust, Judgement and Influence: Supporting Leaders in High Stakes Environments

Supporting senior leaders in high stakes environments requires far more than exceptional organisation. It demands sound judgement, discretion, and the ability to navigate competing priorities while maintaining trust and confidence at every level.

In this practical session, Alisha draws on her experience supporting executive leadership in a complex government environment to explore the critical role executive assistants play in enabling effective decision making. Alisha will share insights into building trusted relationships, anticipating challenges, managing sensitive information, and providing calm, consistent support when the pressure is high.

This session will offer practical strategies for strengthening executive partnerships, exercising influence with confidence, and supporting leaders through complexity, change, and competing demands.

3:50 PM AFTERNOON TEA

SESSION 6: 4:10 PM: Bringing it all together - From Insight to Action

As the summit draws to a close, take a moment to reflect, reset and refocus. In this energising closing session, Danielle will guide you through the key insights of the past two days and help you turn inspiration into practical action. Identify your next steps, clarify your priorities and commit to the changes that will elevate your impact. Leave feeling focused, confident and ready to step forward as a trusted, capable and future-ready executive partner.

4:30 PM CLOSE OF CONFERENCE

Post-Conference Workshop

9:00 AM – 4:00 PM: The Practical Leadership Playbook: Leading with Clarity & Courage

Step into the next level of leadership.

This masterclass equips you with practical tools, advanced strategies and confidence to lead with clarity, courage, and impact.

You’ll walk away with a comprehensive toolkit—including proven templates, practical techniques and conversation guides—that you can immediately apply in your workplace and return to throughout your leadership journey.

“I wish I had done this workshop two years ago when I started as a manager”
 
What You’ll Learn:

Grounded in research and tested in practice, this masterclass will help you to:

• Strengthen self-awareness and emotional regulation: 
  Understand your personal leadership style, manage emotional responses and build lasting resilience.
• Set clear expectations for behaviour, performance, and working relationships: 
  Create a culture of accountability and psychological safety through clear boundaries and shared commitments.
• Provide advanced support to your team: 
  Recognise and respond to what your team members need to succeed and grow and manage in challenging times.
• Deliver feedback that drives performance and development: 
  Learn how to give confident, constructive feedback that supports good behaviour, addresses concerns early and
  strengthens your team.
• Navigate brave conversations with clarity and care
  Use the Correction Continuum to prepare for and engage in the conversations that matter—early, effectively and with integrity.

What You’ll Take Away:

Grounded in research and tested in practice, this masterclass will help you to:

• A practical leadership workbook packed with tools, templates, conversation scripts, and frameworks you can use for years to come.
  
  

“Every time I need to have a brave conversation, I go back to the templates and scripts. They give me the support and confidence I need to prepare well"

• A peer learning experience that connects you with like-minded leaders navigating similar challenges.
• The confidence and capability to immediately apply what you’ve learned in your leadership role.
  
  

“This is the most practical workshop I’ve ever attended.”