Pre-Conference Workshops | 26th May

9:00 AM - 12:30 PM 

Peak Leadership Performance: Biohacking for Feminine Leadership

What You'll Learn:

You’re sitting at the top table holding your own, because you deserve to be there but your operating system is unique. When supported adequately, this can become your edge. Discover the science-backed strategies that support high-performance leadership without sacrificing your wellbeing. This intensive workshop goes beyond traditional leadership development to explore how your biology, habits, and energy management directly impact your executive presence and decision-making capability.

You'll explore:

• The biological foundations of sustainable performance - hormones, sleep architecture, and nutrition strategies that optimize cognitive function and resilience

• Evidence-based approaches to physical wellness that enhance mental clarity and strategic thinking

• The Chocolate Bar Life framework for balancing work, rest, and renewal in high-pressure roles

• Emotional regulation techniques for maintaining composure and clarity in critical moments

• Practical boundary-setting strategies that protect your energy without compromising your influence 

What You'll Walk Away With:

• A personalized performance blueprint tailored to your unique biological needs and leadership context

• Actionable biohacking strategies you can implement immediately to boost energy, focus, and resilience

• Tools for managing stress, optimising sleep, and maintaining peak cognitive function

• Practical frameworks for redefining success on your terms while maintaining your competitive edge

• A renewed commitment to leadership that’s built on clarity, composure, and balance - not burnout

12:30 PM Lunch

1:30 PM Communicate with confidence and get your voice heard

No matter your role, it’s important that you speak your truth and learn how to communicate so that your voice is heard.

All too often we find ourselves leaving conversations frustrated that we haven’t been heard or understood clearly. There are times when we haven’t been able to find the space in a meeting to share our perspectives at all!

This half day masterclass will give you the opportunity to build your gravitas in all contexts, communicate with confidence and clarity, and make the practical mindset changes needed to remove roadblocks to expressing yourself.

Future leaders need a new toolbox of skills and mindset.

You will Learn:

• Limit inner conflicts which might limit workplace performance
• Project more authority and communicate with gravity
• Master sustainable control of stress and stressors in the work environment
• Improve positive-attitude maintenance in challenging situations
• Assess and adjust personal leadership style quickly, accurately and privately

By the end of the workshop you will have:

• Uncovered what is in the way of you finding and expressing your voice with confidence and clarity

• Understood how to build capacity in your communication style and how to listen for and respond to other people’s styles of communication

• Built the confidence and know how to show up and have your voice heard

   

Conference Day 1 | 27th May

9:00 AM Welcome to Country

Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Elder

9:05 AM: Opening Remarks from Chair

Dana Lightbody is the CEO of The Leadership Institute. 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: OPENING KEYNOTE 9:20 AM: Building the Relationships That Shape Your Rise to CEO

 Sue brings more than 25 years’ experience spanning frontline nursing through to executive leadership in public and private health services, and now as Chief Executive of Cabrini Australia, she has first-hand experience of the added pressures that come with balancing quality care, financial sustainability and sector reform in a highly regulated environment. Beginning her career as a trainee nurse and working her way through roles to COO, CEO and company director, Sue understands how invisible networks, professional credibility and strategic partnerships shape real decisions and opportunities in healthcare leadership. In this session she will draw on her leadership journey and recent work advancing healthcare models and reforms to unpack how women can build sponsorship and visibility, interpret the informal forces at play and lead with clarity and integrity in sectors where the rules are often unspoken and the impact of decisions reaches well beyond the boardroom. 

SESSION 3 12:00 PM: Power, Complexity and the Reality of Getting Things Done

In complex organisations, leadership is not only about influence or intention. It is about understanding how decisions are made, how systems operate, and how to deliver outcomes when priorities compete and accountability is not always clear.

In this session, Jessica will draw on her experience leading enterprise services and transformation across government and public sector environments to explore the realities of getting things done at scale. She will unpack how power operates through structures, processes, and stakeholders, and what it takes to create clarity in environments where ambiguity is the norm.

Through practical insight, Jessica will examine how to navigate competing demands, align teams, and establish accountability to move work forward. This session offers a grounded perspective on leading with discipline, clarity, and impact in complex organisational systems.

3:10 PM: AFTERNOON TEA

SESSION 5: CLOSING KEYNOTE Q&A 3:30 PM: Confidence, Courage and Not Taking Yourself Too Seriously

To close day one, Julia Morris joins us for a candid and entertaining fireside chat on confidence, courage, and the freedom that comes from not taking yourself too seriously. As one of Australia’s most loved comedians and television personalities, Julia has spent her career navigating high visibility, public pressure, and constant reinvention. In this conversation, she will share stories from behind the scenes of a very public life, reflecting on backing yourself, embracing imperfection, and finding confidence when certainty is nowhere to be found. Expect humour, honesty, and sharp insight, alongside moments that resonate long after the laughter fades.

4:30 PM: REFLECTION, FROM INSIGHT TO ACTION DAY CLOSE, MEET & GREET WITH JULIA AND NETWORKING DRINKS

Conference Day 2 | 28th May

9:00 AM Opening Remarks from the Chair

Dana Lightbody is the CEO of The Leadership Institute. 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 9:30 AM: Invisible Rules, Global Stage: Building Influence Across Culture, Gender and Power

In multinational organisations, the invisible rules do not stay the same. Power, hierarchy, communication and credibility can shift dramatically across functions, markets and cultures. For women leaders, that often means navigating not one set of unspoken expectations, but several at once. In this session, Alicia O’Donoghue explores what it takes to build influence across culturally diverse, male-dominated environments. Drawing on her leadership experience in strategy roles spanning global firms and industrial businesses across Asia Pacific, she will unpack how women can strengthen credibility, read complex stakeholder dynamics and lead with clarity when the rules are not always visible and rarely consistent. This session will offer practical insight into communicating across cultures, building trust across borders and holding onto your leadership identity while adapting to different environments. For women leading across regions, functions or multinational teams, it is a conversation about influence that is both strategic and deeply practical.

10:20 AM MORNING TEA

SESSION 2 11:00 AM: Between Two Worlds: Identity, Influence and Leading Without a Template

Leadership is shaped not only by capability, but by identity, lived experience, and the expectations we carry from both our professional and personal worlds. For many women, particularly those from culturally diverse backgrounds, leadership can feel like navigating between two different sets of expectations.

In this session, Lindy Dang reflects on her journey to senior leadership at Microsoft ANZ, shaped by her Vietnamese heritage and the experience of growing up between cultures. She will explore how influence and trust are built when leadership norms do not always reflect your background.

Drawing on her experience at the centre of executive decision making, Lindy will share how to find your voice, navigate cultural expectations, and lead with authenticity while building credibility and impact in complex environments.

SESSION 3: EXCLUSIVE KEYNOTE SESSION 11:50 AM: Trust, Truth and Communication in a Noisy World

On day two, Samantha Armytage joins us for a powerful session on trust, truth and communication in an age of constant noise. As one of Australia’s most respected journalists and broadcasters, Samantha has spent decades working at the centre of breaking news, public debate, and high pressure conversations. In this keynote, she will reflect on what journalism has taught her about credibility, clear communication, and staying grounded when emotions run high. Samantha will explore how leaders can build trust, ask better questions, and communicate with clarity and integrity, followed by an extended Q and A to deepen the conversation.

12:50 PM:  From Insight to Action 

1:10 PM: LUNCH

SESSION 4 2:10 PM: From Investment Banking to Impact Driven Leadership

Few leadership journeys move from global investment banks in London to the frontline of Australian in home care. Thea has progressed from business development and relationship management through to Chief Operating Officer, helping scale a premium national care provider in one of the country’s most complex and heavily regulated sectors. In this session, Thea will share what it takes to transfer corporate capability into mission led leadership, how to build commercial confidence as a woman moving across industries, and how to lead growth, teams and transformation without losing sight of impact. For women navigating career shifts, boardroom credibility or sector transitions, this conversation will offer practical insight into backing your experience, reframing your expertise and shaping a leadership path that is both commercially strong and deeply meaningful.

3:00 PM: AFTERNOON TEA

SESSION 5 3:30 PM: From AI Hype to Action: Leading Change with Clarity, Ownership and Impact

AI is no longer a future concept. It is already reshaping how organisations operate, make decisions, and deliver value. For many leaders, the challenge is not understanding the technology, but finding the right balance between governance and human behaviour to unlock real value—without creating confusion, resistance, or loss of trust.
In this session, Helen Fridell draws on her experience leading transformation across global organisations to explore how AI and data can be turned into meaningful impact for both employees and the business. She will share how leaders can maintain momentum by creating clarity, aligning teams, and embedding accountability where it matters most.
With a strong focus on the

human side of change, Helen offers practical insights into leading through ambiguity, breaking down silos, and establishing clear ownership in complex environments.

Designed for leaders navigating change, this session provides a grounded, practical approach to leading with confidence in an AI‑driven world.

Post-Conference Workshop | 29th May

09:00 AM - 4:00 PM

The Practical Leadership Playbook: Leading with Clarity & Courage

Step into the next level of leadership.

“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.

“This is the first leadership program I’ve done that has given me the ‘how-to’ I needed”

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.”