7th QLD PUBLIC SECTOR WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

Identify your communication style

- Understand different types of communication skills

- Discover your natural communication style

- Recognise the impact stress has on your style

Develop confidence as a leader

- Identify your communication strengths

- Learn how to communicate with external stakeholders

- Understand the role communication plays in your leadership style

Use communication to improve outcomes

- Develop influencing techniques

- Explore the benefits of emotionally intelligent leadership

- Communicate to improve performance

Action plan

- Identify short and long term goals to communicating effectively

- Prepare to overcome barriers

- Set achievable goals to improve your communication and influencing skills

The workplace has made massive progress in the past 50 years. In terms of diversity and representation there has never been a more diverse workforce. However, we still have ways to go. In this insightful and reflective session Angela shares her experience in a male-dominated environment. Hear how she has overcome challenges, developed a leadership style that works for her and climbed the career ladder to reach her full potential even when the ladder has often not been easy to climb. 

- Find a leadership style that works for you 

- Build your confidence in male-dominated environments 

- Stand out and succeed

As leaders it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of convincing yourself you don’t deserve the successes you have achieved. Instead you may feel that at any moment you’re going to get found out for who you really are: an imposter who is not capable of delivering what is required of you. The truth is most of us struggle with Impostor Syndrome. But what happens when you decide to change your mind-set, gain confidence and be the leader you really want to be? In this session, hear how Sandra has faced Imposter Syndrome head on, overcame her own inner critic and has found a leadership style that works for her.

- Explore the common limiting self-beliefs associated with the impostor syndrome

- Finding your own rhythm in a new role 

- Developing your own authentic leadership style 

Mix and mingle with your fellow leaders over a cup of coffee and light refreshments.

Have you ever had to sit in a meeting and wished you could add your ideas into the mix? Or perhaps you have to have a difficult conversation with a team member but you don't quite know what to say? Or maybe you are uncomfortable asking your leader for something. This one stop networking session will help to build your communication skills so that the next time you find yourself stuck for words you can draw on the skills you will learn during this session. Uncover what your communication style is, how you can develop it and achieve success through effective communication. 

- Identify your communication style

- Develop confidence as a leader

- Use communication to improve outcomes

It's an exciting time to be a young female leader, but it can also be daunting. Nolene shares her experience moving from a graduate to Acting Director and Acting Executive Director in six years and provides practical advice on how she:

- Pursues professional and personal development

- Embraces career opportunities to grow

- Works through self-doubt and uncertainty

- Leads authentically, drawing on her unique perspective as a young woman of colour, and encouraging others to do the same

Enjoy a midday lunch break. A time to refresh, refuel, and prepare for a full afternoon of immersive learning and inspiration.

Excellence strives to deliver excellence. In order to achieve outstanding outcomes, as a leader you have to create a culture of innovation, continuous improvement, and personal growth. This unmissable panel brings together leaders from different areas of the public service to share their first-hand experience building high-performance culture that delivers true engagement and tangible results.

- The ‘how to’ on cultivating a continuous improvement culture 

- Grow your teams performance capabilities through considered decision making 

- Maintaining a standard of excellence in leadership

The past few years have tested even the most resilient of leaders - from change management, to helping your team through uncertainty and adapting to rapid change. In this session, Kylie reflects on the past few years as a leader within Queensland Health during some of the busiest times. She shares the key leadership skills she has gained and developed, the lessons she has learned and how her leadership style has changed and evolved into the one she is now. 

- Reflect on your leadership journey.

- Recognise the skills you have developed in the past few years 

- Map out the goals you want to achieve moving forward 

A quick break to refresh and continue building your network with fellow leaders. Enjoy a light refreshment before finishing day one.

In our fast-paced lives between packed schedules at home and a never ending to-do list in work it can feel overwhelming a lot of the time. How can we achieve all we want to achieve and be the best version of ourselves when we feel like there is never enough time in the day? Ale is passionate about helping women who want to bring the best versions of themselves to both the office and at home. In this session, she shares how to develop a positive and healthy mindset and allow your creativity to flow.

- Learn how to cultivate a healthy, productive mindset

- Develop a creative toolkit 

- Fill your life with purpose and meaning 

At the heart of every workplace are the people, no matter which industry you work in. To get the best out of your team you need to make them feel supported, valued, and appreciated, which is why the culture at work is so important for leaders to build on. And one of the challenges that will impact culture is change. For Priscilla, aligning people's values with the corporate values is essential to keeping people motivated. Hear how she has created a strong workplace culture, while leading through organisational change and delivering a massive capital portfolio.  

- Bringing your team together

- Creating a strong workplace culture

- Leading through organisational change

We hear a lot about working in male-dominated industries and how that can impact a leader in many different ways. But this becomes more obvious when you have come from a female-dominated space. In this unique session, Joanne shares her experience moving from a career in the health service, which has traditionally been dominated by females, into her current role with the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service. Hear how she has made the move from health, international humanitarian work and to emergency services , shifting into male dominated industry and championing gender equity, diversity and inclusion in fire and emergency services.

- Stepping out of your comfort zone to make a career change

- what you learn along the way in a range of different environments

- Being a champion of gender equity, diversity and inclusion

- Being ‘different’ and an outsider in the workplace  

Mix and mingle with your fellow leaders over a cup of coffee and light refreshments.

Being at the top of your game can be overwhelming even for the most ambitious and driven leaders. In order to have longevity in your career you have to tackle burnout head on. In this insightful session, Joan will take you through the key areas to implement in your day to day routine which will help to avoid burnout and exhaustion. From reducing anxiety and stress to gaining clarity and perspective, this session will leave you feeling refreshed and ready to overhaul your boundaries and balance.

- Understand what is causing you stress 

- How to build boundaries in the workplace 

- Gain clarity and perspective 

No one said that leading people was always easy or straightforward. Sometimes people can throw you a curveball - something you didn’t see coming. This comes hand-in-hand with leadership. In this session, Gillian reflects on the moments that have built her resilience and put it to the test. Learn the importance of bouncing back from challenges, using the tough moments as a lesson learned and develop a plan to implement for yourself in your own journey.

- Hear first hand experience of building resilience

- Use the hard moments as a learning experience

- Plan your own resilience strategy

Enjoy a midday lunch break. A time to refresh, refuel, and prepare for a full afternoon of immersive learning and inspiration.

In our rapidly changing world, women leaders are essential to organisations, communities, and governing bodies. Dynamic leaders bring new talents, fresh perspectives, and deliver exceptional outcomes. This exclusive panel brings together leaders from across the public sector to discuss the future of women’s leadership, and celebrate those paving the way for future generations.

- Advance your leadership career

- Discuss the future of women leaders within the public sector 

- Is the sector future proofed? 

A quick break to refresh and continue building your network with fellow leaders.

When you first start out in your career the options can feel limitless, maybe even overwhelming at times, but you can be free to dream big. You never know where you will end up and if you will even still be in the career you start out in. In the midst of the day to day, you can so easily forget to take a moment to appreciate how far you have come and the impact you have made along the way. In this session, Amanda reflects on the 10 things she wished she had known at the start of her leadership journey. From the highs and the lows, taking time to appreciate her successes and embracing the unexpected journey she has taken.

- Advice to your younger self

- Taking time to reflect on your achievements

- Learning from past experience

Everyone has a reason for choosing their career path. Whether it is to follow in your parents footsteps, having a passion for a cause or the status associated with a job title - we all have our own driving force. In this personal session, Kirstie shares the journey she has taken to lead her to her current role within the Department of Justice and Attorney-General. After coming up against some of the toughest obstacles, at the heart of every career choice she makes, is the passion for personal growth and her drive to fulfil her inner ‘why’ and creating positive and meaningful change.

- Understanding your driving force

- The role passion plays in your career

- Rediscover your ‘why’

We wrap up our two days of insight and inspiration with this interactive roundtable session. This is your chance to table any topic or trend for a final group discussion. Network with your peers, reflect on your journey so far and create an action plan to carry you forward!

- Reflect on your key takeaways from the Summit

- Identify opportunities for career progression and growth

- Create an action plan for your leadership journey

Leading through rapid change

- The VUCA environment (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous)

- Challenges in a VUCA world

- The role of the leader in VUCA organisations

- Key differences between management and leadership

Understanding organisational complexity

- Distinguish types of complexity (imposed, inherent, designed and dysfunctional) and their characteristics

- How do effective leaders promote performance in complex settings?

- Leading a team and developing people

Understanding managerial and leadership shifts

- Collaborative knowledge generation and sense-making

- Dealing with difficult people

- The role of the leader in helping staff cope with VUCA challenges

Maximise culture and performance

- What does ‘good’ culture look like in the new environment

- The innovation challenge - Where are we now, and how do we get to ‘good’?

- Self-assessment - Strengths to build on, and strengths to build

Discover fundamental leadership capabilities

- Capabilities, attributes, and skills of an influential leader

- Develop personal worth, power, and responsibility

- Embrace complexity, uncertainty and diversity

Maintain resilience and authenticity through difficult times

-Techniques to maintain resilience

- Being an authentic leader

- Practice and maintain integrity as a leader

Leading with Emotional Intelligence (EI)

- Evaluating your EI level and identifying opportunities for further growth and development

- Leveraging your EI in the workplace

- Embracing qualities of empathy and understanding to become a better leader

Understand your own leadership style

- Build self-awareness of leadership traits and how they align with organisational goals

- Understand the expectations of team members and direct reports

- Develop a personal leadership plan