Partnership with the Clean Energy Council

Leadium is delighted to partner with the peak body, the Clean Energy Council to support their members to communicate more skilfully while working remotely.

With an unprecedented number of people working remotely, communication has moved from face-to-face to mostly video conferencing. This brings its own set of challenges. Without the usual in-person cues and clues, sharing ideas, making tough decisions and driving change can be difficult. It’s harder to stay focused, claiming airtime can be tricky and miscommunication is more common. 

High Impact Virtual Communications webinar

The Clean Energy Council's Women in Renewables program is supporting their members during this challenging time and are inviting both men and women to come and learn from Leadium Director, Sharon Longridge.

Sharon will be facilitating an insightful and practical webinar that will support members to sharpen their virtual...

Great leaders are exceptional communicator as evidenced by New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Over the last few years, I've been showcasing Jacinda Ardern as an exemplary leader in my various executive presence programs, including at the Monash Business School. 

Time and again, Ardern articulates a clear message with just the right mix of authority, humanity and believability. This is a critical skill that eludes so many politicians the world over.

I was so impressed when she recently did a 'check-in' video call to her nation. From the confines of her home, straight after putting her toddler to bed, wearing her comfy house clothes she; explained why the strict lockdown was so crucial, acknowledged it was really tough, clearly explained the data, reassured her people and then closed with her powerful key message "stay home, break the chain, save lives".

This was stripped back, authentic leadership in action. It was as real as it gets, no-pretence, no...

Written by Sharon Longridge

Nudging women to speak up

Recently I met with the female head of Organisational Development (OD) at a major Australian company. While in conversation about working together to develop the company’s top talent, she mentioned that it was a great time for me to be a woman. Initially I thought it was an odd comment, then she went on to described the Panel Pledge. It’s a national initiative seeking to increase the participation of women in public forums, conferences and the media. Currently in Australia women are seriously underrepresented. The Panel Pledge toolkit describes the alarming gender disparity, “It is estimated less than 15% of panellists in Australia are women. Less than 12% of experts cited in business newspapers are women. Such optics have consequences.”

The OD leader explained that as part of her company’s commitment to the Panel Pledge, when staff ask to attend a conference, they only...

For most professionals, mindfulness is critical to mastering the art of public speaking writes executive communications specialist and Leadium Director, Sharon Longridge.

“Commanding, inspiring, motivating.”

They were the anchoring words I gave a senior executive recently. We were preparing the presentation she was about to deliver to her 2500+ workforce at a 'Town Hall' style gathering. This was a conversation that she needed to get right.

We spent three-quarters of the session focused on her storytelling: hooking the audience, crafting compelling anecdotes and evidence, plus a powerful call-to-action to close.

The balance of the session we spent on her mindset. We explored how she really felt about public speaking. This gave her space to share long-held self-doubts which had up until then triggered unhelpful stress and corroded her...