The Human Factor: Why we need to elevate these 5 core skills to thrive in an AI world

Join one of Australia’s most entertaining, informative and thought-provoking speakers, Nick Abrahams as he explores the profound impact of Artificial Intelligence on the direct selling landscape. Find out exactly how AI is fundamentally reshaping our world! While AI might make it easier to become competent, how do you become exceptional? Nick will discuss five timeless human skills which, when

enhanced by technology, become remarkable differentiators for you in an increasingly complex landscape. As technology marches forward, our unique human qualities become even more valuable. Nick will explain why Service, Communication, Relationships, Curiosity & Adaptability are the crucial keys to success in the age of AI. 

From Awkward to Awesome: how to communicate change in ways that actually work.

We know Change Managers often wear many hats, including 'Communication Professional'. But if your background isn't in comms, you haven't had the experience and time to develop your skills, or you've just stuck to what you know because it's comfortable, communication during change can seem very daunting.  But when it's not your background or area of expertise, how do you know where to start? And how do you know what will actually cut through the noise?

In this workshop, you'll be introduced to a fictional-but-familiar case study and learn how to apply a practical, people-centred framework and behavioural science tips to get your change communication to cut through and make a difference!

Facilitating Transformational Conversations – Mastering Facilitation and Coaching Skills for Change Practitioners

Ready to elevate your change leadership? Join us for an intensive workshop on facilitation and transformational coaching skills that will revolutionise how you guide organisations through change.

In this hands-on session, you'll master the art of powerful conversations that drive meaningful transformation. Learn to build deep trust, navigate resistance with confidence, and unlock potential through strategic questioning and active listening techniques. Move beyond traditional change management approaches with practical facilitation and coaching tools you can immediately apply to your real-world challenges.

Perfect for change practitioners who want to expand their impact and create lasting organisational transformation through the power of facilitation and coaching conversations.

Don't just manage change – inspire it

Change + Design = Adoption

As organisations increasingly embrace customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX) design to drive transformation, change practitioners have a unique opportunity to advocate for employee and stakeholder perspectives to help shape solutions from the ground up. How can change practitioners draw on design tools and approaches to create the grounds for adoptable change? In this masterclass, you'll learn about and get hands-on with key design activities that will super-charge your change practice - including ethnographic research, service blueprinting, solution co-design workshops and prototyping - to create more adoptable solutions. Drawing from Cate’s extensive experience bridging these disciplines, you'll learn specific techniques used by service and product designers, leveraging their human-centered approaches while bringing your organisational expertise to ensure sustainable adoption. Discover how this powerful combination creates transformations that not only look good on paper but truly resonate with people and deliver lasting impact.

Transform Your Approach to AI in Change Management

AI technology is moving fast - the agentic era of AI is here and we've barely come to terms with generative AI. But there's no need to feel overwhelmed.

This masterclass is designed to accelerate your thinking, no matter whether you're a novice, or more capable with AI. We'll play with the newest freely available generative AI tools that can help you be more productive as a change professional, showcase real examples of the way AI is being used effectively in business, and explore how agentic AI is bringing change professionals to the executive table to help organisations deal with new challenges.

If you've attended one of our AI masterclasses in the past, this one has a whole new collection of considerations and practical applications.

Dig a little deeper than ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot - come join the fun and be a master of your AI future.

Panel: Will 20 years of professional change standards be impactful for the next change horizon?

Caroline Perkins will bring her expertise of driving change management thinking to facilitate the final panel event and a thought provoking close to the day. Our panel members are all senior transformational leaders, with a deep background in organisational change and their own very different journeys. Simon Corcoran, Director, Strategy & Consulting, ID&E lead (APAC) at Accenture, Reshma Gandhi, Head of Change at Westpac and Chris Macdonald, CEO infiTecs

Change Clinic

We’ll be hosting our very first Change Clinic and fabulous Keynote from last year Dr Jen Frahm will be in session. Book an appointment to get a 15-minute consultation on what ails you with your change program. Dr Jen Frahm has 30 years’ experience in change across multiple industries and countries and will be able to prescribe something to help! Telehealth and in person consultation available.

 When purchasing your Conference ticket indicate your interest in a session with Dr Jen. We will send out an invite to select your slot before the Conference. This will be first come, first serve so make sure you are quick to respond.

The Holistic Change Leader: A Whole Brain Approach to Leading, Planning and Embedding Change

Most of us know that if you want change to stick, you need more than a comms plan and a timeline.

In this practical and engaging session, Angeline introduces the Holistic Change Leadership framework, a model that balances delivery discipline (left brain) with brain-based insight (right brain). This whole brain approach helps leaders tap into what truly drives people, from sparking desire and building commitment to enhancing engagement and embedding new habits.

Angeline will share some of the most engaging and insightful concepts from the model, leaving you with a fresh perspective on what it means to lead change from a whole brain point of view.

An effective approach to maximizing stakeholder ownership during change. 

In this session we will go throug a participatory stakeholder approach that was developed and modified over decades while working with hundreds of clients in Australia and overseas.

One of the biggest challenges facing a change initiative is resistance. One of the most effective ways of handling resistance is by developing stakeholder ownership/buy-in. Ownership includes the elements of participation, collaboration, engagement, empowerment, motivation, persuasion, co- creativity, co-design, etc.

Transform Your Organization's Change Capability: A Real-World Journey

Join us for an eye-opening session exploring the triumphs and challenges of building an Enterprise Change Champion Network from the ground up. Get an insider's look at one organization's journey through their pivotal first year.

We'll walk you through the complete lifecycle - from the compelling 'why' behind the network's creation to the nuts and bolts of implementation. Through interactive exercises, you'll reflect on resistance patterns and collaborate on innovation strategies that you can apply to your own change networks.

This isn't just theory - it's practical wisdom gained from real experience.

Building a new Digital Bank in 15 months! And managing the change across the existing Bank.

Building a new digital bank, from the ground up! From determining and embedding the organisational culture and values, forming the organisational structure, agreeing the ways of working and managing the change with the existing banking division.

The case study will cover how to coach and collaborate with Leaders to embed their target culture and values, through ways of working, adopting an agile mindset and building an onboarding program for an entire division of employees.

A start-up mentality with the backing of a 175 year old organisation.

Dynamic Change Management - how to sense and respond in a complex environment.

As organisations become more complex and the rate of change accelerates, the need for feedback-driven approach and the ability to pivot increases. In this interactive session we will explore ways to overcome resistance and drive engagement using adaptive change approaches. We will cover key concepts and practices borrowed from Lean and Agile and how they can be incorporated alongside existing change best practice.  

Change Impact Assessments and Change Plans are all critical success factors but what do we do when it becomes clear that we must responding to change based on feedback or resistance rather than continuing to follow a pre-defined linear plan?  

Together we will collaborate and share some practices, tips and examples to help us understand the problem better then decide to pivot or stay the course with the current plan.

Using Culture to save a failed enterprise-wide change project (Lean Implementation)

How the most expensive & most dangerous Coal mine in Australia, avoided imminent closure and became the cheapest & safest of its type in Australia.

How an entire workforce moved from Victim Zone, where they were resisting the change to being leaders driving the change.

Elevate and Influence: Master executive relationships to drive change. 

Organisational change requires a collective leadership effort. To activate leadership in others, from the boardroom to the frontline, change agents must elevate their leadership status and influence. But this is easier said than done. Business executives and managers are perpetually ‘busy’ and don’t have time for your change program.

How do you convince them to prioritise and commit to the effort? How do you ensure your expert advice is heeded?

It’s as much about who you are, as it is about what you do.

Huw’s presentation will show you the importance of demonstrating expert authority, business acumen, self-confidence and leadership presence as a means of activating leadership support.

Better Together: Mentoring Partnerships for Change

In today's rapidly evolving landscape, mentoring partnerships offer a powerful way to navigate uncertainty and tackle escalating challenges. These dynamic relationships go beyond traditional mentor-mentee dynamics, creating spaces where both partners can learn, support, and grow together.  Mentor partnerships help build resilience and adaptability while fostering innovative solutions to complex problems. Whether you're a seasoned practitioner or new to the field, mentoring partnerships provide the collaborative foundation needed to thrive in uncertain times.

This ‘playful’ session will match mentors and mentees by sharing experiences, challenges, and insights.

Let's find a match and explore how to create and nurture these valuable relationships that help us all succeed in an ever-changing world.

Why Influencing Skills are Essential in Change Management

Successful change management hinges on the ability to navigate resistance and build buy-in. This session will demonstrate building common ground with stakeholders to move change forward. Join this light-hearted session to expand your insight into overcoming obstacles, securing resources, or fostering collaboration. Whatever your need for greater influence in change environments, you will learn practical tips for building consensus, addressing concerns, and effectively communicating the value of change to diverse audiences. Be inspired to develop more successful relationships in your change initiatives.

Human-Centered Design in Change Management: The Art and Science of Meaning-Making

We explore how integrating human-centered design (HCD) principles with the psychology of meaning-making can transform how organisations approach change. This talk delves into why people resist or embrace change, emphasizing the importance of empathy, co-creation, and iteration in aligning organisational goals with human needs. You will learn how a focus on purpose can foster engagement, resilience, and trust during uncertainty. Through practical takeaways, this session empowers leaders to design people-first strategies that drive sustainable, impactful change.

Defining and Driving a 5-Year Transformation Program  

Finding your seat at the leadership table as a business strategist and leader can be challenging for change practitioners. This case study will describe how change management can contribute to strategy definition and the creation of a shared business vision.  This case study will describe how change management supported and contributed to the design of a shared vision and strategy by working closely with the senior leadership team at Weir. The study will include the business process and change management governance approach to deliver a consistent change management experience.

Psychosocial Risk: A Change Practitioner's Toolkit, With the Brain in Mind.

We’ve all heard about Psychosocial Hazards and Risk, but what does it actually mean for change practitioners, who's responsible, and what can we do about it?

This session won’t just be chalk-and-talk; it will leave you with not only a practical understanding of the meaning of psychosocial hazards and risk, but an understanding of the responsibilities, good practice—and most importantly, how to integrate considerations for it into our day-to-day work as change practitioners.

You'll leave with both knowledge and practical tools (templates, tips, etc.) to use immediately.

As a bonus, this session is underpinned by applied neuroscience and brain-friendly change principles.

The Holistic Change Leader: A Whole Brain Approach to Leading, Planning and Embedding Change

Most of us know that if you want change to stick, you need more than a comms plan and a timeline.

In this practical and engaging session, Angeline introduces the Holistic Change Leadership framework, a model that balances delivery discipline (left brain) with brain-based insight (right brain). This whole brain approach helps leaders tap into what truly drives people, from sparking desire and building commitment to enhancing engagement and embedding new habits.

Angeline will share some of the most engaging and insightful concepts from the model, leaving you with a fresh perspective on what it means to lead change from a whole brain point of view.

Change Thinking: behavioural change in action - How culture can create sustainable business readiness in times of change.

Change success depends on people thinking and doing differently.

Regina will share an approach that gives you the framework to connect behaviour change and into sustainable ways of working to create operational readiness during change.

In a time when not all transformations are transformative and many change programs are missing the mark with underwhelming results this approach will help you and your business be successful.

"Before you even know it: Ready for anything!"

In today's unpredictable world, the ability to adapt, solve complex problems and lead people through change in the face of uncertainty and ambiguity is paramount. Being prepared for change before it even happens is key to success. Whether it's the next pandemic, AI, climate change - or even an alien invasion (!) - this session will explore how to build an adaptive workforce to ensure your organisation is future-fit and can navigate any uncharted territories and change we might face.

Culture change at Hydro Tasmania – a case study 

Hydro Tasmania is Australia’s leading clean energy business and largest generator of renewable energy. In 2021 following a period of significant restructuring, which precipitated a significant drop in employee engagement – and with the knowledge that we were facing into a rapidly evolving energy industry – we realised we needed to make some significant change.  

Learn how Hydro Tasmania stepped in to their culture evolution journey; identifying their aspirational culture and shaping a roadmap to move towards this, engaging a growing cohort of passionate advocates at all levels of the organisation along the way. We will also share insights into how Hydro established a change management function that aligns change with culture and strategy, actively building change leadership capacity and capability from the ground up.

Innovation Integration: Tech Essentials for Change Managers

How can you inspire stakeholder to adopt change and embrace innovation when you're a technology scaredy cat?

Change Superhero, Sharon Connolly will excite you with the possibilities open to you with Microsoft Office. 

Grab this opportunity to learn how to best digitally showcase your change, monitor progress and track success, using the tools you already have.

The most powerful force for change is not strategy—it’s humanity.

In the world of change, there is one constant, unwavering rule: the way you treat and engage people will directly influence your change success.  Those in the change profession have invested years – in some cases decades – building the change capabilities of organisations, with a determined focus on underscoring the fundamental need for humanity to be at the heart of every change.  As regular headlines hit our newsfeed about organisations downsizing, holding mass layoffs and mandating a return to the office, now is the time ask ourselves whether human centric change can prevail and what we can do to win the good fight.

From Misalignment to Momentum: A Practical Approach to Aligning Teams for Change

Misaligned teams can be the biggest roadblock in transformation and change or the most significant accelerator. Yet many change practitioners find it harder than ever to create alignment, especially in hybrid and remote environments where personal relationships and informal influence are less effective.

This interactive, hands-on workshop will put you in the driver’s seat. It will take you through a structured team alignment process that surfaces misalignment, builds shared understanding, and gets teams working better together. Through a role-play scenario, you’ll experience what it’s like to facilitate an alignment conversation, uncover hidden disconnects, and move a team from friction to focus.

Change success relies on people being aligned to purpose, strategy, and each other. This session shows you a process and the confidence to make that happen.