The conference program

The conference program for the 2011 summit is listed below. For more information on each speaker, just click on their name for a full bio.

8.30        Registration and welcome coffee

9.10        Keynote Address
Getting motivated, goal setting and providing inspirational leadership

Layne is one of Australia's most successful surfers ever, achieving six consecutive World Surfing Titles (seven in total), rewriting the history books with the greatest number of consecutive World Championship victories; male or female.

Layne’s competitive drive is now present both in and out of the water. With Blue Kiss by Layne Beachley surf wear available in Myer and Rebel Sports stores nationally (www.bluekiss.com.au), Layne is a budding entrepreneur, willing to learn and dedicated to success. In 2006 Layne herself staged the richest event in women’s surfing history - the Havaianas Beachley Classic at Manly Beach, Sydney. Now in it’s 5th year, the event has grown to become one of the most favoured tournaments on the ASP women’s world tour.

In addition to her surfing and business commitments, in 2003 Layne created the Aim for the Stars Foundation to support and promote the academic, sporting, community and cultural dreams of young women across Australia (www.aimforthestars.com.au).

This inspirational session will discuss:

• The secrets of motivation
• The importance of self belief when stepping out of your comfort zone
• Setting specific, meaningful and achievable goals and how to ensure you reach them
• Developing the traits of an inspiring leader to motivate others to achieve their goals

10.00     Speed networking

This fast paced, dynamic networking session will allow you to meet many of your fellow delegates in a relaxed and informal environment. Moderated by our chairperson Suzanne Waldron, the session will be facilitated to enable you to meet as many of your peers as possible, share contact details with them, and form the basis of your networking throughout the event.

10.15     Morning coffee

10.45     Implementing Fairy Bread Thinking – smart, bright, creative ideas for your career

• Transforming your career with new ideas and new ways of approaching issues
• Creating a vision for your career and applying creative techniques to ensure the vision becomes reality
• Understanding the dynamics surrounding your role and how you can grow and expand in that role
• Developing your own integrated personal brand that will help your career take off
• Techniques to affect change at work to facilitate your own career and benefit your business

Lauren Brown, 2010 Telstra Young Business Woman of the Year

11.30     Seven Steps to Sanity – a mini masterclass with Jennifer Jefferies

Jennifer is a qualifed health practitioner, but better than that, she's also a real person who has travelled the road to corporate burnout where she decided to change her life and help others to learn what she did about the importance and benefits of living a life in balance.

Today Jennifer speaks to corporations throughout Australia, Asia, USA and New Zealand, sharing practical real-life strategies that help people to improve their health, wellbeing and productivity by finding balance in their lives. Jennifer is a refreshingly down-to-earth, engaging and informative speaker who leaves her audiences feeling empowered about the things they can do to achieve balance in their lives, rather than feeling guilty about
what they're not doing!

Cracking the balance myth: how work/life balance can help you achieve even greater productivity
This presentation will show you how to have it all without losing your health, sense of humour or sanity along the way. Jennifer will shows you how to achieve more success and happiness by learning how to manage ourselves, our time and our lives. With uncommon common sense Jennifer will show
you how you can incorporate simple lifestyle changes into their every day that will help you feel better and achieve more than you ever thought possible.

Jennifer Jefferies

12.20     WA EA Think Tank: Getting to the top and staying there!

This informative, interactive and fast-paced session is designed to give you the perspectives of four successful WA-based EAs about how they have succeeded in their chosen profession and what qualities they see as being important for EAs who want to reach the top. The session will give you the chance to share your own ideas and ask questions of our expert panel.

Areas for discussion will include:

• Building rock-solid relationships with key stakeholders – particularly under times of stress
• Identifying your key strengths and where you can really excel
• Building strong professional relationships through networking
• Learning to recognise and take up opportunities to advance
• Communicating expectations clearly and concisely

Panelists:
Elizabeth Evans, Executive Assistant to Regional Director, Parsons Brinckerhoff
Genelle Cox, Executive Assistant to Managing Director, Wesfarmers
Rachel Ironside, Executive Assistant to CEO, Burswood Entertainment Complex
Kerri Tiedemann, Executive Assistant to Group CEO, RAC of WA

12.50     Lunch

14.00     What employers are looking for in 2011 – an insider’s perspective!

Do you want to make yourself indispensable in 2011? Command a bigger salary? Or do you covet that top job? This session will show you what employers find valuable in 2011, and what you can do to make yourself a top pick whenever new opportunities present themselves. Randstad consult with and provide talent for Australia’s biggest companies and are in a unique position to present the other side of the story – so don’t miss this revealing and insightful session!

Specific topics to be addressed include:

• How to make yourself indispensable!
• Key skills and experience that are prized in 2011
• Understanding your own value proposition and how to communicate it
• Managing your career so you stay on top
• How the PA / EA industry is evolving from a recruitment perspective

14.30     How do you know when you’ve become successful? A senior EA’s view from the top
How do you define success in the PA / EA industry? Is it when you’re the EA to the CEO? Or is there more to it that that? This session explores the concept of success and how you can feel like you’ve ‘made it’, even if you’re not reporting directly to the CEO.

• How do you know when you’ve become successful?
• Making the most of opportunities, recognising the milestones along the way
• Becoming an integral part of your manager’s ‘team’
• How to develop, maintain and promote key relationships in your company and externally
• Empowering yourself – how to gain the foundation of trust you need to make autonomous decisions on your boss’s behalf
• Building confidence in your ability and projecting confidence in the right way
• Being prepared, doing the groundwork, and projecting a powerful and persuasive argument
• Picking your battles, change what you can and celebrate along the way

Rebecca Wall, Executive Assistant to Chief Executive, SunWater Limited

15.00     RISE:  Using resilience to excel, manage adversity and find enjoyment and satisfaction in your work

In 2003, Ingrid Poulson's estranged husband killed their two young children and Ingrid's father. After time, Ingrid chose to start with survival and build from there. She recognised her resilience and chose to rise to the challenge of overcoming unimaginable tragedy.

Few people have to suffer events such as those that Ingrid experienced. But everyone has to deal with challenges, hardships and grief in everyday life. The ability to be resilient in the face of these can mean the difference between getting through troubled times and living life to the fullest, and succumbing to their pressures.

Resilience is a skill that can be learned, and through her training company, Steadfast Training,  Ingrid specialises in building resilience skills to cope with both everyday and unexpected stresses and adversity.

Specific areas to be covered in this presentation include:

• Building confidence and self-esteem
• Developing your emotional intelligence
• Managing adversity and change
• Dealing with rejection, complaints and difficult people
• Avoiding burnout when the going gets tough!

Ingrid Poulson, author of ‘Rise’

16.00     Finding your niche as an EA

The role of PA or EA can vary dramatically from company to company, and from boss to boss. So it's no wonder that finding the role that best fits your skills, experiences, personality and aspirations is extremely important if you want to enjoy your work and get the most out of your career.

This dynamic, lighthearted and interactive session will explore how you can find your niche as an EA, what to look for in an EA role and how to recognise when it's time for a change!

Tammy Tantschev, Executive Assistant to Nick Fairfax, Managing Director, Marinya Media
Marinya is the largest shareholder in Fairfax Media Ltd which is Australia's largest listed media company with extensive newspaper, magazine, internet sites and radio stations in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

16.30     Inspirational Keynote Address: Balancing priorities, coping under pressure and being the best you can be

• Tips on prioritising your professional and personal responsibilities
• How to avoid fallng into the trap of constant work with no room for anything else
• Balancing the work/life scales - does this ultimate state exist and is there any room for 'me'?
• How to judge which corners can be cut and when
• Keeping the lines of communication open without signing your life away
• Overcoming stress and fatigue

Melissa Hoyer

17.10     Closing remarks from the chair

17.20     Close of summit