Masterclasses

Monday 30 October 2023

Influencing change through connection

With Suzanne Waldron & Mo MacRae

Wednesday 1 November 2023

Mental health skills for our changing world

with Lance Burdett

ABOUT YOUR MASTERCLASS

It is one thing to be equipped with the knowledge you need to improve your organisation’s corporate culture. However, it is another be able to convey this knowledge in a way that creates meaningful change. Ultimately, the insights you gain from the Corporate Health and Wellbeing Summit will be most valuable if you can communicate and connect with your people on these matters effectively.

This masterclass will explore the concept of connection and authenticity in a corporate setting, giving you the skills to become a more influential and relatable leader, harness your inner storyteller, and strengthen your working relationships. It has been designed specifically for summit attendees, so you can begin translating your learnings, get more traction on your health and wellbeing initiatives, and foster a more engaged workforce.

ABOUT YOUR FACILITATORS, SUZANNE WALDRON & MO MACRAE

Suzanne Waldron is a behavioural change facilitator whose masters research focused on moving ideas into action through pro-social leadership. Working globally with influential leaders, her focus is on explicit communication and solid peer-to-peer relationships.

She’s an active ambassador for RUOK?, TEDx curator, and co-founder/director of short doco series Stories Out Loud. A twice published author, Suzanne has been nominated for Western Australian of the Year 2016 for her community work and twice 40 under 40.

Simon “Mo” MacRae is one of the region’s most in-demand commercial directors and author of the upcoming book, Hearts & Minds: How to connect and engage. Mo coaches leadership teams on the art of storytelling to influence and the power of thinking like a director – designing rich audience experiences that build relationships and deliver lasting impact.

In 2007, Mo won Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s million-dollar screenplay competition, Project Greenlight, with his brother Kenn. Their feature film ‘The View from Greenhaven’ starring Wendy Hughes and Chris Haywood ran in Australian cinemas for 31 weeks.

He has lectured and tutored in creativity and communication for more than 20 years.

MASTERCLASS PROGRAM

8.30am Registration

9.00am SESSION 1: How authentic connection works

Connection is built into our DNA. We have connected and shared for thousands of years, helping us to relay, contribute and conquer. This session will lay the groundwork for your day, breaking down the neuroscience behind communicating authentically, so you can begin to create buy-in and true engagement with your team.

 10.30am Morning coffee

11.00am SESSION 2: Harness your inner storyteller

Think of any leader or influencer who has inspired a response in you, either positively or negatively. Their ability to capture your attention and tap into your emotions is a powerful skill. This session will give you the opportunity to develop your own unique voice so you can communicate on a deeper level for impact and influence.

12.30pm Lunch

1.30pm SESSION 3: Winning hearts and minds

The process of sharing experiences can help build a connected corporate culture through encouraging vulnerability, rapport and trust among your team. This session is designed to help you communicate a message in a relatable way, and will focus on how you can connect deeply to heart and minds, so your communications and initiatives are well-received and have maximum engagement.

3.00pm Afternoon tea

3.30pm SESSION 4: Creating cultural change in your organisation

Generating a cultural shift is difficult, and can be daunting. Implementing wellbeing initiatives can take time and require buy-in from the outset to make progress. This session will integrate everything you have learned so you can be confident you will create real impact in your workplace. From getting a business case across the line to making data relevant and getting buy-in from your wider team, you will leave this session with the tools and techniques to make a serious, practical, difference.

4.30pm Session close

The masterclass will be conducted using a variety of learning methodologies, including delivery of theory, practice sessions and breakout learning opportunities. Please note that the masterclass content will be tailored to participants’ individual needs so the length of each session may vary. Refreshments will be served at appropriate times, including morning and afternoon teas and lunch.

ABOUT YOUR MASTERCLASS

Mental ill health has never been more prevalent than it is today – we see it in our families, friendship groups and workplaces. So, it’s never been more important to equip yourself to support people through mental health crises.

Further complicating matters, the way we communicate about mental health continues to evolve as we learn more about neuroscience and human behaviour. As a result, there is an increasing expectation for you to be empathetic, inclusive and direct in your approach.

This full-day masterclass will be led by an expert facilitator, who will share topical, relevant and practical exercises and techniques to help you support your teams’ mental health. It will also give you tools to overcome negative events, reduce worry and catastrophising, and adapt to a busy and complex world.

ABOUT YOUR FACILITATOR, LANCE BURDETT

Following a successful career in the construction industry, Lance spent 22 years with the NZ Police, becoming the leading crisis negotiator. Qualifying in NZ, Australia, and with the FBI, Lance taught crisis intervention to police & prison negotiators. Described by senior police as “The most qualified and highly skilled negotiator within NZ Police,” Lance trained and operated with the elite tactical teams of Police, Corrections, Fire, Ambulance, Military, and the FBI.

Qualifying as a Personal Protection Officer, Lance oversaw the protection of the Prime Minister, international dignitaries, and people on the witness protection programme.  He was the principal security officer at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games and the 2012 London Olympics.

As a commissioned officer, Lance directed the immediate response to the full range of critical incidents and was a senior detective leading investigation teams on complex criminal cases. Responsible for recruitment and training for the Police Emergency 111 call centres, Lance developed and delivered coaching programmes on handling emotional conversations and coping skills. His resiliency programme is part of the NZ Police mandatory training. 

Lance has a Master of Arts Degree, majoring in terrorism safety & security, a Graduate Diploma in Business Studies, a Diploma in Policing, and a Graduate Certificate in Applied Management.  He is working on a Diploma in Positive Psychology.

Lance published the bestselling book – Behind the Tape, Life on the Police Frontline – detailing highlights of his police career and his personal story of depression and suicide. His second book – Dark Side of the Brain, Adapting to Adversity – another bestseller, focuses on total wellbeing. He is writing a third book on managing anxiety.

MASTERCLASS PROGRAM

8.30am Registration

9.00am SESSION 1: The neuroscience behind health and wellbeing

In this session, you will explore the neuroscience behind how our brains, store and retrieve information. In doing so, you will get a greater understanding of negativity bias, fight-fright-freeze, and how this can affect the state of our mental health.

 10.30am Morning coffee

11.00am SESSION 2: Managing emotions

With greater awareness of your emotions, you are better able to respond to the impact of negative events. In this session, you will discuss emotional intelligence, how to manage people in emotional states, and how to reduce your own personal stress and switch off after a busy day.

12.30pm Lunch

1.30pm SESSION 3: Increasing adaptability

With change, comes a need for adaptability. There is only one constant in life and that is change, so how can we better handle uncertainty and adversity? This session contains simple techniques to help you handle change, so you and your team can get on with business as usual.

3.00pm Afternoon tea

3.30pm SESSION 4: Communication techniques

The way you communicate is crucial for supporting people experiencing ill mental health. This session offers advanced communication tools that will help you navigate real-life scenarios, including

• Supporting those with heightened emotions
• Delivering difficult messages
• Adapted your communication style for people who are neurodiverse
• Running a positive debrief

The masterclass will be conducted using a combination of presentation material and group exercises to maximise your learning potential. Please note that the masterclass content will be tailored to participants’ individual needs so the length of each session may vary.

4.30pm Session close

The masterclass will be conducted using a combination of presentation material and group exercises; maximising your learning potential. Please note that the masterclass content will be tailored to participants’ individual needs so the length of each session may vary.