Conference Program

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Calm and controlled under pressure

Dr Fiona Wood AM, FRCS, FRACS

Executives need their assistant to remain calm under pressure and project the impression of cool, calm, and in control.   They need a resourceful and adaptable partner who can foresee their needs, often before they are aware of them.  Someone who knows them well and can anticipate their desired outcomes and requirements, especially when faced with multiple challenges.

Our opening speaker Professor Fiona Wood, world-renowned burns surgeon and innovator, is no stranger to dealing with highly charged situations.  She will share how she stays in control and assertive by:

• Embracing unpredictability and facing it head-on
• Juggling numerous priorities and responsibilities to ensure everything gets done
• Gaining control of your thinking and your emotions and learn to identify self-sabotaging barriers
• Learning to analyse situations to become a better problem solver and to adapt to a changing environment
• Getting what you need from people when you need it, to do your job as effectively as possible

Creating connection, impact and growth

Alicia Curtis, social and business entrepreneur, award-winning speaker, leadership facilitator and community change maker

Successful Executive Assistants create powerful partnerships and connection with their executives while also nurturing all relationships within the business. Your ability to connect and influence directly affects your impact and that of your executive. In this session, Alicia Curtis will share her tried and tested methods by sharing

• The key to building strong relationships with your boss, peers and the wider organisation
• Building your influence and increasing your ability to get what you need done, when you need it
• Exploring mentoring options for your career development, learn how to find a great mentor and understand what they are looking for in a mentee
• Learning how to approach networking from an authentic place

10:45 – MORNING COFFEE

INSPIRATIONAL KEYNOTE: Taking control of your career and your life

Tracy Vo, Channel Nine news presenter, former political reporter, author of the book SMALL BAMBOO

Do you often feel like you’re not in the driver’s seat of your career? Do you see opportunities as out of reach for someone like you? Do you find yourself keeping quiet, then kicking yourself for not speaking up?  In this session, Tracy Vo will share her story to help you embrace fear and see change as an opportunity to grow, and

• The importance of self belief when stepping out of your comfort zone
• Embracing unpredictability and facing it head-on
• Identifying your key strengths and where you can excel
• Creating opportunities for yourself personally and professionally
• Looking to the future: changes, challenges and the opportunities

The Art of Multitasking

This senior EA speaker will be advised soon

The modern EA – aka the problem solver, the expert communicator, the creative genius, the gateway, the scheduling genie, the IT whizz, the Zen master, the project manager,  the trusted counsel, ruthless organiser,  the oracle…. and the list goes on.   Maybe you are many of these things, perhaps you are all – and that can even be in the space of 10 minutes!

Our soon to be advised EA, is no stranger to wearing many hats.  They will share the skills that have helped them stay at the top of their game and how to

• Manage competing priorities and deadlines
• Manage overwhelm, and appear calm and in control – even when you’re juggling all of the balls!
• Create boundaries and the ability to focus on the important whilst not neglecting the urgent
• How to create buy-in from your executive for new tools, technology and initiatives
• Approach difficult conversations and situations with confidence

12:30 – LUNCH BREAK

Combining passion, purpose and process for ultimate outcomes

Samantha Gash, endurance athlete, social impact entrepreneur and author

Whether on a business, personal or community level, this inspirational address will bring you the essentials of finding purpose and focus. Discover how you can bring meaning and positivity to your life – and realise your dreams.

Like many young people her age, Samantha Gash had a desire to challenge herself and to make a difference in the world. Ambitious, determined, naïve and stubborn Samantha couldn’t have imagined her journey would take her to the four corners of the earth and impact so many lives. Samantha’s experience has made her an inspiring communicator with a unique ability to inspire people to push through their limitations. This presentation will show you how can you link something you are passionate about for a purpose outside of yourself through a process of focus, leadership and collaboration.

• Learn Samantha’s methodology in being able to push her body and mind through some of the most extreme environments – and how you can apply this to a challenge of your own
• How to develop motivation and create wins
• Focusing on the bigger picture – identifying and remembering the purpose of your mission
• Retaining composure and resilience under stress – Samantha’s formulae for maintaining clear goals in extreme and sometimes dangerous settings

Who dares wins: Lessons from an elite SAS commander

Mark Wales, SAS Commander, Australian Survivor contestant and growth mindset expert

Any endeavour requires applying the basics of a clear mission, a high-performing team, and mastery of self. Mark draws on his experience at the top levels of Special Operations and business to show you that the basics done well are the foundations of mission success.

Mark grew up in the red dirt of West Australian mining towns in the Pilbara. After deciding to join the SAS in high school, Mark embarked on a career in the Australian military that led him to the battlefields of Afghanistan. As a Troop Commander in charge of 30 elite soldiers, Mark’s role was to lead combat missions against senior enemy commanders, deep behind enemy lines. Through this unique and harsh environment, Mark developed his skills in leadership, teamwork and high performance.

Mark will show you how you can ace every mission at work using military values proven by 2,000 years of history. Mark discusses the importance of rest, nutrition, exercise and growth for maintaining your foundation as an individual reaching their full potential every day.

15:00 – AFTERNOON TEA

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: The confidence coach: Find the confident you

Michelle Cowan, sportsperson, high performance coach and mentor

Confidence underpins much of the role of an Executive Assistant. Effective communication, gaining and maintaining trust, and being a reliable problem solver  – it doesn’t happen without confidence.   Some think that you have it or you don’t. The fact is you’ve found your confidence, or you haven’t unearthed it yet. Confidence Coach Michelle Cowan, known for breaking barriers on the football field and in the boardroom,  will share her experience and how you can

• Communicate with confidence and how to use your voice effectively
• The importance of self-esteem when it comes to projecting confidence and being assertive
• How to recognise and acknowledge your strengths so you can build on them
• Michelle’s top tips for recovering from a confidence knock in the workplace
• The role of positive psychology in confidence building

16:30 SPONSOR PRIZE DRAW

16:45 – CLOSING REMARKS FROM THE CHAIR,
FOLLOWED BY NETWORKING DRINKS