Feb/March Leadership Roundtables Summary

In February and March, we have been busy conducting a range of discussions with senior leaders on the key insights from NWC’s Professional Confidence in the Age of AI national leadership study, partnering with hosting organisations in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne.

Across our discussions over the last few weeks, a consistent picture emerged:

AI is already embedded in day-to-day work. Its impact is uneven, fast-moving, and not fully understood. And while the conversation often centres on capability and efficiency, what surfaced most strongly was something more human: confidence, judgement, trust and clarity.

The discussions did not land on a single answer, but they did point to a set of tensions that leaders are now navigating in real time.

Related material

Rate your team on the Team Brand Confidence Scale

What’s your organisation’s ‘special sauce’?

Work with Julissa

Individuals   /   Organisations, boards & teams

By mid-career, most lawyers are technically excellent. Many are specialists. Some are moving towards partnership, leadership, or firm ownership.

And yet, a persistent challenge remains: clearly articulating value in a way that resonates with prospective clients and referrers – beyond other lawyers.

In a 2025 session for the Law Institute of Victoria, I shared common brand challenges I see in my work with law professionals:

1. Lawyers are time-poor and risk-aware – roadblocks to building a brand.

Brand building can feel like a “nice to have” rather than a core professional capability, particularly when client work, people leadership and billables dominate the week. Add confidentiality constraints and a justified fear of “over-sharing”, and visibility quickly drops down the priority list.

2.  Many lawyers are highly technical communicators in a non-technical world.

Expertise is often expressed through education — explaining the law, outlining risks, flagging what can’t be done. While essential, this can unintentionally position the lawyer as someone who “puts the brakes on”, rather than as a trusted commercial advisor who helps clients move forward with confidence.

This becomes particularly problematic at senior levels, where the role shifts to include client acquisition and development (read: ‘sales’!). Yet the ‘bridge’ between an educational or discovery conversation to a project commitment conversation can be a difficult one for trusted advisors to cross.

3. Finding ways to meaningfully differentiate is tough for a lawyer, whether one of many or one of few.

Many lawyers are specialists — but they are among many in their field. Some, conversely, are so niched that they struggle to know where and how to build a visible profile with a very specific audience, not all of whom are active online. Without a clear “go-to” position, even excellent practitioners risk blending into the background.

In the world of AI, clients and colleagues are no longer just buying legal answers; they are looking for judgement, context, foresight and leadership.

What a strong legal brand looks like

The legal landscape is shifting rapidly: regulatory change, new risk categories (cyber, mental health, AI), evolving client expectations and increasing competition from both national and global firms. In this environment, those who can clearly articulate what they are known for, who they help, and why their perspective matters are better positioned to stay relevant and top of mind.

Strong specialist brands are not about self-promotion. They are about leadership. They combine technical depth with clarity, commercial understanding and a consistent message — across introductions, conversations and online visibility — that builds trust rather than noise.

For experienced lawyers, the real question is no longer “Am I good at what I do?”
It’s “Can the right people clearly see the value I bring?”

And if not, what’s getting in the way?

Explore the Sharpen Your Leadership Lens Workshop for your board/LT

Explore individual Leadership Brand development

Related material

How personal brand development supports a culture of leadership

What has changed in how organisations approach trust and reputation management

Work with Julissa

Individuals   /   Organisations, boards & teams

CPOs: Align your LT and Board through one ‘Leadership Lens’, to enable strategy and build trust with internal and external stakeholders

Challenge your board and leadership team with these 4 questions to explore individual ‘leadership lenses’ and start to connect and align those ways of seeing and leading, as a team.

Challenge your leaders to reflect on the following questions – first individually, then as a collective. These questions are designed to help you begin identifying the values, experiences and strategic focus that shape their leadership approach – and focus together on what matters most now.

1. What values consistently guide your leadership decisions — even when the pressure is on?
   Think about moments when you had to make a tough call. What principles did you lean on?
2. What story or experience best illustrates your leadership philosophy?
   This could be a defining moment, a challenge overcome, or a time when your leadership made a real impact.
3. How do you want to be perceived as a leader — by your team, your peers, and external stakeholders?
   Consider the reputation you’re building and how it aligns with your intentions.
4. What’s around the corner for your organisation or industry — and how are you preparing your leadership lens for what’s next?
   This is about future-readiness: what do you need to sharpen, shift or communicate differently?

Want to take this further?
This exercise is just the beginning. I work with senior leaders, boards and leadership teams to uncover and articulate their ‘leadership lens’ — helping them lead with clarity, confidence and strategic impact. If this sparked something for you, let’s talk about how we can explore it in more depth.

Explore the Sharpen Your Leadership Lens Workshop for your board/LT

Explore individual Leadership Brand development

Related material

How personal brand development supports a culture of leadership

What has changed in how organisations approach trust and reputation management

Work with Julissa

Individuals   /   Organisations, boards & teams

In today’s complex business environment, leaders are expected to bring clarity, confidence and conviction to their decision-making and communication. But how do you ensure that your leadership approach is not only effective, but also authentic and future-ready?

Take time to sharpen your Leadership Lens.

It starts with sharpening your leadership lens: the unique perspective you hold, shaped by your values, experiences and strategic focus.

Your leadership lens influences how you interpret challenges, guide teams and communicate your vision. When clearly defined and well-articulated, it becomes a powerful tool for building trust, aligning culture and driving change. Yet many leaders haven’t taken the time to reflect on what has shaped their lens — and how to use it intentionally.

Sharpening your lens means asking the right questions. What has consistently motivated you throughout your career? What values show up in your leadership style? What global or cross-industry experiences have influenced your approach? These reflections help you uncover the stories and philosophies that underpin your leadership — and communicate them with clarity.

Align your team’s Leadership Lens.

Importantly, this isn’t just an individual exercise. Working with your leadership team to explore and align your collective leadership lens can be a powerful way to strengthen team cohesion and strategic direction. Through facilitated exercises such as experience sharing, leadership value mapping, and “lens alignment” workshopping – where each leader reflects on their own lens and then co-creates a team narrative – you can build a unified perspective that guides culture, decision-making and external messaging. These exercises help surface common values, clarify strategic priorities and build trust across the team.

This is hard. Where do I start?

To begin, ask yourself:

• What do I want my leadership legacy to be?
• What story best illustrates my leadership philosophy?
• What impact do I aim to have through my leadership today?

These questions aren’t just for personal reflection — they’re the foundation for how you show up, influence culture and build reputational value. And that’s what human-centred, strategic leadership is all about!

I’m sharing a sample of this work with readers – send us a message if you’d like to try a starter exercise to sharpen your leadership lens, or learn more about our short strategy session for boards and leadership teams – Julissa

Related material

How personal brand development supports a culture of leadership

What has changed in how organisations approach trust and reputation management

Work with Julissa

Individuals   /   Organisations, boards & teams

In today’s high-stakes environment—characterised by tighter regulation, intense competition and greater reputational risk—organisations are increasingly focusing on the visibility and clarity of their leadership.

A growing number of national companies are now deliberately developing the personal brands of their top leaders as part of broader business and cultural strategy.

Why this is on the agenda now

Leaders’ personal brands are being treated as a strategic asset in response to four key business needs:

1. Trust in an age of risk: When leaders show up consistently and credibly—online and in person—it strengthens stakeholder trust and market visibility, while mitigating reputational risk. A clear, aligned leadership presence can amplify organisational messaging and reassure stakeholders – especially in the Age of AI!

2. Engagement through uncertainty: During change, leaders need to communicate with confidence, clarity and impact. A strong personal brand helps leaders engage their teams and stakeholders more effectively, providing stability and focus.

3. Leadership readiness: Organisations need their leaders to step into greater visibility with confidence. A structured approach to leadership brand development can fast-track personal growth and improve executive presence.

4. Strategic differentiation for commercial outcomes: In saturated or challenged markets, leadership branding helps organisations stand out. It provides a platform to communicate what makes the business—and its people—different, future-focused and valuable to customers.

What leading companies are doing now

Rather than short-term training or isolated LinkedIn sessions, organisations are integrating leadership branding into broader leadership development frameworks. This often includes:

• A tailored program that aligns personal brand development with organisational strategy, culture, and stakeholder communication.
• A cross-functional approach that connects People & Culture, Communications, and Business Development teams.
• A deeper understanding of personal branding — not as self-promotion, but as a tool for clarity, influence and strategic visibility.

Programs are being applied in different ways, depending on strategy, scope and budget: with executive teams, in high-impact departments, or scaled across the business to build leadership capability early.

Results they’re seeing

Companies proactively developing their leaders demonstrate marked improvements in organisational performance and staff retention – this is not new and is easy to find data on. Developing leaders’ identities and how they communicate that (a.k.a. their ‘leadership brands’) is now being recognised as a tool in the organisation’s toolkit that bridges culture, HR, business development, brand and reputation management.

Organisations are reporting stronger engagement, clearer positioning of their leadership bench, and improved confidence among emerging and senior leaders. From early days in a leadership branding program, organisations start to see results through their people.

Here are some of our real client examples:

“I’ve gone from standard ‘employee’ speak to talking about impact, targeting senior audiences.”

“Very helpful in gaining clarity on positioning; was able to get past self-promotional idea to clarify what I want to say.”

“Taking the time to consider my brand in more depth allowed me to clarify my key points of difference and where I can add value to (Company X).”

“Helped me get mentally ready for the next phase in my career.”

It is a true privilege to work in a space that supports talented people to create meaningful impact in their organisations, through developing their leadership positioning and communication.

Related material

How personal brand development supports a culture of leadership

What has changed in how organisations approach trust and reputation management

Work with Julissa

Individuals   /   Organisations, boards & teams

Why defining your PROFESSIONAL APPROACH builds value and trust – and what to do about it.

One of the core tools I use with teams and organisations is NWC’s Team Brand Confidence Scale, which measures how clear and confident a team is on who they are, what they do and why that matters. I use this rating scale to find out how team members feel about the level of confidence in their team or department, when it comes to communicating their identity.

Low scores all round…

One thing on that rating scale that usually scores quite poorly is how well the team articulates their APPROACH to the work they do. Have they defined, as a team, HOW they do things, and why this makes a difference for clients, stakeholders, or the rest of the organisation?

I also observe that many senior leaders and business owners I work with haven’t taken time out to really define their own professional or leadership approach, so they can’t readily put it into words or call on it when they need to – such as in performance reviews, job interviews, in business development conversations with new clients… or when leading their team.

What do I mean by defining your ‘PROFESSIONAL APPROACH’ to the work you do?

An individual professional might have developed a personal approach to their work, whether overtly or naturally over time. This can include things like how they tackle a new project, what steps they take, how they measure progress, how they communicate with others and how they lead.

Similarly, a cohesive team can have a collective, agreed ‘approach’ to their work, and this could include:

• Team Purpose and Goals – what we care about making a difference in, what we focus on achieving together, what we measure
• Team values – what matters to us in how we do things, what we prioritise and celebrate, what are our non-negotiables in delivery
• Method – the frameworks, important steps, principles and approaches we take
• Systems and processes – how we structure our work
• Style – such as our communication style, relationship style, sales style etc.

As an example – here’s a high-level model of New Work Consulting’s differentiated approach, along with a core analysis tool to start a client’s exploration of opportunities, gaps and risks:

What does a defined approach get you?

Many of my individual clients are senior executives moving to portfolio careers or starting their own consultancy in their area of expertise. When these clients are formulating their offering, I encourage them to illustrate their approach in a model or graphic that simply and clearly defines how they do things – their method for getting results.

A visual model not only helps people to quickly understand HOW you achieve what you do, but it helps them remember you for that clear approach, which in turn:

1. Builds trust in you as someone who has developed a time-tested method that achieves results.
2. Creates ‘share-ability’ – your audience can easily articulate, demonstrate or point to your approach to others they wish to refer.

My team needs a PROFESSIONAL APPROACH. Where do we start?

As a team, how can you communicate your professional approach with more clarity and confidence?

Some first steps might include:

• Gather as a team to reflect on our ‘best practice’ – how do we do things, at our best, that works for us?
• Look for the differentiator and put language to it – how do we do things differently, that makes a meaningful difference to our stakeholders?
• Review company values and examine how they apply to our team in practical ways.
• Revise and recommit to what we are trying to achieve together and for others.
• Co-create a visual framework or model to illustrate your professional approach, and decide how you will use it to communicate with your audiences.

Related material

How your business benefits when employees act as brand ambassadors

What has changed in how organisations approach trust and reputation management

Work with Julissa

Individuals   /   Organisations, boards & teams

My recent Leaders Roundtable discussion in Sydney was an opportunity to share some of the trends I’m seeing in how large organisations are changing their approach reputation management, brand visibility and value-building, and to hear from senior leaders across professional services about where they are seeing a need to focus.

From banking, finance and investment to HR, legal, risk and regulatory fields, we had a window into some fascinating worlds as we discussed this important topic.

FINSIA CEO Yasser El-Ansary presented opening remarks on why trust is a central theme in any organisation now, but it will mean different things in different contexts. For financial services, ‘trust and confidence’ are essential to survival.

The key trends I highlighted are summarised here:

…but most interesting were the insights the participants brought to the table, including:

• Leaders of industry are now COLLABORATING to lift the bar for the sector’s reputation, setting higher standards in transparency and conduct, engaging with regulators and learning from each other in how to build trust.
• The importance of supporting the INDIVIDUAL’s ‘personal brand’ and reputation, connecting their expertise and professional values with the organisation’s brand – because trust is formed through people.
• The challenge of translating a CHANGE in positioning to employees, or in having NEW STAFF appreciate and understand our reputation in the community.
• The need to work on the ‘internal brand’ (especially during restructures or team movement), including creating differentiated TEAM IDENTITIES and positioning ‘SPECIALISTS’ in the business.
• STAKEHOLDER INFLUENCE on story and finding the key points in story-building (for example, prioritising relationships and agendas in joint ventures).
• Getting employee representatives of the business onboard to communicate the ‘SO WHAT?’ for customers, and creating awareness of the outcomes of customer experience on reputation.
• Getting past the ‘PERSONAL BRAND CRISIS’ for technical experts who don’t like to talk about themselves… to help them position and communicate their value-add.
• CULTURAL DIFFERENCES within a GLOBAL organisation in how information is communicated are important to understand, e.g. language and benchmarking/goal-setting differences in diversity and inclusion.
• An understanding of the fragmented use of SOCIAL MEDIA by target audiences and employees.
• The consideration of the use of AI and technology in brand and reputation, including the speed of response to EMPLOYEE LEAKAGES of sensitive information.
• As professional advisors, ‘Just trust us’ is no longer enough… it has to be ‘TRUST US BECAUSE…’

“Just trust us” is no longer enough… it has to be “TRUST US BECAUSE…”

What was MOST EXCITING to me was that the roundtable discussion reflected views I am seeing in a range of enquiries and projects around Australia and beyond – the need to think about brand and reputation-building through meaningful engagement and empowerment of our people, and the need for brand and culture to align in order to build trust with stakeholders.

Related material

How your business benefits when employees act as brand ambassadors

What has changed in how organisations approach trust and reputation management

Work with Julissa

Individuals   /   Organisations, boards & teams

I recently posed the question: Is your mission-critical team being seen?

In 2024, our clients in professional services, resources and infrastructure took a much more strategic approach to team and leadership branding for the people who engage with stakeholders to drive outcomes for the business – and enquiries for 2025 indicate this focus will increase.  

WHY THIS FOCUS on team and leadership brand strategy for professional organisations in the current market?

 Accelerating competition through challenging market conditions and increased AI productivity and communication tools, combined with an increasingly risk-filled, litigious environment where businesses are held accountable to much more, mean that organisations are seeking:

1. A more pro-active approach to reputation value-building and risk mitigation – before a crisis hits.
2. Beyond relying on your track record: The need to stand out, not just for expertise but for the way leaders present themselves and build their ‘voice’.
3. The need to align siloed teams and empower different groups of people to talk about the organisation with confidence.
4. The need to provide cutting-edge, high-engagement and high-impact learning and development experiences to grow leaders and retain the best people.

Find out more about this approach here.

In 2025, I will be facilitating a series of complimentary leader roundtables around the country, to unpack what we’re seeing companies focus in on for brand growth, reputation risk management and culture strategy. In these sessions we will invite key leaders to bring their own insights and share their ideas and challenges with peers.

If you’re interested in co-hosting one of our leaders’ roundtables, either in your city or virtually, get in touch.

Related material

How your business benefits when employees act as brand ambassadors

What has changed in how organisations approach trust and reputation management

Work with Julissa

Individuals   /   Organisations, boards & teams

When people ask me what sets one organisation apart from another, I often respond with a question of my own: What’s your special sauce?

You know, that unique combination of ingredients that makes your organisation great—the flavour no one else can quite replicate. But here’s the thing: Can you bottle it? Could you clearly define and communicate what makes your organisation exceptional—both to your employees and the outside world?

If you’re pausing for a moment to think about that, you’re not alone.

Clear on Your Point of Difference

In a world where innovations in technology or pricing strategies are quickly copied, your true point of difference isn’t likely to lie there—at least, not for long. Your organisation’s real magic is far more likely to be about your people.

What do they stand for as a collective? What unique strengths and values do they bring as individuals? How do they connect with clients, build trust, and deliver value?

These questions get to the heart of your brand and culture. But here’s the challenge: how well are you communicating that difference? Because even the most genuine and powerful point of difference needs to be visible to have an impact.

“…even the most genuine and powerful point of difference needs to be visible to have an impact.”

For example, is it easy for your existing clients and referral sources to quickly express your value to their contacts? Are you showcasing your strengths in ways that resonate with new audiences online? Clarity is key – both internally and externally. If you can’t articulate your uniqueness, how will anyone else know it exists?

People as the Living Brand

I’ve seen time and again that brand growth stems from two fundamental principles: trust and visibility. For trust to exist, your brand needs to be aligned, cohesive, and consistently demonstrated through your people.

Think about it: In today’s increasingly virtual and connected world, every word your team members speak, every email they send, and every post they share online is amplified. Gaps in alignment stand out. That’s why clarity on your defining brand values is so important – not just at the leadership level, but throughout your entire organisation.

When your people are included in the process of developing those values, they naturally begin to embody them. This alignment doesn’t just elevate your brand; it builds confidence in your team. Employees who feel connected to a clear and meaningful brand and culture are empowered to communicate with stakeholders in a way that inspires trust.

From collaborating internally, to delivering client service, to building thought leadership online… every touchpoint becomes an opportunity for your team to reflect the essence of your organisation’s ‘special sauce’ – when they are clear and confident on what it is and why it matters.

A Recipe for Growth

So, here’s my challenge to you as a leader:

1. What’s your organisation’s special sauce?
2. Who in your organisation would describe it the same way you do?

If the answer to the second question isn’t everyone, then it’s time to dig deeper. It starts with clarity—getting everyone on the same page about what makes your organisation unique and valuable.

When your team truly understands and embraces your brand and culture, they become a cohesive force, united by a shared understanding of why their work matters. And that, more than anything, is what will drive sustainable growth and set you apart.

Your special sauce isn’t just about being different; it’s about being clear about why that difference matters. So, what’s in your bottle?

Related material

How your business benefits when employees act as brand ambassadors

Talking to everyone? Talking to NO-ONE. Get your value proposition right

Work with Julissa

Individuals   /   Organisations, boards & teams

In the last 18 months I have seen an uptake in organisation-wide Leadership Brand Development Programs. What does this mean?

 Organisations have, for some time now, had the following in place:

• A consideration of reputational risk on the board agenda, or at least, a crisis response process at management level and a concern for ‘trust levels’ with stakeholders.
• Support from their marketing and communications teams to clarify and build a cohesive brand through stakeholder engagement, digital platforms and campaigns.
• External ‘personal brand’ and ‘LinkedIn’ trainings at foundational level.

What has changed is that organisations are realising that they now need:

• A pro-active, company-wide approach to shared identity-building, online and offline, to build differentiated brand awareness and brand trust as the foundation for the company’s narrative – to help counteract reputational challenges when they come up.
• To go beyond a stand-alone ‘training program’ – instead, to develop a strategic brand re/building and online identity alignment process, that is championed and modelled at leader-level and cascades into the culture of the organisation over time.

What is a ‘Leadership Brand Development Program’ – and why this?

I talk a lot about Leadership Branding – how your personal brand requires a different level of thinking and communication at leadership level, and why so many leaders are seeking to undertake this process for themselves.

The trend I am starting to see in Australia is a marked increase in awareness and interest in developing an approach to Leadership Branding for senior staff across whole organisations or jurisdictions, in alignment with the global brand and aspiring culture. The goal is not just to train leaders in how to represent themselves and the business (what I call ‘personal brand foundations’), but in developing a culture of strongly positioned, visible and aligned leadership brands.

“Trust built into systems as a sustainable competitive advantage” – Marcos Aguiar, BCG

One analytical tool I use is NWC’s ‘Trust Map’, which helps decision-makers to see where their people sit on the map in terms of how effectively their individual brands build trust with others – of course, directly affecting trust levels in the business as a whole.

A strong organisation-wide Leadership Brand Strategy means that:

• Your most senior staff are united in leading trust-building through authentic but well-structured personal identities aligned with the company brand, and –
• You have not only an individualised, leader-level approach to brand-building, but a company-wide cultural strategy that works to move ALL your people towards the top-right quadrant on the Trust Map.

(You can watch me explain the Trust Map in the opening 15 minutes of this webinar recording.)

Getting leaders’ engagement in the process

When it comes to developing leadership brands, crucial to success is getting engagement and commitment-to-action from participants. These time-pressured leaders are working in complex environments and juggling multiple objectives, so connecting at an individual level on how this work will directly support them to succeed is vital. For example, many senior executives I work with are concurrently developing either a board portfolio or an understanding of how their work impacts board decision-making, so a consideration of their ‘board brand’ becomes part of the strategy to help them achieve at work. This tailored advice from knowledgeable experts is the kind of thing your leaders value spending time on.

Related material

Is your mission-critical team being seen?

People can’t come knocking if they don’t see a door

Work with Julissa

Individuals   /   Organisations, boards & teams