Anna Lee

Anna Lee's Biography

Tiny habits for cultivating inclusive workplaces / leaders

After a diverse career in the entertainment, higher education and publishing industries, Anna established Anna Lee Consulting when her firstborn was 6 weeks old. Since then she has worked with thousands of leaders across Australia to create positive change – in themselves, in their teams and in their organisations.

As a leadership development facilitator and coach, Anna has a laser-like focus on helping people change for the better. She takes a bowerbird approach to facilitation and coaching, drawing on a range of evidence-based approaches to find the best fit for individuals and their organisational context.

Anna is particularly interested in the challenges the information age presents for leadership, personal resilience and inclusion. Drawing from the fields of neuroscience, psychology and behaviour design, her programs are relevant, engaging and – most importantly – lead to lasting personal and organisational change.

In 2021 Anna unveiled Hacks for Her, which equips women with the career navigation skills required to flourish in male-dominated realms. As a Tiny Habits certified coach, Anna's engaging keynotes blend warmth, wit, humor, interactive elements, anecdotes, research, and actionable takeaways, compelling audiences to take immediate action.

Speaking Topics Include

Tiny habits for cultivating inclusive workplaces / leaders

In the complex workplace terrain of the 21st Century, both organisations and individuals need to cultivate curiosity, learn from failure and stay open to new ways of thinking, doing and being. An uncertain future requires that we challenge the status quo, explore novel ideas and embrace difference.

Unfortunately, the in-group effect - the unconscious bias that leads us to preference those people in our environment with whom we have most in common - leads us to asses others' input, mistakes, successes and behaviour not on their own merit, but on whether our unconscious thinking system designates them as one of 'us' or one of 'them'.

This eye-opening keynote provides practical tools for recognising when the in-group effect may be at play and dialling down its impact - so that individuals, teams and organisations can begin to reap the benefits of a workplace culture in which diverse thinking, perspectives and approaches are truly valued.

Princesses and superheroes: How gender stereotypes limit us all

Ever noticed that men and women are sometimes treated very differently in exactly the same circumstances?

While Australia has made huge advances in gender equality in recent decades, gender stereotypes can still play a big (and often very unhelpful!) role in our personal and professional relationships, our career and personal decisions and in our self-belief. aspirations and wellbeing.

Drawing on her own unconventional upbringing, in this entertaining keynote Anna illuminates:

the nonsensical - yet damaging - nature of so many gendered expecations.

simple strategies for dialling down the impact of gender norms, both at work and at home.

why challenging traditional masculine stereotypes is every bit as important as challenging traditional feminine stereotypes when it comes to achieving gender equality.

Why 'follow your passion' is terrible career advice, and what to do instead

Ever noticed that most people spend more time planning their weekend's Netflix viewing than they do their own careers?

Career fulfillment is a vastly underrated factor in employee engagement, retention, wellbeing and performance. And in the complex terrain of the 21st century workplace, simplistic career advice such as 'follow your passion' raises far more questions than it answers.

If organisations want to hold on to their strong performers and build a culture of growth and proactivity, they need to equip their people with the career navigation skills required to flourish both personally and professionally.

In this inspirational keynote, Anna debunks three common myths about career fulfilment, and offers practical, straightforward strategies that help people move forward in their careers with greater clarity and courage.

The power of boundaries

Saying 'no'. Asking for what we want and need. Speaking up even if some people don't want to hear what we have to say ...

Thanks in part to gendered social norms, for many women, setting boundaries feels hard. *Really* hard. And maintaining them can be even tougher. Yet when our boundaries are fuzzy, rigid or non-existent, our wellbeing, relationships and career fulfilment inevitably suffer.

In this uplifting keynote, Anna explores:

the gender-based messages that can influence our approach to setting boundaries.

the three phases of boundary setting, and the opportunities and pitfalls in each.

practical strategies for dialling up your presence and power by setting and maintaining boundaries at work and at home.

Tiny habits for career courage

Women already know how to be brave. Most of us do scary things every single day. But we don't always recognise our own acts of courage - perhaps because most of the time, the world still tells us that being nice, polite and accommodating is far more important than being bold, brave and tenacious.

Career courage' will mean different things at different phases of your career. Sometimes it looks like continuing to speak in a meeting, even when you're constantly being interrupted. Sometimes it looks like asking for greater flexibility, or pursuing a development opportunity, or seeking out the support you need to get through the week. And sometimes it looks like taking a massive leap into something completely new.

This action-oriented keynote will help participants:

Identify what courage looks like in their daily lives.

practice techniques for dialling down self-doubt, and;

understand why focusing on building courage can be more valuable to career fulfillment than focusing on building confidence.