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WORKSHOPS & PROGRAMMES 

Give your leaders skills they can use this week and sustain for the long term.
Facilitation and workshops: Services

I design programmes, workshops and coaching that help leaders have braver conversations, hold clear boundaries, and sustain their impact in demanding roles and environments.

How I Work

Most of my work runs over several months, giving people the time and space for behaviour to genuinely shift.

Programmes combine:

  • Facilitated sessions grounded in real situations, where people work through what is actually happening in their leadership lives

  • Learning circles where participants practise together, support each other, and stay accountable between sessions

  • One-to-one or group coaching to deepen individual progress where it matters most

Each person has a slightly different experience because the work meets them where they are. The tools are practical and immediately usable — ready for the next meeting, and the one after that.

For some teams, a focused workshop is the right place to start. For others, a longer programme gives the time and space for real change to take hold.

WHAT MAKES THIS DIFFERENT

A lot of leadership and professional development focuses on what leaders need to do. This work also focuses on what leaders need to be — especially under sustained pressure.

Two areas sit at the heart of that:

The hard conversations. Saying the difficult thing clearly and with care. Setting and holding boundaries. Navigating complexity with confidence. These capabilities separate leaders who are trusted from those who are simply tolerated.

Recovery and sustainability. Building the habits and conditions that allow leaders and teams to keep showing up well — sustaining performance over the long term, from a place of strength.

These are often treated as personal matters, left to individuals to figure out alone. Here, they are central to everything.

All of this is underpinned by the LifeStar method — a way of working that weaves leadership sustainability through every programme, from the start

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT

For leaders — Clearer judgement. Braver conversations. Stronger boundaries. A way of leading that keeps them well and connected to what matters.

For teams — Shared language, more honest dialogue, and greater capacity to move through difficulty together.

For your organisation — Leadership development that shows up where it counts: in day-to-day decisions, behaviour and culture.

A RECENT CLIENT STORY

Leading with courage in the hardest of places

A NZ health sector NGO whose clinical and middle managers carry their own load — and the load of everyone around them. Fourteen leaders. Sustained emotional pressure. Hard conversations every day.

The 12-month Authentic Leader Programme combined eleven workshops, learning circles between sessions, and coaching — drawing on Brené Brown's research, neuroleadership, and the LifeStar method.

79% evaluation response rate — reflecting genuine participant investment

100% of respondents reported positive shifts in self-awareness, confidence, and resilience

"I feel more grounded in who I am as a leader, rather than trying to fit a model."

"I loved, loved, loved it."

A year in, and they wanted more.

FORMATS

  • Year-long leadership & professional development programmes with monthly sessions and embedded learning circles

  • Six-month leadership or emerging leader cohorts

  • Focused workshops as a standalone or entry point to a longer programme

  • Conference keynotes and tailored presentations

  • Sport-specific programmes (in collaboration with Boston-based sports psychologist Professor Katie Kilty, also a certified Dare to Lead™ and Daring Way™ Facilitator)

Behind every programme is a blend of evidence-based approaches, including the LifeStar® method, research from the Brené Brown Education and Research Group, and contemporary neuroscience and change frameworks. Sue Johnston is New Zealand's only dual-certified/trained Dare to Lead™ and Daring Way™ Facilitator.

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If you'd like to explore what this could look like for your leaders and teams, get in touch. I'm happy to share more about a recent programme outline or client story.

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