For more than a decade we have been working with senior leaders in the domain of change and transformation. Liberated Leaders was designed in close collaboration, and shaped to meet the fast-changing needs of modern leaders. Here’s what they have to say:
Testimonials
I have participated in and observed many leadership programs over many years, both in Australia and elsewhere, and the Liberated Leaders program is one of the very best. Designed and delivered by Paula Drayton and Tony Carew, its content is profound, but accessible; its design is clever and addresses multiple learning modes, and it’s delivery is intelligent and highly engaging. This is about learning to learn, adapting to contexts, and being highly self-aware. My learning cohort (of about 25) includes business owners, and CEOs and senior executives from the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Repeatedly, and to a person, they report the huge value of the program for them and, importantly, back in their organisations and lives. I have to agree with them.
This Program has been an incredible undertaking that has challenged me on many personal and professional levels. The style and method of learning has been practical and approachable which has helped me better understand the material and really absorb the experience. The impact of this Program was immediately apparent in many areas of my life, with program design making it necessary to apply the learning very quickly thus reinforcing the principles and enabling a much better understanding of the material. As a business owner that needs to see a return on investment I couldn’t be more happy with Liberated Leaders. I am already sharing the lessons with my Managers and Teams who have responded so well to the material. It is a great feeling being able to embrace learning again and see its impact in my life.
As a Chief Executive Officer, I feel that going through Liberated Leaders I am gaining a competitive advantage. The skills and tactics are real, and I am reaching for them daily when I’m negotiating a deal or when I’m lifting the mood of the Boardroom. It is a powerful learning experience, that every CEO or MD should embark on if they are serious about learning the true craft of leadership. The skills that Liberated leaders is providing is not only getting heightened and distinct results out of my Executive Team and Board, but also it is improving how I show up with my family at home. The highly bespoke program feels more like fundamental lessons in life.
Unisson Disability chose to invest in attending the Liberated Leaders program as a team. We recognised that the success and culture of an organisation is set by its leaders and their ability to perform effectively, such as undertaking conversations for possibility. As a result of attending the program we have built an increased awareness about ourselves, such as being aware of our moods, and the impact we have on the organisation. After completing each Move we are able to share our learnings and it has facilitated deeper, more open conversations, eg around shifting moods, unhelpful habits, cultural issues or techniques we want to extend to the whole senior team.
As the CEO & Creative Director of a rapidly growing small business, Liberated Leaders has given me insight into the way I want to lead within my team, and how I wish to lead my life. Partaking in this program has offered me an abundance of resources that I have been able to implement seamlessly within my daily operations, & business development & strategy. It has also opened up my role as creative director that has allowed me to create a working lifestyle that suits me & has seen me design some of my most fondest bodies of work. It does not matter what type of business you run, big, small, creative, corporate, the Liberated Leaders program will facilitate a supportive & nurturing environment for you to excel, grow & move forward in becoming the most incredible version of yourself.
Paula’s unflagging energy, completely non-judgmental and expansive approach and her ability to make everyone comfortable throughout some difficult facilitated decision making were a wonder to watch. We’ve had so much positive feedback from the leadership team who were involved that we can’t wait to work with her again. Paula is always thoroughly prepared and completely professional – she really knows her stuff. But more importantly she can work with anyone – soothing frayed nerves in a large and opinionated group and bringing them all together in a really fun and challenging way to come up with some truly creative outcomes.
Paula has consistently and expertly worked in partnership with internal and external consultants to deliver an integrated and holistic leadership program designed to support the organisation to achieve its mission by building organisational capability, both technical and adaptive, to deliver on its strategy. Paula offers a strategic approach. She is able to see gaps, analyse patterns of behaviour, provide valuable insights, make connections, breakdown complex human interactions into smaller, more manageable parts and work with others to enable them to work through change, change within themselves and do this in complex working environment.
We have been working with Paula and Tony at Resource Advisory for the past 18 months as part of a comprehensive package to reform our people and culture at Schweppes, and it has been nothing short of a unique, inspiring and spirited learning journey for our organisation and our people. The transformation in our culture and engagement has been significant. The resulting impact on the performance and adaptability of our employees and leaders has been truly amazing, and more importantly achieving
sustainable results and behaviours.
I want to sincerely thank you for developing the GOAL program. It was unlike any other course I have participated in, and it spoke to me on a much more personal level. The format and structure of the program allowed me time to consider and implement, providing me with the space and support I needed. I really enjoyed the sessions you presented – I was challenged, enlightened and uplifted. The benefits for me have been liberating and I have seen real outcomes, both personally and professionally. Thank you so much Tony. I really appreciate all your help and support.
No matter what stage you are at in your career or leadership journey, there is always more to learn. We entrusted Tony to co-design and deliver this program, working in partnership with our Corporate HR unit. During this engagement Tony demonstrated not only his professionalism, but his expertise and knowledge of contemporary Organisational Development practices. His commitment to the program was exemplary and truly appreciated by all involved. GOAL has been a resounding success in our organisation and Tony has been critical to its success. For this I am grateful.
To put it succinctly, Liberated Leaders excelled at bringing soft and hard methods together to get the people and strategy elements of what we needed to do right. In terms of the way they operate, my observation is that ‘they walk in their own talk’ in all of their business interactions and so become manifest examples of the productive behaviours they are espousing. They are careful not to overcommit, however when they make a commitment to you it happens on time, to expectations of quality and on budget (typically with value-added). They had a values base which means that they genuinely care about the quality of work that they are doing. This builds trust. I have no reservations in recommending them.
Thanks for the amazing coaching experience – I would even say “life-changing”. Thinking back to where I was at the start of the coaching to where I am now I feel like a different person. I’ve often thought that my biggest obstacle to development was in my own head, and your coaching has proven that to me. I feel like I’ve fast-tracked some development and am now thinking on a different level and I’m confident enough to think that I could lead a large organisation – if not this organisation then another one in the future. I really
appreciated your approach and gentle pushing at times. I felt like I could trust you enough to get the things out of my head, put them on the table and deal with them. This is the only way it would have worked and wouldn’t be possible by doing a course – it was all deeply personal and specific to me.
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We believe that great leaders are great learners. In times of growth and profound disruption, it is necessary to adopt a beginners mind, to cultivate new ways of exploring and wrestling with all that change brings. Better still, you liberate yourself in the process.
