Sel Leigh

Workplace culture is the single most sustainable driver of profit. Yet it's the thing so many organisations fail to make the most of. Instead, they too often focus on punitive policies and inflexible workplaces - rules to ensure jobs are done consistently, but without the ability to adapt swiftly to changing environments and that costs businesses in health and wellbeing, and high attrition.

I work with exec leadership to ensure every facet is inclusive, and workplaces address diversity needs to attain equitable outcomes. My approach is strategic, supported by clear systems, robust data measurement and risk management to support sustainable organisational growth.

I bring over 20 years of leadership, governance and organisational development experience across professional services, Central Government, NFP, health and disability organisations: My sweet spot is supporting organisations facing transformative change to put systems and structures in place with robust data measurement and reporting to ensure evidence-based achievements.

My approach to leadership is grounded in diversity equity and inclusion principles. I work with organisations committed to being better than the rest because they prioritise the human factor of their businesses - they know that the cost of putting people and culture after everything else is too high. For businesses to thrive in any circumstance, there is a responsibility to look after people alongside profitability: It’s not an either/or situation; both are crucial for sustainable long-term business success.

I'm an experienced and highly effective DE&I practitioner, coach and consultant for large and complex organisations in times of change.

• Diversity, equity and inclusion strategy: To build inclusive spaces and the right people in the right place, we need to have diversity and equity incorporated into our design approach – and this starts with building trust in the systems. A strategic approach with measurable outcomes is crucial to ensuring this.

• Inclusive communication strategy: Communication is more than the words we use to convey messaging. A strategic approach to the design and delivery of messaging ensures accessibility and respect for the individuals, reduces barriers to understanding and promotes equality in all interactions. Bottom line; developing an inclusive communication strategy ensures that communication is effective and equitable for all parties.

• Risk management: Until we know it works, we have to assume nothing works. Every step we take in business has the potential to do harm somewhere - how do we prevent that while ensuring things are working? Risk management is key to ensuring that our actions are effective across all areas.

• Complexity leadership theory: I believe that the role of any leader is one of facilitation across complex systems - including social interactions. Complexity leadership theory enables organisations to adapt and thrive in often rigidly complex and hierarchical environments. We need rules to ensure consistency, but people also need to think outside of the square in decision-making to adapt to rapidly changing conditions. Complexity leadership theory enables us to most effectively do this.

• Executive coaching: Coaching the executive leadership team to ensure that every success can be replicated, and lessons are learned and implemented from every failure so no learning experience is ever a wasted cost to the business.