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I was keen to connect with Sarah on the release of her recently published book 'Gender Dimensions in Leadership - Reflections, Perceptions and Perspectives on Inclusivity.' It has been written for executives, coaches, anyone in a leadership role.   Our conversation focused on the premise, backed up by substantial data and research that true leadership has no gender. That equality matters to us all.   Understanding dynamics of inclusivity, equality and diversity is essential in the field of management & leadership. Sarah Drijfhout shares her ideas that will enable us to discover options and opportunities that we could not have imagined with traditional thinking and approaches.   I hope you enjoy our conversation- you can hear and feel the passion Sarah has for her work and her belief that we all can make a difference to leadership needed right now and for an uncertain future.

What a way to start our first Thriving Conversation for 2021 with one of Australia's award-winning director, writer and script developer who works internationally in theatre, TV and film. With the Arts industry being one of the first to shut down due to Covid 19 John and I talk about 'thriving' in this environment - the difficulties and the joys.   John is an educator and we discuss his rich skill set that brings other peoples stories to life on stage and screen. You will enjoy John's stories of building a family during production rehearsals, encouraging autonomy of interpretation, leading from the front, middle and back stalls and appreciate his sense of humour and lens on the world. There are a few metaphors added for effect as well!   We discuss his most recent stage production of Anne Washburn's 'Mr. Burns, a post-electric play' for Lightning Jar Theatre won Best Independent Production at the 2020 Green Room Awards after two completely sold-out Melbourne seasons just before covid restrictions cam into place.   Pop your headphones in and enjoy this 'ordinary guy doing extraordinary things!"

Our conversation with Kingsley is refreshing and insightful - we talk human centred relationship in the advent of a pandemic and disruption where we are relying on technology to connect us when it has the potential to isolate us even more. We discuss some personal wellbeing habits and the way he had to 'pivot' when all his business was whipped out and how a new way of networking and delivering workshops came about. Kingsley has worked all around the world and even married here in Australia in Kangaroo Valley. Many gems of wisdom are shared from a lifetime of continual learning fueled by curiosity and a good sense of humour. We talked resiliency and future focused skills for 'what if' scenarios that all our educators and school students will need to navigate cultural difference and the diversity of humanness.

This is our final Thriving Conversations through an Education lens episode for 2020. And we finished with a great shoutout to educators across Australia.   Listen in as Rob Randall, a globally recognised educational leader, shares his insights and observations for beyond 2020. Rob is joined by some of our previous educators and the conversation is all about 'thinking outside the box' and 'big picture' for 2021...   Such a great way to acknowledge a year of swift adapationand change with the care and wellbeing of our students , teachers, staff and parents kept squarely in focus.   Our conversation acknowledged student voice; wellbeing fitness of students and teachers; curriculum review and change; decision making autonomy at local level; sustainability of current delivery methods; teacher capacity; hybrid learning, etc... And...what really made their heart sing or challenged over 2020 and what they are looking forward to in 2021. "From little things, big things grow!"  

In this Thriving Conversation through an education lens, our guests, Adriano Di Prato and Yasmin Poole share their insights and experience in how we can create an intergenerational understanding of learning, where generations can draw from each other's strengths. Both guests are educators who are focused on creativity and innovation for learning alongside advocacy for self direction and autonomy. Our conversation highlights an educational 'ecosystem' that is based in empathy, adaptability and voice. You will enjoy the sense of hope bith Adriano and Yasmin have for future focused education that will inspire and prepare our youth fand our teachers for a future that is unknown and exciting at the same time.

This Thriving Conversation with Phil and Simon, two of Australia's experienced educators discusses proactive educating communities for the best possible student learning outcomes. Our discussion spans the global competencies needed to be prepared to be part of a VUCA world, initiatives that are currently in progress in Japan and Lithuania. Our guests share the 12 Fusion Skills or FLUENCIES and Portfolios that students are already developing and accumulating to assess their learning. Join us to hear what micro-credentialing and badging competencies look like for deep learning and how students at Medowie Christian School Port Stephens, Australia are autonomous and self-directed learner leaders.

What capabilities might children REALLY need over the next decade? Q What are the biggest challenges facing parents? (Rosina data) Q What are the challenges facing children (Oxford research data) Q Is it time to look beyond the focus on academics to life skills education to resource children for the short-term and in the future. Q. How can we reimagine the future of the education profession? Q. How can we best support teachers in that future? Q. What can we expect with the future of work?   Dr Rosina McAlpine Rosina's mission and passion is to support working parents. Highly regarded researcher, presenter, facilitator and speaker. Today, as part of corporate social responsibility, employee wellbeing programs, Win Win Parenting partners with companies to empower their employees to succeed at home so they can succeed at work. Parenting education in the workplace is good for kids, good for parents and good for business. Dr Rosina McAlpine believes confident and effective parents have happier families are focused and productive employees. www.WinWinParenting.com   Tony Ryan Supports education (and some business) organisations around the world to prepare for the future of learning, with emphasis on the applications of Artificial Intelligence and robotics into everyday learning environments. Tony has worked with over 1000 schools and 15 universities in 10 countries, written 8 books and manuals on innovative thinking and lifelong learning (including The Ripple Effect and the Thinkers Keys), and is strongly involved in social justice causes. Tony's special joy is working with educators who know that the world can be even more astonishing up ahead..... and that they can contribute to the development of that world. Tony’s latest book ‘The Next Generation’ has now been released. More info at http://www.tonyryan.com.au/home/ 

Double education lockdown in Victoria - what has it meant to students, parents, teachers, and leaders? A case study not to miss! This conversation shares insights into strategic manoeuvring of two large educating communities and how the diverse learning needs of stakeholders were considered. What was different the second time around? Join Anna Masters and Katherine Hoekman, two exceptional Australian educators. A thoughtful human-centred conversation about the future of teaching learning leadership. Awareness of how it was second time around...    

Our conversation discussed insights and observations as well as some examples of what Zeina and Steven have observed and led during Australia's educational response to a global health issue. How learning via virtual delivery impacted on student learning? What did they notice about the learners and fellow teachers during covid? Underpinning the relationship between teachers and students’ - day to day interactions, supporting others to find the ‘joy’ in their learning and particular strategies that worked well for teachers and leaders were shared.  

For most people #covid 19 hasn't just been one change in their life. Picture a stack of wobbling cards rising higher and higher! Coming up this week #education #matters live panel conversation is all about optimising life work skills for the future whatever the abrupt changes. Why would we focus on boosting our self management and attitude when under stress? Do your stakeholders have a 'voice' in their wellbeing? Two of Australia's 'optimising' educators Helen van der Werff and Maurizio Vespa talk about: Optimism is the belief that the future is positive. We will get through this together. Shift from optimism to optimising outcomes; managing circumstances and attitude with options; relational skills when under stress, and effectiveness of restorative practices.

Joanne McEachen is CEO/Founder of The Learner First (USA/Australia/New Zealand), a Fellow of Salzburg Global Seminar (Austria), on the Executive Committee for Karanga The Global Alliance for Social Emotional Learning and Life Skills (Global) and a Board Member for Partners for Youth Empowerment (PYE) Global.   A social entrepreneur and a leading voice in the global education community, Joanne brings years of whole system leadership experience, working with and within all levels of education to offer insights and strategies that support communities to discover their strengths and bring them to the surface. The perspective she works from is that people and communities hold the answers and not the experts.   Her experience as a teacher, principal, superintendent, and whole-country school-system leader and working with over 10 plus countries has enabled Joanne to focus on what matters, on humanities development of SEL and deeper learning outcomes––self-understanding, knowledge, competency, and connection––that lead to meaning, fulfillment, and lifelong success. She has co-authored multiple books and these can be found in schools and homes around the world.   Joanne insights are illuminated by continued, hands-on experience, partnering with people- diverse groups around the world.   She was co-founder of NPDL (Global).    Louka Parry is the CEO + Founder of The Learning Future, an organisation that supports schools, systems and companies to thrive in tomorrow’s world. A former teacher, he became a school principal at only 27 years old and was named Inspirational Public Secondary Teacher of the Year for South Australia. Louka works globally (in English and Spanish) and has supported tens of thousands of educators and leaders globally to increase their positive impact.   A rapid learner, he speaks five languages, has visited over 80 countries, and holds two Masters degrees, one in Instructional Leadership from the University of Melbourne and another in Applied Linguistics, and has also completed executive studies at Harvard University. Through his work, he has acquired expert knowledge in leadership, communication, wellbeing, future learning models and organisational change. He is a Fellow of the Salzburg Global Seminar and of the Stanford d.school, working at the forefront of the future of education, innovation and social emotional learning to empower children, educators and communities all across the globe.   Louka brings a range of deep strategic insights as a learning architect and as a sought-after speaker and facilitator. He has worked across all Australian Education Departments and sectors, across international systems from the Dominican Republic to Romania, with corporates like PWC, Microsoft and Apple, and with not-for-profits such as Social Ventures Australia, CASEL and TED. In this age of rapid change, he is driven to transform structures, systems and societies to empower individuals to do their best work and maximise wellbeing, ultimately making our world a better place for all.    

Post pandemic lockdown, three School Performance Leaders started out on   a 'Remote Learning Road Trip' around north western NSW. My panel for this School Performance Leaders, Rod Whelan, Jason Hanrahan and Justin Matthews visted every school in the Diocese of Armidale, listening and observing 'lockdown' learnings and insights from students, teachers, school leadership teams and parents   Listen on as our conversation covered the insights and observations of these rural learning communities as they shared 'action research' on leadership, wellbeing, school support for learning and voice during the 'lockdown.   Connectedness to each other, for each other and onbehalf of each other is a strong theme coming from this enlightening experience.   Listen on as we hear more from Rod, Jason and Justin as they share the care, social contracts and autonomy of decision making at local level that they acknowledge openly.   For more about me and my work, visit www.carriebenedet.com  

Education Matters panel guests are Summer Howarth and Andrea Downie, two experienced Australian educators. A fascinating conversation about wellbeing science, holistic wellbeing ecosystems, leadership and learning design that has tipped 'rigid' systems upside down during our education response to Covid19. www.carriebenedet.com

Chris Smyth is the current Director of Catholic Schools Diocese of Armidale and Catherine Jackson is Principal Consultant at Leopard Tree specialising in Leadership Coaching, Team development and Facilitation.  Both Chris and Catherine have experienced careers in educational leadership and are focused on helping leaders and their teams build effectiveness to serve learning communities progress their mission. Conversations that matter are essential to the core organisational needs of learning communities that connect students, teachers, staff and parents.  We share insights of school improvement across this system of schools that have a clear coaching for leadership and wellbeing focus. An intriguing look at some of our rural educational communities who aspire to building the best learning and leadership environment possible.  Listen on as we hear more from our speakers, both educators of expertise and experience, about their thoughts on how we can make education better for each child and our education system as a whole. For more about me and my work, visit www.carriebenedet.com  

In this episode, my guests are Sarah and Daniel, both Year 11 students and Mrs Kerry Paxton, Leader Inclusion and Student Engagement from The Catholic Learning Community John XXIII Stanhope Gardens.   Our topic focuses on Learning at Home: What was it like for learning and how did it affect the wellbeing of learners during the educational response to COVID-19. The Learning Community at Stanhope Gardens has an extensive Wellbeing Framework that encompasses all stakeholder's - students, teachers, support staff, leaders, parents and families.   We get to hear student and teacher insights and suggestions about their experiences with 'learning from home' and how they believe we can adapt and change to make sure learning is more impactful in an altered learning environment. We also talk about nurturing a community in the times of abrupt change and challenge and the ways we can create a culture that will help everyone thrive. For more about me and my work, visit www.carriebenedet.com

In this episode, Eddie Blass and Nick Burnett, both keen learning futurists share their insights and observations about the kind of impact education should be making in the next 2-5 years. We focus on a futuristic view of how education can be delivered to maximise student and teacher engagement with learning design that is adaptive, creative and future focused.   You will hear both Nick's and Eddie's commitment to the diverse learning needs of students, to developing teachers capacity and to leadership in times of abrupt change and uncertainty. Highly experienced in many education systems and leadership roles, these two exceptional educators have a strong evidence based approach to solutions, inclusion and collaboration.   We get to share some insights and suggestions from working closely with learning communities and leaders in our recently altered education learning environment across Australia. We also focus in on what 'thriving learning' can look like. For more about me and my work, visit www.carriebenedet.com

In this episode, I sit down with Annette Gray, a leadership coach who has spent more than 1500 hours on coaching for executives and high profile managers, and Louise Barnott-Clement, Principal of Ambarvale High School for the last 15 years. Following my discussion with Australia's top educators in the previous episodes, we discussed practical methods that schools are adopting to help all educators and students adapt with the pandemic and all of its effects. Our conversation, however, elaborated to what all employers, and managers can do at the moment, and that is connecting with people and connecting people together.   Listen on as we hear more from a leading coach in her field and a well-experienced educator. For more about me and my work, visit www.carriebenedet.com

In this episode, I sit down with Jane Caro, Walkley Award winner, novelist, and feminist, and with Polly Dunning, a teacher, writer, and speaker. We had a comprehensive discussion on the current state of education in Australia, more specifically the gap in access to quality education among students, and how this gap has become larger with the effect of the pandemic. We also talked about problems that educators countrywide are dealing with, including but not limited to issues with anxiety and depression. Listen on as we hear more from our speakers, who are both educators and mothers, about their opinion on how we can make this better for our children, and for our education system as a whole. For more about me and my work, visit www.carriebenedet.com

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Adam Fraser and Roisin O'Reilly, two of Australia's leading educators to talk about their understanding and research on how parents, schools, and students are responding to COVID-19. We get to hear insights from education professionals about their experiences with the current situation, and how they believe we can adapt and change to make the work better and more impactful for everyone, including teachers, students, and parents. We also talk about leadership in the time of turbulence and the ways we can create a culture that will help everyone thrive. For more about me and my work, visit www.carriebenedet.com

In this episode, I sit down to talk with Meg Price, who has had over twenty years of experience in the people development and human resources fields and is now Director at HR Inside. We had a comprehensive talk about her journey to entrepreneurship and the notion of C.A.R.E (Compassion, Autonomy, Relationship, Equity) and how it can transform your life. As a researcher in neuroscience, Meg also shared her thoughts on young people's anxiety due to excessive use of social media and how the knowledge in neuroscience has enabled her to give great value in her work as an HR and human development professional. Listen on as we also chat about the key mindsets that we believe will help us tremendously in these difficult times. For more about me and my work, visit www.carriebenedet.com