Alice Hanna

The paradox is driven by three core contradictions, all supported by current research. * Australia has a large, skilled, experienced mature workforce that is underutilised, costing the economy in lost capacity * Over 70% of Australians aged 55+ want to continue working, yet participation drops sharply in their 60s. Australia lags well behind global leaders like Sweden and New Zealand in mature-age workforce participation * Economic and workforce systems were built for shorter life spans and traditional retirement models: they do not reflect changing health patterns and the financial necessity and economic upside of tapping into the older worker talent pool. This fabulous webinar explores this paradox.

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For a long time, I’ve wanted to find a way to disrupt the 'Cumulative Gauntlet' of the Australian theatre industry - specifically those moments in the rehearsal room where the pressure mounts and burnout feels inevitable. That’s why I created the Be You Group's Directors Internship. It’s a 12-week Leadership Laboratory where six incredible directors - Diona, Zoë, Zak, Giorgia, Dylan, and Nicole - are exploring what it means to lead from the heart rather than from a place of ego or habit. We’ve just finished Practice 1: Model the Way. In our coaching sessions, we’ve been looking at our "North Star" values. But the most profound "aha" moment hasn't just been identifying what we value - it's been finding the tipping point. We realised that every value, even the most noble ones, has a shadow side: - *Compassion* is vital, but if you over-do it without boundaries, it can tip into enabling, people pleasing, or a lack of clarity. - *Excellence* is a beautiful driver, but pushed too far, it becomes a tyrannical weight that stifles creativity and trust. As directors, we are the thermostat for the room. Watching this cohort wrestle with how much of their values in action is enough to be constructive, and how to pull back before it becomes destructive, is fascinating in it's complexity. It reminds me that modelling the way does not stop, it's not set and forget - it's all about consistency and staying true to the environment you want to create. On a personal note, holding the space for six different "user manuals" and their unique ways of processing is spiritually fulfilling work. I’m finding a really lovely flow with it lately; I have the space and time to be fully present without the need to over-manage the schedule. While I’m keeping my extra-curricular focus on this lab right now (and isn't that its own form of "modelling the way"?), I’m so energised by what’s emerging from this group. We’re moving into "Inspiring a Shared Vision" next, shifting from internal values to the invitation we extend to our actors. I can’t wait to see how their visions start to breathe.

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👏Great work to the team behind last week’s workshop on psychological health and safety. The session shared some great practical, evidence-based actions — from job design to leadership capability.

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🧠 October is ADHD Awareness Month - and this year’s theme is The Many Faces of ADHD. Check out this blog article from Diversity Council Australia on rethinking neurodivergence at work. 💬 “We need systemic change so our workplaces and communities are inclusive for all neurotypes.” 🔗 Read the article: https://lnkd.in/gKErbV_3 [Image description: Graphic with AFDO (Australian Federation of Disability Organisations) logo. Text reads: “Read: The many faces of ADHD: Rethinking neurodivergence at work from Diversity Council of Australia.” Background features teal geometric shapes.] #ADHDAwareness #Neurodiversity #DisabilityInclusion #AFDO #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs

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I've seen enough workplace fads to write a book about (in fact, there's a great book idea right there). One of the most talked-about issues in my conversations with leaders is workplace well-being. In this week's episode of the Human Centred Leadership podcast, I ponder whether workplace wellbeing is really a priority for organisations, or whether the real driver is the pressure to achieve productivity. Are we playing lip service to wellbeing? I'd love to hear your thoughts. https://lnkd.in/em47bNQK #HumanCentredLeadership #EmotionalIntelligence #Wellbeing

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Great to hear about what’s happening in the inclusive employment space. Looking forward to future episodes of this new podcast ‘Building Inclusion - Australia’s Disability Strategy’. Hotel Etico Australia YouthWorX NT Powerd Media #DisabilityEmployment #Leadership #Inclusion #Disability

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Gallagher’s 2025 Workforce Trends Report show Australian companies and their people are at a critical junction with employee wellbeing: - Burnout is surging with 1 in 4 employees already there. - Engagement is dropping and retention risk is climbing. - Only half believe leadership will act on wellbeing feedback. - Leadership disconnect from the real frontline experience of work. - Cost cutting and restructures eroding trust and investment. Too many organisations view their responsibilities toward wellbeing as purely reactionary and focused on individual rather than systemic issues. This is performative safety theatre that fuels cynicism and disengagement. Poor job design, high demands and perceived low support = higher psychosocial risk exposure and potential WHS regulator action. What else is driving risk? Leaders waiting for crises instead of preventing them and failure to address bullying, harassment and toxic behaviours. This is not (and never has been) a “nice to have”. It’s a governance, compliance and profitability issue. Inaction today means higher costs tomorrow in claims, recruitment, lost productivity and brand damage. The question isn’t if you can afford to genuinely invest in wellbeing. It’s if you can afford not to. https://lnkd.in/gVesi_SD #Gallagher2025 #EmployeeWellbeing #Leadership #RiskManagement #FutureOfWork

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Part 2 For many social enterprise founders, the three-year mark can be challenging. A gap can start to appear between their energy, resources, and revenue - and the increasing demand for their solution. AMP Foundation aims to bridge that gap, further empowering extraordinary leaders to scale their impact and expand their reach across Australia.     I am committed to genuine collaboration with exceptional leaders and walking alongside them to ensure they have the funding, support, networks and momentum to grow. Therefore, I am delighted to announce additional funding for two of our #TomorrowMakers to support them at this pivotal stage in their social enterprise journey. In this second post I would like to announce the second funding recipient: TeaTime – Founded by Jimmy Leishman and Ed Trick Tomorrow Maker IGNITE 2024 graduates. We found the reimagining of how older Australians can stay connected to their family members inspiring. Through innovative programs and technology, TeaTime helps aged care residents build meaningful digital connections with family and community, strengthening intergenerational bonds and supporting Australians to retire with confidence. To accelerate their mission and scale their impact, TeaTime will receive multi-year funding of $1.2M from the AMP Foundation. This grant will cover essential operational costs ensuring TeaTime continue expanding its reach and deepening its impact. Learn more about TeaTime’s work here: https://lnkd.in/gvQifNAU “We’re incredibly proud to deepen our partnership with the AMP Foundation. TeaTime simply wouldn’t exist without the support of the Tomorrow Makers IGNITE program, and now, thanks to the significant investment, we’re ready to accelerate our mission to transform how people interact with, consume, and perceive care."  Jimmy Leishman Co-Founder TeaTime "Over the next three years, our goal is to positively impact over 100,000 residents and families across Australia and beyond. With the AMP Foundation’s continued backing, this moonshot feels more achievable than ever.” Ed Trick, Co-Founders, TeaTime.

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I had a really meaningful conversation with Brett Sams from The Self Care Zone yesterday, and it reinforced something i've been seeing more and more across the human services sector. Mental health at work is no longer something employers can treat as option or reactive. We know the stats - one if five Australians experience a mental health condition each year, and almost half of us will experience one at some point in our lives. In human services that risk can often been amplified by emotional labour, vicarious trauma, high workloads, and constant pressure to do more with les. What's changing- and what Brett and I spoke about is accountability. With recent shifts in Work Health and Safety, protecting psychological health is now clearly part of an employer's duty of care, and importantly, managers and individuals can be held personally responsible if psychological risks aren't identified and managed properly. That means: ☑️ Noticing changes in behaviour, not ignoring them ☑️ Having real conversations, not awkward check-ins ☑️ Working with staff to make reasonable adjustments ☑️ Being flexible when capacity changes ☑️ Creating roles, workloads and systems that are actually sustainable Too often, wellbeing is reduced to: ⚠️ "we've got an EAP" ⚠️ "it's in the policy" ⚠️ "they'll speak up if they're not okay" But an EAP is just one tool - it doesn't replace good leadership, clear roles, realistic expectations, or a culture where people feel safe to speak up early. Supporting mental health at work doesn't always require big budgets. Sometimes it's clarity. Sometimes it's flexibility. Sometimes it's simply asking❓"what do you need to do your job safely right now?" - and actually listening to the answer. Thanks to Brett for the conversation and the work he's doing through The Self Care Zone. Self-care isn't about telling burnt-out workers to be more resilient, it's about designing workplaces that don't burn people out in the first place. If we're serious about quality, safety, and sustainability in human services, we have to start with the wellbeing of our workforce. Check out Bretts website - https://lnkd.in/eM2X4HxC #HumanServices #NDIS #WorkplaceWellbeing #PsychologicalSafety #Leadership #DutyOfCare

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Great article - thanks for sharing team and Australian HR Institute (AHRI) - this resonates with one of my business lessons 20/20/20 #2 - leaders must go first with vulnerability and last with problem solving - our job is not to manage the operational tasks but to create, influence and guide energy - so many leaders are so busy (see 20/20/20 #4) they lose contact with their staff - in back to back meetings all day, every day - they start their real work at 6pm and then wonder why their teams are waiting on them with discretionary time and they can’t get through their to do list or find a way for their teams to help them! See 20/20/20 #7! #delegation #partnering #leadership #humancentred #humanity #entrepreneurial #learnings #vulnerabilitytrust #leadersgolast #consulting #founder #ceo #teamplayer #empowement #strengthsbased #understanding #confidenthumility #growth #busydisease #managementconsulting #culture #slowdown

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We’re well past the days of the ‘tick and flick’ approach to access and inclusion. Those little checkbox that asks you have you considered accessibility? We know enough to understand that a token gesture toward disability inclusion just doesn’t cut it. Accessibility isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a right. It’s a legal requirement. I get it, this can be unfamiliar territory. Admitting gaps in knowledge is uncomfortable. But the good news? We don’t have to have all the answers ourselves. We can engage people with lived experience and experts in accessibility. Not I said engage? That means reimbursement for sharing of knowledge. I don’t always get it right. There’s still so much I’m learning in this space. But what matters is staying open and flexible. Trying to not take it personally when mistakes or oversights are brought to light. Removing the ‘ego’ facilitates understanding another perspective. Chasing perfection means you will never deliver. Avoiding lived experience perspectives means you'll most likely deliver a flawed outcome. Retrofitting and/or recovering from reputational damage is expensive. Real progress comes from embracing a learning processing, and taking steps forward, even if they’re imperfect. That’s how we create designs and systems that can be reviewed, improved, and made better for everyone. So I thought I would post, if you've stuck with me this long. To encourage a conversation about your latest learnings or ‘oops’ moments. Mine is in the comments.

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There’s no quick fix for workplace culture or psychosocial risk. 🛑 Too many organisations still rely on “tick-the-box” solutions. Think one-off resilience workshops or a token chair yoga session, hoping it will transform team wellbeing. Real, lasting change isn’t about what’s on paper. It’s about systems, job design, and leadership that’s lived every day. Culture must be designed, measured, and led, not left to chance or a quarterly wellness initiative. How systematic is your approach to culture and risk? #Leadership #WorkplaceWellbeing #PsychosocialSafety #BeyondTickBox #GRACEX

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🟣💬 Design a practical solution that helps create workplace environments where women going through menopause feel supported, understood, and empowered to thrive. That was last week’s challenge at Big Bloom for Women - another Collective Intelligence experience delivered using the Big Bloom method. On 11 March, participants joined from across Australia and New Zealand, representing: Awanui Group · Briscoe Group · L’Oréal · Engineers Australia · Douglas Pharmaceuticals · Rome2Rio · Entrada Travel Group · Meridian Energy · One NZ · Precinct Properties · Russell McVeagh · SkyCity ✨ 3 hours of #CollectiveIntelligence in action Experiential. Practical. Energising. And yes - a lot of fun! In just three hours, teams generated thoughtful, actionable initiatives to better support women experiencing menopause at work. 🌟 Winning Solution - MAP: Menopause Assistance Program 👏 Congratulations Team 3 MAP puts menopause support at your fingertips. Through MenoMoney, specialist sessions, workshops, and digital resources, employees get private, flexible, self-service access via an internal platform and upcoming app. A standout feature: funded specialist sessions that reduce the financial barriers to accessing medical care. 🚧 Power-(meno)Pause: Because planning for menopause is power -Team 1 A flexible wellbeing canvas (app or printable) to build a personalised menopause support plan aligned with individual needs, lifestyle, and goals. Practical tools, clear guidance, ready-to-use resources - all in one place. 📍 Hot, Bothered and Still Brilliant - Menopause 101 - Team 2 A short animated educational video series designed to reduce stigma, build awareness, and support colleagues experiencing menopause at work. 🙏 A special thank you to Robynne Sam from Air New Zealand for sharing practical insights on how they are leading workplace menopause support - and why it matters. And heartfelt thanks to our wonderful jury Aston Moss, Nicki Mackay, Sarah Bellett, Paul Uttley, and to the fantatsic facilitation team: Charlotte Hunka Assoc CIPD Annabel Coxon, and Erica Austin. When organisations create the right space, their people design the solutions - and grow through the process. That’s the power of Collective Intelligence in action. 💜 #SocialInovation #DesignThinking #SocialImpact #InclusiveWorkplaces #Learningbydoing

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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝘆𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 🛑 There’s no quick fix for workplace culture or psychosocial risk. Too many organisations still rely on “tick-the-box” solutions. Think one-off resilience workshops or a token chair yoga session, hoping it will transform team wellbeing. Real, lasting change isn’t about what’s on paper. It’s about systems, job design, and leadership that’s lived every day. Culture must be designed, measured, and led, not left to chance or a quarterly wellness initiative. How systematic is your approach to culture and risk?  We at GRACEX are only a message away to unlock your team's potential. #Leadership #WorkplaceWellbeing #PsychosocialSafety #BeyondTickBox #GRACEX

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Every workplace should have access to tools, resources and training to prevent and respond the domestic and family violence and those resources should be shaped by lived and living experience. Proud to partner with Workplace Respect to bring this to life and incredibly grateful to those who shared their experiences and expertise with us to make this possible. Thank you Jacque Lachmund, Kat Baulch, Matt Pronger, Micaela Cronin, Simone O'Brien, Ben Bjarnesen BM OAM CF and Katsu Shike. Also shout out to Natasha Wood - her visuals always give me hope that learning can be beautiful and engaging.

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Did you know that there is a 90 minute Mental Health First Aid program designed specifically for leaders? This program has been developed for employers and managers. It provides leaders with information about the behavioural and physical signs that often indicate when an employee is experiencing a mental health problem and approaches for supporting an employee with mental illness.  It provides participants with a comprehensive overview of what staff and employees learn in the full 2 day Mental Health First Aid training program. Engaging Leaders participants also learn about how the workplace can contribute to mental health problems, the framework for improving mental health within workplaces and how Mental Health First Aid training can help. Nourish2Flourish Coaching and Consulting holds accreditation from Mental Health First Aid Australia to deliver this program, and can deliver it anywhere in Australia. The program is offered FREE to any organisation who also purchases one or more of the MHFA Workplace program (F2F or blended online) courses. To find out more, or discuss availability to offer this program to leaders within your workplace, contact Tracy@nourish2flourish.net.au #mhfa #mhfaleaders #leadership #mentalhealth

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