Leading Here + Now

What does it take to lead well, here and now?

Leadership does not happen in a vacuum. It is shaped by the places we live, the people around us and the conditions we are navigating.

Leading Here + Now brings together contemporary leadership thinking, practical tools and perspectives grounded in place, to explore how we lead with clarity, curiosity and confidence in a changing world.

Leadership for the conditions we are in

Right now, leaders are working through complexity, rapid change, competing expectations and growing pressure to make good decisions without having all the answers.

Tasmania presents its own opportunities and challenges, shaped by our size, our communities, our history and our connection to the rest of the world.

Leading Here + Now creates space to explore how place shapes leadership, what builds trust when pressure is high, and the capabilities that matter as technology and change accelerate.

You will hear contemporary research alongside Tasmanian stories, gain practical tools to take back to your workplace or community, and connect with people across sectors who are grappling with many of the same questions.

What you’ll explore

Across the day, we’ll explore leadership from different angles, bringing together research, lived experience, practical tools and conversation.

The conditions of leadership
What is shaping leadership in Tasmania right now, and what does that ask of us as leaders?

How place shapes leadership
How place, community and context influence the way we understand and practise leadership

Identity, behaviour and change
The assumptions, patterns and behaviours we bring to leadership, and what becomes possible when we notice them.

Trust when pressure is high
What helps build and sustain trust when decisions are difficult and expectations compete.

The human edge
The human capabilities that matter as technology, AI and the pace of change accelerate.

Leadership in practice
Stories and perspectives from people leading across Tasmania, with ideas to take back into your own work, organisation or community

Download the final program

Meet the speakers

Leading Here + Now brings together researchers, practitioners and leaders with different perspectives on what it takes to lead well in the conditions we are in.

Dr Jorian Kippax smiling, wearing a beige jacket, white shirt and striped tie. The graphic identifies him as a keynote speaker at Leading Here + Now.
Dr. Jorian Kippax

Emergency Specialist and Tasmanian Australian of the Year

Drawing on experience in emergency medicine, wilderness rescue and disaster response, Jorian will explore what leadership looks like when pressure is high, information is incomplete and trust matters.

Professor Swee-Hoon Chuah

Director, Tasmanian Behavioural Lab

Drawing on behavioural economics and her research into trust and decision-making, Swee-Hoon will explore how trust is built and sustained, and what happens when leaders are making decisions under pressure.

Professor Swee-Hoon Chuah smiling at the camera, wearing a sleeveless burgundy top and long pendant necklace. The graphic identifies her as a speaker at Leading Here + Now.
Black-and-white portraits of Kris White and Mat Crompton smiling at the camera. Kris wears glasses and a jacket, and Mat wears clear-framed glasses and a crew-neck top. The graphic identifies them as speakers at Leading Here + Now.
Kris White & Mat Crompton

Founders, Behaviour ID

Kris and Mat will explore the behavioural patterns that shape how we lead and work with others, and how greater awareness of those patterns can help us respond more effectively in complex situations.

Dr Toby Newstead

Leadership Researcher, University of Tasmania

Toby will explore how place shapes leadership, inviting us to consider how Tasmania’s communities, histories and relationships influence the way leadership is understood and practised here.

Dr Toby Newstead smiling at the camera, wearing a bright blue jacket over a black top. The graphic identifies her as a speaker at Leading Here + Now.

Tāne Hunter smiling, wearing a bright pink jacket over a black patterned shirt. The graphic identifies him as a keynote speaker at Leading Here + Now.
Tāne Hunter

Futurist, Author and Founder, Future Crunch

Tāne will explore how leaders can navigate rapid change and uncertainty while staying curious, adaptable and human, bringing a future-focused perspective to what leadership asks of us now.

Who should attend?

Leading Here + Now is for people leading, influencing and making decisions across Tasmania’s business, government and community sectors.

It is particularly relevant if you are:

  • Leading a team, organisation or initiative
  • Working in the community or not-for-profit sector
  • In a people, culture or organisational role
  • Early in your leadership career or building your experience
  • Part of the Tasmanian Leaders alumni and program community
  • Interested in leadership, collaboration and Tasmania’s future

Want to see what’s happening across the day?

Explore the full program for session details, speakers and more about what to expect at Leading Here + Now.

Download the program
Leading Here + Now is proudly supported by:
St Lukes' corporate logo. purple lowercase text "st lukes' with a green stylised fluttering butterfly as the apostrophe
Brand Tasmania Logo. A large Black rectangle with the word "Tasmanian" in all caps
University of Tasmania logo. The words UNIVERSITY of TASMANIA stacked in Black. On the Right is the stylised outline of a Red Griffon

Previous Symposiums

Since 2017, the Tasmanian Leaders Symposium has brought together leaders, practitioners and thinkers from across Tasmania to explore the ideas and challenges shaping our future.

Browse highlights from previous Symposiums below.

Image of three people seated, smiling in conversation

Leading at the Edge 2025

Leading in an era of constraints

In 2025, we explored leadership in an era of constraints - where doing more with less was the norm. We looked at these conditions as invitations to rethink, experiment and lead differently.

Leading at the Edge Symposium

Leadership + Humanity 2024

A one day event to help you lead with humanity

In 2024, we explored how increasingly fast-paced work environments, technology-driven lives and shifts in geopolitics were reshaping leadership and raising questions about how we humanise our workplaces. We examined the value of leading with humanity and the approaches that can help create more human-centred workplaces.

Leadership + Humanity
Leadership + Hope Symposium hero tile. An orange rectangle takes up the main area of the image. In front of the orange is a teal rectangle with text in white "7 - 8 September 2023 + Launceston' in all caps. On the bottom of the tile is a blue rectangle with text in white "A Two-Day Symposium designed to inspired greater Tasmanian Leadership" in smaller all caps pluse the Tasmanian Leaders logo in white, plus the tasmanian leaders website address

Leadership + Hope 2023

Connect people. Inspire action. Drive outcomes

In 2023, we explored the power of hope as a driver for collaboration and action. We examined how businesses and leaders developing psychological capital — including hope — could strengthen motivation, performance and wellbeing for better long-term outcomes.

Leadership + Legacy Symposium hero tile. An orange rectangle takes up the main area of the image. In front of the orange is one section of text in white "Leadership + Legacy" in all caps. On the right hand side is a darker orange compass graphic sitting behind the text. On the bottom of the tile is a blue rectangle with text in white "1-2 September 2022 + Hobart" in smaller all caps

Leadership + Legacy 2022

Find your purpose. Live your passion. Leave your legacy

In 2022, we explored the idea that leaving a positive legacy is one of the most influential things a leader can do. Held in Hobart the event examined how leaders can shape a legacy that matters.

Leadership + Risk Symposium hero tile. An orange rectangle takes up the main area of the image. In front of the orange is two sections of text in white "in leadership as in life, perhaps the greatest risk is in doing nothing" and "17 September 2021 Leadership + Risk' in all caps. On the bottom of the tile is a blue rectangle with text in white "A One Day Symposium" in smaller all caps

Leadership + Risk 2021

In leadership as in life, perhaps the greatest risk is doing nothing

In 2021, we explored what leaders can achieve when they dare to take positive risks and what is at stake if they do not. The symposium examined how understanding risk can inspire bold ideas, support experimentation, and build psychological safety in teams and organisations.

Leadership + Trust Symposium hero tile. A white square with red cross hatched fine lines takes up the top area of the image. At the top of the square on the right is a blue rectangle with white text " A One Day Symposium" in all caps. In front is text in red and blue "Leadership + Trust" in all caps and "16 October 2020" in smaller all caps. Below is a red rectangle across the bottom of the image with text in white "Inspiration. Connection. Hope."

Leadership + Trust 2020

Inspiration. Connection. Hope.

In 2020, during the covid era, we explored why there had never been a more crucial time for leaders to build and repair trust quickly. We examined how trust strengthens organisations, lifts performance and helps leaders create workplaces where people feel engaged, supported and willing to follow.

Leadership + Complexity Symposium hero tile. A lime green square takes up the main area of the image. In front is text in pink "Leadership + Complexity" in all caps. Below is text in white smaller all caps "6 September 2019 Launceston"

Leadership + Complexity 2019

Finding clarity amongst the chaos

In 2019, we explored how leadership was being shaped by unpredictable and unprecedented rates of change, requiring leaders to be adaptive and dynamic collaborators. The Symposium examined complexity and built participants’ capacity to exercise leadership and collaborate across changing systems.

Leadership + Grit + Growth Symposium hero tile. A lime green square takes up the main area of the image. At the top of the square on the right is a purple rectangle with white text " HOBART". In front is two sections of text in white "Leadership + Grit + Growth" ' in all caps. Below is text in white "A One Day Leadership Symposium" in smaller all caps, and below that is purple text "7 September 2018"

Leadership + Grit + Growth 2018

The relationship between grit and growth

In 2018, we held our first public-including Symposium, creating an opportunity to explore the importance of perseverance and passion in long-term, sustainable success — for individuals and for Tasmania. The event featured powerfully honest and gritty stories from local leaders.

Promotional graphic for Leadership through Disruption symposium 2017. A large violet square with the text "Leadership through disruption' in all caps. Below the violet square is a white section with the text "3-5 August 2017 + Burnie"

Leading through Disruption 2017

Exercising leadership through disruption

In 2017, we held our final alumni-only Symposium, exploring how leaders across the globe were responding to rapid and unexpected change. The event focused on agility, learning, engagement, performance, diversity and inclusion, and the role of technology in leading through constant transformation.