Kirstin Ferguson

Kirstin is one of the world’s most recognised leadership experts and has been ranked as one of the top 50 management thinkers in the world.

She writes, speaks, and advises major international brands and senior leaders on modern leadership and how to build modern leadership cultures. Kirstin is also a highly sought after executive coach.

Kirstin spent fifteen years a board chair and company director, sitting on a wide range of private company, large publicly listed and government boards. These roles also included an appointment by the Australian Prime Minister as Acting Chair and Deputy Chair of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Kirstin’s executive career included roles as CEO of a global consulting firm, and a senior executive at a leading corporate law firm. Kirstin began her career as an Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force.

In 2023, Kirstin was recognised as a Member of the Order of Australia for her significant contributions to business and gender equality.

More About Kirstin Ferguson

Kirstin has a PhD in leadership and culture and is an Adjunct Professor at the QUT School of Business. Kirstin also has honours degrees in Law, and History.

Kirstin won the prestigious Thinkers50 Distinguished Award for Leadership and was ranked in the Thinkers50 list of top fifty management thinkers in the world.

An author of two books, Head & Heart: The Art of Modern Leadership (Penguin Random House, 2023), debuted in the top 10 non-fiction bestseller list on release, and has won numerous awards including one of the top 10 best new management books in the world (2023), Royal Society of Arts Career Book Award (2023), Australian Business Book Awards leadership category shortlist (2023), and North American Porchlight Business Book Awards leadership category shortlist (2023).

What Kirstin Speaks About

Head & Heart: Mastering the Art of Modern Leadership

Depending on the length of the session, Kirstin offers content in two formats:

• a keynote address (up to 1 hour), and
• a workshop (up to 2 hours).

In both formats, Kirstin engages her audiences through storytelling, videos, and practical examples to bring her own leadership experiences and her research to life.

Attendees have the opportunity in both formats to complete the hugely popular Head & Heart Leader Scale™ and receive a personalised report to help them understand areas for individual focus.

Kirstin always adapts her keynote and workshop content to the audience, industry, or organisation so it is relevant for all attendees regardless of seniority.

Key Takeaways – Keynote format:

• Overview of 2- 4 head and heart leadership attributes
• Understanding the most effective ways to lead with impact and the power that leadership moments have at work, in our communities and in our families
• Individual, personalised head and heart leadership report for each attendee, and
• Inspiration for attendees to apply the leadership lessons learnt across all aspects of their lives.

Key Takeaways – Workshop format:

Includes everything from the keynote, plus:

• Overview of all 8 head and heart leadership attributes
• Ability for a live analysis of the collective scores from the Head & Heart Leader Scale™ where attendees can compare their results to the group, and
• Table discussions and shared learning opportunities.