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Humanity’s progress has created extraordinary opportunity. Advances in technology, science, education and economic development have transformed how people live, work and connect.  But progress has also created systems of growing complexity. Decisions made in one sector can have consequences across many others. Technology is reshaping institutions and work faster than social systems can adapt. Trust […]

What kind of leadership does the next chapter demand? In the final episode of Purpose: Leading into the Future, Brigadier John Fenwick (Retd) reflects on leadership in some of the most demanding environments imaginable — where uncertainty is constant, consequences are profound, and decisions carry moral weight far beyond immediate outcomes. Drawing on decades of

What does leadership require when responsibility stretches beyond quarterly cycles and across generations? In Episode 7 of Purpose: Leading into the Future, Will Heatherton — Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Australia’s Future Fund — explores one of the most significant leadership questions of our time: How do institutions remain anchored in purpose when the decisions

A group of Australian civil society organisations has released its joint submission to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion. The organisations are:  Ballarat Foundation  Collaboration for Impact  The Ethics Centre  Global Access Partners  Welcoming Australia  Menzies Leadership Foundation (Convenor)  This work was supported by the Scanlon Foundation.  The collective contribution: antisemitism as a stress test for Australian democracy  The terrorist

How do leaders sustain trust when every decision reverberates across communities, economies and systems? In Episode 6 of Purpose: Leading into the Future, Caroline Cox — Chief Legal, Governance and External Affairs Officer at BHP — explores one of the defining leadership challenges of our era: how do global organisations balance performance, responsibility and legitimacy

The antisemitic terrorist attack at Bondi was a stark reminder that social cohesion is not abstract. It is reflected in how people relate to one another, how institutions respond under pressure, and how confident communities feel participating in public life.   Moments like this call for leadership, not only from governments and public institutions, but from organisations and

Leadership is often described as the ability to make difficult decisions. What is less frequently acknowledged is how many decisions leaders now face are impossible to resolve cleanly. In an age of constraint, leaders increasingly confront choices where every option carries cost. There is no neutral path. No outcome that leaves everyone unharmed. Some decisions

Revealing Australia’s Leadership Development Ecosystem  Australia invests significantly in leadership development, yet the field remains fragmented, undefined and poorly understood.  A new White Paper, Revealing Australia’s Leadership Development Ecosystem: Strengthening collaboration across research and practice, invites a different way of seeing the field — not as a single industry, but as a dispersed and interconnected

The Menzies Leadership Foundation is pleased to announce Gandel Foundation as a key funding partner in the next phase of Reimagining a Civil Australia, supporting the development of the systems, partnerships and shared learning needed to strengthen civility, social cohesion and leadership for the greater good.  Launched in Ballarat in February 2026, Reimagining a Civil

The Menzies Leadership Foundation is partnering with the Aspen Institute Socrates Program on a global initiative exploring what effective, purpose-led leadership looks like in an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.  The partnership will bring together diverse, cross-sector leaders in Australia and internationally to examine some of the most important questions emerging at the intersection