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Across Australia, communities are beginning to ask a different question about economic development.  Rather than waiting for solutions to arrive from elsewhere, what happens when communities themselves shape their economic future — investing in local assets, mobilising local leadership and building institutions that reflect shared values?  In Mount Alexander Shire in central Victoria, this question […]

In February 2026, researchers and practitioners contributed to an important global conversation about the future of education leadership.  At the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI) in Qatar — one of the world’s leading conferences on education systems improvement — Dr Kerry Elliott, Menzies Senior Research Fellow at the ANU Leadership & Complexity Lab, and Willie Thompson, Founder of

Across Northern Australia, a powerful leadership movement is quietly gaining momentum.  Indigenous women are building enterprises that strengthen families, sustain culture and create new pathways for community leadership. These businesses may begin small — often as side ventures grounded in local knowledge, cultural practice or community need — but their influence extends far beyond economic participation.  They are shaping

For much of the past century, leadership has been built around a simple assumption: that with enough information, authority and expertise, leaders could understand the system they were responsible for and steer it in the right direction. But the systems shaping our lives today no longer behave that way. Climate disruption, technological acceleration, geopolitical uncertainty

“Good data is important — but purpose gives it direction.” When Andreas Zakhari speaks about cities, he does not begin with spreadsheets or economic models. He begins with people — the families navigating broken infrastructure, the communities underserved by planning decisions made far from where they live, and the persistent gap between what data can

Purpose may begin with an individual insight, but it rarely succeeds alone.  In an era defined by complex, global challenges, leadership is no longer a solo pursuit. The problems that shape our future — climate change, geopolitical uncertainty, economic transition — demand collaboration across borders, institutions and ideologies.  In Episode 3 of Purpose in Action: Redefining Leadership for

“Leadership means making institutions worthy of people’s trust.” When Jordyn Gray talks about leadership, she does not speak in abstractions. She speaks in systems — in the gaps between policy and practice, between what institutions promise and what survivors actually experience. A Menzies Global Voices Fellow and passionate advocate for reform, Jordyn’s work sits at

In theory, purpose is inspiring. In practice, it is demanding. For The Hon. Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG, one of Australia’s longest-serving High Court Justices and a lifelong human rights advocate, purpose was never abstract. It was lived — case by case, judgment by judgment — often under intense scrutiny, and sometimes in dissent. In

“When young people step into these spaces,” she says, “we bring perspectives that are urgently needed. We see the world differently, and that difference is part of the solution.” When Adjoa Assan speaks about leadership, she doesn’t begin with positions, titles or polished rhetoric. She begins at the margins — the places young people often

In a world shaped by fragmentation, inequality and accelerating change, many leaders find themselves asking a deceptively simple question: What am I actually here to do? For Dr Naba Alfayadh, founder of Rahma Health and a globally recognised leader in health equity, that question has been guiding her life since her teenage years. In Episode