Revealing Australia’s Leadership Development Ecosystem

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 ecosystem.

Developed from insights emerging from the 2025 Leadership Development Summit, the paper brings together perspectives from researchers, practitioners, leadership development organisations, government, funders and leaders themselves. 

The Summit revealed a strong appetite for greater collaboration across the leadership development ecosystem, particularly between those who study leadership, those who develop leadership capability, and those who are practising leadership in complex real-world contexts. 

The paper identifies a number of forces shaping leadership and leadership development in Australia, including artificial intelligence, complexity and polycrisis, migration and globalisation, gender, decolonisation, regional leadership needs and shifting social expectations of leadership. 

It also surfaces key tensions within the system, including: 

  • the lack of shared definitions of leadership and leadership development 
  • the gap between research and practice 
  • challenges in how leadership knowledge is created and shared 
  • gaps in measurement and evaluation 
  • the need to better understand who is missing from leadership development conversations. 

Importantly, the paper does not seek to resolve all of these tensions. Instead, it offers a systems lens for understanding the field and identifies practical pathways for strengthening collaboration, shared learning and future action. 

Key priorities emerging from the Summit include: 

  • establishing a digital collaboration hub 
  • developing a foundational evaluation framework 
  • supporting sector-wide data sharing 
  • securing funding for ecosystem mapping and shared infrastructure 
  • piloting collaborations between academics and practitioners 
  • ensuring rural, regional and remote Australia has a stronger voice in national leadership conversations. 

For Menzies Leadership Foundation, the White Paper aligns strongly with our commitment to building the leadership capability required for the 21st century. 

As Liz Gillies, CEO of Menzies Leadership Foundation, reflected in the paper: 

“Humanity’s progress has created extraordinary opportunity, but it has also widened the gap between the complexity of the systems we live in and our collective capability to respond. Bridging that gap is the leadership challenge of the 21st century.” 

The White Paper provides an important contribution to the national leadership conversation and offers a foundation for continued collaboration across research, practice and the broader leadership development ecosystem. 

→ Engage with the White Paper

Australia invests heavily in leadership development, yet the field remains fragmented and poorly understood — leaving researchers, practitioners and leaders working in isolation rather than towards a shared purpose. The gap between the complexity of the systems we live in and our collective capability to respond is the defining leadership challenge of this century, and closing it will require collaboration, not more disconnected effort.

At the Menzies Leadership Foundation, this is precisely the kind of leadership we exist to support. Through our contribution to the 2025 Leadership Development Summit and the resulting White Paper, Revealing Australia’s Leadership Development Ecosystem, we are helping build the shared understanding and collaborative infrastructure needed to strengthen leadership development across the nation. Connect with our Work.

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Natasha Eskinja

Digital Communications Coordinator

Natasha is driven by a profound passion for both creativity and analytics, a synergy that fosters authentic storytelling in the digital realm with both innovation and integrity. 

Throughout her career, she has consistently integrated the overarching marketing and communications narrative with the emotional connections of audiences. She is currently pursuing a Certificate in Society and the Individual from Flinders University, furthering her exploration of human behaviour and the critical importance of connectedness between organisations, individuals, and communities.

LinkedIn | natasha.eskinja@menziesfoundation.org.au

Sarah Jenkins

Strategic Communications Manager

Sarah has more than 18 years’ experience in communications and marketing leadership across a range of sectors.

Communications strategy and organisational growth is a continuing theme in Sarah’s career. Most recently, she leads the development of a Leadership Movement, evaluated by Menzies Viral Co-efficient Model; a contribution to the NFP. 

Sarah’s early career centred around best practice in marketing and communications which later culminated into the establishment of her very own agency. This work extensively spanned across PR, traditional media, event management, strategy, digital marketing, graphic design and business development consultancy. 

In 2019, Sarah joined the lean and robust team at the Menzies Foundation. She has since crafted the Foundation’s narrative and communication strategy. The development of this strategic communications platform is essential for ‘movement building’ and requires a strong strategic, management and communication skills set. Sarah has brought so much to this important work, which sits at the forefront of communication practice. 

Sarah continues to contribute to the NFP sector through her commitment to Purpose; as she reflects on her own leadership, builds her own leadership capability and contributes to the greater good. 

LinkedIn | sarah.jenkins@menziesfoundation.org.au | 0401 880 071

Rohan Martyres

Director, Strategy and Partnerships

Rohan has 15 years’ experience in facilitating cross-sector collaborations to address complex social and health challenges.  He has worked with the World Economic Forum in Australia, led an international conflict resolution field team in Nepal, and directed a 10-year £40m initiative to reduce health inequity in London.

Most recently, Rohan was Major Grants Development Manager at the Ian Potter Foundation.  He refined the foundation’s major grants strategy, and co-developed a series of large scale initiatives, including joint philanthropic-government funding for a new national organization to support place-based approaches across Australia.

Rohan has held several non-executive roles, including with an international NGO and with London Funders, the peak body of independent foundations in London.  He holds several qualifications including a graduate degree in innovation and strategy from the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.

When Rohan isn’t exploring Melbourne’s creeks with his partner and 6yo daughter, he’s working on his currently weak Australian accent (after 15 years in the UK).

LinkedIn | rohan.martyres@menziesfoundation.org.au | 0404 505 954

Trudy Morrison

Operations Manager

A marketing and communications specialist with over 20 years experience in government, corporate and consumer marketing, Trudy brings her adaptive and organisational project management skills to the Menzies Foundation team. 

With a BA degree in Public Relations, Trudy began her career with the City of Melbourne and in magazine publishing, before moving into marketing communications consulting. She has worked in strategic marketing leadership roles with retail brands and enjoys juggling many projects and tasks simultaneously. Her skills were further enhanced when managing her own communications business representing industries across private education, financial services, aviation, government and the health industry. 

Trudy is passionate about leadership and all people being encouraged to reach their full potential through research and educational initiatives and opportunities throughout Australia. A skilled and accomplished writer and editor Trudy is enthusiastic about bringing her variety of skills to the Menzies Foundation team. 

LinkedIn | trudy.morrison@menziesfoundation.org.au | 0402 361 878

Liz Gillies

Chief Executive Officer

Liz Gillies has had over 25 years experience in a range of fields focused on initiatives for social impact. She has held roles in multiple sectors and academia.

In 2018, Liz was appointed CEO of the Menzies Foundation which aspires to build a leadership movement that supports Australians to pivot to purpose, build their leadership capability and contribute to the ‘greater good’.

Liz joined the Melbourne Business School in 2009 and was instrumental in establishing the Asia Pacific Social Impact Centre (APSIC) and The Centre for Ethical Leadership. In November 2011 she was appointed as research fellow to lead a partnership focused on strategic philanthropy which culminated in the release of the reports: Philanthropy: Towards a Better Practice Model (2018) and the Philanthropy: The Continued Journey to Real Impact and better Practice (2021).

Liz has extensive governance experience, having served on the Board of the Publish Galleries Association of Victoria, Social Firms Australia, Uniting Care Community Options, United Way Australia and the Development Committee of the Towards a Just Society Foundation. She is currently on the Philanthropy Reference Group of Barmal Bijiril and a Director of Philanthropy Australia.

LinkedIn | liz.gillies@menziesfoundation.org.au | 0416 112 703

Natasha Eskinja

Digital Communications Coordinator

Natasha is driven by a profound passion for both creativity and analytics, a synergy that fosters authentic storytelling in the digital realm with both innovation and integrity. 

Throughout her career, she has consistently integrated the overarching marketing and communications narrative with the emotional connections of audiences. She is currently pursuing a Certificate in Society and the Individual from Flinders University, furthering her exploration of human behaviour and the critical importance of connectedness between organisations, individuals, and communities.

natasha.eskinja@menziesfoundation.org.au