2026 Needs Courageous Leaders!
Learn how to be a great / better / amazing / decisive / charismatic / absorbing leader in these challenging times.
A half-day Wellington-based learning experience (late Oct 2026), 8-11.30am, that will have you laughing, self-reflecting and exploring new ways to be a great Chief Executive.
As the leader of an organisation / company, you’re facing more disruption than ever—so the need to be courageous in the face of challenging times and recurring problems is a must.
Two legends have come together to share their experience with a fresh learning approach to enable you to bravely face vital transformations ahead.
Join this brand new ½ day workshop focusing on how CE’s can improve their decision making and storytelling to energise and better collaborate with teams to generate momentum.
Increasing skills in these areas will enable you to face the unprecedented change and uncertainty, releasing you and your team to effectively get things done at pace.
All delivered under Chatham House Rules and with gender / industry / cultural considerations in mind.
COHORT DETAILS
Program relating to #1 cohort:
- the brand-new learning experience will be held in a private meeting space at the impressive QT Museum Hotel Wellington, on 6th August 2026;
- a special $1,200+GST exclusive first cohort rate is currently available (usual standard rate is $1,500+GST);
- a continental breakfast is included in the price and available from 8-8.30am;
- morning tea will also be supplied to keep energy levels topped up;
- there will be a 3hour group session plus 1x 45mins one-on-one session post-experience with either Amanda or DK.
COURSE TOPICS
Each cohort will consist of between 6-10 CE participants and will unpack the following topics over 3 hours:
Being courageous in difficult times
Learn how your decision making and your ability to resonate / enthuse others is what leaders need to be great in these challenging times. We will show you how courage is at the heart of what holds good CEOs from being great and what could be holding your organisation back.
Stand in your vision
To achieve pace in a world full of change, burnout and low engagement, leaders need to captivate the hearts and minds of all stakeholders in and out of their organisations. You will learn how having a clear vision without the detail means you can move at pace and create powerful stories to ignite your team.
Making decisions dynamic
Now more than ever leaders have to be lightning quick on their feet and super good at seeing the future. What this really means is making decisions and building momentum. Learn the ways to speed up your judgement even when information is still hard to grasp when you need it. Then learn how this empowers you to talk more often to the stakeholders and build momentum so things move much faster.
Holding space without all the information
CEOs build momentum in others even though they can’t know everything or have all the information at their fingertips. You will learn how to present confidently and effectively without all the answers using humility to build credibility. This is about resonance and grace plus how these are more important than the facts, figures and definitive knowledge.
WHO
Amanda Santos
A CEO Mentor and a Business Transformation coach who has been a CEO herself on four occasions–each one a seriously tough gig with change, financial difficulties, team problems and a whole host of issues. Never afraid to approach problems with curiosity and new perspectives, Amanda made sure that her solutions were effective and unique, staying away from the normal and mundane, preferring to explore and experiment. She now loves to share her experiences so other leaders, CEOs and Founders, can solve today’s problems with new ways that fit the modern world we face. Amanda’s expertise spans sales strategy, leadership development, governance, and organisational transformation, making her an invaluable resource for CEOs who want sustainable growth and transformational change.
Amanda’s achievements have been recognised through numerous accolades, including being a finalist for the Women of Influence Awards (2017 & 2018), Inspiring Women Leader at the NZIBA Awards (2018), and the Business Category at the prestigious Welly Awards (2017). Known for her engaging, humorous, and thought-provoking style, Amanda is a talented public speaker who inspires CEOs, boards, business professionals, and entrepreneurs to break traditional molds and achieve extraordinary results.
DK
A seasoned Speaker Coach who has worked with CEO’s, senior executives plus a random ex-All Black, Dame and Olympian thrown into the mix. DK delivers ‘purposeful storytelling’ masterclasses to leadership groups and is featured on ted.com with a TEDx talk that has reached well over a million views plus has spoken on five continents to audiences large & small for over 20 years and is author of Speaking With Purpose: A guide to delivering impressive presentations!
DK is also a Creative Producer who ‘crafts delicious learning experiences’ online, in-studio or in-person. He spent a decade as the TEDxWellington (known globally and celebrated by ted.com for it’s bold delegate experiences) and a special TEDxWellingtonWomen event (the first ever xWomen event with gender parity globally) & mentored other TEDx’s starting up in NZ (shortlisted as Wellingtonian of the Year 2017 for this work), established the city-wide Wellington programme Collider (delivering 200 events in 14 months), created the annual Creative Leadership NZ conference (2017-19—all sold out) plus creator of the unique video podcast Creative Welly(testimonials).
