Leonie Rothwell is a visionary leader and co-founder of Sprouta, an innovative organisation dedicated to transforming how businesses address systemic challenges.
With over 30 years of experience in consulting, sales, marketing, and general management across Australia and the Asia Pacific, Leonie has held senior executive roles and partnered with clients in diverse sectors including FMCG, Financial Services, Construction, Technology, and Government.
Her expertise lies in fostering organisational transformation and building high-performing teams. Leonie is passionate about introducing clients to new ways of working, aligning personal and business objectives, and inspiring trust and motivation within teams.
Organisations' approach to performance is undergoing a seismic shift. We’re moving past performance being narrowly viewed through the lens of skills, capabilities, and productivity metrics. Instead, the future demands a holistic and transformative approach that integrates psychological principles and prioritises emotional well-being.
At the forefront of this paradigm shift is the recognition that motivation is the critical driver of performance. Organisations must learn to tap into both intrinsic (internal) and extrinsic (external) motivators, aligning work with their employees' passions and strengths. Such a shift also highlights the importance of crafting career opportunities thoughtfully and designing them to ensure a good fit for employees' skills, talents, interests, and career trajectories.
"Organisations really need to start having those conversations about how do we strive to cultivate that intrinsic or that internal motivation."
Liz Gould, Performance Psychologist, encountas
Fostering a sense of purpose and meaning is critical. The personal and collective good combine beyond the traditional win-lose paradigm by aligning with an authentic purpose. Strategic workforce planning emerges as a crucial tool in this transformation. It’s important to have forward-looking, future-proofing conversations with our leaders to ensure the right capabilities and capacity are in place to achieve the organisation's purpose. Proactive planning, rather than reactive firefighting, is the key.
"The future is really where we see that uniting between the organisation's purpose and the individual's purpose.”
Alicia Roach Co-Founder & Joint CEO, eQ8
Mental health and well-being are no longer optional extras but integral to sustainable high performance. Courage from leadership is vital in driving this change. This means embracing transparency, celebrating failures as learning opportunities, and shifting mindsets from the workforce as a cost to an asset are all essential.
“We need courageous leaders that are prepared to make the change.”
Christina Gerakiteys CEO, UtopiaX
The future envisions a seamless integration of performance and well-being, where the two are inextricably linked. Technology will play a pivotal role, but the human element – resilience, creativity, and emotional intelligence – remains irreplaceable.
Organisations that embrace this transformation will reap the rewards of a highly engaged, resilient, and high-performing workforce. We must allow people to find that “right role" and embrace tactical and adaptive performance.
"We're going to be distracted. There's going to be near-term pressure for performance. We're going to be told to limit our experimentation and learning. But if we know it's the right thing, hopefully we do the right thing."
Forrest Lindekins, Partner Vega Factor
As the future of performance unfolds, organisations must leave behind the old way mindsets and embrace a new way that prioritises purpose, well-being, and the holistic development of individuals.
By doing so, they will keep pace with the rapid changes and leverage their workforce into a resilient, innovative, and sustainable high-performing team ready to thrive no matter what the future may bring.
As a community of like-minded clients and solution partners, we're driven to improve the workforce so every organisation and their employees can thrive.
