“There are many different styles of leadership, none is better or worse than the other, so long as the style is genuine and authentic for you.” Peggy O’Neal AO
At first glance the screen industry and the Australian Football League may seem very different. However for the almost 200 women listening to keynote speaker Peggy O’Neal at the 2019 Natalie Miller Fellowship (NMF) Brilliant Careers Leadership Forum in Melbourne last month, it was quickly apparent that in the pursuit of more diversity in key decision making roles they share a lot in common.
As President of the Richmond Football Club – and the first woman in AFL history to serve as a club president – Peggy spoke convincingly about the wide-ranging benefits of embracing diversity, being your authentic self in order to be the best leader you can be, and supporting others as they are finding their feet as leaders.
“Organisations that succeed are the ones where good people are allowed to make mistakes as they learn to lead, given a safe place to land when they do and encouraged to try again.” Peggy O’Neal AO
For many attendees, her insights and advice were the highlight of an all-round empowering day that brought women from across the screen industry together to proactively rectify the gender imbalance in decision-making roles by developing the leadership skills of the next generation of female leaders.
Building upon the success of the inaugural event in 2017, this year’s forum also featured a panel discussion with filmmaker Genevieve Bailey, CEO of Fremantle Asia Pacific Chris Oliver-Taylor and media entrepreneur Deanne Weir about how they found their leadership style.
Facilitator Mim Bartlett focused the women in the room to identify their own personal strengths, reflect on the qualities and values they admire in those around them, learning to quiet their inner critic, and grow their presence in all aspects of their life.
Presented with principal partner Film Victoria, and the support of Screen Australia, the Brilliant Careers Leadership Forum is an initiative of the Natalie Miller Fellowship.
Named in honour of one of the screen community’s most admired and accomplished leaders, Natalie Miller AO, the NMF recognises and nurtures the next generation of female leaders in the Australian screen community, inspiring them to reach the very top of their fields. For more information, visit nataliemillerfellowship.com