Who We Are COPY – Vision Values People

The Grim Reality
We live in a world where adults spend half their waking hours at work and yet most are not engaged. They look around to see leaders that aren’t particularly inspiring and teams that aren’t particularly inspired. When this reality predominates it is impossible that people are doing their best work. They aren’t getting the best out of themselves and they definitely aren’t getting the best out of others. Everyone’s results suffer.

A Possible Future
We imagine a world where the vast majority of people jump out of bed in the morning fired up about the work day ahead of them. We imagine an environment at work where leaders and teams feel genuinely excited to be there and go home feeling successful, fulfilled and energised to return the next day.

Bridging the Gap
We are a group of people who believe this imagined world is worth fighting for.

While we primarily work with organisations, we are dedicated to the individual human being. We imagine a reality where people – all people – have the confidence, competence and conscience to be People of Influence, so they can have the agency and positive impact on the world they were born to have. We want to change the world by giving others the tools to change theirs.

ENERGY

We bring energy into every interaction. We have a laugh. We have fun. We engage in passionate discussion. We get excited. We get others excited. We channel our energy into getting things done. We are relentless in our pursuit of excellence.  An unshakeable optimism. A steely drive.

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Howard Thurman

GIVING

We love people. We connect. We care. We make people feel special. We are fully present. We are abundant with our smiles. We show our appreciation. We give more than we take. We are grounded in generosity.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.“ Maya Angelou

CONFIDENCE

We have the confidence to think bigger, without limits. To pursue an ambitious vision with conviction. We are hungry to do more, create more, contribute more. We want to make our highest level of contribution and have the courage to step up and out of our comfort zone for the sake of others. We believe in the value we offer as individuals and as a team.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead

LEARNING

We are addicted to the buzz of learning new things. We listen. We read. We study. We are insatiably curious. We seek out new ideas, insights, tools, techniques. We are dedicated to improving our craft, our services, our business. We know there is always a better way.

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. ” Alvin Toffler

HUMILITY

We embrace humility. We ask for feedback. We ask for advice. We look for ways to improve ourselves as human beings. We are secure enough in ourselves to be vulnerable. We show gratitude for the privilege that is doing this work. We raise others up. We celebrate their success. We are inspired by others.

“Being humble means recognising that we are not on earth to see how important we can become, but to see how much difference we can make in the lives of others.” Gordon B. Hinckley

SHAUN KENNY – DIRECTOR

Shaun Kenny is one of Asia Pacific’s most in-demand speakers and educators, having delivered 1,000+ sessions to 150,000+ people in the past decade with some of the world’s great companies.

In his role as mentor and advisor, Shaun has an up close and personal perspective of the challenges executives and leaders are grappling with in this rapidly changing world of work.

An economist by training, Shaun translates the latest insights of behavioural economics and neuroeconomics into practical tools that professionals can use for immediate impact. Shaun has also used his deep expertise in design thinking to help blue-chip clients embed cultures of empathy-driven innovation.

Previously in management consulting, he holds a Bachelor of Economics degree and a Masters of International Business, both from Sydney University.

Outside of work, Shaun is husband to his high school sweetheart, a father of two and is a keen (yet vertically challenged) basketball player.

MICHELLE RUSHTON – DIRECTOR

While Michelle Rushton co-designs all of the People of Influence programs, Michelle’s particular interest and expertise is in helping professionals achieve the vision of being a world-class performer, without the accompanying negative side effects that are all too common in the corporate world.

Michelle marries her up-close observations of high performers with contemporary behavioural science research to make achieving and sustaining this vision both practical and achievable for her clients.

When Michelle is not facilitating People of Influence programs she can often be found speaking at industry and client conferences on these very topics (much of that work arrives via her Speaking practice at michellerushton.com.au).

In a previous life Michelle was a teacher, teacher-trainer and award-winning educational leader, holding both an Honours and Masters of Education from Sydney University.

Outside of work, she is a wife, a mother (to a beautiful boy and a gorgeous girl), a runner (sometimes), a singer (sometimes) and Beyonce fan (always).

LINTON CHALMERS – PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT & SENIOR FACILITATOR

Linton is an experienced speaker, facilitator and coach, having worked with leading companies all over the world. He has spent thousands of hours on his feet in front of groups, and successfully led client engagements with leadership teams as small as 5, to conferences of 1000+. He’s passionate about helping individuals and organisations improve, with an emphasis on trajectory more than position.

With energy, rapport and an intuitive style, Linton is at his happiest when in front of a room, giving people an experience that serves as a stimulus for change. His focus is then equipping people to embed and sustain that change through new thinking and ways of working. Having lived and worked in both APAC and EMEA, he has broad experience across industry and sector, including Financial Services, Tech, Pharma and Telco. He holds a Masters of International Law and International Relations from the University of New South Wales.

Born and raised in Queenstown NZ, he’s a keen skier, loves things that go fast, and is constantly trying to rein in his wife’s insatiable desire for travel.

JASON MCSPEERIN – SENIOR FACILITATOR

Over the past 15 years Jason McSpeerin has developed and delivered more than 1,000 workshops for thousands of people. Jason has particularly deep experience working with leaders and sales professionals in advertising, financial services and FMCG. With People of Influence, Jason has worked with a diverse array of clients; from law firms and tech giants, to management consultants and pharma. (To much acclaim might we add!)

Jason loves people and this shines through in the energy he brings to his training experiences. He loves helping people develop the confidence and competence to develop into the best leaders they can be. Jason’s approach is highly facilitative, which provides participants with the opportunity to learn through their own experiences and increase their level of self-awareness and responsibility.

Jason is a true expert at the front of a room. Whether it be ten people or one hundred. Or as was the case in one training session last year: one person!

Jason has three children and enjoys running and playing golf when he has a spare moment. Oh yeah, he is also a little obsessed with AFL.