From Conversation to Action: Unlocking Leadership at All Levels in Northern Australia
Tracks
Meeting 10-11
| Thursday, July 24, 2025 |
| 10:30 AM - 10:50 AM |
Overview
Matt Linnegar and Andrew Bryant, Australian Rural Leadership Foundation
Speaker
Matt Linnegar
Chief Executive
Australian Rural Leadership Foundation
From Conversation to Action: Unlocking Leadership at All Levels in Northern Australia
Presentation Overview
Leadership isn’t about a single person—it’s about people coming together, sharing ideas, and creating action. This interactive workshop will take participants through an engaging, hands-on learning experience, designed to spark real conversations and build practical leadership skills that can be applied at all levels in rural, regional, and remote Australia.
The Australian Rural Leadership Foundation (ARLF) has been at the forefront of leadership development in rural, regional, and remote Australia for over 30 years. Through immersive programs and a network of more than 3,000 alumni, ARLF fosters authentic, adaptive, and connected leadership. We focus on strengthening communities and industries by enabling individuals and networks to step up and lead in times of transition, uncertainty, and opportunity.
Over the past 18 months, we have delivered 120 Changemaker Workshops across the country, including 32 in Northern Australia, equipping community members with the tools to navigate change, foster collaboration, and create shared visions for the future. These workshops bring together people from all walks of life—farmers, business owners, Indigenous leaders, local government and organisations—helping them find common ground and drive real impact.
This session isn’t just about talking—it’s about doing. Using real-life scenarios, small group discussions, and dynamic problem-solving exercises, participants will explore:
How leadership can emerge at all levels – Moving beyond the hero-leader mindset to leadership as a collective effort.
Building shared visions and values in communities – Lessons from Changemaker Workshops, inviting participants to gather around challenges and opportunities, identify shared values, and take action to create meaningful system change
Taking action in times of transition – Practical strategies to turn conversations into real, community-driven leadership, through innovation, experimentation and upscaling.
By the end of the session, attendees will leave with fresh insights, and a new understanding of leadership as a collective effort, ready to move from conversation to action.
The Australian Rural Leadership Foundation (ARLF) has been at the forefront of leadership development in rural, regional, and remote Australia for over 30 years. Through immersive programs and a network of more than 3,000 alumni, ARLF fosters authentic, adaptive, and connected leadership. We focus on strengthening communities and industries by enabling individuals and networks to step up and lead in times of transition, uncertainty, and opportunity.
Over the past 18 months, we have delivered 120 Changemaker Workshops across the country, including 32 in Northern Australia, equipping community members with the tools to navigate change, foster collaboration, and create shared visions for the future. These workshops bring together people from all walks of life—farmers, business owners, Indigenous leaders, local government and organisations—helping them find common ground and drive real impact.
This session isn’t just about talking—it’s about doing. Using real-life scenarios, small group discussions, and dynamic problem-solving exercises, participants will explore:
How leadership can emerge at all levels – Moving beyond the hero-leader mindset to leadership as a collective effort.
Building shared visions and values in communities – Lessons from Changemaker Workshops, inviting participants to gather around challenges and opportunities, identify shared values, and take action to create meaningful system change
Taking action in times of transition – Practical strategies to turn conversations into real, community-driven leadership, through innovation, experimentation and upscaling.
By the end of the session, attendees will leave with fresh insights, and a new understanding of leadership as a collective effort, ready to move from conversation to action.
Biography
Matt Linnegar is the Chief Executive of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation (ARLF) and a passionate advocate for impact-driven leadership. An alum of the Australian Rural Leadership Program (ARLP), Matt is the first ARLP fellow to lead the organisation, guiding its growth and expanding its reach to support leadership development across rural, regional, and remote (RRR) Australia. With nearly 30 years in primary industries, advocacy, and leadership, including as CEO of the National Farmers’ Federation, Matt champions collective leadership as a force for positive change. He is dedicated to fostering resilient, adaptable, and connected communities through leadership development and networks.
Andrew Bryant
Learning Manager
Australian Rural Leadership Foundation
From Conversation to Action: Unlocking Leadership at All Levels in Northern Australia
Presentation Overview
Leadership isn’t about a single person—it’s about people coming together, sharing ideas, and creating action. This interactive workshop will take participants through an engaging, hands-on learning experience, designed to spark real conversations and build practical leadership skills that can be applied at all levels in rural, regional, and remote Australia.
The Australian Rural Leadership Foundation (ARLF) has been at the forefront of leadership development in rural, regional, and remote Australia for over 30 years. Through immersive programs and a network of more than 3,000 alumni, ARLF fosters authentic, adaptive, and connected leadership. We focus on strengthening communities and industries by enabling individuals and networks to step up and lead in times of transition, uncertainty, and opportunity.
Over the past 18 months, we have delivered 120 Changemaker Workshops across the country, including 32 in Northern Australia, equipping community members with the tools to navigate change, foster collaboration, and create shared visions for the future. These workshops bring together people from all walks of life—farmers, business owners, Indigenous leaders, local government and organisations—helping them find common ground and drive real impact.
This session isn’t just about talking—it’s about doing. Using real-life scenarios, small group discussions, and dynamic problem-solving exercises, participants will explore:
How leadership can emerge at all levels – Moving beyond the hero-leader mindset to leadership as a collective effort.
Building shared visions and values in communities – Lessons from Changemaker Workshops, inviting participants to gather around challenges and opportunities, identify shared values, and take action to create meaningful system change
Taking action in times of transition – Practical strategies to turn conversations into real, community-driven leadership, through innovation, experimentation and upscaling.
By the end of the session, attendees will leave with fresh insights, and a new understanding of leadership as a collective effort, ready to move from conversation to action.
The Australian Rural Leadership Foundation (ARLF) has been at the forefront of leadership development in rural, regional, and remote Australia for over 30 years. Through immersive programs and a network of more than 3,000 alumni, ARLF fosters authentic, adaptive, and connected leadership. We focus on strengthening communities and industries by enabling individuals and networks to step up and lead in times of transition, uncertainty, and opportunity.
Over the past 18 months, we have delivered 120 Changemaker Workshops across the country, including 32 in Northern Australia, equipping community members with the tools to navigate change, foster collaboration, and create shared visions for the future. These workshops bring together people from all walks of life—farmers, business owners, Indigenous leaders, local government and organisations—helping them find common ground and drive real impact.
This session isn’t just about talking—it’s about doing. Using real-life scenarios, small group discussions, and dynamic problem-solving exercises, participants will explore:
How leadership can emerge at all levels – Moving beyond the hero-leader mindset to leadership as a collective effort.
Building shared visions and values in communities – Lessons from Changemaker Workshops, inviting participants to gather around challenges and opportunities, identify shared values, and take action to create meaningful system change
Taking action in times of transition – Practical strategies to turn conversations into real, community-driven leadership, through innovation, experimentation and upscaling.
By the end of the session, attendees will leave with fresh insights, and a new understanding of leadership as a collective effort, ready to move from conversation to action.
Biography
With an undergraduate in counselling and human behaviour and a master's degree in leadership, Andrew has spent his entire career serving rural and remote Australia. His background and experience in therapy and counselling has sharply honed his emotional intelligence and capacity, enabling him to hold spaces as a facilitator for people to have important and sometimes delicate conversations. Having worked across the human services sector and with multiple layers of government, he has a keen understanding of the complexities that regional and rural communities face and has a comprehensive grasp of the different vernacular that people from various sectors and spaces use.
