Women Leading in Education: Elevate your capability and influence
Overview
Great leadership and a great career start with self-leadership.
“Women Leading in Education: Elevate your capability and influence” provides you with the expert guidance, skills development, and inspiration to unleash your full potential as an impactful leader.
This virtual workshop series offers a safe space to explore and validate your career ambitions and nurture your unique leadership style.
You will explore and uncover:
- how to leverage your personal strengths and incorporate them into your own unique leadership style
- internal barriers that may be hindering your leadership progression
- your leadership capacity through examination of your leadership motivations, values and vision.
Ultimately, this program will equip you with the skills and inspiration to grow your aspirations and become an even more impactful leader in your school.
Participant feedback:
“I now feel more empowered to trust my judgment while also embracing collaboration to drive positive change within my school community”
“the program demonstrated that leadership growth isn’t just about individual development, but about building supportive networks where women can uplift and challenge each other to reach their full potential”
“I now see that my role isn’t just about my own leadership growth, but about fostering opportunities for women at various levels of leadership – from emerging leaders to those in established positions”
“the culminating coaching session provide transformative advice that helped crystallise my leadership journey”
Female representation in leadership
Read about the Academy's efforts to increase representation of women in Victorian school leadership.
Audience
Designed for women in school leadership positions (open only to):
- principals
- assistant principals.
This program welcomes participation from transgender and non-binary people. If you would like to discuss your participation in the program further, feel free to contact academy.support@education.vic.gov.au
School sectors
This program is available to the following school sectors:
- Victorian government
- Catholic
- independent.
Some content may contain information aligned with Department of Education priorities or initiatives.
Facilitators
Melissa Hamilton and Kelli Hayes from the Brave Group will be your facilitators for this program. Both are executive mentors and former CEOs of large global businesses leading upward of 5000+ employees, Melissa and Kelli bridge the corporate and education sectors, showing participants how leadership challenges—especially for women—are universal. Their real-world experience of aspiring for and achieving senior leadership roles in male dominated environments, combined with the stories they hear from the women they work with, ensures that scenarios are practical, relatable, and solutions-focused. This lived expertise helps participants tackle their own leadership challenges with confidence.
Melissa Hamilton
Co-Founder & Lead Facilitator
Previous CEO of over 4,500 employees, and creator of the Brave Feminine Leadership podcast. Melissa has rich experience through her career (including an 8-year tenure as CEO) in developing future CEO's and senior executives. When not working passionately on her curiosity - finding answers to why we don't have more female CEOs through her podcast interviews, Melissa elevates others through executive mentoring and in her role as a Non-Executive Director.
Kelli Hayes
Co-Founder & Lead Facilitator
Previous CEO of 6,500 employees, now mentor to CEO's and C-level executives as well as developing future CEOs as a Syndicate Chair at the CEO Institute. Kelli has developed and delivered business acumen training for all levels of employees over the last 20 plus years and is passionate about helping others grow confidence in the areas of leadership, strategy and business finance. Kelli is also a Non-Executive Director and Company Secretary and Certified Great Game of Business Coach.
Structure of program
Within a school term, you are expected to engage in and contribute to:
Interactive learning – 6 hours total
- 3 engaging 2-hour workshops (spaced two weeks apart)
- Collaborative, instructor-led discussions and activities
- Real-time Q&A for direct support and insights
Self-paced learning – 4.5 hours total
- Up to 90 minutes of preparation before each session
- Curated resources to deepen your understanding at your own pace
Personalised coaching – 45 to 60 minutes
- One-on-one session with a coach for tailored support
- Goal setting and action plans to help you stay on track
Learning outcomes
On completing this workshop, you gain knowledge and understanding of how to:
- show up confident and strengthen your leadership presence, capabilities and adaptive expertise as a female leader
- be empowered to influence in your school with greater impact, and with a greater understanding of your personal motivation to lead
- create the foundations for a compelling vision for your leadership pathway.
Attendance requirements
To successfully complete this program, you need to attend all sessions.
Fees and financial support
| Government school | Non-government school | |
|---|---|---|
| Fee per participant | Fully subsidised | $150 (excl. GST) |
Department of Education fully subsidises Victorian government schools.
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