Leishman Coaching

I started Leishman Coaching in 2019 because, while I had a successful corporate career for many years,   I also made a lot of mistakes. So while I got there in the end, I wish I had someone to guide and coach me. 

I worked with some great leaders along the way but I always knew that it was difficult for them to be truly independent when they were coaching me.  I needed someone who was. Someone who didn't have conflicting priorities. Someone who could support my career ambitions and accelerate my learning.

There were things I just didn't know. 

In the last few years of my corporate career, I was privileged to work with a couple of incredible coaches. I learned so much from them and still remember the things they taught me. 

And so, I decided to retrain and become a coach.

What makes my coaching approach different is what I call the triple threat.

🔵 I have an extensive corporate and business experience.

🔵 I am an accredited professional coach, AND

🔵 I am a writer, so with me, it can be a one-stop shop - and you can be confident that your personal brand is supported by great career documents.

I have coached more than 500  clients since 2020, across a variety of roles, industries and countries.  

While I have an extensive background in financial services, I have found that the challenges people experience at various points in their careers, are both universal and global.  

I am a lifelong learner, a voracious reader and I regularly pick up new strategies and approaches which I put into practice in my coaching business.

Principal

Financial Basics Foundation

FBF is a national NFP focused on building financial literacy in young people in Australia. As a long standing charity, it has delivered free resources to Australian schools for more than 20 years.

Chair

CUA - Credit Union Australia Limited

Chief Operating Officer

General Manager, Member Experience

Chief Operating Officer (Acting)

Head of Customer Experience and BPR

Responsible for program management, change strategy, and execution of the ANZ Distribution Transformation major projects portfolio.
Business dimensions and scope: Program budget $75M. 800 branches, two call centres and 6,000 employees.

ACHIEVEMENTS

1. Carriage of the GM Distribution Transformation position for an extended period of time - full accountability for strategy development and execution.

2.Branch redesign program to support evolving customer needs resulting in 37 new look branches in 2013.

2. Ongoing development and build of customer management and home loan systems.

3. Development of change strategies and tools for ANZ staff and customers, culminating in the ANZ 'Better Ways to Bank' program.

Portfolio Change Director, Distribution Transformation

Management of all support functions including major projects and program office, investment slate, risk functions, vendor management, business information and improvement teams (Lean Six Sigma community). Business dimensions $40M opex, $100M+ in project capex and opex.

ACHIEVEMENTS

1. Development of a new strategic operating model for all support functions which delivered both a 25% reduction in overall run rate and an increase in stakeholder satisfaction of 20% over an 18 month period. 

2.Leadership of the Australian Retail Offshoring Program. Moved 1000 roles to Bangalore and Manila over a 3 1/2 year timeframe.

3. Capacity planning focus and re-engineering work supported productivity improvements of an average of 27% across all teams and a 20% reduction in customer complaints.

4. Successful Delivery of a number of key infrastructure programs including a new fraud management platform. Benefits exceeded all business case targets.

5. Reduction in vendor management costs of $21M over 2 years.

Head of Business Enablement, Australia Operations

Quest Limited

Responsible for developing a Pacific Operations Hub in Fiji to mitigate financial and operational risk in the region. Business dimensions Opex $6M* Capex $12M. 
*NB Low cost of labor drove relatively low opex in Fiji.

ACHIEVEMENTS:

1. Developed the Pacific Hub strategy and centralised functions from 12 Pacific countries and 2 Asian countries into Fiji.

2. Developed a strong company culture and employment brand. Benchmarked using the Hewitt's survey. Achieved Best Employer status for three consecutive years and moved staff engagement from 68% to 92%. Became an employer of choice in Fiji.

3. Led the company safely through the 2006 military coup and subsequent upheaval, followed by Cyclone Gene in January 2008. 

4.Achieved ISO 9001 2008 accreditation in 2008. 

5. Won a number of external awards including: DHL (Fiji) Exporter of the Year Westpac Services award in 2007 and 2008. Fiji Business Excellence awards in  2006, 2007, and 2008. These awards were an integrated part of the business strategy to develop our quality standards and employment brand.

6. Obtained government approval for 10 year tax free status in 2006.

7. Oversaw design and implementation of a building fit out with all the associated challenges of doing so in a politically unstable and  developing country.

Managing Director

Responsible for mortgage processing Australia wide and all major Mortgages infrastructure projects.

ACHIEVMENTS:

1. Remediation and successful delivery of two infrastructure projects.
2. Restored service levels in 2002 to achieve lead bank status with mortgage brokers.

Head of Mortgage Processing

Responsible for running the end-to-end mortgage business in New Zealand. Business dimensions Budget $170M. FUM $10BN. 

ACHIEVEMENTS:

1. Exceeded profit targets in 2000 and 2001.

2. Achieved market leadership with a new broker value proposition.

3. Staff satisfaction levels of 90%.

General Manager, Mortgages

Responsible for national team of 1000 operations staff across five locations. Business dimensions: 1000 staff. Budget 30M.

ACHIEVEMENTS:

1. Rationalised processing sites from five to three.

2. Managed national restructure to align to new business model.

Chief Operations Manager

Led national  team of 500 staff across 8 locations managing all back office transactions.

ACHIEVEMENTS:

1. Major site rationalisation - from eight locations down to three.

2. Reduced run rate by in excess of 20% over 18 months.

Head of Retail Operations

Responsible for leading and developing all new retail and business distribution strategies.

ACHIEVEMENTS: 
1. Multiple new initiatives including centralised credit and cash processing, network configuration strategy, and ATM profitability model.

Head of Distribution Strategy

Various retail and corporate banking roles

You know you need to work on your career,  but life gets in the way.

We’ve all been there. 
 ➡️ The resume that’s sat half-finished for months. 
 ➡️ The vague idea of "planning the next step" that never makes it to your to-do list. 
 ➡️ The creeping feeling that you could be doing more, earning more, or feeling more satisfied at work,  if only you knew where to start.

Since 2021, I’ve worked with more than 700 professionals to break through that stuck feeling. Whether it’s career direction, preparing for a move, stepping into leadership, or navigating a tough patch, I will help you cut through the noise and take real action.

With over 30 years’ experience as an executive, leader, parent, and business owner, I know the career game from all angles. My coaching is honest, practical, and focused on progress, whatever that looks like for you.

Here are some of the topics I coach on: 

🔵 Gaining clarity on where you are heading with your career and putting a plan in place.

🔵 Pinpointing why you are not getting interviews, jobs, or promotions, and working with you to close the gap.

🔵 Navigating the boardroom as a new or aspiring executive.

🔵 Learning the art of executive presence and high-impact communication.

🔵 Helping you get market ready if you are preparing to leave, between jobs, or returning to work after a break.  

🔵 Writing your career documents because you have looked at them so many times you are losing the will to live. 

🔵 Building a plan to help you come back from the brink when you are sliding backward down the corporate ladder, or have made a career-limiting mistake.

I am a qualified coach with more than 30 years' experience as a leader and executive, both in Australia and internationally.  

I know what good looks like, and I will work with you to help you get there. 

"Brigid offers a rare combination of "expert/practitioner" and "coach/mentor" that distinguishes her from other executive coaches I've worked with throughout my career" 
CEO, Melbourne, Australia

I share practical career advice here every week — follow me for free tips.
Or message me if you’re ready to make real change, and we’ll book a free discovery call.


🕸 Or check out my website for packages and pricing.

leishmancoaching.com

Brigid Leishman

MLC Life Insurance

Purpose of the role is to identify opportunities and deliver change initiatives resulting for measurable outcomes across the organisation.
 
A seasoned process improvement champion, you are most energised when presented with the opportunity to investigate and solve a complex problem.

You love getting your sleeves rolled up to drive the delivery of process transformation initiatives within complex environments. You have nailed the art of asking ‘why’, challenge the status quo and enjoy bringing facts and data to the table to drive change. You love to measure output and apply continuous improvement techniques to ensure ongoing uplift post implementation.
 
Part of a cross functional team, you will bring lean process improvement discipline and tools to execute and deliver on opportunities prioritized with the support of the Value Stream owner. You will be accountable for embedding process maturity within the Value Stream and work to uplift the knowledge of colleagues across the organisation on the philosophy and practices associated with Lean Process Improvement. Where appropriate, you will support and coach others to complete their own process improvement opportunities in an agile manner.
 
You will work with peers across other Value Streams to support the development of a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Business Improvement where you can exchange ideas and knowledge of best practice, share insights and support the uplift of tooling and process maturity across the organisation. 
 
An Agile practitioner, you will thrive in working with Teams and bringing together people of a diverse range of backgrounds and disciplines to solve real customer problems.

Senior Process Improvement Analyst

The purpose of the role is to:

- Facilitate the standardization of processes, workflows, and tools across PES and ensure corporate process standards are achieved or exceeded
- Develop and implement strategies to maximize the efficiency of processes to review, approve, and track progress changes and document modifications
- Assist the business to identify and improve key processes, thereby improving right first time, and reducing staff costs and production costs/time

Consultant Process Governance

Bank Australia

Product Lead - Projects
	•	Deliver the Product Design & Distribution Obligations regulatory requirements including:
	a.	Creation of the Target Market Determination (TMD) for each product the regime covers
	b.	Establish a framework to ensure the TMD is up to date and meets obligatory requirements
	c.	Develop ancillary business processes to ensure compliance
	•	Understand and illustrate the current process to deliver current and target state processes (as is/ to be)
	•	Operationalize processes to ensure that the obligations are met
	•	Identify product performance improvement initiatives aligned to the PDDO initiatives
	•	Create supporting processes, working practices, and frameworks to align with the requirements of the obligation
	•	Lead the conversation, coordinate and facilitate requirements across business units
	•	Run efforts as a project and deliver within scope, schedule, and budget in line with the Project Management Framework and governance
	•	Align efforts with the Product Management Policy and revise the documentation appropriately
	•	Work with various internal stakeholder to deliver to the project plan and implement as needed

Product Lead - Projects

National Australia Bank

Partner with business stakeholders to understand their objectives and identify where process optimisation and or technology solutions can drive efficiency or increase revenue.

Facilitate and lead mapping of critical business processes using Signavio; identify efficiencies and deliver optimised improvements that promote simplification and consistency.

Engage and collaborate with business stakeholders across all levels within the organisation to deliver these outcomes, in many cases needing to challenge and break long-standing practices.

Plan, oversee and deliver all aspects of assigned projects, blending traditional and agile approaches and providing the right balance of agility and predictability that best delivers the business outcome.

Develop, lead and communicate effective change management activities to ensure successful engagement and adoption of business improvement activities. 

Collaborate with business stakeholders to develop and report measures for monitoring quality and quantity of improvement

Have developed detailed knowledge of of Design and Distribution Obligations (DDO), Product Intervention Powers and Target Market Determinations (TMD) legislation that will apply in financial services from April 2021.  Working closely with related stakeholders (Risk, Legal, Product, Marketing etc) have developed supporting governance framework and process models to comply with legislation.

Process Modeller/Business Process Improvement

nbn™ Australia

Identify business improvement opportunities through ongoing measurement of performance and by proactively engaging stakeholders. In doing this, I assist General Managers and project/initiative sponsors to achieve measurable improvements in the performance of processes they are accountable for. In addition to taking delivery accountability for large improvement initiatives, I also provide support and coaching in continuous improvement methods and techniques to operations teams and green belts implementing smaller, local initiatives.
Role works  collaboratively with stakeholders and corporate groups to ensure the integration and alignment of the improvement methodology with existing nbn processes capabilities and accountabilities, and other strategic corporate initiatives including the Business Process Excellence program

Key responsibilities include :
- Driving continuous process improvement capability in regards to Methodology, Process Maturity and Tools/Practices.
- Identifying business improvement opportunities through ongoing measurement of performance
- Delivering operational improvement initiatives as required, assisting Process Owners to achieve measurable improvements in process performance.
- Facilitating improvement workshops and meetings as required utilizing relevant techniques to assist - - Operations staff to resolve urgent improvement issues
- Educating, coaching and mentoring Green Belts and others on Lean Six Sigma philosophy and application

Business Process Improvement Manager

EnergyAustralia

Improve the effectiveness, strength and simplicity of core internal processes through: 
- Understanding and documenting current state processes
- Defining and articulating process deficiencies
- Supporting the business design efficient and effective future state processes

Use of BPMN 2.0 mapping notation 

Use of Energy Australia’s “Enterprise Management Framework’ to store  process models


Identify business rules and metrics that will support the processes

Train business people in the use of problem solving techniques

Conduct/support continuous improvement initiative

Document procedure guides and work instructions

Train people in the use of BPMN 2.0

Provide risk oversight advice to Business Units

Assist in managing the business risk tolerances within approved Group appetite

Oversee BU risk treatment plans and risk assessments
Assess Business Unit compliance and monitor

Mentor Business Unit staff on Operational Risk and Compliance

GSO Division Business Continuity Director.   Ensure that Business Units have plans in place for availability of critical business functions to customers, suppliers, regulators, and other entities that are reliant on those functions

Senior Manager Operational Risk

Lead project team to develop a Hubs Dashboard for monitoring performance across key metrics

Project Director - Central Hubs

Lead the assessment of vendors and subsequent selection and implementation of a common method across ANZ that developed operations staff capabilities in forecasting, capacity planning and workforce management

Program Manager – Active Timely Operations Management (ATOM)

Responsible for initiating and driving process improvement and cultural change  designed to improve efficiency, simplify processing and reduce operating expenditure using Lean Six Sigma.

Manager – Business Improvement Team

Experienced process improvement, operational risk and business continuity professional  able to influence the business at senior levels and the management skills to lead complex business initiatives.


Solid Project management experience, including leading complex change management projects. Led and worked on multi-regional/global projects

Operational risk management practitioner, including risk analysis, risk mitigation/control and application of relevant standards e.g., AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009  Risk management - Principles and guidelines

Metric development for performance reporting, including Key Risk Indicators, People/HR metrics, Financial measures, data visualization etc.

Business Continuity management including implementation, monitoring/testing and maintaining BC processes and standards e.g., BS 25999 Business continuity

Process risk analysis to understand where risk occurs and effectiveness of mitigating controls using Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA)

Undertake business process improvements using Lean Six Sigma, Business Process Management, Voice of Customer, Value Stream mapping, Statistical Process Control, Waste elimination etc.

Translation of customer and business needs into application and operational requirements 

Operations management practices for balancing workload with resources and improving operator productivity and utilization

Experienced in developing procedural documentation, training information/material and facilitating workshops

Experienced in Financial Services procedures across multiple segments e.g., Retail, Middle Market, Commercial, SME Market, Wealth etc.

Experienced process modeller using BPMN 2 and Signavio, ARIS etc.

Direct experience working with multiple Asian countries/jurisdictions

Have developed detailed knowledge of of Design and Distribution Obligations (DDO), Product Intervention Powers and Target Market Determinations (TMD) legislation that will apply in financial services from April 2021.  Working closely with related stakeholders (Risk, Legal, Product, Marketing etc) have developed supporting governance framework and process models to comply with legislation.

taplio

The Battle

Brigid Leishman

Charles Nuciforo

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