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

Suncorp Group

Capability Manager for the Consumer Insurance business, comprising nine functional business areas with ~7,500 FTE. 
I deliver business value by designing capability plans aligned to Suncorp’s Strategic Workforce Plan, to build the right capabilities to meet customer, regulatory, and performance expectations.

Capability Manager

As Capability Project Lead, I designed and developed a business-first Capability and Proficiency Framework for Customer Service. The framework articulates the capabilities required to build a sustainable and future-focused workforce, and a high-performance culture. It provides links to induction outcomes allowing job readiness assessments, informs capability pathways for development and workforce capability uplift, and facilitates career pathways.

Project Lead - Knowledge & Capability 

As Product Owner for the Customer Engagement and Knowledge Management platform for Customer Service, I led a high performing team of 15. I designed and successfully delivered the Knowledge Optimisation project with significant and ongoing ROI:  
- Designed and delivered the strategic roadmap for Knowledge within Customer Service.
- Designed the KM (Knowledge Management) Optimisation project delivery plan, including the strategic prioritisation and sequencing of content to achieve optimal return on investment.
- Collaborated with external KM best practice firm to create best in class content management framework and inform content design.
- Presented new KM strategy, KM Optimisation project plan, strategy, and roadmap to Suncorp Executive Leadership Team, gaining endorsement, and project sponsorship.
- Collaborated with vendors and business analysts to determine and deliver system and functionality uplift and performance improvements.
- Managed the project team and core KM team simultaneously, completing optimisation of ~7,500 pieces of content in 6 months, while maintaining BAU workload and lights on.
- Redefined and reshaped team culture, building capabilities, and shifting mindsets.

Manager, Knowledge and Customer Workbench

Responsible for the high-quality design and delivery of KM content for Customer Service, I improved processes reducing content update times, improving customer and end user experience, and created rigorous governance. 
- Designed and delivered a new Knowledge governance framework for Direct Distribution, moving content ownership to the Knowledge team from business stakeholders. This change greatly reduced turnaround time for content updates and/or creation and removed significant blockers to KM
Optimisation.
- Designed a new program of work and team SharePoint site to facilitate effective prioritisation of work and boosting team utilisation.
- Developed and delivered a SharePoint for content subject matter experts to respond to end-user feedback submitted in Knowledge, improving efficacy, reducing response times, and creating a seamless way of working.

Knowledge & Customer Workbench Lead

Responsible for the governance, management, and ownership of the Knowledge and Customer Workbench platform for Customer Service, including the day-to-day management of Knowledge content. 
– Project and initiative role focused on updating KM content for strategic and operational changes
– Focus on optimising KM content using adept communication and writing skills
– Optimisation of end user feedback improving efficiency and end user engagement

Customer Workbench and Knowledge Advisor

Providing high level technical support and underwriting advice for the national Compulsory Third Party teams. Responsible for ensuring data integrity and performing operational functions related to meeting NSW Government regulatory obligations, in addition to Suncorp and Statuartory compliance obligations. A highly technical role focused on compliance and risk management. Requiring adept problem-solving skills, stakeholder management, effective communication, and dispute resolution.

Direct Solutions Officer CTP

Focused on creating a high-performance culture to deliver service excellence to Suncorp's diverse customer base. Acting as a conduit between the business strategy and frontline staff, my purpose was to articulate the business vision, and champion specialists through effective leadership, coaching and development to achieve strategic objectives.

Customer Development Leader

Providing technical CTP product, process and systems support and coaching to frontline specialists and leaders. Effective handling of Level 1 disputes and customer complaints. Multiple inbox management, Management of risk by effective and efficient quality assurance monitoring. Identify areas for improvement and optimisation.

Senior Technical Support Officer

Receiving a high volume of sales and service calls from New South Wales and Queensland Compulsory Third Party insurance customers. Heavily regulated product by the NSW and QLD government related to customer's vehicle registration.

Sales and Service Specialist – CTP

Sales and Service Specialist – AAMI Insurance 

Byzprint Australia Pty Ltd

Executive Sales Manager

With over 15 years of experience in leadership, knowledge management, project and change management, and strategic design and execution, I am a Capability Manager for the Consumer Insurance business at Suncorp Group, a leading financial services provider in Australia and New Zealand.
As a passionate people leader and a credible activist, I have a proven track record of building and leading high performing teams. With strengths in critical, conceptual, systems, and design thinking, I'm an adept communicator and problem solver.
A curious idealist, I am driven by innovation and passionate about continuous improvement and transformation, with a demonstrated history of identifying opportunities, developing solutions, and delivering successful initiatives. Relationship focused, I am recognised for my integrity and collaborative approach.

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The Battle

Brigid Leishman

Melanie Tanasiciuc

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