Rachael Robertson - Hire Keynote and Guest Speaker

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Key Points for Rachael Robertson

Rachael Robertson has 20 years leadership experience in challenging and remote workplaces.
She is the second woman ever to lead an Antarctic expedition to Davis Station.
At 32, Rachael Robertson was Victoria's youngest ever Chief Ranger.
She has worked with over 2000 organisations around the globe.
Rachael Robertson is author of the best selling book Leading on the Edge and Respect Trumps Harmony.
Rachael is creator of the rule of "No Triangles" and why direct conversations are critical.

Topics for Rachael Robertson

Leading on the edge
Extraordinary leadership stories & insights from the most extreme workplace on the planet.
The challenges leaders face are practically the same in every workplace. Leaders must acknowledge and navigate through the perpetual scrutiny, the frequent isolation, and the need to keep going when you feel you have nothing more to give. And through all this, must be authentic, resilient, innovative and adaptable! Leading on the Edge resonates with audiences seeking inspiration and tools to build their leadership capability. Whether you’re leading a team in an isolated, remote workplace or arm-wrestling spreadsheets in a busy corporate office, the same rules apply. Great leaders embrace the technical, political and personal domains. They know how to get the most out of their teams, even when it feels like they are navigating in the dark without a compass. This is Rachael's most popular keynote full of practical and proven tools, hilarious stories and stunning photos and videos. It is suitable for every event from small group to a conference extravaganza.
Key takeaways:
- Bacon wars - why it's critical to major in the minor things (and why every organisation has a coffee cup sign in the kitchen).
- No triangles - how to build a culture of respect through direct conversations.
- Plane crash - tools to support leaders through emergency, turmoil and adversity.
- Resilience - tools to look after yourself and develop your ability to stick at the tough stuff and endure the bumps.
- Respect trumps harmony - how to avoid falling into the “harmony” trap and unlock results & innovation.
- Sunday breakfast - understand the scrutiny of leadership, manage the spotlight.
Respect trumps Harmony
How to build resilience and respect in your team.
The highest performing teams are those that let go of harmony and focus on respect, diversity of opinions and difficult conversations – all in the service of creating resilience and results. Collaboration requires the ability to raise issues and ideas, in a professional, timely and respectful manner. To build a resilient, adaptable and high-performing team that maximizes the benefits of personal difference requires a rock solid foundation of respect. We all agree that diversity is great, and the evidence is unequivocal that it has an impact on the bottom line. But as our teams get more and more diverse we won’t always see eye-to-eye, we won’t always agree on things. So how do we create a culture where that’s OK? How do we encourage debate and robust discussion? How do we address issues directly and professionally? These tools are the 3 pillars that hold up the respect trumps harmony culture.
- No triangles – a tool to stop gossip, improve accountability, improve quality of feedback and drive innovation.
- Bacon wars – a gentle circuit breaker for calling out dysfunctional behaviour.
- Lead without a title – how to develop personal leadership in your team, so that responsibility and initiative is shared.
Future. Woman. Leader
How women can get to the top and stay there.
Rachael offers the practical, confidence-building advice women need to advance their careers and lead. Whether addressing a corporate women's group, a business school or an international conference, her approach is forward-thinking and creative, equipping women with tools they can use immediately. The last twenty years have seen seismic shifts in women’s participation in the workforce. And yet, as a group, women still struggle to reach and maintain the top seats. What’s getting in the way then? It's a nice idea that women can "lean in" but Rachael knows success requires more than that, particularly in male dominated industries. Women must forge their career, push open doors and sell their success. Success is an active pursuit not a passive experience. In this keynote Rachael speaks to both women and men to provide the insights and tools to create a powerful career.
Rachael provides audiences with the why and, most importantly the how to:
- Regret what you did, not what you didn't do - this is the most powerful enabling motto you can have.
- Get senior male sponsors - women's groups are essential but Rachael will show you how to find and maintain senior executive male sponsors who believe and will further your career.
- 80% is good enough - not fully equipped for the next role? Don't worry about it, dive in!
- Sideways is just as good as up - expertise and competence gained through lateral moves will make you trusted and indispensable.
- Higher duties are critical - create your next promotion by putting your hand up for acting roles.
365 shades of white
Life, love & leadership in Antarctica.
If you're looking for an opening/closing keynote; a lively and unique session within a conference program; or an after-dinner speaker that will inspire, challenge and entertain your audience – this is it. This presentation provides a compelling insight into the highs and lows of 18 strangers living in complete isolation in the most remote place on the planet, for an entire year. With awe-inspiring images of Antarctica, plenty of humour and using real-life stories, Rachael takes the audience on an emotional journey revealing the truth behind life in this most fascinating and isolated environment. Rachael has a treasure-trove of funny, inspiring and moving stories for this keynote presentation. She will work with you to ensure that, no matter the theme of the event, your audience will be challenged and delighted.
Key takeaways:
- Love on the ice - what happens when 18 men and women are stuck inside for nine months!
- Bacon wars - how a dispute over how to cook the bacon nearly derailed a $30M science program!
- Plane crash - rescuing 4 people, 500km away, in a blizzard.
- Antarctic winter - every family, workplace and team has one. How to inspire each other during the long dark times.
- Emperors - lessons from Emperor penguins about looking after each other.
The future of teamwork
How to create an innovative, collaborative & high performing team.
Today's and future teams are very different from what they once were. Now we’re mobile, flexible, real-time and connected. We’re expected to deliver results immediately. The ability to harness diversity to create high performance is critical. Rachael shaped a highly successful expedition team in Antarctica and now shares the critical tools she uses to quickly create innovation, collaboration and high performance in teams. Few of us get to choose our teams or have the luxury of a year or so to achieve peak performance. Technology and changing attitudes have enabled rapid mobilisation but can also exacerbate the “people challenge”. Because, fundamentally, teams are about people. We need new ways to create the environment where fresh teams can build a collaborative culture and deliver results quickly. In this keynote Rachael identifies the most powerful techniques that teams can use to drive innovation, collaboration and high performance.
Key takeaways:
- Bacon wars - why it's critical to major in the minor things.
- Respect trumps harmony - you don’t have to always see eye-to-eye, but without respect your team will fail.
- No triangles - the practice of direct conversations, go straight to the source.
- Antarctic winter - every workplace has one, keep teams inspired and motivated during the long dark times.
- Emperor penguins - why it’s critical to protect the tribe so the individual thrives.
- Lead without a title - leadership is a behaviour; build collaborationand teamwork.
Change is the new business as usual
How to make your organisation change-ready.
It's a truism, but change is the new constant. It can be unsettling, energising and create extreme fatigue. In this keynote Rachael provides the tools to navigate this world of "flux" that dominates business today and build teams that anticipate, prepare and lead themselves through change. Change readiness is the ability to continuously initiate and respond to change in ways that create advantage, minimize risk, and sustain performance. A major lesson from those who have created a change-ready culture is that there is no end point. One change may be addressed, but others are always emerging. In this keynote Rachael identifies the four most powerful techniques to build an organisational culture that thrives on change.
Key takeaways:
- Trust is the glue - pay attention to the small moments, the everyday interactions that build or destroy trust.
- Respect trumps harmony - we won’t all see eye-to-eye, but you can build respect through direct conversations.
- Never waste a good crisis - crises are tough but they create an opportunity to lead, and seen to be leading.
- Celebrate the small achievements - no matter how small, stop and celebrate each forward step.
- No triangles - build respect and resilience in your team with direct conversation.
Remote and dangerous
Practical tools for increased safety leadership.
Every workplace presents unique challenges to people and their employers. Teams must have a culture of safety and respect. Safety Management Systems alone are not enough. Each individual in the team must have the ability to influence and persuade those they work with and show safety leadership. Rachael Robertson successfully shaped a resilient, safe and successful team in the most remote and dangerous workplace in the world, Antarctica. Antarctica is an isolated and inherently dangerous environment. Strangers are thrown together 24x7 and live in complete isolation, with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Mental and physical safety is paramount, but so is the requirement to meet targets, be productive and efficient. Rachael Robertson faced these challenges head-on with the team she was given. She created a culture characterised by respect and safety and now delivers her unique stories and tools to organisations that know personal resilience and an open culture are key factors for staff health and safety. Her presentation is memorable, full of hilarious stories and unique insights.
Key takeaways:
- Bacon wars - why every organisation has a coffee cup sign in the kitchen and what it means about safety.
- Plane crash - how to bounce-back from setbacks.
- Lead from where you are - how people can show great leadership even if they aren’t formally a “leader”.
- No triangles - communication tools that build respect.
- Antarctic winter - how to maintain a safety focus for the long haul.
- Respect trumps harmony - why a nice culture is dangerous.

Testimonials for Rachael Robertson

Her presence on stage, the way she interacted with the audience and how she tied her presentation into the theme of our conference.
Women in Education Leadership

Down to earth, great story and message / takeaways.
Kestrel Coal Resources

An inspiring and uplifting story with an engaging and energetic delivery. The message was in perfect alignment with our conference theme of Leadership. Rachael hit the mark when it came to achieving the outcome we were looking for from a keynote speaker.
Story House Early Learning

Rachael is entertaining, keeps the audience engaged, funny and overall provides hands on tools that we can use in the field.
Fire and Rescue NSW

Rachael Robertson was engaging, humorous and provided actionable steps to support better team work and authentic leadership.
Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority

Rachael Robertson is just a genuinely nice person, her presentation was not only brilliant it forced people to think outside the box. Over the course of the day attendees started quoting her no triangles theory. Big thanks to Rachael for making the time.
ANZ

Authentic, well-prepared, warm, very engaging.
212F

Rachael Robertson was a pleasure to have at our event. She was super friendly and chatty during her rehearsal and backstage before her talk. A crowd pleaser, she had the audience enthralled with her incredible story. She was happy to participate in a Q&A onstage and provide a few video quotes for social media afterwards. After her talk we decided we wanted to give away copies of her books to all attendees. She happily organised for 75 signed copies to be delivered to me the following week so that we could hand them out to guests. Rachael was a delight from the first conversation we had pre-event, to the end. I would recommend her to anyone looking for an inspirational speaker for their event.
Indeed Inc.

Rachael Robertson was real and connected with the target audience.
City Venue Management

Rachael Robertson is so inspirational but more importantly her keynote and No Triangles workshop were full of practical and important tools that our delegates can take back and implement into their own business. An absolute highlight of our conference.
United Vets Group

Rachael Robertson is a very competent speaker with an amazing story to tell. I was impressed with the way Rachael was able to communicate her message on topic and referred back to the conference theme. I would not hesitate to recommend Rachael to any future clients.
The Launch Box

Great leadership messages delivered with humour and super video and photos.
Victorian Caravan Parks Association

Rachael Robertson was exceptionally approachable, very down to earth and a great speaker.
The Big Ideas Summit

Absolutely captivating – very inspirational – could have listened to Rachael Robertson all day long!
Ambulance Victoria

Very appropriate, interesting and relevant.
Marshall White Real Estate

Astounding! The interactions in our senior management team have been transformed in the last few months by simply applying a few of the many ideas from Rachael's session. This is an excellent program for a technical team!
CIO, Federal Government Department

Rachael Robertson was simply wonderful - the evaluations gave her an enormous rating - 4.8 out of 5!!! - "Could have listened to her all day - Brilliant - made me think of leadership in a different light" - "Fabulous - all about leading in a difficult situation and what works
Department of Education & Training NSW, Women in Education Leadership

Rachael Robertson really inspired us with her story of life in Antarctica and was able to link her leadership challenges and experiences to what we as team leaders face in the office.
ANZ Internal Audit

Rachael Robertson was beyond excellent – one of the best key note speakers we have ever had for our Leadership group.
Marshall White

Great, very informative, relaxed, funny and inspirational. So easy to work with.
BT Financial Group

Rachael Robertson was kind, funny, relatable and engaging. Our students adored hearing her speak and spoke very highly of her presentation. They found her real-world leadership skills and examples easy for them to put into practice. We cannot speak highly enough of Rachael. She was a dream to work with.
LaTrobe University

Rachael Robertson was engaging and responded well to the group. Her experiences are extraordinary and she did a great job of relating what she learnt. She was also able to illustrate the similarities between her roles and those of my team. In one word, "Terrific!"
ANZ Bank

We were delighted with the feedback on Rachael Robertson from our advisers. Evaluation forms contained phrases such as: "Excellent", "Truly inspiring", "Interesting" and "Fantastic presenter - very informative and interesting". Working with Rachael over five events around Australia was a delight. She has a very professional and flexible approach.
AXA

I have seen a number of speakers over the years, however Rachael Robertson was amongst the absolute best of them. I took so much away from her amazing story, and have relayed some of her messages to other people. Love the bacon war!
Randstad

Rachael Robertson is a passionate and enthusiastic speaker. She has that magic mix of tangible down-to-earth stories that give way to strong and inspiring messages on leadership, relationships and life. She fully engages with the participants from the moment she arrives right through to the moment she leaves.
Alstom

Inspirational leadership, real and fascinating stories.. Great safety insights…simply excellent.
Exxon Mobil

Rachael Robertson's safety insights were spot-on, practical and eminently useful. Fantastic presentation.
BHP-Billiton

Rachael Robertson's experience itself was incredibly interesting and different to most speakers you usually see at these kind of events. She was honest, engaging and made her experience relevant to us. Having her for dinner to chat more informally after the presentation was great as she was interested in what we do, our challenges, etc. and gave us excellent advice by relating to some of the adversity she went through in Antarctica.
UBS

Rachael Robertson's warm, down to earth nature were themes that were repeated in the positive feedback we’ve received and would have to be among Rachel’s best assets.
Worley Parsons Group

I have never received so much positive feedback from a guest speaker as I have this time. People continue to tell me how impressed they were with Rachael Robertson's story. She provided a fantastic insight into difficulties around management in a remote site. Her messages and insights can be applied within our business. She shared a range of unusual and interesting stories which made her message even stronger.
Crown Casinos & Hotels

Rachael Robertson provided insights and inspiration of leadership in a truly challenging environment engaging both new and experienced executives within our own "Challenging workplace"
Village Cinemas International

Rachael Robertson presented in a casual manner which I think was really appropriate for our group of delegates, especially after 3 full days of workshops. Rachael’s down to earth story of an ordinary person achieving extraordinary things inspires us all to work with all the tools available to us and to make our own opportunities and not just wait for them to come to us!
Choice Hotels Australasia

Super relevant content and delivered in a very natural and humble way. Engaged with the audience very well.
L'Oreal

Rachael Robertson was a perfect speaker for our audience as the tools and ideas she uses to lead people can be easily adapted in our worplaces immediately. Our audience could relate to Rachael on many levels and found her to be a very 'real' person who was interesting and easy to listen to. Rachael's willingness to stay on after her presentation and speak to our manager's on a personal level was very much appreciated. It was great that Rachael was available to sell & sign her book which many people were happy to purchase on the day. Overall a lovely person who was an absolute delight to deal with.
Bendigo Bank