“There's no greater pressure than having one chance every four years to get it right, which is why preparation is so key, trust in yourself and your team are so key.”

Anna Meares OAM - Olympic Gold Medallist

“If you don't try, yes, you'll never fail but you're never going to grow. You're never going to have fantastic opportunities in front of you and wonderful successes that are possible.”

April Palmerlee - CEO, The American Chamber of Commerce in Australia

“The trouble with the word risk is that it repels people. If you say something is fragile, you go to it and you protect it because it may be very valuable.”

Barry Irvin AM - Executive Chairman, Bega Cheese Ltd

“The trouble with the word risk is that it repels people. If you say something is fragile, you go to it and you protect it because it may be very valuable.”

David Kirk MBE

“I'm not happy with the status quo. I like people who want to reinvent, drive change, be better than we were before.”

David Thodey AO - Chair, Xero Ltd

“As a CEO, a huge part of your role is actually to really engage and be incredibly approachable and to to be a role model for the culture and the values of an organisation.”

Deanne Stewart - CEO, Aware Super

“If we're not living extraordinary lives or feeling that we are making an extraordinary contribution, we simply haven't found our thing yet.”

Emily Chang - CEO, Wunderman Thompson West

“Opportunities walk past you everyday. All of us, but very few of us grab that opportunity.”

Gerry Harvey - Chairman, Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd

“If you stand still, you're going backwards, so you have to be curious and innovative in whatever you do.”

Grant Blackley - Managing Director and CEO, Southern Cross Media Group

“I think you can see purpose in the smallest actions and how you influence others often.”

Holly Masters - CEO, McGrath Foundation

“What's the guiding principle? It's got to be the customer.”

Ian Bailey - Managing Director, Kmart Group

“I try to be very accessible as a leader and I think the lack of access is the death of leadership.”

James Taylor - Managing Director, Special Broadcasting Corporation

“A high performance team is driven by two fundamental elements: one is this thing called trust and then the other is a vision, a purpose.”

John Bertrand AO - International Sportsman; Chair, The Sport Australia Hall of Fame

“When I finally leave what I'm doing, I can look back and say, I gave it my best shot.”

Joseph Healy - Co-Founder and CEO, Judo Bank

“If you want to have a vision that's gonna be shared, then you have to listen somewhere along the way.”

Kate McKenzie - Former CEO, Chorus Ltd

“If I wanted to perform at my best under pressure, the thing that I needed to be most focused on was holding myself accountable for my best and delivering my potential.”

Kieren Perkins OAM - Olympic Gold Medallist and CEO, Australian Sports Commission

“I can pin the rank on your shoulder. I can make you an officer but I can't make you a leader.”

Lieutenant General Peter Leahy AC (Retd) - Former Chief of Army, Australian Army

“The role of the leader is to paint the picture, set the expectations and then let other people work out how they're going to make them. You need to give people a chance to learn.”

Linda Mellors - Managing Director and CEO, Regis Healthcare

“Go long on yourself, plan for success and back yourself.”

Lindsay Partridge AM - Managing Director, Brickworks Ltd

“Go long on yourself, plan for success and back yourself.”

Major General Gus McLachlan AO (Retd) - Former Commander Forces Command, Australian Army

“Inspiring people. That’s what makes people great, believe in each other and want to do more than just their job, more than just their duty.”

Major General Jeff Sengelman DSC AM CSC (Retd)

“If you haven't got the right people engaged in the right job and are properly rewarded, you'll be behind the eight ball.”

Marcus Blackmore AM - Former Executive Director, Blackmores Ltd

“If you haven't got the right people engaged in the right job and are properly rewarded, you'll be behind the eight ball.”

Michael Hawker AM - Non-Executive Director, Westpac Banking Corporation and Vicinity Centres

“Those who are the best are the ones that aren't afraid to be the benchmark. In fact, they set the benchmark, they break new ground and that's really about pushing boundaries.”

Michael Miller - Executive Chairman, News Corp Australasia

“Leadership is a contact sport. You can't do it from behind a desk. You can't do it from behind a camera. You have to be out there talking to the team.”

Michael Schneider - Managing Director, Bunnings Group Ltd

“I was always a bit of a maverick. Push the boundaries a bit. I think any large organisation tends to conform and fit in that pigeonhole; I probably wasn’t the best at that.”

Mike Smith OBE - Former CEO, ANZ Banking Group Ltd

“There are a million aspects to leadership, but I think the most important is the team spirit, which comes from understanding people irrespective of what their title is.”

Nick Farr-Jones AM - Former Captain, Wallabies

“There are a million aspects to leadership, but I think the most important is the team spirit, which comes from understanding people irrespective of what their title is.”

Professor Alan Mackay-Sim AM - 2017 Australian of the Year

“My theory has always been put people around you who are better than you because they're going to lift the performance.”

Richard Goyder AO - Chairman, Woodside Petroleum Ltd, Qantas Airways Ltd and the AFL Commission

“I don't like the word pressure. I think that it's a made-up word.”

Robert Millner - Chairman, Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd

“There’s the integrity of leadership that people feel that they can both trust you and believe in the judgement that’s ahead.”

Roger Corbett AO - Former CEO, Woolworths Ltd

“You can always train for skills, but you cannot train for attitude.”

Ronni Kahn AO - Chief Executive Officer and Founder, OzHarvest

“Be true to yourself and keep being curious.”

Sarah Hunter - Managing Director, Officeworks

“Leadership is about having a vision of what's possible and creating a team and the environment that allows everybody to come together against that mission.”

Tami Erwin - Former CEO, Verizon Business

“Whatever it is, make every day count. Take on the opportunity that probably other people don't want to do.”

Tim Ford - Managing Director and CEO, Treasury Wine Estates

“Risk is essential to moving forward.”

Tim Sims AM - Managing Director and Founder, Pacific Equity Partners

“Knowing how people are going to respond during times of stress is an important attribute of understanding how good a leader someone's going to be.”

Tony Lowings - Former Global CEO, KFC

“To communicate that vision and bring everyone on the journey, a leader needs to feel and act the culture of an organisation.”

Tony Stuart - CEO, UNICEF Australia

“To communicate that vision and bring everyone on the journey, a leader needs to feel and act the culture of an organisation.”

Vik Bansal - Former CEO, Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd