Lisa Annese AM on why better leadership requires better systems, not better intentions
Lisa Annese AM, Chief Executive Officer of Chief Executive Women, believes that achieving gender equality requires changing systems rather than simply encouraging individuals to work harder. Throughout her career leading both Diversity Council Australia and now Chief Executive Women, she has focused on turning research into practical reform that improves workplaces for everyone. Her approach is grounded in evidence, collaboration and long-term structural change. Rather than viewing gender equality as a women's issue, Lisa argues that inclusive leadership creates stronger organisations, healthier communities and better outcomes for both women and men.
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The need-to-know:
Leadership systems determine outcomes more than individual ambition. Progress accelerates when organisations redesign policies, accountability and workplace structures instead of expecting individuals to overcome systemic barriers.
Partnerships succeed when they unite around one shared objective. Complex social challenges are solved by organisations with different perspectives agreeing on a single advocacy goal rather than demanding complete ideological alignment.
Great leaders stay curious enough to change their minds. Evidence should strengthen leadership decisions, even when it challenges long-held beliefs or assumptions.
Let’s go a little further
Leadership Is About Designing Better Systems
Many leadership conversations focus on resilience, confidence or individual capability.
Lisa offers a different perspective.
Her experience suggests that lasting organisational change rarely comes from asking people to work harder inside imperfect systems. It comes from redesigning those systems so more people can contribute at their full potential.
That philosophy has shaped much of her career.
From helping establish Australia's first Census of Women in Leadership to developing the Employer of Choice for Women citation, her work has consistently translated research into practical frameworks that influence behaviour rather than simply encouraging good intentions.
For CEOs, this is an important distinction.
Culture is not created through aspiration alone. It is reinforced through policy, incentives, measurement and leadership behaviour.
Progress Is Never Permanent
One of Lisa's strongest observations is that progress should never be mistaken for permanence.
Australia has seen significant improvements in workplace flexibility, transparency around pay gaps and representation of women across many leadership levels.
However, she also points to areas where outcomes have deteriorated, particularly around safety, coercive control and violence against women.
For leaders, this reinforces a broader lesson.
Positive organisational cultures require continual attention.
The moment leadership assumes the work is complete is often the moment progress begins to reverse.
Evidence Should Challenge Leaders
One of the most valuable themes throughout the conversation is Lisa's commitment to evidence.
She openly describes occasions where research disproved assumptions she previously held.
Rather than defending existing beliefs, she adjusted her thinking.
That willingness to be surprised is an increasingly important leadership capability.
Organisations operate in environments of constant change.
Leaders who become emotionally attached to being right often lose the ability to make better decisions.
Curiosity, humility and intellectual flexibility become competitive advantages.
Partnership Creates Scale
As CEO of Chief Executive Women, Lisa emphasises that no organisation creates meaningful reform alone.
Whether advocating for parental leave, workplace safety or universal early childhood education, successful movements are built through partnerships.
Importantly, those partnerships do not require complete agreement.
They require alignment around one clearly defined outcome.
Businesses, unions, community organisations, educators and policymakers may approach the issue from different perspectives, but when they pursue the same objective together, change becomes significantly more achievable.
This principle extends beyond public policy.
Within organisations, the strongest executive teams are rarely those that think alike.
They are teams where different viewpoints are encouraged, psychological safety exists and disagreement improves decision quality.
For CEOs, this may be one of the most practical leadership lessons from the conversation.
Better leadership is not about having stronger opinions.
It is about building systems, cultures and partnerships that consistently produce better decisions.
As organisations become increasingly complex, leaders who design environments where diverse thinking can thrive will almost always outperform those who rely solely on individual expertise.
Question for you
If the biggest barrier facing your organisation is structural rather than individual, what leadership system would you redesign first?
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