After a career in the corporate world, Belinda Brosnan now runs her own coaching business.  

Can you tell us about key moments in your career to date?
During the GFC, my role was as a sales and marketing director for Mirvac with a $4 billion-plus portfolio and more than 17 projects across WA. I led my teams through a very difficult period and learnt so much about the financial challenges a publicly listed company faces and how that impacts people. When I left the corporate world, I wanted to challenge traditional ways of working, so I completed executive coaching accreditations before setting up on my own.

What advice do you have on changing organisational culture?
Make sure your leadership team is rock solid before undertaking broader organisational change. That means being very clear not just on company values, but personal values. As David Morrison is famous for saying in his video to the Australian Army, the standard you walk past is the standard you accept. Actions, language and communication are critical to success.

What are the secrets of team building?
Encouraging curiosity and having a common language. Help people increase their self-awareness around their talents: the way they think, feel and behave. When they understand this, and how talents might also be perceived as weaknesses by people who are different to them, it creates a new conversation about working together more effectively.

You are currently studying the neuroscience of leadership. What interesting insights can you share?
Understanding that the brain is wired for safety and efficiency. This means we are driven to avoid threat over seeking reward. I can read when a person is speaking out of fear because they will talk about what they don’t want rather than what they do want. This allows me to engage in a conversation that will help shift their mindset and move them to action.

What do you consider your greatest career achievement to date?
Having the courage to start my own business, HR Junction, and winning the Telstra business women’s award for the start-up category.

This article is an edited version. The full article was first published in the December/ January 2015 issue of HRMonthly magazine as ‘Belinda Brosnan’. AHRI members receive HRMonthly 11 times per year as part of their membership. Find out more about AHRI membership here.