APS 5-6 Women in Leadership March 2026 Masterclass
Stretch yourself, grow your confidence & lean into leading to make a difference in the APS
At this two-day Masterclass you will develop the skills and behaviours that become the foundations of your APS leadership career and prepare you for making the most of future development opportunities. Led by seasoned commonwealth public service leadership coach and facilitator Kylie Holyland, this engaging masterclass is designed to guide you through what is expected of leaders at the APS 5- 6 level, how to navigate the ins and outs of the APS workplace, and to develop the mindset to confidently back yourself in future leadership roles.
Specifically designed for women in APS 5-6 roles to build the capabilities and behaviours that the public sector requires of you, you’ll apply key tools to carve your own leadership identity, cultivate a network of peers at the same stage as you and set yourself up for success for the rest of your career.
You will walk away refreshed, inspired and more confident in your leadership and the path ahead.
Kylie Holyland (She/Her)
Team and Leader Coach, Coaching and Leadership
Kylie Holyland has over 30 years’ experience helping individuals, managers and leaders to shift their thinking and behaviour, so they thrive together at work. As a full-time executive coach, Kylie has worked with over 250 clients at all levels of organisations, challenging and supporting them to transform their work and lives. Prior to 2013, Kylie spent 25 years working as an internal HR consultant providing HR advice and support to a client base of SES and EL managers in the public sector. In that role she helped to resolve complex people issues and develop effective strategies to maximise individual and organisational performance.
Kylie Holyland (She/Her)
Kylie is a confident accredited coach, trainer and facilitator, great at delivering short courses and workshops tailored to emerging leaders in the APS. Kylie’s particular strength is in helping people understand who they are, their strengths and talents, and what they need to let go of in order to confidently step into their own light. Kylie has been Program Coach of the APS-wide mentoring program WILES – Women in Law Enforcement and Strategy, and has been a lead facilitator of the APS Academy’s SES Orientation Program. As a full-time executive coach, Kylie has worked with 1000s of leaders and teams at all levels of organisations, helping them to shift their mindset and behaviour to transform their work and life. Prior to 2013, Kylie spent 25 years working as an internal HR consultant providing HR advice and support to a client base of SES and EL managers in the public sector.
Kylie brings energy and fun to her sessions, and has a knack for creating safe learning spaces. She believes it is important to you that she is professionally skilled, ethical and expert in her work and has worked hard at her craft. She holds International and Australian coaching credentials and is a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation, (ICF). Kylie has studied neuroscience, HR, NLP, mediation and conflict resolution, and psychology. Kylie is a past-president of the ACT Branch of the International Coach Federation, and is a current member of a range of Australian professional organisations including ICF, AHRI, IPAA, the Resolution Institute, and the Australian Institute of Management.
Key benefits
Understand the broader context of your role as a woman & a professional in the APS environment
Cultivate skills to work & lead with emotional intelligence & increase your impact
Improve your ability to navigate flexible, hybrid & remote work as well as diverse cultures, generations & experiences
Harness the power of authentic leadership & cultivate your professional brand
Understand imposter syndrome and how the stories we tell ourselves might be holding you back
Boost your resilience & cultivate habits to thrive at work & avoid burnout
Map out your career as a whole, anticipate & respond to setbacks & understand how to position yourself to make the most of opportunities
Your event experience
- Understand how being a woman in the APS impacts what we work on, and how and when we work
- The support and guidance of a seasoned, knowledgeable and engaging APS leadership coach and facilitator
- Small group-based activity sessions to translate theory into practice
- Walk away with a toolkit of concepts, tools and techniques that are endorsed by the APS capability framework
- Build new connections and a local support network of like-minded peers from across the Commonwealth Public Service
Who will attend?
Current & emerging women in leadership roles at the APS 5-6 level who may be stepping up from technical or entry-level positions, juggling work and family responsibilities or joining the APS for the first time.
Roles might include:
- New team leader
- Coordination or Administration
- Policy, Project, and Program based work
- Investigations
- Corporate functions – HR, IT, Finance, Communications, etc.
Agenda
Times shown are in AEDT
Acknowledgement of Country & Opening remarks
Registration & welcome
- Housekeeping, Rules of the Room and Introductions
Session 1: What is it to be a woman working in the APS in 2026?
- Why do we have programs for women who are stepping up/out
- Understanding the APS context and reform agenda
- Developing role clarity and navigating where you fit as an APS 5/6
- Shifting perspective from doing a job to building your career
Morning tea
Session 2: Working with emotional intelligence (EQ)
- The leader’s mindset: Broadening your focus from doing the work to leading people
- The importance of EQ to build awareness and management of self and others
- The elements of emotional intelligence and how these apply at work
- Developing a growth mindset
- How building greater EQ enables to you to be a more inclusive team member
Lunch
Session 3: Shifting your mindset to increase your impact
- Defining the difference between contributors and impact players
- Identifying habits that will increase your effectiveness and delivery
- Prioritising your work more strategically and mapping your personal stakeholders
- Working with intention: Being productive vs being busy
Afternoon tea
Session 4: Working collaboratively in a flexible workplace
- What is the 2026 workplace: Are you working at different times? With many generations? As a multi-team member? For multiple managers? In different locations to your team?
- Tips and hints for working remotely, or in virtual and flexible teams
- Digital etiquette: Communicating clearly and cleanly in a hybrid team
- Being more effective at meetings
Summary & Close of Day One
Welcome, reflections & learnings from Day One
Session 5: Authentic leadership & standing in your worth
- What does ‘authentic’ mean
- Overcoming barriers to being your authentic self at work
- Finding opportunities to use your voice
- Building competence and confidence to overcome our self-doubt and imposter syndrome
- Working to your strengths
Morning tea
Session 6: Building your brand
- Your “Brand”: How do other people know who you are and what you stand for?
- Uncovering what really matters to you at work and what helps you to thrive
- Aligning your values and your purpose: What are your non-negotiables?
- Building your visibility in your agency and externally (networking for people who hate networking)
Lunch
Session 7: Build a resilient mindset & habits that sustain you
- Defining what resilience is for you
- A woman’s brain and body: Predictable changes that could impact your work effectiveness
- Finding balance as a woman at work: Becoming ‘Self-full” and becoming clear about your boundaries
- Learning to ask for help: An undervalued skill
- Building a great pit crew: The importance of trusted mentors, sponsors and allies
Afternoon tea
Session 8: Thinking about your APS career
- Managing the seasons of your career
- Up is not the only way to grow: What are the APS experiences to seek out?
- Being career nimble and job ready: Staying open to opportunities
- Rising strong from set-backs and missteps
- How to identify the first step (when you don’t know where it is that you want to go)
- Lifelong career management and action planning
Summary
- Key takeaways and wrap up
Close of Day Two & Close of Masterclass
Pricing
Early bird savings until 19 December 2025
+GST
Early bird pricing
Save $700
Early bird savings until 30 January 2026
+GST
Early bird pricing
Save $500
Early bird savings until 27 February 2026
+GST
Early bird pricing
Save $300
Standard rates
+GST
Bring your colleagues and save
5+ attendees save 10%, 10+ attendees save 20%
Great women in leadership course. It was refreshing to know that my questions, doubts and my stage in my career was reflected with the other participants. Thank you.”
Kathleen Grant
Admin, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, May 2025
I’ve done a lot of public service training programs, and Kylie was the most engaging and uplifting facilitator I’ve seen.”
Joanna Wareham
Policy officer, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, May 2025
It was not just a masterclass full of very useful resources to work towards a leadership career, it was an inspiring and motivational gathering among likeminded people headed by Kylie, an example of a strong, intelligent, empathetic and warm hearted woman.”
Neri Olivia Lopez Bertotti
Protocol Officer, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, May 2025
Kylie Holyland is an engaging presenter. She provides a high degree of detail and background context. She is openly inclusive for all attendees.”
Louise Bagger
Media Technician, Department of Defence, May 2025,
The course was very insightful and was based around real-world scenarios and examples which helped me to apply the learnings to my own work and life. The facilitators, Kylie was amazing and her experience and openness in sharing was simply brilliant.”
Lara Gunnis
Senior Policy Officer, Fair Work Ombudsman, May 2025
This course is inspiring! It gave me the confidence to speak up, take the lead, and own my strengths. Kylie was engaging, and I loved connecting with other amazing women on the same journey.”
Kathleen Fesalbon Tudio
Executive Assistant, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, May 2025
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