Strategic Thinking & Problem Solving Masterclass
Develop the mindset & skillset to solve the problems that really matter
Most leaders spend too much of their days fighting fires, responding to urgent needs and trying to wade through the busy noise. But as you move into more senior roles, the work changes, and you need to change too. You’ll be expected to think strategically, tackle complex problems while influencing stakeholders and shaping the future.
That shift requires more than just more time. It requires skills, tools and a strategic mindset grounded in systems thinking, curiosity and empathy.
Join us for a full-day immersive workshop where you will learn how to zoom out, diagnose real root causes, navigate through the complexity and influence people at every level. Combining analytical frameworks with empathy-driven insight, you’ll develop a practical approach to strategic thinking that you can apply immediately to shape your team and career.
Discover how improving the way you think can lift performance, drive better decisions and reduce the frustration, rework and overload that often stem from poor problem solving.
Daniel Murray
Leadership Strategist, Speaker & Author, Empathic Consulting
Daniel Murray helps leaders build cultures of ownership, curiosity and strategic thinking by bridging analytics, behavioural science and empathy. Through keynotes, workshops and advisory work across APAC, Daniel has become a trusted voice for leaders wanting to make better decisions, engage teams, and think more strategically.
Daniel Murray
After making waves in corporate strategy and management consulting with Australia’s biggest Financial Services giants, Daniel Murray now channels his expertise into helping businesses and leaders supercharge their performance through the power of people, culture, and empathy. Combining his mathematical and strategic background with deep research into emotions, neuroscience, and behavioural economics, Daniel is the leading expert on embedding Strategic Empathy.
The author of The Empathy Gap and CEO of Empathic Consulting, Daniel has worked with leadership teams and spoken to audiences at some of the largest groups and conferences across the APAC region. His knack for engaging and entertaining leaves clients fired up and ready to achieve new heights of understanding and performance.
Key benefits
Understand the difference between operational, tactical & strategic thinking
Map where you currently spend your time vs where you should as your leadership influence grows
Learn a systems-thinking approach to uncover deeper drivers — logical, political & psychological
Apply root cause analysis & practical tools such as the 5 Whys, mapping & pressure analysis
Identify blind spots, hidden risks & unintended consequences that derail good ideas
Learn how to measure impact beyond simple KPIs — including behavioural & cultural indicators
Influence stakeholders through narratives, numbers, models & stories
Become a more effective leader by improving clarity, curiosity & decision-making
Your event experience
- Facilitated using real organisational challenges and case studies – turn theory into practical capability
- Led by Daniel Murray – an international keynote speaker, management consultant and author known for blending strategy, neuroscience and behavioural insights
- Small-group activities throughout the day to practise tools and frameworks as you learn them
- Practical workbooks, models and decision frameworks to take back to your workplace
- A psychologically safe, collaborative environment that encourages curiosity, reflection and experimentation
- Integration with your current role to help you develop the link between thinking, leadership maturity and performance
Who should attend
This masterclass is relevant for anyone looking to become a more effective leader, waste less time and drive high-performing teams and projects. This includes current and emerging leaders across all sectors, industries and professions.
Agenda
Acknowledgement of Country & Opening remarks
Module One: The Strategic Thinking Mindset
- Understanding operational, tactical and strategic thinking
- The Roles of Leadership: Strategic vs Operational activity
- Mapping where you spend your time (Individual Activity)
- The mindset shifts required as you rise in leadership
- How empathy improves strategic thinking and decision-making
Morning break
Module Two: Systems Thinking & Root Cause Analysis
- Introduction to systems thinking
- Identifying logical, political and psychological drivers
- Surface vs root causes
- The 5 Whys: asking better questions (Group Activity & Discussion)
- Mapping interdependencies and unintended consequences
- The role of emotion, bias and perspective in problem diagnosis
Lunch break
Module Three: Measuring & Monitoring Impact
- What good measurement looks like
- Identifying tangible and intangible factors
- Finding blind spots that sabotage good decisions
- Building simple, practical monitoring dashboards (Group Activity)
- Leading indicators vs lagging indicators
- Determining what matters most and what to ignore
Afternoon break
Module Four: Influence to Engage in Change
- Perspective-taking activity: Mapping stakeholder experience
- Understanding narratives, frames and mental models
- Influencing with numbers, stories and simplicity
- Communicating solutions that create buy-in, not resistance
- Story models to explain complex ideas clearly (Individual Activity)
- Bringing people with you: Empathy as a strategic tool
Summary, Reflection & Close
Location: Brisbane CBD – Exact location to be confirmed closer to event date
Dress code: The event dress code is Business casual.
Pricing
Save up until 27 February
+GST
Early bird pricing
Save $500
Save up until 20 March
+GST
Early bird pricing
Save $300
Save up until 10 April
+GST
Early bird pricing
Save $100
Standard price after early birds
+GST
“Eye-opening experience, took away some really great tools and ways to deal with certain work related issues. Daniel is a great speaker and very knowledgeable. Looking forward to attending more masterclasses if those should become available.”
Veronika Naberezhnova
APS6 Compliance Team Leader, September 2025
“The masterclass was very relevant and practical, and Daniel was very engaging.”
Melanie de Mestre
Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, September 2025
“Daniel’s class was extremely well run and provided very useful insights which I have been applying to my workplace to great effect!”
Corey Lillington
Senior Project Officer, National Blood Authority, September 2025