Championing Inclusive Leadership 

​When we consider leadership, many of us probably imagine someone who looks and thinks like the leaders we've seen in the past. These preconceptions can haunt and hinder a business. An added complexity is knowing what inclusive leadership looks like when your organisation is growing. How do you ensure that you're walking the walk, not just talking the talk, in a meaningful and sustainable way? 

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These are challenges Ora Advisory has navigated as we've expanded in 2024. It's been a huge year; we've taken on a host of new clients, secured interesting work, and grown our team from 9 to 19. But revenue and contracts are only part of the story. The Workplace Gender Equality Agency reports that women make up just 22% of CEOs, 37% of key management personnel and 42% of managers in Australia. This is why, as one of the 22% of businesses with a woman CEO, we were so drawn to partnering with the Women Leaders Institute. 

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A focus for us has been balancing structured approaches to growing the business, while maintaining the freedom of ideas that’s central to our 'be bold' mantra. Our goal has been to create a workplace that fosters leadership at all levels and avoids hierarchical thinking, but still ensures people feel supported to develop professionally.  

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A simple but effective way we practice this is through monthly ‘Dine & Design’ sessions. Blending business development and team-building activities, each team member gets to design and host a session. By leading on a topic that’s important to us individually, we contribute collectively to our capability and culture. 

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Another way we show this is by being intentional with our sponsorships, and it’s why we jumped at the chance to be an official Event Partner for the Women in Leadership Summit in Canberra. We know that increasing diverse voices in leadership can’t be solved in isolation – and the Summit gave us a chance to connect with influential leaders and changemakers in that space. It was great to be able to tangibly demonstrate our commitment to WLI’s important mission of empowering and celebrating women in leadership. 
 
Ora Advisory has always been shaped by a diversity of unique and compelling perspectives, particularly those of our 16 strong women leaders. The effort we put into finding people who may not fit the "conventional" mold is a key differentiator for how we do business. As a small-(ish) but mighty consulting firm, we’re passionate about showing our clients and stakeholders that you can do things differently when you champion diverse voices. And we can help you do that too. Drop us a line or connect with us on LinkedIn as we carry this momentum into 2025.