Associate ProfessorToby Newstead

Tasmanian Leaders

Volunteering Queensland

Local Government Association Tasmania

Member

Courage, justice, wisdom, humanity, transcendence…are such virtues just nice-to-have elements of a leader’s development or the indispensable building blocks of a successful career? Michael and Gregg are joined by Dr. Toby Newstead, a scholar at the Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, Management, to explore some thorny questions: Do you need to be a good person to be a good leader? How does a leader develop character?

National Leadership Development Summit

President

Dr. Toby Newstead ( / tobynewstead ) is a respected leadership scholar and practitioner at the University of Tasmania, located in lutruwita on the lands of the palawa and pakana people. With a background in corporate change, leadership development, and professional communications, she brings practical expertise to her academic, coaching, and consulting work. An internationally recognized researcher, Dr. Newstead specializes in virtues-based leadership development, leadership ethics, and leadership in the volunteer sector. Her research appears in top journals. In 2023, she published a book titled Leadership and Virtues: Understanding and Practicing Good Leadership (https://tinyurl.com/3pfeftdn) . Dr. Newstead is an established executive leadership coach and deeply engaged with industry and community. She regularly delivers impactful workshops, keynotes, and facilitation sessions. Dr Newstead’s research, teaching, coaching and facilitation has local and international impact, shaping the leaders of today and tomorrow. Quotes From Developing Leaders and Leadership • “We cannot develop other people; we can only facilitate their learning and assess if they learned.” • “Leadership involves relationships, influence, shared purpose, and collective effort. That’s the stuff that has to be there.” • “Leadership isn’t the answer to everything; there are times when management or command responses are what the situation calls for.” • “Followership isn’t an afterthought; you don’t have leadership without both leaders leading and followers following.” Resources Mentioned in This Episode • Poem - The Blind Men and the Elephant (https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/soc...) • Book - Learning in Adulthood (https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Adult...) About The International Leadership Association (ILA) • The ILA (https://ilaglobalnetwork.org/) was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. About Scott J. Allen • Website (https://www.scottjallen.net/) • Weekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for Leaders (https://www.scottjallen.net/newsletter)

What does it take to lead in an age defined by polycrisis? This episode examines the capabilities and mindsets leaders need to navigate unprecedented pressures—from climate disruption and geopolitical instability to social division and rapid technological change. We’ll discuss how leaders can not only survive but thrive by embracing emotional intelligence, systems thinking, and collaboration—and what it looks like to develop these traits in practice. Key Themes & Talking Points: The crises shaping today’s leadership landscape. The pressures and tensions these crises create for leaders. Core mindsets: resilience, systems thinking, ethical reasoning, collaboration. How these capabilities can be developed through leadership education. With Toby P. Newstead from University of Tasmania Professor David Snowden from The Cynefin Company

How do we know when leadership development actually makes a difference? Leadership development is often promoted as the answer to major social, organisational, and global challenges. But how can we tell if it is truly effective? This episode explores how researchers, practitioners, and communities define “evidence,” from measuring individual growth to evaluating broader systems change. Listeners will hear what it takes to design, deliver, and assess programs that not only build capability but also deliver tangible outcomes for society. Key Themes & Talking Points: The diversity of leadership programs and the problems they aim to address. What counts as “evidence” of leadership development. Balancing research perspectives with practitioner experiences. Measuring transformation: from personal leadership growth to systemic change. With Toby P. Newstead from University of Tasmania Professor Nathan Eva from Monash Business School; Benny Callaghan from Systems Collaboration Partners

How do we build the courage to challenge tradition and embrace new ways of thinking? This episode explores why traditional 20th-century models of leadership are no longer fit for today’s realities. By examining the rise of adaptive, collaborative, and ethical approaches, we’ll consider how leadership development must evolve to serve a complex, interconnected world.

Volunteering Queensland State Conference

For this fourth webinar, we took a different approach—rather than presenting a predetermined theme, we flipped the script, and adopted a “Dear Abby” format, inviting our audience to pose questions to our expert panel: Dr Ruchi Sinha, Associate Professor at Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU) Business School; Prof. Scott Allen, an instructor in Executive Education at SMU’s Cox School of Business and the host of the Phronesis: Practical Wisdom for Leaders podcast; and Prof. Ronald Riggio, Henry R. Kravis Professor of Leadership and Organizational Psychology and former Director of the Kravis Leadership Institute at Claremont McKenna College. Access to a podcast adaption of the event is now available here: https://menziesleadershipforum.podbean.com/e/talking-leadership-development-the-answers-to-your-leadership-development-questions-with-dr-toby-newstead/ Webinar recording: https://youtu.be/sMJ5M7NkyJg

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What stands between us and more effective leadership development? From the research-practice gap to emerging challenges like climate change and leader burnout, traditional approaches to leadership development are being tested like never before. Here, we dive into four expert views on the pressing challenges in developing leadership and opportunities to overcome them. Access to a podcast adaption of the event is now available here: https://menziesleadershipforum.podbean.com/e/talking-leadership-development-challenges-opportunities-in-developing-leadership-with-dr-toby-newstead/ Webinar recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyBLZ09TS8o&t=3s

This podcast episode explores the often implicit purpose of leadership development.

Organisations around the world invest heavily in leadership development programs, but “what is it that we’re trying to develop leaders to do? Do we want to help people get promoted or land the top job? Or do we want to help them build better and bigger businesses? Or are we aiming to turn ordinary individuals into influential agents of change, creating movements in the name of equity, justice, or climate action?” Webinar recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBdmHrJqNRw&t=1797s Listen to the podcast adaption of the webinar: https://buff.ly/3Yj1Jnl