Anna Lee

Biography

After a diverse career in the entertainment, higher education and publishing industries, Anna established Anna Lee Consulting when her firstborn was 6 weeks old. Since then she has worked with thousands of leaders across Australia to create positive change – in themselves, in their teams and in their organisations.

In 2014 Anna’s little brother Diarmid enticed Anna to partner with him at Leed Consulting – a move that has proved the best decision of her career. While Diarmid focuses on cultivating culture change at the organisational and team level, Anna works with individuals and groups of leaders to develop the skills, habits and mindsets that help people and organisations thrive in 21st Century.

Anna delights in watching clients flourish as they practice and refine new skills and approaches, and especially in observing how small changes can have a big impact – both in the workplace, but also in people’s lives more broadly.

She is constantly conducting behaviour change experiments on herself and her (long-suffering!) family, always with the aim of improvement, rather than perfection.

BJ Fogg's Tiny Habits book, published in January 2020, is already on both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists, and Anna is one of only three certified Tiny Habits coaches in Australia. She incorporates Tiny Habits into her leadership, resilience and diversity and inclusion offerings with great outcomes.
 
Anna has held various positions on executive committees and not-for-profit Boards and is the sole South Australian alumnus of the Centre for Applied Rationality, Berkeley. Anna s currently a member of the South Australian Premier’s Council for Women.

Topics

• Want to change for the better? Start small
  You’ve probably noticed that changing oneself for the better can be hard. Whether we want to be calmer, or healthier, or braver, or more motivated, all too often our attempts at change are characterised by short bursts of improvement, followed by a (most dispiriting!) return to the baseline.
  
  The solution? Start small. This highly motivational keynote uses the latest research in behaviour design to equip your people with:
  • The ability to make small, meaningful changes that stick.
  • Tools to get ‘unstuck’ when motivation is low.
  • A (realistic!) belief that small changes can transform people, lives and workplaces.
    
    
• Reclaim your brain: How to stay focussed in the digital age
  For the first time in human history, human attention is the most valuable commodity in the world. It’s no coincidence that we find it hard to resist the lure of the ‘ping’ that alerts us to a new text, email or notification … our devices are carefully designed to distract us – and to keep us distracted.
  
  In this compelling keynote, Anna tells the story of how our brilliant brain is derailed, disturbed and distracted by our digital dependence, and shares science-based strategies to fight back. Take-aways include:
  • Practical strategies for managing our digital diet.
  • Overcome information overload.
  • Eliminate the FOMO (fear of missing out) that drives much of our digital activity.
  • How to create a focus-friendly workplace.
    
    
• Tiny habits® for wellbeing in the information age
  In the information age, staying well – mentally, emotionally, physically and socially – requires owners of a human brain to manage proactively how, what where and on whom they spend their most precious resource: their attention.
  
  Drawing on BJ Fogg’s renowned Tiny Habits® methodology, this keynote illuminates how small – even tiny – changes in our daily behaviours can help us pay attention to the things that matter most. Take-aways include:
  • Three Tiny Habits® ‘recipes’ that have been proven to improve health and happiness.
  • Strategies for implementing Tiny Habits® for wellbeing in the workplace.
  • Tips and tricks for allocating attention wisely throughout any given day.
    
    
• Building resilience in time of challenge and change
  Australian employers are facing an epidemic of change fatigue. As the world of work becomes increasingly complex and unpredictable, low morale, absenteeism and distrust are rife. The antidote to change fatigue? Building resilience. In this inspiring keynote, Anna will reveal five simple science-based strategies that can take even the most hardened cynic from change resistant to change resilient. Participants will learn how to:
  • Build optimism and positivity.
  • Take a proactive approach to change.
  • Stay calm in stressful situations.
  • Find opportunities for growth in challenge and change.
    
    
• Hunting for the good: How gratitude can change your brain (and your life)
  In this inspirational keynote, Anna explores the neuroscience of cultivating gratitude, an approach to wellbeing that literally changes the structure of the brain. Combining cutting-edge research and practical strategies, your people will learn:
  • Why feeling good is critical to health, happiness and performance.
  • Three simple, little-known strategies for cultivating gratitude.
  • Small steps to create a culture of gratitude in the workplace.
    
    
• The inclusion formula: How our brains work against inclusion, and what to do about it
  It's great to when all your colleagues think as you do, right? Wrong. Success in the digital age requires innovation and innovation requires diversity of thought.
  
  If we want workplaces in which innovation – and individuals – flourish, we need to overcome our innate tendency to divide the world into 'us' and 'them', and start seeking opportunities to become 'we'. In this uplifting keynote, Anna shares a simple model that can transform how people work together. Participants learn:
  • Communication strategies for increasing inclusion.
  • How to safeguard against an ‘us’ and ‘them’ mindset.
  • Decision-making techniques to improve innovation and inclusion.
    
    
• Debug your brain: How to overcome your brain's deceiving ways
  As the owner of a human brain, you've no doubt noticed that our most complex organ derails, distracts and deceives us in a multitude of ways. From underestimating how long it will take to empty our inbox, to convincing us that a new job/car/relationship will bring lasting happiness, our brain's shenanigans frequently lead us to sabotage our own best interests with procrastination, poor decision-making, and/or inaction. In this highly entertaining keynote, you’ll learn:
  • The three most common ways in which our brains deceive us – and how to overcome them.
  • Strategies to move from procrastination to proactivity.
  • Techniques to help you make the right decisions - not just the easy ones.

Testimonials

Anna’s charisma, passion and deep understanding of how to engage people draws you into her presentations. Her style is conversational and engaging and with her in-depth knowledge of her subject, she hits a good balance and leaves you wanting to learn more. Anna’s readiness to work with you and adapt her topic and style to suit your audience is a credit to her competence and I would recommend her for any speaking engagement focussed on driving an organisational culture of engagement, inclusion and high performance.
Senior Manager, Local Connection Communication & Connection
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank

Anna! I’m searching for ways of making an hologram/avatar of you and your presentation…so I can present it at any/every opportunity. This stuff needs to be taught to everyone, everywhere!
CEO
Golf SA

Easily one of the best presenters I have ever encountered (and I’ve seen many!) and her knowledge and enthusiasm are contagious. She literally had all of us in the palm of her hand and hanging off her every word.
SA Police

Anna's enthusiasm and clarity sets the bar high - her ability to communicate complex ideas in a style that's engaging for a broad audience means that our people remember her key message a year later!
Research Scientist
The Australian Wine Research Institute