About us
About us
SMG is Australia’s premier leadership development advisor. Since 1998, we’ve partnered with exceptional talent to elevate leadership skills and unlock organisational potential.
A former global executive, Lesley specialises in business growth and executive development. Her coaching promotes innovation and sustained performance. Lesley has a strong track record of transforming divisional scale and impact at a major consulting firm.
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Expertise
20+ years experience
Member of ICF
Member of AICD
Member of APA
Experience and background
Lesley is a former global executive with deep expertise in business growth and executive development. Her pragmatic and empathic approach to coaching and mentoring provides a catalyst for new thinking, breakthrough insights, and sustained performance improvement.
As a Group Executive of a major consulting engineering organisation, Lesley led the global growth of two of the firm’s key divisions, delivering services in over 23 countries to some of the world’s largest organisations.
During this time, Lesley was shaped by, and helped shape the business, as it transformed from a small enterprise of 200 employees, to a global enterprise of over 8,000 staff.
She thrived (and learned) in the aspirational, dynamic environment, where initiative, growing the business, and nurturing the next generation of leaders was of equal measure to bottom line performance.
Her career path was unplanned, including leadership roles new to the business as it expanded in extent and scale, and transitioning from technical expert, business development, executive leadership, and Director of the Board room. Since leaving the business, Lesley brings her extensive experience as an executive coach, business advisor, and Board Director.
Lesley is passionate about preparing leaders who thrive in complexity and uncertainty, embrace challenge and difference, are mindful of the influence and shadow they cast, and are courageous and humble.
Lesley's approach
Lesley attributes her pragmatic approach to leadership to her rural upbringing, where resourcefulness and adaptiveness was a necessity in an unpredictable, resource constrained environment. She applies a relational and adaptive approach to coaching, bringing together the science and art of leadership, with an emphasis on the art. Her style is described as warm, inquisitive and direct.
Qualifications and memberships
- Lesley has a BA(URP)
- Accredited Project Director (Major Projects)
- Member Australian Institute Company Directors
- Member Planning Institute Australia
- Member International Coaching Federation.
Personal insights
Lesley lives in Sydney, enjoys travelling, is an avid reader of wildly varied genres, average golfer, often sails, and is fascinated in history and social culture.
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