We help CEOs prepare high potential women for successful promotion.
We believe in every person’s ability to develop and lead. Specifically, we want to support women to be able to reach their highest potential and unearth their hidden ability to hold their own in any business situation including the board room and in difficult or unprecedented situations.
Why is it that somebody like Michelle Obama is seen the way she is seen?
How is she able to exude strength, grace and authenticity whether she is sitting on the floor reading to a group of pre-schoolers... or meeting the Queen of England?
We believe it is that secret thing called charisma and that mastering charisma and gravitas is a key success factor in a woman’s career.
You can be a woman of strength, influence and graciousness – to exude that something that people can’t put their finger on, yet it makes them say “I like being with that person and I trust them and I believe they know what they are talking about.”
It is about presence - we can say the days of finishing school are dead but there exists a gap between what is learnt at school and university, and perhaps even at home, as to what’s going to make you the business leader of the future - and that’s the real difference.
People skills are viewed as being very superficial. We believe they are a fundamental building block of confidence and character enabling you to lead, influence, connect and communicate effectively.
Who is behind The Gravitas Project?
Amanda MacLean
Founding partner
Amanda MacLean has spent the last 20 years in executive positions and on advisory boards. From heading up global programs and being the Chief Operating Officer of a $100m private company she knows how women can be heard at a senior level. She has held senior management positions in listed, partnership and not-for-profit entities both in Australia and overseas.
Amanda's time in various senior positions has provided insight as to the complex and opaque structures that limit people in their quest to advance in their careers, and for the past 20 years she has been assisting CEOs to apply these insights to grow their businesses.
During her various corporate positions and boards Amanda has assisted businesses to merge, ensured they have solid governance procedures and been able to expand to meet business growth objectives. It was landing in a smaller Not For Profit where she was able to expand on her desire to work with integrity and care beyond profit. Giving back along the way has underpinned Amanda's work since then.
Amanda believes that women can make a real difference in senior management, the boardroom and beyond. Through support and unlocking potential, women can make significant changes to both the work they do and how they do it which has led Amanda to be an active mentor for women in business.
A regular contributor to a number of blogs, Amanda is also a presenter of a number of key programs for women in relation to financial well-being and managing risk. She's been able to blend this with providing specialist skills and advice to ensure cultural sensitivities can also be addressed.
Frequently as the only female ‘at the table’ Amanda is seen as a role model for how women can lead with impact and confidence in their own way. She remains open to learning and is excited to be co-founder of The Gravitas Project, helping other women to follow in her footsteps - Amanda looks forward to sitting with them ‘at the table’.
Rob MacLean
Partner
Rob MacLean built a successful career working in senior management for major technology Fortune 500 companies, both in Australia and overseas.
Unable to find the right financial service provider to manage his family’s increasingly complex finances, Rob undertook postgraduate studies in financial planning. Having obtained this expertise, he saw the value and opportunity in providing independent, ethical advice to similar high net worth achievers, CEOs and company directors. People who needed bespoke advice to make the most of their work life and earning potential, whilst mitigating the risks.
In 2009, Rob established his own integrated financial advisory practice, Equitas Partners. After the successful sale of the business a decade later, Rob joined The Gravitas Project in 2019.
Drawing on his experience in assisting clients traverse the last twenty years of their career, Rob specialises in assisting CEOs, executives and company directors to make smart decisions to grow their career and income and protect their family and reputation.
Along the way he has become:
- an in-demand key-note speaker for the likes of the Australian Institute of Company Directors
- a published author on “Building a career for company directors” and ‘Key financial issues for expats”
- a sought-after media commentator for publications including The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald and The Board Report
- a recognised expert in advising senior figures in the public, private and government sectors having worked with senior managers, CEOs and directors of Top 50 ASX listed companies, and
- a strong advocate for the business benefits of flexible workplace arrangements for families
Rob has shared the same experiences as you and understands what it is like to walk in your shoes.
Our clients
Amanda has had the pleasure of working with women from the following organisations:
| Australian Federal Police | AMGEN | Australian National University |
| ASIC | Australian Institute of Company Directors | BT Financial Group |
| CBM | Dell | DFAT |
| Diabetes Australia | DXC Technology | |
| Johnson & Johnson | LeepNGO | Liverpool Hospital |
| Medical Technology Association of Australia | Social Ventures Australia | StateCover Mutual Limited |
| Sydney Local Health District | Transport Women Australia Limited | Meridien Lawyers |
| Multi Channel Network | News Corp | OfficeMax |
| Westpac |
Our Core Beliefs
- We believe that you can master grace and strength while remaining true to yourself - so that people remember you for all the right reasons, they are compelled to say ‘yes’ to you, they remember YOU not what you did (or didn’t do) in a business situation
- We believe that you can learn to hold yourself with grace and strength in any situation, so you become the obvious choice for the promotion/grant/equity injection/overseas secondment/board appointment
- We believe that mastery of interpersonal, relationship and social skills (your Digital Quotient or DQ) will be your ticket to success in business in 2020 and beyond
- We believe that the world, and business in particular, would be a better place if led by those who have mastery in communication, relationship building, influence, charisma and courtesy
- We believe, in the words of Maya Angelou, that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel
Request a conversation
Want to know more? Request a conversation with us by completing the form below or click here to find out more about The Gravitas Project.