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Maximise your innovation efforts

In a world of constant change, the organisations thriving are those that innovate with purpose, agility and inclusion. Innovation isn’t just about new products or technology - it’s about how we work, lead, collaborate, and create the conditions for people to thrive and engage our people to create meaningful change.

Build a workplace culture where innovation thrives

At Best Places to Work™, we define innovation as a cultural capability rooted in leadership, psychological safety, inclusion, and purpose-driven thinking - where people are safe to experiment, where diverse and different thinking is celebrated, and new ideas are actively championed at every level. We believe a true culture of innovation also embraces failure as an essential part of learning, growth, and breakthrough success.

Join us for this one-day transformational masterclass designed for HR Managers and Directors, senior leaders, and business owners who want to build innovation into the DNA of their workplaces.

Why attend?

This masterclass blends strategy, science, and real-life case studies to help you:

Work with transformation initiatives that have a sustainable impact
Create a culture of experimentation and psychological safety
Equip your leaders to champion new ideas and lead change
Unlock diverse thinking and inclusive innovation
Build structured systems (like innovation teams and idea forums) that turn creativity into action

What you’ll learn:

Align and engage your teams

Identify the cultural drivers that support sustained innovation
Learn how to create psychological safety that invites bold ideas
Empower cross-functional collaboration and diverse thinking

Transformation to facilitate innovation at every level

Activate innovation teams and idea systems
Build regular feedback and ideation forums
Make innovation part of everyday leadership and team rhythms

Navigate uncertainty with confidence

Lead purpose-driven innovation through change
Align EVP with innovation to boost engagement and retention

Explore BPTW™ best practices

Discover how high-performing workplaces embed innovation in culture
Apply real insights from BPTW™ survey data
Gain tools to evaluate and grow your innovation capability

You’ll leave with:

A strong foundation for an action plan to embed innovation in your workplace
Leadership mindsets and tools for creating psychological safety and trust, and that drive innovation, adaptability, and personal growth
Hands-on frameworks and experiments to test new approaches
Connections with like-minded peers tackling similar challenges

What to expect:

Prepare for a day of high-energy learning, interactive sessions, and invaluable connections. We will explore how innovation strategies and mindsets work in real life, discussing both successes and setbacks.

This will be a varied, interactive, fun (and hopefully mind-blowing) day.
You’ll leave empowered and ready to implement effective innovation strategies in your workplace.
A light breakfast, lunch, and tea/coffee will be provided.

There will also be a 90-minute follow up online session a few weeks after the Masterclass to reconnect the group, share insights, ideas, and outcomes of the practical tasks provided.

90-minute follow-up action learning session

Turn insight into impact.

A few weeks after the Masterclass, all attendees can reconnect in a 90-minute online action learning session designed to keep the momentum going, bridge intention with execution, and help you turn ideas into lasting change.

This session is more than a recap, it’s where real transformation takes place.

You’ll:

Share outcomes from your post-Masterclass experiments
Hear what’s working (and what’s not) from others on the same journey
Workshop real-world challenges with expert facilitators and peers
Stay accountable to the actions you committed to
Leave with renewed energy, clarity, and support

Innovation doesn’t happen in isolation. This follow-up session creates space for reflection, feedback, and collective problem-solving; the hallmarks of any truly innovative culture.

Learn from the best!

The day will be facilitated by Melissa Clark-Reynolds, ONZM - certified Futurist and innovation specialist, and Leanne Holdsworth - author of two business books: Human Work, and A New Generation of Business Leaders.

You will also hear real-life innovation experiences - the good, bad and the inspired from some of the 2024 BPTW™ Awards finalists and winners.

Facilitators & Speakers

Melissa Clark-Reynolds

Melissa delights in working with organisations that want to make an impact at scale. She loves to work with teams facing uncertain futures in complex times. As a futurist she knows that there “are no future facts” and believes we should design our organisations to thrive under multiple scenarios. As a keen strategist, Melissa likes to help organisations determine their “theory of change” or “theory of how to win” and to design experiments that advance the cause.

She currently sits on the Board of Directors of Wētā Workshop, Atkins Ranch, Alpine Energy Network, and Daffodil Enterprises Ltd, and has extensive experience as Chair and Director of founder driven, family and community owned enterprises as well as a member of numerous government advisory panels.

Leanne Holdsworth

Leanne stands for a future where it is normal for work environments to be places where human beings thrive, enabling organisations to succeed whilst at the same time, building social capital through how those humans are able to show up with their families and communities.

She is the co-author of Human Work: Five Leadership Mindsets for Humanising workplaces and author of the book A New Generation of Business Leaders and has spent 15 years advising organisations predominantly in the private sector (across most sectors including banking, primary sector, FMCG, tech, pharmaceuticals) as well as the public and not for profit sectors in sustainability strategy and leadership.

More to be announced...