Business Women Australia Online, For-Purpose CEO Peer Forum - Purpose Under Pressure

Navigating the Complexities of Leading a For-Purpose Organisation

Leading a for-purpose organisation means holding multiple realities at once. There is the purpose you exist to serve, and the commercial, operational and organisational realities required to sustain it.

At this month’s Online Forum, Purpose Under Pressure offers a confidential, facilitated peer conversation for NFP and For-Purpose CEOs.

We will discuss what happens when purpose, people, performance and sustainability start pulling in different directions.

Facilitated by Rebecca Lythgo and Lyn Hawkins, this session of the Purpose in Practice: CEO Peer Forum will draw on the lived experience and collective wisdom of the CEOs in the room.

Sometimes demands align. Often, they compete - balancing funding pressures, financial sustainability, people and culture, governance, compliance, Board expectations, stakeholder relationships, organisational capability, and the ever-growing list of priorities.

Rather than approaching leadership challenges in isolation, we will explore the connections between them and best practices that can be learned from enterprise and commercial sectors.

Together, we will explore questions including:

The pressures having the greatest impact on For-Purpose CEOs and their organisations right now
Competing priorities creating difficult leadership decisions
What organisational friction is getting in the way of impact?
How do we balance mission with financial and operational sustainability?
Where do CEOs need to strengthen capability, systems or structure?
Learning from leaders who are navigating similar challenges
What needs to change so CEOs can spend more time leading strategically rather than continually responding to the urgent?

A key part of the session will be bringing real, current issues to the table.

Participants will be invited to share challenges, perspectives and approaches that have worked, or haven't worked, in their own organisations. The focus is not on providing simplistic answers, but on broadening perspective and tapping into the experience available across the group.

One of the greatest resources available to a CEO is often another CEO who understands the complexity of the role.

As BWA’s For-Purpose CEO Peer Forum evolves, these conversations will help identify where specialist expertise could add value. Across our next 12-months, we will design a valuable peer forum to support CEOs in this important sector. As needed, we are able to draw on experienced leaders and BWA experts nationally in areas including strategy, HR, governance, Boards, compliance, finance, funding, organisational structure, communication, marketing, PR, team dynamics, management, stakeholder relationships, technology and AI.

BWA is a collaborative community, and our ongoing agenda will always begin with the needs of the CEOs around the table.

You are invited to join this special space away from the day-to-day pressure of being a CEO - to think, share, challenge assumptions, and strengthen your leadership. Help shape the forum that you want designed just for you and the purpose of your organisation.

Come prepared to bring a question, a challenge, an experience — and your wisdom to the table.

About Rebecca Lythgo

Rebecca Lythgo is an enterprise performance executive who helps organisations perform better by identifying the constraints that others often overlook. With more than 20 years of leadership experience across Australia and Asia, she partners with CEOs, executive teams and boards to diagnose the underlying issues preventing strategy from translating into sustainable commercial results.

Rather than treating visible symptoms, Rebecca uncovers the organisational, commercial and operating model constraints that limit performance. She then works alongside leadership teams to realign strategy, decision-making, governance and execution, enabling organisations to perform as an integrated enterprise and achieve sustainable growth.

Her career spans financial services, private capital, and advisory, leading complex transformations across strategy, operations, technology, and commercial performance. Known for diagnosing before prescribing, Rebecca combines strategic thinking with executive accountability to deliver measurable commercial outcomes and build lasting organisational capability.

Rebecca also advises not-for-profit organisations and supports female founders, applying the same enterprise performance principles to help purpose-led organisations strengthen governance, build capability, and create greater long-term impact. Through her writing and speaking, she challenges conventional thinking about organisational performance, helping leaders understand why businesses stall and what it takes to reconnect ambition with execution.

About Lyn Hawkins

Lyn Hawkins is the National Director of Business Women Australia and Principal of Hawkins Marketing. With decades of experience advising organisations from startups to enterprises, Lyn is a highly sought-after strategist, facilitator, and executive coach. Her expertise spans business growth strategy, leadership development, cultural change, marketing and business development.

Passionate about creating opportunities for women, Lyn leads Business Women Australia’s national community, fostering collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and peer-to-peer support. She is dedicated to helping women elevate their careers, businesses, and influence.

About Business Women Australia

Business Women Australia (BWA) is a vibrant national collective of women from all sectors, industries, and professions. With a fast-growing group of more than 20,000 followers, BWA provides access to:

A supportive network of professionals, entrepreneurs, and leaders.
Professional development programs, leadership masterminds, and retreats.
Inspiring podcasts, webinars, and thought-leadership events.
Opportunities to collaborate, connect, and grow.

BWA’s vision is to elevate women with knowledge, influence, and connection, helping members achieve their full potential both professionally and personally.

👉 Join today and be part of a national movement of women making an impact.

🔗 businesswomenaustralia.com.au/membership

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