Meet Fleur Heazlewood
As a leadership expert, speaker, & award-winning author, I help leaders & organisations achieve both healthy & high-performance. I provide science-backed practical strategies & skills that are proven to increase both wellbeing and performance at work. I bring a unique mix of leadership experience, academic qualifications, lived experience, and best-practice research.
My practical foundations come from 20+ years’ corporate leadership experience including in CEO and executive director roles. I have personally led a number of successful organisational turnarounds and culture transformations. I have since gone on to become one of Australia’s most experienced leadership and work facilitators having trained over 5000-people - in psychosocial & psychological safety, future-fit resilience, mental mental health conversation mastery, and positive leadership.
I pride myself in building positive performing teams and cultures that deliver both wellbeing and commercial results. A sample of my clients include: Woolworths, Goodman Fielder, UBS, Ikea, Accolade Wines, Winc, 3M, Paramount Pictures, GenesisCare, ITW Construction, AGnVET, University of NSW, Mental Health Commission NSW, NSW Health, Department of Finance, and Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
I have a life-long commitment to learning and partner with the Centre for Wellbeing Science, University of Melbourne to evaluate the effectiveness of our core training programs. I hold a Masters in Coaching Psychology, Professional Coach Certification (PCC) with the ICF, a Commerce Degree, Australian Institute of Company Directors Certificate, Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, and am a Master Mental Health First Aid Instructor. I am also a 500-hour certified yoga therapy, mindfulness and breath regulation teacher.
I care about bringing healthier ways of working and wellbeing to work to benefit as many people as possible. My first book Resilience Recipes, which provides easy, practical, evidence-based personal wellbeing strategies that work, won best Health and Wellbeing book 2022 and Runner-up Business Book of the Year 2022.
My second book, Leading Wellbeing – A leader’s guide to mental health conversations at work, won best Leadership book 2024, best Management and HR book 2024, and Book of the Year 2024 at the Australian Business Book Awards.
If you're ready to take healthier ways of working and psychosocial wellbeing to action and results, let’s have a conversation. I would love to help!
My Why
People that are well, do well. But we are doing a lot of doing, and not a lot of well. And we know that the way we are working isn’t working because the 65% + of employees reporting burnout and the 1 in 5 people experiencing mental illness each year, is getting worse, not improving.
I experienced this first-hand. My personal career journey included bullying, harassment, chronic stress and eventually clinical burnout. I then spent 2-expensive and miserable years, researching and working with a diverse team of health professionals to slowly and painfully rebuild my wellbeing amidst a marriage breakdown.
I believe (and the research shows) that work wellbeing is an enabler of high-performance, better collaboration, greater innovation, and higher engagement. I founded the Blueberry Institute 15-years ago to lead, provide evidence-based best practice training, and upskill organisations in how to transform the way we work - for the better.
As part of that journey I led the creation of best-practice leadership and organisational training and mentoring with the University of Melbourne, which proved that creating a culture of wellbeing is both good for people, but also good for business.
My Accomplishments
> As CEO during the Global FInancial Crisis when business sales halved and most companies led with a cost cutting strategy; I pioneered and led with a people first strategy that delivered solid profit, an increased profit percentage, and zero staff redundancies. > I am proud to call myself one of Australia’s most experienced and effective wellbeing leadership trainers, having trained over 5000-people in psychosocial and psychological safety, mental health mastery, future-fit resilience, and wellbeing skills for work. > In 2013, I pioneered an award-winning 12-month evidence-based capability building program of psychological safety, mental health and resilience skills, and workplace wellbeing strategies for ITW Construction, sponsored by icare, and evaluated by the University of Melbourne. It delivered significant improvements in HR metrics, safety results, resilience and wellbeing capability and positive culture measures – while achieving business growth in revenue, profit, and market share. > I am an award-winning published author and leading voice in healthier work and wellbeing: - Resilience Recipes, a practical evidence-based guide to better personal wellbeing, won best health and wellbeing book 2022, and runner-up to business book of the year 2022. - Leading Wellbeing, a leader's guide to mental health conversations at work, won best leadership book 2024, best management and HR book 2024, and business book of the year 2024.
Fun facts
> I went to 10-different schools, across 4-countries, and so learned the skills of empathy, resilience and inclusion early in life. > My first pet was a Shetland pony at the age of 4. He was my best friend, and we used to go exploring the bush escarpment together. We never got lost because despite my lack of direction skills he always knew the direction for home. > I am a 500-hour qualified yoga therapy teacher was evolved from developing somatic practices to healthily manage my own holistic and mental health. > I am also an adrenaline junkie that love's theme parks, scary roller coasters, and skydiving.
How I can help
Keynotes, Masterclasses, Workshops, Offsite and Team Development days: bringing a blend of wellbeing, performance and connection that is motivating, engaging and filled with practical tips.
Leadership capability training programs: psychosocial and psychological safety for teams, positive and adaptive leadership, future-fit resilient and thriving teams, mental health conversation mastery.
Staff capability training programs in: building resilience, healthy stress management, wellbeing at work, mindfulness, mental health, mental wellbeing.
Executive mentoring and coaching that fast-track’s leader development, performance and wellbeing.
More from Fleur Heazlewood
From Burnout to Resilience ↗
Fleur speaks to the New Zealand Marketing Association - From Burnout to Resilience
Leadership Conference Keynote: Psychological Safety as your Performance Advantage. ↗
Fleur’s keynotes bring to life important work wellbeing & high-performance messages with an accessible blend of education, energy and practical tips that leave people feeling inspired and ready to act.
This short reel shows Fleur’s keynote bringing to life key leadership responsibility messages that people sit up, listen to, and take back to use with their own teams.
Precast Industry Conference keynote topic: Leaders are required to provide a psychologically safe work environment for their teams – and are provided with practical strategies and tips on what this means, why it is important, but more importantly why learning these skills will give them a performance benefit, and a higher performing team.
Leading Wellbeing Interview with Fleur ↗
An interview with Fleur discussing practical leadership strategies for mental health, mental wellbeing and psychological safety at work.
Profile information supplied through Cuppa’s talent directory. Availability and suitability are confirmed on enquiry.