Author: Zoya Lakhani

Australia’s AI Plan Has Critical Elements Missing: Leadership, Culture and Education

Zoya Lakhani
AI in DEI

Australia’s National AI Plan is now firmly directed towards acceleration: attracting investment, scaling infrastructure, and capturing productivity gains. For business leaders, this matters. Not because the plan tells organisations how to deploy AI—it largely doesn’t—but because it reshapes the environment in which leadership decisions about AI will be made. The plan rests on three pillars: capturing the opportunities of AI spreading the benefits …

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Microsoft-ACTU Agreement on AI – a model for Australian Business

Zoya Lakhani
AI in DEI

On 15 January, Microsoft entered into a landmark agreement with the ACTU, committing both to work together on AI skills, consultation and public policy. ACTU ‘s Joseph Mitchell said: “Workers through their unions have consistently raised concerns that AI was being rolled out without meaningful consultation”. The agreement reflects a maturing view of successful AI …

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Growth Happens in the Learning Zone

Zoya Lakhani
Your Talent Advantage

Strategic talent development is on many companies’ radars, yet organizations still hesitate to move high-potential talent into stretch roles until someone is “ready.” But readiness isn’t a destination—it’s a path. Real growth happens not in the comfort zone or the anxiety zone, but in the learning zone, where challenge meets support. Building on Amy Edmondson’s …

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Fairness Engineered

Zoya Lakhani
Your Talent Advantage

Many organizations assume that because they value merit as the sole determinant of talent decisions, introducing fair processes will undermine meritocracy. It doesn’t. In fact, fairness amplifies meritocracy by ensuring every decision reflects ability and potential—not assumptions or bias. When systems are designed to be fair, transparent, and inclusive, leaders can truly recognize and reward …

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8 Talent Practices That Will Change the Game: Why Integration Beats Silos

Zoya Lakhani
Your Talent Advantage

Are your talent practices designed to complement and amplify each other—or are they functioning as separate initiatives without a shared impact? Over the next 10 weeks, I’ll share insights into 8 talent practices that can enhance your talent strategy—whether you’re an HR Business Partner, Global Head of D&I, Leadership Advocate, or leading Talent and Culture …

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The Power of Balance: Groundbreaking Evidence on Gender Equity and Business Performance

Zoya Lakhani
Workplace

Australia’s journey toward workplace gender equity has reached a pivotal milestone. The Gender Equity Insights 2025 report, released by the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC) in partnership with the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), delivers compelling new evidence that gender balance in leadership is a business imperative.  Drawing on a decade of longitudinal data covering …

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De Cremer on Inclusive Leadership and AI Adoption

Zoya Lakhani
AI in DEI

Inclusive Leadership in the Age of AI: De Cremer’s Weighty Insight AI is now front of mind for most business leaders, managers & employees—it is already embedded in how organisations make decisions, deliver services & interact with employees & customers. Yet many leaders have not yet formulated a clear vision as to how AI fits …

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Symmetra and WFP win the Brandon Hall Group™ GOLD award for Best Leadership Development Programme

Zoya Lakhani
Symmetra

Symmetra is very excited to announce that we have just won the coveted Brandon Hall Group™ GOLD award for excellence in the Best Leadership Development category for our Inclusive Leadership Programme, Optimising Global Executive Inclusive Leadership Capability with the World Food Programme. “The 2025 Excellence Award recipients represent the pinnacle of achievement in human capital …

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