When I was in primary school, I wanted to change our uniform policy so girls could wear pants. It didn’t seem like a big deal, just a matter of fairness. But at the time, it was met with resistance.

My mum didn’t fight the battle for me. Instead, she gave me quiet encouragement, the kind that said, You can do this. You have a voice. Use it. And so, I did. 

Later, when I joined the Seville Blues under-11s AFL football team – often as the only girl in the competition – she cheered me on from the sidelines. She showed me, and everyone watching, that being different wasn’t a weakness; it was a strength.

Through these moments, she helped me see something profound: breaking the rules isn’t always about rebellion. Sometimes, it’s about small, deliberate actions that challenge what doesn’t work and open doors for others.

But long before my mother encouraged me to challenge the rules, my grandmother, Kathleen ‘Kit’ McArdle, was fighting her own quiet battles.

In 1935, at just 15 years old, she was the seventh of 11 children, working long days on her family’s farm in rural Victoria. A rare opportunity arose – she had a chance to become a teacher. But societal norms and family expectations weighed heavily. Education, she was told, was for her nine brothers, not for her or her sister.

She was constrained by the rules of her time, but she found ways to challenge them. She poured her energy into creating educational opportunities for her daughters, sparking a legacy of progress that has rippled through generations.

These stories – of quiet acts of courage, of rewriting the unspoken rules – are the foundation of my work.

Because the truth is, we are all shaped by invisible codes. Deeply ingrained beliefs, expectations, and societal norms tell us who we should be, how we should lead, and what success should look like. They’re so embedded in our thinking that we don’t even realise they’re running the show.

Making a greater impact.

Knowing what I do about invisible codes means I now help individuals, leaders, and teams to expose, decode, and recode these invisible patterns. It’s about breaking free from what no longer serves them and creating new ways of leading, working, and living.

But this work isn’t just about one person’s transformation. When individuals unlock their inner brilliance, it creates ripple effects. 

It strengthens teams, businesses, families, and communities. 

When leaders break old codes and redefine success on their terms, they build workplaces where people thrive. When parents and caregivers embrace their strengths, they raise children who see possibility rather than limitations.

I help people shift from fixing what’s wrong to focusing on what’s strong. Because when we reframe the problem, we’re in a much better position to tackle what’s next – not just for ourselves, but for the greater good.

What fuels my fire. 

What keeps me going? Transformation. The moment someone realises their brilliance isn’t something they have to find – it’s something they already have. When they finally step into their strengths and see the ripple effect it creates in their work, relationships, and communities.

I do this work because I know the impact it has. When people own their brilliance, they lead with confidence. They connect rather than compete. They focus on what binds us instead of what divides us. And that is how real change happens.

Like anyone, I face challenges. But what keeps me moving forward is knowing that every conversation, every breakthrough, and every step towards change matters. The world doesn’t need more people trying to fit into a mould that was never made for them. It needs more people who are ready to own their brilliance and lead from that place.

My why. 

So, why do I do what I do? Because I believe in the power of choice – the choice to see our strengths instead of our shortcomings. To build on what’s already working instead of fixing what’s broken. To decode the invisible narratives shaping our lives and recode them in a way that aligns with our true potential.

Because when we do this work – not just for ourselves, but for our teams, our families, our businesses, and our communities – we create something far greater than individual success. We create collective progress.

When we acknowledge, connect with, and use our brilliance, we don’t just change our own lives – we change the world around us.

Let’s start a conversation.