The Women, Management and Work conference (WMWC) on 12 November will feature respected Australian leaders exploring how participants can use ‘intrapreneurship’ – the ability to take risks, sell ideas and see opportunities where others don’t within an organisational framework – to drive career growth and innovation.

Telstra Regional General Manager and WMWC keynote speaker Angela Lovegrove is responsible for the transformation of the telecommunications carrier to an Information and Communications Technology solution business. Before joining Telstra, she was the Customer Success Director of Salesforce.com and started three technology businesses in Europe and Asia.

We asked Angela a number of questions about life as a corporate leader, achieving success and improving leadership skills.

As a corporate leader, who has had the biggest impact on your life?
Des Miller. He ran three start up companines in Europe over 20 years before coming to Australia to run the APAC business. He is an entrepreneur with great business acumen and he inspired confidence and challenged me.

How do you encourage innovative thinking within your organisation?
Lead by example. When I arrived at Telstra, my team said ‘you will soon give up, we have always been this way’. That was not the case, I have been able to influence and change anything that needs a different approach or thinking. My team are now openly questioning and thinking outside the box, a huge shift for them.

What are the characteristics you believe every leader should possess?
Humility – sharing your good experiences and the ones you have learned from. Believing in others more than they believe in themselves. Have a vision for yourself and the business, one that you are clear about and everyone understands.

What resources would you recommend to someone looking to gain insight into becoming a better leader?
There are so many. Having great mentors and a business coach. A Business coach has led to my greatest growth in the last three years.

What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader?
Continued business coaching, working for leaders I admire (David Thodey and Mark Benioff), reading, asking for and listening to feedback from peers at all levels, speaking on leadership, attending conferences, leadership sessions and working for larger businesses where there are many more leaders.

Watch an interview with Angela.

Women, Management and Work Conference

Date: Wednesday 12 November
Time: 8.15am to 5.15pm
Location: Sheraton on the Park, Sydney CBD

The conference is most relevant to mid to senior level academic and professional staff. Macquarie University staff will receive a special registration rate of $922 excl. GST (saving over $390) by entering discount code WMWC14, which applies at checkout.

Tickets now available. See the full list of speakers.