Hello, I’m Nicola…
Speaker and Neuro-Affirming leader
I help organisations build safer, smarter, more inclusive workplaces by combining risk strategy, equity-driven culture, and neuro-inclusive design.
What would you like to know about me?
You May Be Wondering….
My Community…
35000
Amazing email subscribers
10 600
instagram followers
141 300
pinterest pinners
4
Average Cups of Coffee Daily
What topics are you interested in?
Things I could spend days talking about
I bring a multi-dimensional lens to my speaking engagements, blending law, safety leadership, risk, and neurodiversity with lived experience and research. My talks connect strategy with humanity, weaving together professional expertise and personal insight in a way that resonates with diverse audiences.
Neuro-Inclusivity
I combine lived experience with research and leadership expertise to bring a unique perspective on neurodiversity at work. My talks balance evidence, storytelling, and strategy, helping organisations understand how inclusion drives both wellbeing and performance.
Topics I Can Cover:
- Using storytelling and blogs to make neuro-inclusion real
- Lived experience of being late-diagnosed AuDHD in leadership
- Masking, burnout, and creating psychologically safe workplaces
- Practical adjustments that support neurodivergent employees
- Insights from my published research and journal articles
- The link between DEI, risk, and organisational strategy
Leadership
I bring over 19 years of experience leading across safety, risk, strategy, and innovation, with a focus on making leadership human, inclusive, and future-fit. My approach blends academic research, published work, and real-world practice to show how values-based leadership transforms teams and organisations.
Topics I Can Cover:
- Turning strategy into practice: engaging, empowering, and retaining people
- Building trust and psychological safety in teams
- Whole-of person and vulnerable leadership
- Inclusive and values-led leadership (manaaki, mahaki, māia, tūhono)
- Leading through uncertainty and strategic risk
- Lessons from my MBA, LLM, and published leadership research
- Women in leadership and thriving in male-dominated industries
Wellbeing and Psychological Safety
I bring both professional expertise and personal insight into how wellbeing and psychological safety shape high-performing, inclusive workplaces. Drawing on my leadership in psychosocial risk, Safety-II approaches, and published research, I show how organisations can move beyond compliance to cultures of care and resilience.
Topics I Can Cover:
- Linking wellbeing with risk, strategy, and organisational performance
- Embedding psychological safety into everyday leadership
- Managing psychosocial risks and preventing burnout
- Creating wellbeing strategies that actually stick
- Lessons from award recognition in psychosocial risk innovation
- Integrating Te Ao Māori perspectives into wellbeing and safety
Health and Safety
With nearly two decades of experience across New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and Thailand, I’ve led health and safety from the frontline to the executive table. My talks highlight how modern safety leadership goes beyond compliance—embedding culture, strategy, and innovation to create safer, more sustainable workplaces.
Topics I Can Cover:
- Strategic frameworks and governance that make safety future-fit
- From operational safety to executive risk leadership: lessons learned
- Embedding Te Ao Māori in health and safety strategy
- Moving from compliance to culture: Safety-II and resilience approaches
- Psychosocial harm and the future of workplace safety
- Health, safety, and sustainability: connecting people, planet, and profit
Law
Having completed my Master of Laws specialising in employment relations, safety, compliance, and Indigenous law, I bridge legal research with real-world application. My talks explore how the law shapes workplaces, risk, and equity, and how organisations can use it as a tool for inclusion and strategic change.
Topics I Can Cover:
- Making Safety Law more human
- Translating complex legal concepts into practical actions for leaders
- Employment law and its impact on modern leadership
- Indigenous law and equity in workplace frameworks
- Safety in Design (SiD) and legal challenges in construction contracts
- Predictive regulation, AI, and protecting Māori in workplace safety
- Linking law, compliance, and strategy to drive better outcomes
Risk Management
I specialise in making risk strategy clear, engaging, and actionable, from boardrooms to frontline teams. With nearly two decades of experience, published research, and practical frameworks, I show how risk management can be used as a strategic compass, guiding organisations through uncertainty while building resilience and trust.
Topics I Can Cover:
- Using risk to enable innovation, not just prevent failure
- Risk appetite, tolerance, and capacity: making strategy human
- Embedding risk culture at every level of an organisation
- Practical tools like bowtie analysis and dynamic risk assessment
- Psychosocial risk as a core leadership responsibility
- Integrating Te Tiriti and equity commitments into risk frameworks
Mental Health
I bring a deeply personal perspective to mental health, shaped by my own lived experience as well as the loss of a parent to suicide. I combine openness and vulnerability with professional expertise in safety, wellbeing, and psychosocial risk, creating space for honest conversations that reduce stigma and promote resilience.
Topics I Can Cover:
- Writing, research, and advocacy on mental health through blogs and talks
- Lived experience of navigating mental health as a professional and leader
- The impact of suicide loss and lessons for workplace support
- Practical strategies for building resilience and recovery
- Connecting wellbeing, psychological safety, and mental health at work
- Breaking the stigma: how leaders can create cultures of openness
Creativity
As the founder of My Inner Creative and a leader who has worked across traditional organisations and the creator economy, I bring insight into how creativity fuels resilience, innovation, and new forms of work. I share lessons from building a digital brand, monetising creativity, and navigating the realities of the gig economy while balancing wellbeing and leadership.
Topics I Can Cover:
- Building and monetising creative platforms (blogging, content, digital products)
- Lessons from the gig economy: flexibility, burnout, and sustainability
- Creativity as a tool for resilience and mental wellness
- The intersection of neurodivergence and creativity
- What businesses can learn from creators about adaptability and innovation
- Balancing passion projects with professional leadership roles
Productivity
I blend lived experience as an AuDHD professional with years of research, blogging, and leadership to explore how productivity really works for different brains. My talks challenge the myths of “hustle culture” and offer inclusive, practical tools for sustainable performance, balance, and creativity.
Topics I Can Cover:
- Productivity through a neurodivergent lens: strategies that actually work
- Bullet journaling, time-blocking, and systems for executive function
- Avoiding burnout and reframing “doing too much”
- Lessons from leading teams and building businesses across multiple industries
- How creativity, structure, and flexibility intersect in modern work
- Practical tools leaders can use to support diverse productivity styles
