The Brain Savvy Leader: Language shapes thinking and doing

Hosted by Julie Cunningham, Peter Murchland, and Jim Dowling

What you'll learn

Why words matter, but meanings matter more

Understand the significance of giving attention to language when building a coalition to address complex challenges

Choose language that enables desired outcomes

Understand how language enables and constrains thinking and action-taking

We will adapt our dialog to your needs

Discover needs and opportunities for being and enabling brain savvy leaders

Why this topic matters

Brain savvy leaders know that words can inspire and alienate? Brain-savvy leaders understand that language isn't just communication - it's neural programming that shapes trust, inclusion, and influence at the deepest level.

You'll learn from

Julie Cunningham

Juie applies cognitive and complexity science to learning experiences.

Julie Cunningham is a seasoned Leadership Facilitator and Executive Coach with 25+ years’ experience across diverse industry sectors. She draws on a wide body of research in cognitive and complexity sciences to design applied learning experiences that translate theory into practice. Julie specialises in building leadership capability from the boardroom to the shop floor, with a strong emphasis on learning by doing. Her pragmatic approach helps leaders navigate uncertainty, drive behavioural change, and thrive in complex, evolving environments.

Peter Murchland

Peter builds conversational bridges for actions among segments of enterprises.

Peter works at the intersection of business and IT for his entire career, involving work in public, private and community sectors across education (including higher education and research), health, justice, defence, trade & transport and utilities. Typically, he engages in business architecture and transformation programs, assisting executives to realise the desired outcomes from their investment is organizational and operational capability investment No assignment has failed to present language challenges! His first encounters always involve coming to understand how an organisation talks about itself and its operations. He regards himself as a highly experienced babelfish (cf Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy).

Jim Dowling

Jim is an orchestrator of leader alignment and action.

A business maker, learner, and coach with a keen interest in helping individuals, teams and enterprises realize their performance aspirations. After leaving Engineering and Information Technology, Jim found his work/playground in a place where people, process, technology, and business can align to produce amazing results. Jim has led Teaming, Leadership Alignment, Leader Development, Enterprise Design, Enterprise Architecture, Business Transformation, Strategy Clarification, and Change Readiness programs for organizations in Europe, The Americas, and Asia.

Go deeper with a course

Capability Development
Jim Dowling, Amber Román, and Richard Lynch
View syllabus