How to Be the Designer Execs want in the Room with Matt Anderson
Brisbane and Byron Design Thinking are pleased to offer this workshop as part of our skills building series for 2025.
Workshop Overview
A one-day workshop for designers who want their work to get traction
You know how to design great services.
But inside most organisations, that’s not enough.
This workshop is about the human skills behind real impact.
The stuff no one taught you: how to build trust, get buy-in, influence decision-makers, and keep your work moving even when things get political.
If you’re tired of being respected but sidelined, this is your reset.
What We’ll Cover
How screwed are we - find out if the challenges you face in making an impact at work are unique?
Lead Yourself - How to build a personal brand that feels authentically you and gets you heard.
Lead Others - How to give feedback that lands and receive it without spiralling.
Lead the Organisation - How to influence people who don’t report to you, yet you need their help.
Lead the Future - How to make your ideas so backable that execs are fighting to have you on their team
What You’ll Get
A full day of hands on exercises, real no BS talk, and zero fluff
Clarity on what you stand for and why you're worth investing in
Practical tactics for dealing with power, politics, and blockers
Ready-to-use tools you can apply the moment you’re back at work
Free access to the Corporate Therapy community, including award-winning Miro templates
Why this workshop
Most leadership workshops were built for managers.
This one was built for you the designer navigating complexity, silos, and dipsh*ts.
You’ll shortcut 30 years of business lessons from inside executive board rooms. Get the playbook for how the game really works, and how to win it without selling your soul.
Who is this for
Strategic and service designers inside slow-moving or complex orgs
Designers stuck in the “we love your work, but…” loop
Anyone working across silos, up against resistance, or trying to get traction without the title
You’ve got the skills.
This gives you the influence.
About the Facilitators
Matt Anderson (Corporate Plumber) - LinkedIn
I’m a Business Designer who’s spent the last 30+ years unblocking big, messy organisations, so good ideas don’t die in decks, and good people don’t burn out trying to deliver them.
By day, I help execs and teams work together without tripping over silos, politics, or passive-aggressive blockers. By night, I co-host Corporate Therapy, a podcast helping middle managers tackle the stuff no one prepares you for.
I’ve worked with some of Australia’s biggest brands (CBA, IAG, Qantas, Carnival, Transport NSW), and I’ve seen firsthand what makes great work get backed or buried.
You won’t get fluffy theory in my sessions. You’ll get real-world tactics, the truth about how execs think, and practical tools to build trust, get traction, and make your work stick.
I’ve been spotlighted in Forrester’s Outside In, Nathan Baird’s Innovator’s Playbook, and picked up awards like Miro’s Global Research & Design award and Content Creator of the Year 2024.
Ex-COO. Designer at heart.
Come say hi. Let’s fix the stuff that’s holding you back
Rob O'Donnell (Leadership Locksmith) - LinkedIn
I’m Rob, from Dublin, Ireland and I’ve been in Australia since 1999.
I’ve spent nearly 30 years helping leaders, teams, and entire organisations build cultures that actually work for people. I’ve worked alongside big names like CBA, Virgin, the City of Newcastle, and AGSM, but I’m just as energised helping individuals figure out how to lead without burning out their team, while keeping the imposter syndrome at bay.
I help people face the real stuff; trust issues, turf wars, power games, self-doubt, and the quiet disengagement no one wants to name. Not through a leadership framework in a binder, but through conversations that matter and habits that stick.
I co-host Corporate Therapy with Matt, where we unpack the dumb stuff businesses do and how to fix it.
I genuinely care about people and I’m a lifelong believer that no business outperforms its culture. And that culture doesn’t shift without doing the real work, with conversations, courage, and clarity.
About Brisbane & Byron Design Thinking
Brisbane and Byron Design Thinking is a design and product community in Brisbane, Byron Bay and Northern Rivers— focused on bringing people together, making a difference, and creating a better place to live, play and work.
As part of this we offer a skills-building program that delivers practical workshops, hands-on events, and honest conversations, always aimed at helping you do your best work and have a bigger impact.