"Navigate risks with understanding and knowledge!"
Edgewise Leadership presents: real risks, real solutions
Your workplace, many risks. Are you ready to see the signs with the right lens
Meet your presenters
“Human Risk, Safe Culture: Unlocking Behaviour, Resolving Conflict & Leading Compliance”
Connie Paglianiti is a powerhouse speaker, bestselling author, and seasoned event strategist with a story that challenges, inspires, and lingers long after she leaves the stage. With over 40 years in the events industry, she’s delivered everything from celebrity galas to large-scale productions—always with heart, vision, and straight-talking grit.
But it’s her lived experience that truly sets her apart. Connie spent years going into corporate teams to identify the red flags no one else could see—until the day she became one. After a high-profile fall from grace and time in prison, she made the hardest decision of all: to rebuild her life in full view of the world.
Her bestselling book, From the Shadows Into the Light, lays bare the cost of silence, shame, and second chances—and why we need more of them in leadership, life, and business. It’s now the foundation of her powerful keynote talks and her corporate program Red Flags in Plain Sight™, which teaches leaders how to spot early warning signs before damage is done.
Connie is also the founder of the Breaking Chains movement and has been featured in media across five countries. She doesn’t speak from theory—she speaks from truth. And when she does, people stop, reflect, and shift.
"Hear the whispers before the roar"
Dr Desiree Beekharry has over 30 years’ experience in the professional field of stakeholder services in the environment of international airlines, VIP services, UN emergency mobilisation and conferences, project and program management and disaster management.
Understanding conflicts and project management seem to go hand in hand. With her background and experience in England, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, USA and Australia and with several cultures, Desiree has managed to understand much of the root of conflicts and why people behave the way they do.
Desiree’s workshops are informed by experience, education and research in:
· The nature of conflicts, the effects of culture and diversity, the role of cognition and emotion, conflict and negotiation, conflict and leadership;
· The benefits of emotional intelligence for leaders;
· The role of communication in dynamic and modern technical and digital environments;
· Cultural differences and impacts on communication and confidence;
· Project management, inter-organisational change and geographically dispersed teams;
· Program management and leadership;
· Disaster Management, Command & Control and Agile management;
· The role change plays in communication and conflict.
Faith Eeson is a Safety Consultant, with a Master’s Degree in OHS, she is a RTW Work Coordinator and Trainer with a passion for transforming workplace health and safety (WHS) standards across industries.
As the founder of FOCCALE Safety Management, she specialises in tailored safety managements systems, consulting, comprehensive audits, WHS management plans and hands-on mentoring to businesses ranging from micro-enterprises, to large corporations. Faith specialises in helping leaders and teams build robust safety cultures that enhance compliance, productivity, and employee well-being.
With a strong presence in Newcastle, the Hunter Valley, Sydney and beyond, Faith’s expertise spans high-risk industries, trades, manufacturing and professional services. Her innovative approach incorporates cutting-edge online safety platforms for training and management, ensuring businesses stay ahead of compliance demands.
Faith’s mission is simple: empower workplaces to prioritise and optimise safety, foster leadership excellence and achieve sustainable success.
Got Question?
We've got answers
In your journey, you likely have many questions and concerns. Our goal is to help you navigate through them, which is why we've compiled answers to the most common questions. Whether you need insights on conflicts, how to stay compliant or how to recognise certain signs in an employee... Or even about who we are and how we do things. If your questions are not listed, feel free to ask us—we’re here to assist you!
What does someone with a criminal record know about leadership?
Leadership doesn’t always look like what people expect. I’ve led businesses, managed teams, and made high-level decisions for decades—until one decision changed the course of my life. That experience didn’t take away my leadership. It gave me a deeper understanding of its impact.
Today, I help leaders recognise the red flags that often go unnoticed, rebuild trust before it breaks, and foster workplace cultures where people feel safe to speak up and act early. I speak from lived experience, professional insight, and a genuine commitment to leadership that serves people—because I’ve seen what happens when it doesn’t.
Is this just another corporate leadership talk?
Not even close. This isn’t theory from a textbook — it’s real stories, tough truths, and powerful tools that actually work in the real world. If you want surface-level fluff, this isn’t for you
Will this be heavy or depressing?
It’ll be real — but also empowering, eye-opening, and even funny at times. We don’t sugar-coat things, but we also don’t dwell in doom. This is about rising, not reliving.
What if there's no conflict in my workplace, just lots of changes that makes us grumpy?
If there are changes and you're grumpy, then there are conflicts. Grumpy is what I call "whispers"!
Our workplace is different to other businesses, how can you know anything about us?
Every business and workplace is different. Just like every individual is different. That's why we don't have a one-size-fits-all approach.
I can't stand role-plays, they seem so fake.
Role plays have a place but that's not what and how we do things. Our approach is quite different.
I thought that Risk was about falls, breaks, disasters. How can people be Risks?
Without people, there is no business. Therefore, your people are your greatest assets. Like with all assets, they can be succeptible and vulnerable to all sorts of pitfalls. That's where the risks are and you must be ready to see these vulnerabilities and pitfalls.
What's the biggest mistake leaders make when it comes to safety?
Don’t see it’s relevance and put it in the too hard basket. They sometimes treat safety as a compliance box, not a cultural responsibility. Real safety starts with behaviour, communication and leadership—not just policies.
How can I tell if my team doesn't feel psychologically safe?
Watch for silence, low engagement, absenteeism and presenteeism, lack of reporting or fear-based language. If people are only saying what's safe to say, they don't feel safe.
We have policies - but people still take shortcuts. Why?
Because culture always overrides paperwork. If safety isn't valued or modelled by leaders, it won't be prioritised by teams. Influence drives compliance.
You have employees, your have risks.
Learn about how to spot and assess risks before they become issues.
...ARE YOU READY ?!