Alicia Stephenson is a workplace leader and a recognised authority on human behaviour at work.
A Telstra Best of Business Award winner and named on the AFR Women in Leadership List 2025 (Women of Influence), Alicia has built a national reputation for reshaping how organisations think about culture, leadership and psychosocial safety.
As CEO of Workforce Dynamics, she has pioneered the mainstream integration of psychodynamic practice into Australian workplaces. Her work focuses on the gap between organisational aspiration and lived experience, helping executive teams understand behavioural dynamics, decision-making patterns and the hidden pressures that shape culture. The result is safer, more realistic and more resilient workplaces.
With a background that includes service in the Australian Defence Force and executive roles in workforce and organisational development, Alicia brings both operational credibility and psychological insight to her work. She is known for identifying emerging workplace trends early, particularly around behavioural governance, executive overload, pace of change and the future of work.
Alicia is an accomplished keynote speaker and facilitator, engaging audiences across government, corporate and professional sectors. Over the past decade, she has also been widely celebrated for her emcee work, recognised as a natural host with an easy manner, kindness and sharp humour. She has contributed to public forums and podcasts, including hosting Next Generation Innovators alongside TV personality Brooke Boney.
Grounded, perceptive and engaging, Alicia helps leaders understand what is really happening beneath the surface of their organisations and what to do about it.
Talking Points
Beyond Change Management. Practical Tools for Modern Leaders
Modern organisations are not experiencing isolated change events. They are operating in continual transition. Pace is accelerating, decisions are centralised, communication is compressed, and behavioural pressures are rising across every level of the business.Beyond Change Management. Practical Tools for Modern Leaders
This keynote moves beyond traditional change management frameworks and focuses on what leaders actually need: practical tools to understand human behaviour under pressure.
It explores why tension emerges around decision-making, how executive load impacts communication, and why employees often experience change so differently from those leading it.
Video
Behaviours in the Workplace A New Guide for a New Era CULTURECON 2025 Alicia Stephenson
Alicia presented at Gadens’ Partner Retreat, and the insights she shared were amazing. Our intention for the session was to help our leaders build strategic people capability. We wanted to g ... keep reading GADENS
Alicia was emcee at CultureCon 2025 and she hit it out of the park. Her style, kindness and professionalism made the day go off without a hitch. She was on time, took initiative and managed speakers and stage members.
She’s straight-talking, future-focused, and all about real-world outcomes. With commercial smarts and deep behavioural expertise, Alicia takes years with of psychological studies and makes them accessible to every leader who’s willing. She makes leadership practical, not jargon. Her easygoing style lets people lower their guard and get it. She’s dedicated to building true internal muscle in your organisation, making workplaces calmer, braver, and honestly more exciting places to be.
Alicia is a favourite emcee and presenter for us across Tech at Westpac. She's well loved with the crowd, easy going and has great humour that makes our events fun and enjoyable. She's very relatable for a crowd of all kinds.
