When we feel 'safe enough', we don't just survive uncertainty — we learn, grow, and thrive together.
Dr Michelle McQuaid has spent 25 years translating cutting-edge research into practical, playful, and immediately actionable approaches that help people thrive together at work — even when times are tough. An award-winning researcher, honorary fellow at Melbourne University's Centre for Wellbeing Science, and bestselling author, she is one of Australia's trusted voices on caring for wellbeing, supercharging psychosocial safety, and navigating complex changes.
With a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology and a PhD in systems change, she has spent a decade coaching leadership teams across 60 countries. A LinkedIn Top Voice for Mental Health, her insights are regularly featured across Australian television, radio, podcasts, and press, and her top-rated podcast — with over 250 episodes featuring the world's leading researchers — has earned the trust of audiences worldwide.
Michelle's path to this work is deeply personal. Growing up in a family affected by mental health issues, violence, and substance abuse, she discovered that the science of how we thrive together at work held the answers she'd long been searching for.
More than anything, Michelle believes that when people truly understand what's happening in their brains and bodies, and feel safe enough to learn and grow together, work can be one of the greatest opportunities for human thriving — even when it is challenging.
Talking Points
The Nervous System Advantage
Do you find yourself saying "I'm fine" when you're anything but — or promising to "take care of it" when you're already drowning? You're not broken. Your nervous system is doing exactly what it was designed to do.The Nervous System Advantage
Your brain's number one job is to keep you alive — gauging every moment whether you're "safe enough" or not. When changes keep coming and uncertainty feels overwhelming, that "not safe enough" alarm rings more often for all of us — clouding our thinking, straining our relationships, and leaving us exhausted.
In this workshop, you'll learn to:
* See your nervous system signals. Decode why you react the way you do when you're struggling to feel 'safe enough'. As one client said: "Game changer. Now we can see how we've been making things harder than they need to be."
*Soothe your body. Calm yourself with five tiny body-based nudges you can use anywhere, anytime, without anyone noticing: in meetings, during difficult conversations, or mid-presentation. A legal team we work with even uses them on the witness stand.
*Settle your brain. Trust yourself to navigate uncertainty, ask for help, and learn alongside each other by replacing harsh self-talk with the skills of self-compassion. As one participant said: "This shifted our individual and collective accountability in a way these times call for."
Walk away with shared language to talk honestly about what's happening, practical tools to calm yourself and support each other, and the neurological skills to show up at your best — even when the pressure is constant.
Finding your Way Through Change
Is your work changing in ways you didn't choose? Whether you're dreading what comes next or quietly wondering if this might open something better — the uncertainty is real, and it has a way of narrowing your thinking right when you need it most.Finding your Way Through Change
When change feels out of your control, it's easy to get stuck — replaying what's been lost, bracing for what's coming, or just waiting for someone to tell you it's going to be okay. That's not weakness. It's what happens when our brains don't feel safe enough to see the path forward.
In this workshop, you'll learn to:
* Decode the "Oh FUD!" moments — the fear, uncertainty, and doubt that hijack your thinking when change arrives — so you understand what your brain needs to feel safe enough to move forward with clarity and confidence. As one leader reflected: "This workshop had me thinking differently about the emotional and social reasons why change doesn't succeed."
* Discover five questions that turn overwhelm into action — so you can own how you respond, what you learn, and who you become, even when the wasn’t your choice. As one participant told us: "These questions gave me the confidence to face into what was ahead instead of just bracing for it."
* Develop your change muscles — because navigating change is a skill, not a one-time event. Every time you return to these five questions, you get stronger at it. One council knew this — and trained more than 200 people, from the recycling depot to head office, to keep reaching for them.
Walk away with the language to talk honestly about the uncertainty you're facing, practical tools to build your change capabilities, and the confidence to trust yourself — and your team — to find your way through, whatever comes next.
The Truth about Pyschosocial Safety
Are you worried that talking about psychosocial risks in your team might open Pandora's box? Here's what most leaders don't know: it's already open. The Truth about Pyschosocial Safety
The truth is, every team experiences psychosocial risks — because delivering results together with limited time and resources tends to make us defensive, competitive, and less safe with each other. These pressures don't disappear just because no one is talking about them. They compound until they become the burnout, the claim, or the resignation you never saw coming.
This is precisely what new psychosocial safety laws are designed to prevent. In this workshop, you'll learn what the law requires of you — and how to do it without adding more things to anyone’s to-do list by:
*Assessing your team's risks. Learn to gauge how often each psychosocial hazard is occurring, the impact on people's wellbeing, and how long they've felt that way — so what's been invisible becomes something you can name and act on. As one leader told us: "Understanding how to identify our biggest risks and minimise them has been invaluable."
*Implementing controls together. Discover the four simple, evidence-based questions that make it safe enough to hear what's really happening across your team, and co-create the solutions that are reasonably practicable for everyone. As one leader said: "You took the fear out — and made it practical."
*Monitoring the impact. These risks don't stay still, and what one person experiences today can feel very different for someone else tomorrow. The only way to stay ahead of them is to keep asking — and 91% of leaders who've done this workshop left confident they could.
Walk away with a shared language based on Safe Work Australia's hazards — and the skills to assess, address, and monitor them in ways that keep your leaders and teams safe enough to keep finding better ways of working together. This workshop is itself a control.
Video
Can A Simple Question Change Your Life
Michelle’s style was very engaging and interactive. Informed and passionate, she provided practical tools based on scientific research. The feedback from everyone who attended was extremely ... keep reading AusNet
Michelle is an engaging facilitator who is able to capture the attention of a large audience. She is personable, authentic and the materials and session delivery has been to a very high standard. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Michelle.
Michelle did an awesome job keeping a diverse, stressed out population on task. Her ability to really listen, summarize in a way that makes people feel heard, and provide practical evidence-based tools people can use in a busy environment was invaluable. Thanks so much.
Thank you for the energy and expertise you poured into the session. It was palpable. We have had so much positive feedback already – and there have been many fabulous conversations. There is a quiet cracking/somatic nudge buzz!
Thank you so much for your presentation this afternoon! It was so well received. We have had such positive feedback and the messaging about using your strategies to deal with change right at the end was spot on.
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