Participants step back to reflect on what success truly means to them, beyond traditional or external definitions. This session supports leaders to clarify their personal values and explore how these influence leadership style, decision-making, and impact. Participants leave with greater alignment between their values, goals, and leadership direction.

This session focuses on how leaders show up, influence others, and are experienced in professional settings. Participants explore their leadership shadow, identify key pillars of their leadership presence, and consider how to communicate their purpose and impact more intentionally. The session supports leaders to strengthen credibility, influence, and alignment between intention and perception.

Leadership is not a solo pursuit. This session explores the importance of intentionally building a diverse and supportive network. Participants reflect on the roles different people play in their leadership journey and learn how to curate a support crew that offers challenge, perspective, advocacy, and encouragement at different career stages.

This opening session focuses on building trust, connection, and psychological safety within your Leadership Circle. Participants get to know one another, establish shared ways of working, and set individual intentions for the program. This foundation creates the conditions for honest reflection, meaningful challenge, and deep peer learning throughout the duration of the program.

This opening session focuses on building trust, connection, and psychological safety within your Leadership Circle. Participants get to know one another, establish shared ways of working, and set individual intentions for the program. This foundation creates the conditions for honest reflection, meaningful challenge, and deep peer learning throughout the duration of the program.

This session invites participants to reflect on the experiences and narratives that have shaped how they see themselves as leaders. Through guided reflection, participants explore how their stories are told and received, identify limiting beliefs and thought patterns, and examine how these can affect visibility and progression. Practical strategies are introduced to help reframe challenges and lead with greater intention and authority.

Participants step back to reflect on what success truly means to them, beyond traditional or external definitions. This session supports leaders to clarify their personal values and explore how these influence leadership style, decision-making, and impact. Participants leave with greater alignment between their values, goals, and leadership direction.

This session focuses on how leaders show up, influence others, and are experienced in professional settings. Participants explore their leadership shadow, identify key pillars of their leadership presence, and consider how to communicate their purpose and impact more intentionally. The session supports leaders to strengthen credibility, influence, and alignment between intention and perception.

Leadership is not a solo pursuit. This session explores the importance of intentionally building a diverse and supportive network. Participants reflect on the roles different people play in their leadership journey and learn how to curate a support crew that offers challenge, perspective, advocacy, and encouragement at different career stages.

WILD Leadership Circles is designed for women and non-binary professionals in STEM who are ready to deepen their leadership, broaden their influence, and grow alongside a close-knit group of peers.

This program is ideal if you:

• Have 3+ years of professional or leadership experience in a STEM-related field
• Are currently (or most recently) working in a professional STEM role
• Are looking to leverage your experience, build meaningful connections, and reflect on your next chapter as a leader

Participants often come from diverse STEM environments — from research institutes and government to startups, listed companies, legal and commercial settings — bringing a wealth of perspectives and shared ambition.

Ready to join a WILD Leadership Circle? Click here to Register Now.

Registering is straight forward. Fill in your basic details, group choice and credit card details to pay now. Once payment has been made, you will receive an email from the WILD for STEM team with orientation details.

Each group is capped at 10 people. Once that limit is reached, you will only be able to register to remaining groups.

Leadership Circles applications close 28 February 2026.

The coaching is delivered by highly experienced leadership and executive coach, Sarah Rowley.

Sarah has led Chief Executive Women (CEW) as interim CEO and also runs the Leadership Development Practice at CEW. She has over 25 years experience and has worked with more than 800 clients from across retail, pharmaceuticals, IT and not for profit.

Sessions are structured, high-impact, and tailored to the real-world challenges of leadership. Sessions are designed to be psychologically safe, inclusive and highly interactive:

Theme 1: Building Our Safe Space

This opening session focuses on building trust, connection, and psychological safety within your Leadership Circle. Participants get to know one another, establish shared ways of working, and set individual intentions for the program. This foundation creates the conditions for honest reflection, meaningful challenge, and deep peer learning throughout the duration of the program.

Theme 2: Leading With Strengths

Grounded in the Gallup CliftonStrengths® framework, this session supports participants to understand how to name, claim, and aim their strengths to drive leadership impact. Participants explore how strengths-based leadership can shape teams, influence organisations, and contribute to healthier, more effective cultures, moving beyond deficit-based leadership models.

Theme 3: Our Personal Narratives and Moving Beyond Limiting Thoughts & Beliefs

This session invites participants to reflect on the experiences and narratives that have shaped how they see themselves as leaders. Through guided reflection, participants explore how their stories are told and received, identify limiting beliefs and thought patterns, and examine how these can affect visibility and progression. Practical strategies are introduced to help reframe challenges and lead with greater intention and authority.

Theme 4: Defining Success & Values

Participants step back to reflect on what success truly means to them, beyond traditional or external definitions. This session supports leaders to clarify their personal values and explore how these influence leadership style, decision-making, and impact. Participants leave with greater alignment between their values, goals, and leadership direction.

Theme 5: Curating Purpose & Executive Presence with Intentionality

This session focuses on how leaders show up, influence others, and are experienced in professional settings. Participants explore their leadership shadow, identify key pillars of their leadership presence, and consider how to communicate their purpose and impact more intentionally. The session supports leaders to strengthen credibility, influence, and alignment between intention and perception.

Theme 6: It’s Who You Know – Building Your Support Crew

Leadership is not a solo pursuit. This session explores the importance of intentionally building a diverse and supportive network. Participants reflect on the roles different people play in their leadership journey and learn how to curate a support crew that offers challenge, perspective, advocacy, and encouragement at different career stages.

At the start of the program you will also perform a personalised Gallup Strengths Assessment to understand and build on your own individual strengths.

Places in WILD Leadership Circles are strictly limited and groups are filled on a first-come-first-served basis. Each group is capped at 10 people. Once that limit is reached, you will only be able to register to remaining groups. Registrations close on 28 February 2026.

Scholarships for WILD Leadership Circles are also strictly limited and available for individuals from a culturally and racially marginalised (CARM) background (as defined by the Diversity Council Australia) or First Nations peoples. Registrations close on 15 February 2026. For more details on scholarship criteria, please see Scholarships FAQ.

Leadership Circles is for diverse and driven STEM leaders from across Australia. You will be custom-matched with an inspiring group of STEM leaders from various fields and locations to ensure that you can make the most of out of the program and networks.

Participants often come from diverse STEM environments — from research institutes and government to startups, listed companies, legal and commercial settings — bringing a wealth of perspectives and shared ambition to your unique Leadership Circle.

Upon closure of applications, the WILD for STEM team will review the groups to ensure there are no conflicts of interest and a diverse range of individuals within each group.

For optimal peer-learning and engagement, each circle will comprise 8-10 participants.

WILD Leadership Circles is a customised experience designed for ambitious STEM leaders, blending executive coaching, curated networking events with trailblazers across industries, and an unforgettable, high-impact Leadership Retreat to culminate the program.

The program cost is $5,000AUD excluding GST.*

We encourage applicants to seek employer sponsorship or use their professional development budgets. Please download our Employer Information Pack, which outlines the value and benefits of the WILD Leadership Circles program for employers.

*Please note travel costs (and accommodation associated with the Leadership Retreat) are not included in the program cost.

Virtual delivery: Leadership Circles commences in March 2026, with a virtual program kick-off on 25 March. In April, participants complete the Gallup CliftonStrengths® Assessment and are onboarded to the WILD for STEM platform. Four facilitated 60-minute virtual peer sessions then take place monthly from May to August. Sessions are designed to be highly engaging, with minimal pre-work required.

In-person delivery: Following the first virtual peer session in May, participants come together for a two-day, in-person Leadership Retreat in Melbourne. A WILD for STEM community social day is held in Melbourne on the Saturday following the Retreat, which participants are encouraged to attend.

Community & networking: Professional networking events are held quarterly in-person in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, alongside other in-person state-based WILD for STEM catch-ups throughout the year.

Yes! We are proud to offer up to six scholarship places for individuals from a culturally and racially marginalised (CARM) background (as defined by the Diversity Council Australia) or First Nations peoples.

Scholarship applications are now open and close on 15 February 2026. There is a short application form to complete. Notification of application outcomes will be released prior to closure of registrations, after which there will be time for unsuccessful applicants to register through the regular pathway up until 28 February 2026.

Yes, we encourage applicants to seek employer sponsorship or use their professional development budgets. Please download our Employer Information Pack, which outlines the value and benefits of the WILD Leadership Circles program for employers.

We encourage you to speak with your employer before applying to the program, and sending through their billing details to hello@wildforstem.com

The Leadership Circles Retreat is an indulgent and memorable experience where you are able to reflect and build upon the leadership skills and learnings from the program. It is also an opportunity to connect with fellow participants in-person and solidify connections made throughout the program. The Leadership Retreat will include sessions delivered by Sarah Rowley, as well as other restorative and grounding exercises to foster connection.

Registrations NOW OPEN

• February 15: Scholarship Applications Close
• February 28: Registrations Close
• March – August: Program Delivery
• May 28-29: Leadership Retreat (Melbourne)