Who's Anneli?
Award-winning author and expert
Human nature nerd
Skilled parallel parker
Hiking, salsa and jigsaw puzzle enthusiast
Every workplace runs on conversation.
The quick check-ins. The hard truths. The ideas shared… or not.
These moments shape culture more than any strategy document ever could.
Anneli Blundell has spent her career exploring this human heartbeat of organisations. Not the theories about leadership, but the lived experience of it: the silence in meetings that should be alive with ideas, the brilliant people who hold back because the culture doesn’t feel safe, the leaders who want to do the right thing but don’t yet have the skills or confidence to say the thing that needs to be said.
Anneli noticed early on that most workplace problems aren’t really performance problems, they’re conversation problems. People avoid, soften, hint, sugar-coat, and miss the moment to be clear and kind. Or they force, coerce or demand and control, and forsake the connection that creates trust.
Cultures drift from open to guarded, from trusting to tentative. Too ‘tough’ or too ‘nice’, but rarely finding the balanced blend of both.
So, she set out to change that.
Drawing on two decades of coaching, facilitation and leadership development, Anneli created a suite of practical, human-centred frameworks to help leaders balance care with courage, to both build trust and connection, and hold the challenging conversations that drive performance. Her work isn’t about scripts or corporate jargon. It’s about connection, clarity and the ability to calibrate the conversation to the person in front of you.
Clients describe her as the perfect blend of insightful and relatable, a thought leader with both backbone and heart. Her work is grounded in behavioural science but delivered with warmth, wit and real-world savvy. Whether she’s speaking on stage, coaching senior leaders or facilitating in the room, Anneli helps people feel safe enough to open up, brave enough to step forward and skilled enough to change the way they communicate.
Today, Anneli partners with organisations to build cultures where dialogue becomes a strategic advantage, where leaders talk honestly, teams collaborate deeply, and people feel able to contribute at their best.
Because when you fix the conversation, you fix the culture.
And when you fix the culture, you’re ready for the future.
This is a space she likes to play in. What about you?
And if you need the expected bits about awards, accolades and past clients, here it is…
Expertise
Communication and influence
Navigating power dynamics and office politics
Building buy-in and engagement
Working with difficult personalities and stakeholders
Strengthening relationships
Reading people and decoding group dynamics
Building executive presence and personal brand
Developing authority and gravitas
Improving EQ and self-awareness
Self Awareness
Leadership Coaching and Mentoring
Leading with both care and courage
Qualifications
Bachelor of Business (HR Major)
CSP - Certified Speaking Professional (One of only 150 in Australia and only 50 women)
Diploma of Coaching
Certificate IV in Coaching (Advanced Practitioner)
Neuroleadership 101
Certified iWAM Trainer and Profiling Practitioner (Inventory of Work Attitudes and Motivations)
Certified LAB Profile Consultant and Master Trainer (Language and Behaviour)
Certified Results Coach of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP)
Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Assessment
Conversational Intelligence (C-IQ) Enhanced Skills Practitioner
Accredited Master Coach with Australian & New Zealand Institute of Coaching (ANZIC)
Awards
HR SERVICE PROVIDER AWARD (BRONZE), 2024
Learning and Development
BRONZE ASIA-PACIFIC STEVIE® WINNER 2022 -
Corporate Innovator
AITD L&D PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR WINNER, 2021
Dr. Alastair Rylatt Award
GOLD STEVIE® WINNER 2021 -
Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Business Services –10 or Less Employees
BRONZE STEVIE® WINNER 2021 -
For the Women at Work Program
Women Helping Women - Social Change Category
AITD Excellence Awards Finalist 2021 for:
Best Diversity and Inclusion Program
Best Blended Learning Solution
2019 YMag’s Top Ten Women to Watch in 2019
2018/2019 Two time Telstra Business Women of the year nominee
2014 LearnX Impact Award Finalist, Best Talent Management – Performance
2010 ‘Coach of the Year’ Finalist, ANZI Coaching
2008 MCEI Winner - Professional Achievement Category
Memberships and Leadership Positions:
2024-25 National Board Member (Director of CPD and Events) Professional Speakers Australia
2022-2023 President VIC/TAS chapter of Professional Speakers Australia
2021 Leadership Team member of Professional Speakers Australia VIC/TAS chapter
2012 Leadership Team member of Organisational Development Australia
2009 Secretary of the ICF Victoria (International Coach Federation)
2009 MCEI (Marketing Awards) Judge
Member of Professional Speakers Australia (PSA)
Member of Australian Institute of Training and Development (AITD)
L&D Professional of the Year Excellence Awards Winner 2021 Dr. Alastair Rylatt Award
Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Business Services –10 or Less Employees
For the Women at Work Program
Women Helping Women - Social Change Category
Corporate Innovator
Check out Anneli’s youtube channel HERE.
“Anneli has been a tremendous asset to our organisation. She has the truly unique gift of being able to cajole, probe, challenge, nurture, communicate and interrogate in such a way that she makes all who work with her become better people and to bring out the latent talents we all possess. ”