Hire Michael Bunting to Speak on Leadership, Culture, and Performance
Evidence-based keynotes that help leaders make immediate improvements to bottom-line performance, innovation and workplace engagement.
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“Michael was the breakout speaker of the year for Growth Faculty. What set him apart was not just the quality of his research or the compelling and entertaining style of his delivery, but the fact that our audience left with ideas and insights they could use immediately. That combination is rare.”
Karen Beattie
CEO, Growth Faculty
Michael Bunting is one of the world’s leading authorities on the behavioural foundations of leadership and organisational culture, and one of the rare voices in this space whose work is built on rigorous research, not opinion or personal narrative.
He is the best-selling author of The Mindful Leader, Vertical Growth, and Extraordinary Leadership in Australia and New Zealand (co-authored with Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, creators of The Leadership Challenge, one of the most researched leadership models in the world). His methodology is featured in the MBA program at the University of Sydney and has been applied across dozens of global organisations including EY, Microsoft, Sanofi, Novartis, Hilton, Swarovski, Thiess, CIMIC etc..
As founder of TripleGoal, a global leadership and culture consultancy, Michael has spent more than two decades working at the intersection of adult development, applied leadership research, and real-world organisational practice. His work is built on a single, evidence-backed premise: leadership behaviour is the primary driver of performance, learning, and workplace culture, simultaneously. He calls these the Triple Goal, and everything he does is designed to help organisations achieve all three at once.
What distinguishes Michael’s keynotes is a combination of depth, evidence and immediate practicality. His sessions are grounded in data from tens of thousands of 360° leadership assessments, decades of applied client work around the world, and academic rigour that is rarely found on a conference stage. His clients have gone on to be recognised as award-winning workplaces while achieving significant, measurable gains in performance, agility, and leadership effectiveness.
Drawing on the frameworks in Vertical Growth, which distinguishes between skill-building and the deeper self-awareness required for lasting behavioural change, and the evidence-based leadership practices explored in The Mindful Leader, Michael gives audiences more than inspiration. He gives them a shared language, clear frameworks, and specific actions they can implement immediately.
Known for his depth, humour, and disarming honesty, Michael’s keynotes consistently leave senior leaders and their teams with something rare: genuine insight they didn’t have when they walked in, and a clear path forward.
“Michael is truly exceptional. Insightful, practical, and unforgettable. The audience response was outstanding.”
Richard Lindell
CEO, Corporate Leaders Network
Why Michael Bunting’s Keynotes Stand Out
Evidence-Based Insights
Powerful and Thought-Provoking Delivery
Michael challenges leaders to rethink their assumptions about leadership, performance, and culture, creating moments of genuine insight that stay with audiences long after the event.
Practical Tools Leaders Can Apply Immediately
Leaders leave with specific frameworks and actions they can implement immediately to improve how they lead, communicate, and develop their teams.
Entertaining, Human, and Memorable
Michael combines humour, vulnerability, and compelling stories from real leadership situations around the world. The result is a keynote that is engaging, relatable, and highly memorable.
Focused on Real Organisational Outcomes
Leaders leave understanding how to shift their behaviour in ways that improve results, strengthen culture, and accelerate learning across their organisation.
“Michael delivered exactly what we needed—connecting the dots, reinforcing our leadership strategy, and supporting leaders to reflect honestly on how they show up under pressure.”
Shona Poulten
TPG Vodafone
Signature Keynote Topics
All keynotes are evidence-based, highly engaging, and tailored to the audience and context.
Adapt or Fail: Why Culture Decides Everything in the Age of AI
What this keynote delivers:
- Why the age of AI makes psychological safety, accountability, and fast learning non-negotiable rather than nice to have.
- The cultural patterns costing your organisation speed, execution, and engagement right now.
- How misaligned incentives and routines are undermining your learning and performance without anyone noticing.
- How to build an organisation that learns fast from mistakes without ever lowering your standards.
- What it takes to reset your culture to deliver the performance, adaptability, and speed the AI era demands.
The Leadership Evidence: What the 2026 Research Reveals
His research identifies the specific green zone behaviours that drive a 50% improvement in performance, agility, and engagement, and the red zone behaviours correlating with a 45% reduction in the same measures. In an AI accelerated world, the cost of getting leadership wrong has never been higher.
What this keynote delivers:
- Cutting through the noise: the only three leadership outcomes that actually matter in a complex, disrupted, and hyper demanding world.
- Why understanding the drivers of leadership behaviour is essential for focusing on the core behaviours that drive the right outcomes in a disrupted environment.
- The conditioned behaviour patterns and reactive tendencies all leaders must overcome to achieve excellence under pressure.
- The evidence-based green zone behaviours driving exceptional performance, agility, and engagement in conditions of constant change and uncertainty.
- How to build the capacity to self-regulate, avoid reactivity, and act from wisdom in complexity and paradox.
- What it actually takes to grow as a leader in a way that is simple, measurable, and built for the demands of right now.
Mastering Feedback: Because Your Future Depends on It
What this keynote delivers:
- The underlying truth of why almost all feedback skills training fails and what actually works instead.
- The common conversation patterns that lead to confusion, misalignment, and low standards.
- The critical role of appreciation and empathy in making feedback land without damaging relationships.
- How to set clear expectations and hold others accountable without damaging relationships.
- A practical framework for direct, respectful, and outcome-focused conversations that drive ownership and results.
- What it takes to build a culture where honest conversations are normal, safe, and effective.
What Clients Say
Tracey Craven Head of Organisational Development, George Weston Foods “Michael helped us deliver our most successful leadership conference to date. Our NPS score doubled, and the highlight by far was Michael’s two-hour interactive keynote. He helped us create an event to remember—and map a clear leadership and culture journey going forward.”
Growth Faculty organiser of some of the world’s premier keynote events. "Michael Bunting’s session, Vertical Growth: The Inner Work of Transformational Leadership, was one of the top-rated sessions at LeaderSHIFT 2026, earning 188 “favourite session” votes, standing out amongst a line-up of globally renowned keynote speakers. Leaders connected strongly with his evidence-based framework and its practical application to real leadership challenges. The depth and quality of audience questions reflected a clear desire to apply these ideas immediately, particularly in areas such as managing defensiveness in feedback, shifting team behaviour, and leading effectively within complex cultures."
Tanya Bowes Corporate Affairs Executive Director for Tourism Australia “I recently asked Michael to deliver a keynote on self awareness, growth and leadership to my function. The feedback was truly exceptional. People were very moved and inspired by the message and simple (not easy!) take outs and Michael's incredibly honest, personal style of delivery. So impactful and so good.”
Jaime McCoy Vice President at Gilead Sciences “Michael ran a 2.5 hour keynote and workshop on Vertical Growth for our broader leadership team. I have had amazing feedback from my team about the session and its impact. Michael makes a complex, yet game changing leadership development process easy to understand, immediately practical and useful. His deep expertise and good humour made the session engaging and enjoyable for all.”
Sharon Woodley Chief People Officer consulting for high growth businesses “Michael’s presentation style, knowledge and use of research engages our leaders in a way I haven't seen. These leaders have implemented changes they've made in their leadership practices as a result and often quote some key concepts from Michael's presentation which is starting to give us a common leadership language. We are already planning our next leadership sessions with Michael.”
Richard Lindell CEO of Corporate Leaders Network “Michael was a keynote speaker for our CEO and HRD forum. We have seen hundreds of keynote speakers in our line of work and Michael’s presentation was right at the top of the range. It was a truly terrific presentation on leadership and the process of growth and culture change.”
Shona Poulten TPG Vodafone “Michael delivered exactly what we needed—connecting the dots, reinforcing our leadership strategy, and supporting leaders to reflect honestly on how they show up under pressure.”
Michaela Wortley Ernst & Young “Michael’s ability to explain complex leadership challenges in a simple, practical, and deeply authentic way created an appetite in our leaders we had never seen before. The impact was eye-opening and life-changing.”
Enquire About Booking
Michael Bunting is available for keynote presentations at conferences, leadership offsites, and executive events.
Keynotes can be delivered live or virtually and are customised for each audience.
To enquire about availability and fees, please complete the form below: