Module 01
Leopard Leadership
Self-awareness as the foundation of great leadership — a leopard can't change its spots, but it can understand them.
The obstacles to high performance are uncannily similar from one organisation to the next. Irrespective of industry or country, most leaders say the same things.
We see a lot of silo behaviour and internal rivalry.
Our managers find it hard to give negative feedback.
Change is difficult to manage and often resisted.
The gossip grapevine is incredibly effective.
Our performance appraisal system isn't working as it should.
Harna Burton is a leadership consultant who, through a unique blend of primate ancestry, human instinct and practical operational strategy, helps leaders build confident, compassionate, high-performing teams and positive culture.
With 25 years of hands-on operational experience in the zoo and aquarium industry — including 15 years in leadership roles at Melbourne Zoo and Melbourne Aquarium — Harna has worked directly with CEOs and senior executives across these ZAA-accredited organisations.
She brings deep expertise in animal welfare, project management and team leadership — and a quiet conviction that the dynamics governing a primate troop and a 200-person business run on the same rules. Read the room. Earn the trust. Move the group.
Using the link between our primate ancestry and human behaviour, we help you understand why we act and think the way we do. When you apply this to leadership, you can make better-informed decisions.
Presence, calibration and decision-making under pressure — the small daily habits that compound into trust, with or without a title.
Team architecture, feedback and appraisal systems, culture diagnostics, and the conflict and reintegration work most consultancies avoid.
Sharpening the read — group dynamics, non-verbal signal, and knowing when to push, when to wait, and when the data is lying.
A connected programme — from self-awareness, to the instincts that drive behaviour, to the systems that hold an organisation together. Run standalone or end-to-end.
Self-awareness as the foundation of great leadership — a leopard can't change its spots, but it can understand them.
Leadership coaching and workshops on the link between primate ancestry and modern workplace behaviour.
The operational backbone — auditing time and value, standardising systems, and navigating change.
Whether you run a wildlife park or a payments company, the work is the same — people, pace and instinct. Tell us what you're working on.