Amanda Sinclair is an author, researcher, teacher and consultant in the areas of leadership, change, gender and diversity. Currently a Professorial Fellow, Amanda held the Foundation Chair of Management (Diversity and Change) at Melbourne Business School, The University of Melbourne from 1995 – 2012. Her books include: Leadership for the Disillusioned (2007); Doing Leadership Differently (1998); New Faces of Leadership (with Valerie Wilson, 2002) and Leading Mindfully: How to focus on what matters, influence for good and enjoy leadership more (2016). Her latest book with colleague Christine Nixon is Women Leading (2017) explores leadership lessons to be learnt from women.

Enjoying a reputation as a challenging and controversial teacher, Amanda has designed and delivered MBA and executive curricula in subjects including Leadership, Change and Organisations, Management and Ethics and Managing Difference. A particular area of interest and expertise is in designing and running leadership development programs for senior women.

With extensive coaching and consulting experience, the focus of much of Amanda’s recent work has been on introducing new approaches to leadership which incorporate insights and evidence from meditative traditions, mindfulness and neuro-scientific research. Indeed people say this is the most valuable part of classes and programs. She has worked with organisations and leadership teams across a wide range of sectors – in corporate, medical and hospital, police, school, union, judicial, university, government and local government settings. As a yoga and meditation teacher her intent is to support people to explore new, sustainable ways of being in leadership: to achieve but also flourish and find pleasure. Her four adult children, partner and assorted other animals help her focus on what matters.

ANZSOG Programs

Professor Sinclair teaches in the following ANZSOG courses:

Women leading the public sector (workshop co-leader)

Selected publications

Bell, E., & Sinclair, A. (2016) Bodies, sexualities and women leaders in popular culture: from spectacle to metapicture. Gender in Management, 31(5/6): 322-338 .
Bell, E. & Sinclair, A. (2016) Re-envisaging leadership through the feminine imaginary in film and television. In C. Steyaert, T. Beyes and M. Parker (eds), Routledge Companion to the Humanities and Social Sciences in Education.
Sinclair, A. (2016) Leading Mindfully: Bringing Presence and Pleasure to Being in Leadership. Sydney: Allen and Unwin.
Chamberlain, C. , Fergie, D., Sinclair, A. & Asmar, C. (2015) Traditional midwifery or ‘wise women’ models of leadership: Learning from Indigenous cultures. Leadership, 12(3): 346–363.
Evans, M. and Sinclair, A. (2015) Navigating the Territories of Indigenous Arts Leadership: Exploring the experiences and practices of Australian Indigenous arts leaders. Leadership, 12(4): 470–490.
Sinclair, A. & Evans, M. (2015) Difference and Leadership. In B. Carroll, J. Ford and S. Taylor (eds), Leadership: Contemporary Critical Perspectives. London: Sage, p. 130-149.
Sinclair, A. (2015) Possibilities, purpose and pitfalls: Insights from introducing mindfulness to leaders. Journal of Spirituality, Leadership and Management, 8(1): 3-11.
Bell, E. & Sinclair, A. (2014) Reclaiming Eroticism in the Academy. Organization, 21(2): 268-280.
Sinclair, A. (2014) On knees, breasts and being fully human in leadership. In D. Ladkin and S. Taylor (eds), The Physicality of Leadership: Gesture, entanglement, taboo, possibilities. Monographs in Leadership and Management, Vol 6, Emerald Group Publishing, p. 175-195.
Sinclair, A. (2014) A feminist case for leadership. In J. Damousi, K. Rubenstein and M. Tomsic (eds), Diversity in Leadership: Australian Women, Past and Present. Canberra: ANU Press. Access at http://press.anu.edu.au/titles/diversity-in-leadership/.
Sinclair, A. (2013) A Material Dean. Leadership, 9(3): 436-443.
Sinclair, A. (2013) Can I Really Be Me? The Challenges for Women Leaders Constructing Authenticity. In D. Ladkin & C. Spiller, Authentic Leadership: Concepts, Coalescences and Clashes. Edward Elgar, pp 239-251.