For Australian non-profits, social enterprises and mission-aligned government.
Brilliant at the work. Burning out without a system to lead it.
Over 12 weeks, your middle leaders co-design a leadership system that lasts a lifetime.
The Refreshing Leader - a Social Enterprise by The Big Refresh.
The problem
“Burnover” is costing our sector its best people… and hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
“Burnover” is what happens when burnout drives turnover across our organisations.
And right now, we’re watching this wildfire rage across our sector in real time.
Every time someone burns out, it takes a huge personal toll. But it can also spread fast – as the pressure hits teams, weighs on our culture and hampers our ability to deliver.
Left unchecked, this can put our organisation’s reputation and our funding at risk.
Then there’s the maths: Bentley’s Australia estimates the true cost of replacing a staff member at up to 1.5 times their salary. For an $80,000 role turning over, that’s $120,000.
Think about that for a second. While your team is out there spending hundreds of hours applying for and acquitting $50K grants… there’s hundreds of thousands – maybe millions – walking out the back door each year due to burnout.
Money earmarked for impact, not recruitment.
“Nick’s coaching approach was considered, adaptive, and absolutely hit the mark. He co-designed a tailor-made, highly practical toolkit — a resource we will continue to use for years to come.”
The hard truth
Here's where we find ourselves
of leaders in or near burnout
rise in burnout-related resignations last year
Only
of leadership training actually sticks
Sources: McKinsey, 2023 | Pro Bono Australia, 2025 | Harvard Business Review; Center for Creative Leadership
Nick Orchard • Featured In
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The real issue
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: burnout isn’t actually the problem. It’s a symptom.
The real problem? It’s the lack of support systems for our middle leaders.
Middle leaders are consistently among the most burnt-out people in any organisation.
Sandwiched between top-down strategy and bottom-up delivery, they’re squeezed from both directions. Stuck in “doing and fixing” rather than leading and delegating.
They’ve got the talent and the commitment. But right now, they’re doing it without a system.
So they fall back on the only thing that’s ever worked for them: doing more. Working harder. Being the first in, last out. Holding everything together through sheer force of will.
82% of managers step into leadership with no formal management training
75% of managers report feeling overwhelmed by their responsibilities
Sources: Chartered Management Institute | Gartner, 2024
But here’s the clincher: even for those who DO receive training, evidence suggests only 10–20% of it actually sticks once they return to the same pressures, priorities and ways of working.
Our sector’s answer has mostly been to promote great people and hope for the best.
But leadership can’t be something people are left to improvise…
Because there comes a point where these middle leaders become the bottleneck. Where their personal capacity becomes their biggest constraint. And the only lever they have left to pull is “more time”…
…which is when things can go downhill fast.
Trusted by leaders from some of Australia's most impactful organisations
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You don't just need training or coaching. Your middle leaders need a co-designed leadership system.
Imagine it’s six months from now.
Your middle leaders have found their edge.
They’ve hopped off the dancefloor and onto the balcony… and for the first time, they can see the full picture.
Keeping the plates spinning and even adding a few – because with a system driving their leadership, capacity isn’t a ceiling anymore.
Once “hard” conversations happen early and easily, instead of festering. Delegation is a structured process, not a leap of faith. And when the pressure hits, no more white-knuckling through it — they’re pulling up their own leadership dashboard, and running the play they’ve designed for exactly that situation.
And you? You’ve got your calendar and your headspace back.
This is what The Refreshing Leader builds.
Three phases. Twelve weeks.
A system that lasts.
Phase 1
Sessions 1–2: Get Honest
What shapes my understanding of myself as a leader?
Leaders step back and see things clearly: where their time really goes, where pressure builds, and what patterns are shaping their teams. For many, it’s the first time they’ve properly paused to ask the question.
What you’ll notice: Shifts start happening straight away — often freeing up time, energy and focus from the very first session.
Phase 2
Sessions 3–4: Get Brave
How do I become and sustain the leader I want to be?
This is where leaders tackle the “too hard basket” challenges. They clarify expectations, engage in tricky conversations, redistribute ownership, and shift from “doing and fixing” to leading and delegating.
What you’ll notice: The problems middle leaders once sought your support for are getting resolved before they reach you.
Phase 3
Sessions 5–6: Get Purposeful
What ways of working will empower my team and I to thrive together?
Leaders design the structures that support their best work — clear priorities, sustainable rhythms, boundaries that protect focus.
What you’ll notice: By the final session, each leader has built their complete Leadership Operating System — a living dashboard they keep using week after week.
The program might end here… but the system keeps running for the long haul.
“The result has been a noticeable cultural shift. Team members are embedding the new practice model with genuine ownership.”
In practice, organisations typically see:
Burnout pressure easing
Leaders are steadier, less reactive, with fewer red flags and reduced risk of unplanned leave.
Time regained
Up to a full day per week back — thanks to reduced meeting inefficiency, clearer ownership and smoother workflows.
Delivery stabilising
Fewer last-minute scrambles, greater confidence that effort’s going to the right places.
Bottlenecks reducing
Leadership is shared. Less depends on one overextended person holding everything together.
Culture lifting
Collaboration improves. Leadership feels sustainable. People start to enjoy the work again.
“18 months ago, I was running an organisation on fumes and grit. Nick didn’t give me answers — he helped me hear my own, clearly and confidently. The result? I feel clearer, calmer, more energised, and more ‘me’ than I have in years.”
What leaders walk away with
A living leadership dashboard. Tracks progress, and continues to build awesome capability for years to come.
Middle leaders don’t wrap up The Refreshing Leader with just good vibes.
They’ve got a fully operational, self-sustaining Leadership Operating System. Built by them, for them, from their actual experience, tailored to your organisation’s needs.
It works across three layers:
Weekly Operating Rhythm
Each leader designs the architecture of a week they can actually sustain. Protected time for strategic work, a clear sprint rhythm, all mapped onto one page.
Leadership Pulse
A 15-minute monthly check-in that tracks how they're leading across every dimension of the program. Over 12 months, they build a full year of personal leadership data. A clear, objective picture of where they're growing, where they might be slipping, and where the gaps are.
Leadership DNA Library
A personal reference library of who they are at their best, what pulls them off course, how they handle pressure, and the structures that support their hardest conversations. Their own leadership playbook, built by them, always accessible.
Twelve weeks to build it.
Years of compounding value.
“After a few sessions with Nick, I flipped the narrative in my head. I reconnected with my assets, strengths and abilities as a leader.”
“The impact has been really significant. It’s changed the way I work, and changed the way I think.”
it’s time to make some juice.*
My story
In 2020, I blinked while chairing an online executive meeting. When I opened my eyes, I was driving at 130kms/h on the wrong side of the road.
I still have no memory of how I got there.
That was my version of burnout. Not the “I need a long weekend” kind. The kind built in the background over 14 years of carrying everything — pushing through, terrified of failure, convincing myself that’s just what it means to care about the work.
And here’s the thing: my story isn’t unusual in our sector.
The same qualities that make someone exceptional at frontline work — care, commitment, willingness to do whatever it takes — often become the very things that burn them out when they step into leadership without a system to support them.
What finally helped me rebuild wasn’t time off or a wellbeing program. It was building something practical — a leadership system designed around how I understood myself, how I worked with others, and how I structured my work.
After refining it through more than 1,500 hours of live coaching and working alongside 100+ for-purpose leaders, I’m proud to offer the program I wish had existed back then.
Because burning out great people shouldn’t be the price of doing great work.
“I’d been dealing with high staff turnover, difficulty recruiting, and feeling I wasn’t adequately supporting my team. Nick was incredibly adept at reframing issues with great compassion and nous.”
Why I'm trusted to lead this work
For 14 years I worked in senior and executive leadership roles across government and the for-purpose sector — leading large teams, managing budgets of up to $40 million, running programmes for some of Victoria’s most vulnerable communities.
I understand first-hand the pressures — and the privilege — of leading in this sector.
14+ years senior & executive leadership in government and for-purpose
1,500+ hours live coaching with for-purpose leaders
IECL Certified Professional Coach
100+ for-purpose leaders supported
Case Study
South Port Community Housing Group
“South Port Community Housing was looking for something a little different from standard ‘run of the mill’ leadership training. Nick brought practical tools and insights, grounded in an understanding of the sector and the challenging environment our staff work in.”
Within 8 weeks, all six leaders had locked a Weekly Operating Rhythm into their practice
Leadership DNA Library and tools embedded — still in active use long after the programme ended
Leaders applying new tools immediately from Session 1
Reduced turnover risk, stronger collaboration, measurable growth in leadership confidence.
Who this is and isn’t for
This is likely a strong fit if...
Your middle leaders are under real pressure to deliver, while holding people and culture together.
You’re ready to move beyond effort-based delivery and embed something sustainable.
You want measurable change — not just a good vibe after a training day.
Your leaders will commit to doing the work between sessions.
You’ve got a talented middle leader who’s struggling — and you suspect the real issue is a lack of system, not a lack of capability.
It's probably not right if...
You’re looking for a one-off training day to tick off and forget about.
Your team wants ideas without doing the work to embed them.
You’re hoping to outsource performance management.
Your organisation isn’t in a place to simplify, test and implement change right now.
“Nick has successfully built trust with managers who don’t naturally open up to outside coaches. We have seen very positive outcomes on the back of this work.”
But if your people are ready to build something real together? Let’s talk. I’m all in.
The Refreshing Leader
Here's the maths.
Replacing just one burnt-out staff member typically costs between $100,000–$150,000, once recruitment, onboarding, backfill and lost momentum are factored in.
Deep-dive, bespoke leadership programmes of this kind often cost between $40,000–$50,000.
The Refreshing Leader costs just a fraction of this — and is designed to prevent it happening in the first place.
The Refreshing Leader
Giving back
The Refreshing Leader is a social enterprise.I've committed to helping Australian NFPs avoid $25 million in burnout-driven turnover costs by 2031.
In addition, for every booked cohort, we offer one fully funded programme place to a CEO or Executive Officer of a registered Australian charity with annual revenue under $1 million.
Because this work isn’t just about any one organisation. It’s about strengthening our whole sector.
The system gets locked in... or I stay with you until it is
If the Leadership Operating System isn’t fully up and running by the end of the 12 weeks, I’ll continue supporting the group for a further four weeks at no additional cost.
This guarantee works both ways. It only applies when leaders have shown up fully — attending sessions, completing between-session work, and genuinely testing the system.
What the FAQs?!
How disruptive is this to day-to-day delivery?
Between-session work is 30 minutes per week. Group sessions run for 90 minutes, fortnightly. Most executives find the time investment pays for itself within the first few weeks as leaders start reclaiming time through better delegation and clearer priorities.
How many leaders can join a cohort?
4–8 middle leaders. Large enough for peer learning and challenge, small enough that every leader gets genuine personalised attention. Happy to discuss 1:1 or larger group options on a case-by-case basis.
Where does my team’s data live? Who has access?
Each leader’s dashboard sits in their own private Notion workspace. Individual scores and reflections are confidential to the leader — never shared with managers, HR or sponsors without their explicit consent. What you get is an aggregated summary of themes and progress across the cohort.
Ready to build the system?
Book a 30-minute Leadership Refresh Blueprint Session.
30 minutes. I’ll show you the full system, and you’ll walk away with practical shifts you can action straight away.
I’ll walk you through the system, we’ll talk through fit and timing, and I’ll share what I’ve seen work in organisations like yours.
And just so you know — I’m no IP hoarder. In our first conversation, I’ll open the boot and show you the full system. If you want to take it and build a DIY version internally, go for it. But if you want a guide to help your leaders actually build and embed it? That’s what I’m here for.