In the lead up to our 2026 conference, we touch base with Brad Twynham, keynote speaker.
In what way do your life experiences impact your keynote presentations?
My life experiences are my keynotes. Today, information has become abundant. Anyone can ask AI a question and receive an answer in seconds. That means audiences no longer come to conferences looking for more information they come looking for perspective. Every keynote I deliver is built on experiences that have shaped how I think, lead and make decisions. The successes, the failures, the moments that challenged everything I believed, and the lessons that emerged from them. Information informs people. Experience transforms them. I believe that's why stories remain one of the most powerful teaching tools we have. They don't simply transfer knowledge they help people develop judgement, and that's ultimately what great leadership requires.
How have your personal journey and First Nations heritage contributed to the themes and lessons that feature in your keynote presentations?
I grew up connected to my culture and have spent a lifetime learning about the lessons in our culture and through many layers of Ancient Ceremonies. My First Nations heritage has taught me a way of seeing the world that has been refined over tens of thousands of years. It is a perspective grounded in connection, obligation, responsibility and long-term thinking. Over the past thirty years I've fused those ancient knowledge systems with my experience building technology companies and advising organisations through disruption. Together they help answer one of the defining leadership questions of our time: If AI can increasingly do the heavy lifting, what becomes uniquely human? I believe ancient knowledge systems offer profound insights into that question, not because they reject technology, but because they remind us what technology can never replace.
You speak extensively about leadership, resilience and change. What do you believe is the most important quality leaders need to develop in today's rapidly changing world?
We are in the middle of a tremendous shift from a time where technology has been scarce to a time where intelligence is now abundant, and when intelligence becomes abundant then judgement becomes scarce. Put simply, judgement is our competitive advantage and intelligence becomes infrastructure. That changes the role of leadership. The differentiator is no longer knowing the answers, it's exercising sound judgement. The challenge is that judgement isn't a personality trait, it's a capability that can be intentionally developed. During the keynote we'll explore four human capabilities that underpin strong judgement and how school leaders can deliberately cultivate them within themselves, their teams and ultimately their students.
Tell me more about “Radical Leadership” and how you see it working in an independent school setting. I think we've accidentally equated leadership with management. Independent school leaders spend enormous amounts of time managing budgets, compliance, governance, wellbeing, staffing and parent expectations. Those things are important, but they aren't leadership. Radical Leadership is about developing the capabilities that allow leaders to navigate uncertainty with confidence rather than simply manage complexity. At the heart of Radical Leadership are five human capabilities: Open-mindedness. Creativity. Empathy. Candour. Acceptance. These are not personality traits. They are capabilities that can be intentionally developed, and together they create the foundation for sound judgement. Whether the challenge is AI in the classroom, teacher wellbeing, governance, changing parent expectations or preparing students for an uncertain future, the question is no longer "How do we control this?" The question becomes: "How do we navigate it together?" That's the shift from management to leadership.
The ISNZ Annual Conference is on Friday 11 September and Saturday 12 September at the New Zealand International Convention Centre, Auckland. Register here.
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