The Up Group helps people realise energy and strengths to ignite performance and potential.


Founder & Director

Leonie Hicks

Leonie Hicks is a coach and trainer who helps individuals, organisations and teams realise their potential, energise their strengths, and ignite their highest performance. Formerly one of Australia’s leading hip hop dancers, Leonie knows what it takes to tap into the joy that comes from expressing your essential self, doing what you love and committing 100% of your best self to achieve your goals. 

She draws on a 30 year career as a leadership, communication and presentation trainer, sales leader, business manager, recruitment consultant, career counsellor and successful entrepreneur. Her work includes designing mentoring and graduate recruitment programs for corporate clients such as Optus Singtel, organisation-wide initiatives to access talent in SMEs, and high-value training for the public sector. She brings her own strengths of empathy and listening to create a safe supportive space for her coaching clients and adds optimism and zest to ignite their learning and action. She gets her unstoppable energy from music, dance and people, and contributing to causes that leave the world a better place.

Leonie has a Master of Business Coaching from the University of Wollongong, qualifications in counselling, training and assessment, and is a certified Realise2 strengths, MBTI and DiSC practitioner. 

 

Associates

Sophie Francis

Sophie Francis is a coach and learning consultant who helps business owners, entrepreneurs and leaders become more successful by capitalising on their natural strengths. Her experience in leadership development and positive psychology gives her a deep insight into what motivates people. She has researched how people use their strengths and develop their potential during challenging situations, and writes regularly about strengths, positive leadership and neuroscience. A former founding member of a global management consulting group, Sophie has managed 100+ learning initiatives for clients such as PwC, Macquarie Group and Sydney University, to improve coaching and leadership skills, performance management, client relationships and team dynamics.

Sophie has a Master in Business Coaching (with Distinction) from the University of Wollongong, and is a certified Realise2 strengths and MSCEIT (emotional intelligence) practitioner. 

 

 

Daphne Driessen

Daphne Driessen is an organisational coach and HR specialist who helps business owners, managers and teams tap into their full potential by strengthening self-awareness, confidence, resilience and executive presence. Daphne’s strengths lie in quickly grasping complex issues and helping people tackle barriers to performance success. Her senior leadership and consulting experience in strategic HR management, organisational development, talent management, recruitment and turning around under-performing teams ensures she elicits peak performance without losing sight of the bigger organisational picture. 

Daphne has a Master in Business Coaching from the University of Wollongong, post graduate qualifications in Human Resources Management and is a certified Hogan Assessment practitioner.

 

Our credentials

Our team have masters level qualifications in business coaching and certification in leading assessment tools. We apply evidence-based coaching and positive psychology strategies recommended by academics and aligned to Standards Australia guidelines for coaching in organisations.

 

Our credo

Experience a sense of freedom to do what is interesting, personally important and vitalising.

- Edward Deci & Richard Ryan

 

Our values

Authenticity. Be true to yourself. Be real. Have self-belief and develop self-efficacy.

Creativity. Express your true spirit, the essence of you. We all have that creative spark. 

Unconditionality. Be present with people without judgment. Meet them where they are. 

Legacy. Be aware of your social footprint. Leave the world a better place. 

Freedom. Trust in your autonomy and freedom to create choice. 

Learning. Be inspired by learning all the time. Instill awareness and confidence then add knowledge.