The Uncharted Leader with Kylee Stone, Brand Builder, Storyteller & Founder of TEAM Women Australia

Hi, I’m Kylee Stone.

I’m a descendent of the stolen generations of the Kulluli and Wakka Wakka nations with an intrinsic talent in the power of storytelling to help people ignite their passion, grow their influence and impish the impact they have in the business, leadership and life.

You can read about my professional biography by following me on LinkedIn here

The following is an expert of my personal story. I am personally very grateful for you being here and more importantly I am thrilled to have you be part of our movement to advance women in leadership and being a leader by taking action in direct accordance with their Vision. Values, Purpose and Passion - no matter who they are, what they do or where they come from.

If you have not already, be sure to join our private Facebook Group, Team Women - Ignite Your Passion and submit your application to tell your story here.

Now for my story,

The Kullilli People are descended from 32 ancestors associated with Kullilli country. My great grandmother, Moola Conbar, was from the town of Thargomindah, 1,000 km west of Brisbane, in South East Queensland.

As a result of the forced removal of our people by the government, my great grandmother was first moved to the Geddes Family Station in Gladstone.  When she fell pregnant, the owner denied any relationship with my great grandmother, so she was moved to the settlement at Cherbourg.

My grandmother, Margaret Jewell Fisher (Maggie) was born at the local hospital in Murgon. Considered a half-caste, she was forcibly removed from her family and taken 350km south to the Salvation Army on the Gold Coast. She was part of the Stolen Generation; and later a victim of the Stolen Wages.  

At 5 years of age, after issues of domestic abuse, my mother (with her 2yo twin sisters) was moved to the Salvation Army in Canowindra (320 km west of Sydney) where she remained until 15. One year later, she fell pregnant with me. 

My mother was 16 when I was born. She was told if she kept me she was not to come home, so the first few months of my life were spent in housing commission in Redfern. My mother married when I was 5, divorced when I was 10, married again when I was 14. I’d been to 6 different schools in my first 7 years and by the time I left school I’d been to 11.  I have 7 siblings (that I know of).

Despite all the disruption, I turned out ok! I may not have had access to the best education or privileged resources, but I was none the wiser. I was smart, resilient and incredibly determined.

I excelled in college with first place honours in business, marketing and sales.I landed a job working for the local newspaper, The Gold Coast Bulletin. I spent the next 15 years climbing the corporate ladder until 2005 when I became the Marketing and Strategy Director, working on community newspapers for the most influential media company in the world.

I felt like I’d made it.

Then in 2010 it fell apart….

I had three kids in the space of three years and while I didn’t want to leave, there were no options for flexible work at a senior level.  Walking into the office to negotiate my return,

“I can’t do this anymore. I can’t take care of three kids and work full-time”

I wanted part-time, but my boss wanted me full-time. I couldn’t see how to make it work without it having a massive impact on the family so I suggested we split off the role, I’ll work on strategy and leave marketing operations to the team. He agreed.

Within 3 months I was over it.  I lost all the parts of the job I loved - no team, no authority and no influence.  Sitting in the corner office with a view over the boardroom and I was made to feel like Jennifer, playing Baby Haussman in Dirty Dancing (and no one puts baby in the corner!)   

I was bitter and resentful. With 10 years of coaching under my belt, I turned my attention to myself, “What are doing, Kylee. This is your life! Are you going to sit around and wait for the role of the dice or are you going to do something about it?”

I got a coach. I started reading a pile of books, everything from ‘Google's Search Inside Yourself’ to Robin Sharmers ‘The Leader without a Title’ and ‘The Great Work Of Your Life’. I enrolled in post-grad studies, signed up to the Change Management Institute and got myself a mentor.  

One morning I was standing at the cafe, waiting for coffee when a woman at work says “how are you”. In true Kylee style, I said…

“honestly, I’m awful. I hate my job, I’m working my ass off, studying part-time, taking care of three kids and pissed off because working part-time somehow equates to not having the same level of intelligence to be a leader”

Before I knew it (long story short) I was hosting a mentoring circle for women going through the same thing, frustrated by a lack of flexibility in senior leadership roles and still desperately wanting to be leaders.

That was the year I launched TEAM Women Australia.

That was the day the journey began, “how do we achieve our life-long ambitions to be a leader while still taking care of our own and my families wellbeing”

One year later (2015) I left News Corp and started The Performance Code, a coaching consultancy that specialises in helping leaders understand the power of their personal story, and storytelling, as the access to navigating disruption and building a brand in business, leadership and life while taking care of their own and others wellbeing.

In 2018 I was acknowledged by NAIDOC “Because Of Her We Can” as one of 13 Indigenous Leaders inbusiness for my contribution to advancing women in leadership where I achieved one of my own dreams, claiming “the moniker of Australia’s Oprah”, I was described as “an irrepressibly curious and effervescent force of nature” and “one of the most authentic leaders of our time” and in 2020 I was named LinkedIn Top 20 Voices.

With 25 years in the media industry working on Australia’s most iconic brands, I earned a reputation as a compassionate and courageous leader who provides people with a space to be heard, discover their strengths and take action in direct accordance with their vision, values, mission and goals.

“It’s Kylee’s sharp intellect, endless energy, unbridled compassion and no-nonsense approach that earns her the trust and respect of others” - Femeconomy 

I am a proud ambassador for Barayamal - the world’s first indigenous entrepreneurs accelerator, Flexible Working Day, Driven Resilience - the #1 Resilience App and Virtual Coach that builds resilience for personal use, companies and coaches, and The Mentor Evolution.

I am deeply passionate about working with people who are disrupting the status quo on the traditional hierarchy, thought-leaders and forward-thinking leaders with a passion for breaking down barriers to social mobility amplifying the impact they have in the world.

It is my greatest wish that we take the wisdom of our indigenous culture, the most matured culture on the planet, and help the western world discover and the power of storytelling to learn, connect and grow.

If you’d like to connect, you can follow me on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and of course I’d be most grateful if you’d check out my podcast The Uncharted Leader which you can listen to on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or watch on YouTube.