Leading From Every Seat: Co‑Design, Followership and Project Delivery

Dr. Elissa Farrow

Futurist and Transformation Specialist

About the Presentation

Contemporary project management increasingly recognises that influence flows in multiple directions and that followers play a critical role in shaping sustainable, user-centred outcomes.

This session examines how co-design and lived experience expertise strengthen followership by challenging assumptions, improving decision quality, and reducing delivery risk. When people with lived experience participate as co-creators rather than consultees, their insights deepen understanding, enhance feasibility, and generate solutions that are more inclusive and context appropriate.

By reframing followership as an active, generative force within project environments, this session highlights how shared influence, relational trust, and collective sense-making can transform project culture and improve delivery outcomes.

Key Takeaways:

Co‑design strengthens project decisions by bringing lived‑experience expertise into the centre of planning and delivery.
Influence flows more effectively when project teams recognise followership as an active, insight‑driven practice.
Shared ownership and relational trust transform project culture and enable more sustainable outcomes.

About Dr. Elissa Farrow

Dr. Elissa Farrow is a futurist, author, facilitator, coach, and strategist. She has over 25 years of experience in research, organisational innovation, design, adaptation, and benefit realisation.

Dr. Farrow is known for her compassionate leadership and engagement approach. She is an experienced leader and has been a partner in transformation in various industries. Dr Farrow is a published author, and her doctoral research explored the implications of Artificial Intelligence on organizational futures. Her research created innovative adaptation principles for leaders and delivery teams as well as new knowledge relating to how to best transform organisations’ operating models to anticipate and create positive futures. In 2023, Dr. Farrow became an Adjunct Fellow at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

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