About us
Neuroscience meets leadership
Turning managers into leaders starts with the practical application of neuroscience.
Skill-building on its own is surface-level. Sustainable change happens when we shift how people think and act.
So if you’re looking to unlock your leaders across feedback, accountability, and strategic decision making, it’s not going to come from a technical perspective learning module.
Enter: Top Five
Grounded in neuroscience and behaviour change, our programs equip people with practical, repeatable tools they can apply in real time, not just in the program, but in the flow of work.
Our approach is also shaped by insight from recognised Australian CEOs & leaders who work in complex, high pressure environments where:
We bring these real-world perspectives into our programs, alongside our expertise in behaviour change, to ensure learning is relevant, grounded, and immediately applicable.
We work across all levels of organisations, from team members to senior leaders, building shared language, stronger capability, and more consistent performance across the organisation.
Numbers we’re proud of
98%
Participants recommend our programs to other leaders.
100%
Leaders report using our tools in their day to day leadership.
10,000s
# of people who’ve unlocked leadership with Top Five.
91%
Of clients choose to work with us again.
Meet the team
Clare Desira
Clare Desira is the founder of the Top Five Movement and has worked with thousands of people in 40 countries to turn managers into leaders. Bringing a compelling mix of neuroscience, storytelling, and the ability to make people feel more capable than they realise, especially in high pressure environments when they’re already stretched thin.
She’s charmed by the cynics who’ve “seen it all before”, the technical/expert managers, and the leaders who can’t see the purpose from the trees. She has the ability to meet people where they’re at in the moment, whether it’s an audience of 30 or 3,000.
Clare hosts the number one charting leadership podcast Leading Generous Teams, where we bring you insights from Australian CEOs & leaders who work in complex, high pressure environments where resources are stretched, resilience is constantly tested, and the challenges are ongoing and multifaceted. We explore how these leaders sustain themselves and their teams over the long term, while continuing to lead generously and effectively.
This upcoming season of Leading Generous Teams is centred around sustainable leadership, particularly for leaders working in complex environments where the work is important, resources are stretched and the pressure never fully disappears. We’re exploring how leaders sustain themselves and their teams over the long term, while continuing to lead generously and effectively.
Other facts:
Kylie Lewis
Kylie is a highly experienced and sought-after executive coach and courage builder.
Kylie has a knack for developing a grounded sense of confidence and sharpening skills in the areas of leadership, culture change, personal professional development, self-awareness and courage.
Her ultimate mission is to move people, and she’s done this in the boardroom with generous leaders at all levels in business, university, government and community settings.
Drawing on her qualifications in psychology, communication, executive coaching, and the certified facilitation of work from incredible leaders like Dr. Brené Brown (Dare to Lead™), Professor Amy Edmonson (The Fearless Organization™), and Dr. Timothy Clark (Four Stages of Psychology Safety™), Kylie is skilled at supporting leaders in moving forward with momentum, grace, and courage.
Kylie has extensively studied and written a book about leaders making courageous changes and exactly how they did it practically, strategically and emotionally.
She believes in the power of naps, that life is too short for ironing and you can never have too many books. Her two guiding values are courage and grace.
Ann-Marie Chamberlain
Ann-Marie Chamberlain is a multiple award winning executive and community leader, board member and experienced coach.
Ann-Marie has walked in the shoes of an executive for over a decade and has a proven track record for delivering and driving sustainable results while keeping it real, creating more meaningful leadership at a team and individual level.
Ann-Marie has a love for change at all levels. One morning she might be sitting around a boardroom table of a community organisation or business and looking at things globally, by the afternoon she’s inspiring and driving change with our clients at a team and individual level.
Ann-Marie has a knack for shifting our clients perspective from “I should” to “I will’ and actually mean it. We’ve seen first hand people shift from self-doubt, confusion and avoidance to being deeply in action and achieving beyond what they thought was possible.
In her “spare time” you’ll find Ann-Marie in one of her other businesses where they fly drones over film sets, or thinking strategically as the Chair of Volunteering SA/NT and a Trustee for Kalyra Communities.
Ann-Marie is a two time winner of the Telstra Business Womens Award, and a recipient of the Centenary Medal for Leadership in the Community.
Dr Kate Cashman
Dr Kate Cashman is an award winning coach, executive leadership consultant and experienced speaker and facilitator.
Kate has a knack for turning the skeptical into highly trusted participants who are remarkably surprised at how quickly they’re willing to move into building new levels of mindset, resilience, confidence, focus and leadership.
Kate brings incredible experience as a behaviour change expert, shifting people’s perspectives to draw on their own strengths and to fuel confidence in the team members around them.
With qualifications in law, business, coaching, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and leadership consultancy, Kate brings a holistic and human centred approach to helping you + your teams move from where you are, to where you most want to be.
Kate works extensively in partnership with Tasmania Police and the University of Tasmania. Kate’s a walking, breathing example of someone who embodies change mindset and resilience without losing touch of the realities of being human (and a mum, a volunteer, a business owner of a yoga studio and bamboo toothbrush business and more).
Anna Webb
Anna is a highly experienced executive coach, leadership development consultant and facilitator.
Anna has a knack for helping leaders and teams navigate complexity with greater confidence, connection and impact. She quickly builds trust while creating the accountability needed for meaningful and lasting change.
Drawing on more than 25 years of experience, Anna partners with executives and organisations to strengthen leadership capability, resilience and team performance. She is skilled at helping people build self awareness, improve decision making and lead through change while bringing out the best in those around them.
Combining evidence based practices from positive psychology, neuroscience and emotional intelligence, Anna helps leaders develop the capabilities that matter most in today’s workplaces, including curiosity, compassion, adaptability, trust and accountability.
Anna also has extensive experience building high performing teams. She believes sustainable success comes through people, and that when individuals feel purposeful, empowered and connected, they produce their best work. Her work helps teams strengthen collaboration, belonging and performance in ways that last.
Outside of work, you’ll often find Anna ocean swimming, walking a trail with her two dogs, or spending time with her family. She believes that some of life’s best thinking happens in motion and brings that same energy and perspective to her work with leaders and teams.
Jodi Mactaggart
Jodes is our Program and Ops Coordinator. She brings decades of experience not only building strong teams but turning them around from operating at a loss to significant profit.
Jodes is your first point of contact and manages the logistics of hundreds of people on our programs at any one time. She’s fuelled by supporting other leaders to build their teams and get real results while staying human.
Jodes loves problem solving on the fly and primed this skill while working in the travel industry. She’s now our secret weapon at Top Five to creating life-changing experiences for our clients.
In her spare time, Jodes is all about connection. From backyard BBQ sessions, to raising her boys at the beach and travelling every weekend to bring the joy to someone else – whatever she’s doing, her infectious energy flows.
No one loves a laugh more than Jodes and we’re pretty sure she writes all the jokes for her partner’s comedy shows.
What’s in a name?
Our business name came from our movement of generosity that was sparked from a daily little habit called writing a Top Five list. We think this little list is the secret weapon not only for changing our day but actually changing the world.
