About
PRINCIPLES
The way we work
Strengths first, not deficits
Most people approach a development conversation looking for what is wrong with them. That approach rarely works and it costs something real. What makes a leader credible over time is not the absence of a pronounced style — it is a style used on purpose. The work is to use what you already have deliberately, rather than by default.
The instrument is not the insight
Psychometrics and 360 feedback open a conversation; they do not deliver a verdict. Where someone’s profile and their actual behaviour differ, that gap is the interesting part, not an error in the tool. The debrief is where the value sits, which is why I do not hand over a report and leave.
Rarely stop at the leader
My doctoral research found that leaders are seen as effective by their people only where the structures, systems and processes around them support it. A leader can do everything right inside a system that will not let it land. So the work often extends past the individual to what the organisation is asking of them.
The research
My doctoral research asked what employees actually need from the people who lead them. The answer was four things: self-management, providing direction, building organisation capability, and engaging and involving. Leaders who demonstrate all four are seen by their people as effective — but only where the structures, systems and processes around them support it. That finding shapes how I work, and it is why I rarely stop at the leader.
None of the four happens by accident. What separates leaders who deliver them consistently from those who manage it on a good day is deliberateness — being intentional about decisions and actions rather than reactive to them. It is trainable, and coaching is where that shift is most reliably made.
BIO
Dr Gabrielle Ostrognay
Founder and Managing Director, GO People and Performance
I have spent over twenty years working with senior leaders and executive teams, across financial services, education, health, government, legal, retail, telecommunications and community services. I coach individuals and teams, and I work with organisations to design the assessment and feedback systems that support them.
I led the executive capability function at Coles Group, building the view of executive capability used by the chief executive, the executive team and the board, and establishing the assessment and feedback systems behind it. At Telstra I managed the chief executive’s Executive Leadership Program and was responsible for the organisation development function. Before all of that I worked in IT, leading acceptance testing for large-scale transformations — which is where I learned what happens to good intentions when they meet a system.
I am an appointed executive coach on the Monash University, Victorian State Government and Cbus executive coaching panels.
Education
Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology), University of Melbourne — organisational leadership Bachelor of Science, Psychology and Statistics (Honours), University of Melbourne
Credentials
ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC)
EMCC Global Accredited Coach (Level 2)
PhD (Psychology), University of Melbourne
BSc Psychology and Statistics (Honours), University of Melbourne
Member, Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP)
Member, Institute of Coaching, Harvard Medical School
I am also accredited in Genos Emotional Intelligence 360, Saville Wave, Human Synergistics LSI and OCI/OEI, Korn Ferry Talent Q, MBTI Steps I and II, Barrett Values, and narrative coaching. I work with the HEXACO-PI-R with the authors’ permission.
Memberships
Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP)
EMCC Global — European Mentoring and Coaching Council, Level 2
Institute of Coaching (IOC), Harvard Medical School
Recent clients
Clients include ANZ, EBOS Group Limited, Elevation Secondary College, John Fawker College, KPMG, Mercy Health, NAB, Northcote High School, Optus, RMIT University, St Vincent’s Health, University of Melbourne, VCAA, and Victoria State Government - Education and Training.
Pro Bono work
Humanitarian Coaching Network (HCN)
Care for Africa
Parkville College – Parkville Youth Justice Precinct
Assessment accreditation
Hogan Assessment Systems · The Leadership Circle · Facet5 · SHL OPQ32 · Zenger Folkman 360
Also accredited in Genos Emotional Intelligence, Saville Wave, Human Synergistics LSI and OCI/OEI, MBTI Steps I and II, Barrett Values, Korn Ferry Talent Q and the HEXACO-PI-R (used with the authors’ permission).
Research
My consulting practice is grounded in my own research on leadership and its relationship with employee wellbeing and performance.
Ostrognay, G. M. (2004). The structure and influence of transformational leadership on employee well-being and performance. Doctoral dissertation, University of Melbourne.
Spector, P. E., Cooper, C. L., Poelmans, S., Allen, T. D., O’Driscoll, M., Sanchez, J. I., Siu, O. L., Dewe, P., Hart, P., Lu, L., de Moraes, L. F. R., Ostrognay, G. M., Sparks, K., Wong, P., & Yu, S. (2004). A cross-national comparative study of work/family stressors, working hours, and well-being: China and Latin America vs. the Anglo world. Personnel Psychology, 57, 119–142.
Ostrognay, G. M., Wearing, A. J., & Stol, A. (2003). Country variation in organizational commitment: A multilevel examination. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Orlando.
Ostrognay, G. M., & Hart, P. M. (2002). Toward a three-factor model of organizational leadership. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Toronto.
Ostrognay, G. M., Norris, M., & Hart, P. (1999). Managerial stress. European Health Psychology Conference, Florence.
Community work
Northcote High School Council, Past President and co-opted Community member
Founding member of NESSA, Northcote Electorate State Schools Alliance
