Queensland’s leading ladies reset and recharge

Leading Ladies of Real Estate is an industry-wide initiative focused on building a community that supports and inspires women in real estate to chase their potential, both personally and professionally.

This year’s Reset and Recharge series in Brisbane was all about hitting pause to refocus and reconnect, by embracing balance, mental wellbeing and growth while setting the stage for success with mindfulness, gratitude, and high performance.

As part of the event, attendees also raised more than $3,000 for The Lady Musgrave Trust, a Queensland charity that provides practical solutions that transform lives and transition young women who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness to a life of opportunity and prosperity.

The initiative began in Queensland and was spearheaded by Ray White Queensland's Sally Patch, who said she was incredibly grateful to see how much the community had grown over the years.

"Four years ago, we held a breakfast for 10 women to start a conversation about how we could better support women in this industry," she said.

"Fast forward to today, and we welcomed those 10 women, plus 200 others, to our Reset and Recharge series.

"It’s incredible to see how far this initiative has come and the impact it’s having on so many women. The energy in the room was electric, and I’m so grateful to everyone who came along.

"Some attendees travelled from as far as Nambour, which speaks to the strength of this community. I can’t wait for our next event!"

EQ Minds founder and director Chelsea Pottenger (pictured above) spoke about how a postnatal depression diagnosis, followed by time in a psychiatric facility nine weeks after giving birth, prompted a complete lifestyle shift and focus on mental wellbeing.

“I had a fast paced lifestyle in Sydney and I had to choose whether to continue with it or learn something from the experience that the universe served up to me,” Chelsea said.

“I left Sydney and moved to Gerrigong in regional New South Wales. I went back to university to study psychology which I’m still doing. That was when my mission was born.

“I never want anyone in this industry sector or this world to end up like that.”

Chelsea covered topics including managing stress, optimising your morning routine, the value of community connection, and escaping burnout. She encouraged everyone in the room to focus on taking a big breath in, then out when feeling overwhelmed. This is the fastest way our bodies know how to regulate stress.

For those who instinctively reach for their phones first thing in the morning, Chelsea introduced the Five-for-Five challenge. Five behaviour changes, implemented over five days, designed to reset the mind each morning.

“When we wake up in the morning, our brain operates like an old manual car. We get eight minutes of Theta brainwaves and this is when your brain is very malleable and at its most vulnerable,” she said.

“If you reach for your phone to read the news or look at your emails, then your brain starts firing up feelings of fear, paranoia, and stress.”

The Five-for-Five challenge includes:

1. Change your alarm from an aggressive tone to something more soothing and energising.

2. Resist the urge! Put your phone back down when you wake up.

3. Think about three things you're genuinely grateful for in life.

4. Tell yourself that today is going to be a good day. Your brain has a natural negativity bias so you need to position things in a different way.

5. Do this for five days. Knowledge is only powerful if we do something with it.

Chelsea stressed the importance of nourishing your network and recognising the signs of burnout. She said self care isn’t selfish, it’s self-preservation.

“If you focus on forming strong connections, it leads to better relationships, more productivity, we connect with our team with purpose, and have a willingness to collaborate,” she said. “This will give us the edge over AI.”

“Setting boundaries is so important. It’s liberating to say no but do it in a kind way.

“Focus and awareness is big, otherwise burnout will sneak up on you. Your body will be keeping score, are you listening to it? We look for these three things as a sign of burnout - exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced accomplishment.”

Chelsea is an accredited mindfulness and meditation coach and Mental Health Ambassador for R U OK? and Gidget Foundation Australia. She works with the world's biggest brands including Google, eBay and Estee Lauder, training more than 95,000 professionals every year to take charge of their mental wellbeing.

Ray White Nambour sales associate Kayla Govan said she loved her third Leading Ladies event.

“Chelsea was brilliant, she had some excellent reminders for everyone, and she showed that even small changes can really make a big difference. I love networking and touching base with other likeminded women,” Kayla said.

Director of Loyle, Kathleen Luck, said she met many like-minded women at the event and had valuable discussions on improving the industry for women.

“What I love about these events, in an industry where women can give so much, is that we can all come together and really confirm with each other what it is we can do to improve the standards,” she said.

Ray White Mooloolaba sales team coordinator Courtney Terrill (pictured above) said she loved listening to Chelsea.

“My biggest takeaway is that the body keeps the score. Doing a three-day reset off the grid is something I’m going to try. I also loved the advice about taking at least eight minutes in the morning before checking my phone,” she said.

Belle Property Hope Island principal Sally O’Neill said initiatives like Leading Ladies of Real Estate allows women in the industry to come together and be supportive of one another.

“I love coming to Leading Ladies because it's collaborative and it brings all different women from within the industry together, and the information that we get and the sessions that we get are always awesome. It gives us a lot of things to think about for ourselves.” Sally said.