Flea Factory

Over the weekend, I received this.
"For leaders who spend their lives holding space for everyone else, Richard and Flea Factory offer something incredibly rare, the opportunity to step away from the constant demands and intentionally make space to think, create, and move forward with greater clarity and purpose."
- Kylie Clark-Parry, Lyn Beazley Academy, WA

Permission to pause.

That's what most leaders never get. Not because nobody cares. Because the world around them keeps moving, and stopping feels like falling behind.

A Leadership Reflection Morning is four hours of that permission. Structured, facilitated, limited to ten people.

Details in the comments

Sometimes the thinking happens. The clarity arrives.
You know what you've been avoiding. You know what needs to change.

And then the week loads up again, and nothing moves.

An Action Session is 50 minutes of focused space to move from clarity to action. Just you and me, online, working through what you know needs to happen next.

No frameworks. No programme. Just a purposeful conversation where you think carefully, decide deliberately, and commit to what comes next out loud.

$200. Book at the link in the comments.

From a participant last Friday.

"A breath of fresh air to be real. Four hours of analog and tech-free guided reflection without hype, PowerPoints, videos, or even a hyper-curated playlist created the exact atmosphere I needed to enable me to think and reflect clearly on my current leadership, life, and goals in this season. It was fun, challenging, soul-filling." - James

Soul-filling.

That's what four hours away from the noise can do.

Melbourne - 19 June. Three places left.
Adelaide - 3 July.
Fremantle - 6 July.

Link in the comments.

Over the weekend, I received this.

"It was phenomenal Richard. I truly enjoyed it and am keen to look at it quarterly or at the very least twice a year."

This was from a participant at last Friday's Leadership Reflection Morning on the Sunshine Coast.

Melbourne - 19 June. (Eleven days away - 4 Places Left)
Adelaide - 3 July. (3 Places Left)
Fremantle - 6 July (Early Bird Still Available)

Link in the comments.

This is what the room looks like before anyone arrives. From this morning's session on the Sunshine Coast.

A notebook. A card with a welcome note. A pencil. Morning tea on its way.

No slides. No agenda handed out. No performance required.

Just space to think.

Melbourne - 19 June. Three places left.
Adelaide - 3 July. Two places left.
Fremantle - 6 July.

Link in bio.

I was sent this last week. I've been sitting with it since.

"For leaders who spend their lives holding space for everyone else, Richard and Flea Factory offer something incredibly rare, the opportunity to step away from the constant demands and intentionally make space to think, create, and move forward with greater clarity and purpose."

Kylie Clark-Parry, Perth

Permission to pause.

That's what most leaders never get. Not because nobody cares. Because the world around them keeps moving and stopping feels like falling behind.

A Leadership Reflection Morning is four hours of that permission. Structured, facilitated, limited to ten people.

Details in the comments.

72% of Australian leaders say their biggest challenge isn't resources or competition.

It's maintaining personal energy and clarity.

That's not a resource problem. That's a thinking problem.

I've written about what's underneath that, and what actually helps.

Link in the comments.

Early bird pricing for Leadership Reflection Mornings is closing soon.

If you've been watching and wondering whether this is for you, this is probably the nudge you needed.

Sunshine Coast - 5 June - early bird closes 28 May
Melbourne - 19 June - early bird closes 5 June
Adelaide - 3 July - early bird closes 19 June
Fremantle - 6 July - early bird closes 19 June

After early bird closes, tickets move to $295.

Places are limited to ten per event.

Link in the comments.

So what actually happens at a Leadership Reflection Morning?

You arrive to a hot cup of tea or coffee.

No agenda. No workbook. No icebreaker.

Before anything else, I'll ask you to write. Not carefully. Not in sentences. Just whatever is present, the thing you were thinking about on the way here, the decision you haven't made, the conversation you're still carrying.

Then I'll ask you to read it back as if someone you lead had just said those words to you. What do you notice? What would you say to them?

Close that page. Now we can begin.

The morning moves through structured reflection, time alone with questions that matter, followed by a small group conversation where you listen without fixing and share only what you're ready to share.

Nobody gives advice. Nobody tells you what to do next. You leave with one or two things you're genuinely going to act on.

Not a list. Not homework. Just clarity.

I know what you're thinking. I don't have time for this. It feels indulgent.

But this is the real work. The thinking that happens in this space is what makes everything else more purposeful when you return.

Four hours. Ten people. Every participant receives a Certificate of Attendance documenting four hours of structured professional development.

Details on upcoming events in the comments.

You can feel the week loading up before it's even started.

By Friday, you'll have been flat out, and yet somehow won't be able to tell me what you actually got done that mattered.

Not because you're lazy. Because you've been carrying something you haven't had time to examine.

I keep hearing the same thing from leaders.

Tired. Overwhelmed. Running fast, but not sure they're running in the right direction. Too deep inside the work to see the shape of it.

They're not struggling because they lack ability or commitment.

They're struggling because they never stop long enough to think. Not properly. Not about what actually matters.

And the cruel irony is that the busier things get, the harder it becomes to find the space to step back.

More content doesn't fix it. More advice doesn't fix it. Another course doesn't fix it.

What fixes it is margin. Protected, structured, facilitated time to stop and think. To make sure your ladder is on the right wall before you keep climbing.

I know what you're thinking. I don't have time for this. The work will stack up. It feels indulgent.

But here's the truth, four hours away from the noise to think clearly about what actually matters is not a luxury. It's the work. The thinking that happens in that space is what makes everything else more purposeful when you return.

That's what Flea Factory exists to create. And Leadership Reflection Mornings are where it starts.

If any of this sounds familiar, details on upcoming events are in the comments.