ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.
Listen "EP 51 | Empowering Leaders to Build High-Performing Teams"
Episode Synopsis
Angie Dunn, the driving force behind Agile Performance, is a seasoned sales leader with two decades of experience in corporate and start-up environments. After a distinguished career spent building substantial sales revenue for other businesses, Angie made a pivotal decision to focus on her own entrepreneurial dreams.
Her initial business venture centred on management and sales training, a natural fit given her background. However, over four years, Angie observed that her most significant and consistent impact was not on the business structure itself, but on the performance mindset of the individuals she coached - be they salespeople, business owners, or managers. She recognised that regardless of how talented a team was, a business would always hit a ceiling if the leader lacked the ability to build and sustain a high-performance culture and engage their people. This insight led to the evolution of her company from Agile Sales and Management to the newly focused Agile Performance.
Angie's focus is specifically on developing high-performing female emerging leaders, driven by the belief that there are not enough of them and that high-achieving women are pretty hard on themselves. Her overarching goal is to equip these leaders with the essential skills to manage themselves and their teams, creating highly engaged, high-performing environments.
Seeking external recognition to validate the vital work she was doing, Angie made the bold decision to enter the Stevie Awards. While the decision initially brought a mix of self-doubt and fear - a mental experience she notes is common when stepping into a new stage of a personal journey - the outcome was profoundly validating.
Winning a Stevie Award created a crucial proof point that the work Agile Performance is doing to support female leaders is both recognised and important. This external validation helped to quiet the imposter syndrome that even high-level executives experience, a phenomenon she addresses within her program.
The judges' comments were also invaluable, highlighting the importance placed on women helping women grow. This feedback affirmed that her focus aligns with globally recognised values in leadership development.
The experience of applying for the award and the subsequent win reinforced one of her key business philosophies: "You can't sell a secret". After attending a leveraging workshop held by The Audacious Agency, Angie realised she needed to share her achievement more broadly, understanding that she must be her own best supporter to grow her profile. The award win became a powerful tool to amplify her voice, build credibility, and inspire action in others, aligning perfectly with her mission to empower leaders.
Result
Bronze 2025 Stevie Award For Women In Business - Achievement in Developing and Promoting Women - Advertising, Business Services, Marketing & PR - for the Agile Performance Leadership Blueprint Program.
Message from the Client
Angie's insights, honed by years in high-stakes roles and now applied to coaching, offer powerful lessons for leaders:
"If you engage a great team, you keep them engaged. You'll tap into that top piece of high performance."
"Help them doesn't mean do it for them. Help them means show them and then create the space for them to."
"The act of applying for the award was something I had to push myself to do. And the validation of it coming back has... it has it's silenced them now."
"Continue believing that anything is possible and really let go of the limiting beliefs of what success has to look like... I actually haven't had to sacrifice anything to be successful. It's 100% possible, which is very, very liberating."
Angie encourages leaders to get crystal clear on what success looks like for their team, writing it down for both themselves and their people, as a lack of clarity is one of the most common problems in business. She also advises that aiming for "80% as well as you would do is actually enough" to maintain momentum, provided there is a constant feedback loop.
Contact
To find out more about Angie Dunn and Agile Performance:
Website: https://agileperformance.ltd/
Program: https://join.agileperformance.au/
Her initial business venture centred on management and sales training, a natural fit given her background. However, over four years, Angie observed that her most significant and consistent impact was not on the business structure itself, but on the performance mindset of the individuals she coached - be they salespeople, business owners, or managers. She recognised that regardless of how talented a team was, a business would always hit a ceiling if the leader lacked the ability to build and sustain a high-performance culture and engage their people. This insight led to the evolution of her company from Agile Sales and Management to the newly focused Agile Performance.
Angie's focus is specifically on developing high-performing female emerging leaders, driven by the belief that there are not enough of them and that high-achieving women are pretty hard on themselves. Her overarching goal is to equip these leaders with the essential skills to manage themselves and their teams, creating highly engaged, high-performing environments.
Seeking external recognition to validate the vital work she was doing, Angie made the bold decision to enter the Stevie Awards. While the decision initially brought a mix of self-doubt and fear - a mental experience she notes is common when stepping into a new stage of a personal journey - the outcome was profoundly validating.
Winning a Stevie Award created a crucial proof point that the work Agile Performance is doing to support female leaders is both recognised and important. This external validation helped to quiet the imposter syndrome that even high-level executives experience, a phenomenon she addresses within her program.
The judges' comments were also invaluable, highlighting the importance placed on women helping women grow. This feedback affirmed that her focus aligns with globally recognised values in leadership development.
The experience of applying for the award and the subsequent win reinforced one of her key business philosophies: "You can't sell a secret". After attending a leveraging workshop held by The Audacious Agency, Angie realised she needed to share her achievement more broadly, understanding that she must be her own best supporter to grow her profile. The award win became a powerful tool to amplify her voice, build credibility, and inspire action in others, aligning perfectly with her mission to empower leaders.
Result
Bronze 2025 Stevie Award For Women In Business - Achievement in Developing and Promoting Women - Advertising, Business Services, Marketing & PR - for the Agile Performance Leadership Blueprint Program.
Message from the Client
Angie's insights, honed by years in high-stakes roles and now applied to coaching, offer powerful lessons for leaders:
"If you engage a great team, you keep them engaged. You'll tap into that top piece of high performance."
"Help them doesn't mean do it for them. Help them means show them and then create the space for them to."
"The act of applying for the award was something I had to push myself to do. And the validation of it coming back has... it has it's silenced them now."
"Continue believing that anything is possible and really let go of the limiting beliefs of what success has to look like... I actually haven't had to sacrifice anything to be successful. It's 100% possible, which is very, very liberating."
Angie encourages leaders to get crystal clear on what success looks like for their team, writing it down for both themselves and their people, as a lack of clarity is one of the most common problems in business. She also advises that aiming for "80% as well as you would do is actually enough" to maintain momentum, provided there is a constant feedback loop.
Contact
To find out more about Angie Dunn and Agile Performance:
Website: https://agileperformance.ltd/
Program: https://join.agileperformance.au/
In God we trust