My work helps people and organisations shape positive change in complex systems.
I’ve been obsessed with power and authority since I was a teenage foster kid, watching adults and government agencies make a hash of things. That experience, and an outsized belief in my capacity to beat the system, has shaped everything I’ve done since.
At 17, a baby on my hip, I talked my way into uni to study law, politics, and media. I wanted to understand how decisions get made - and by whom.
Alicia McKay
I started my career as a policy analyst and strategic planner before becoming a business case consultant. I learned how money moves, how rules are written, and how choices get made behind closed doors. I also saw the gap between public value and bureaucratic process - and the good people working inside flawed systems.
For the past 15 years, I've worked as a strategic and political advisor to companies, Councils and government officials, helping to make smart decisions, spend money well, and turn good intentions into action. I've led strategic planning, organisational transformation and leadership development for organisations across New Zealand and Australia.
I've partnered with over 100 public and private sector organisations to deliver change and leadership programmes like Strategy to Action, Not an MBA, Meetings that Matter, Strategic Public Leaders and Local Legends and advised elected and executive leaders at all levels of government.
Highlights include delivering large-scale strategic leadership training for organisations like Woolworths, and partnering with New Zealand's Solicitor General on the future direction of Crown Law. Read and watch case studies.
Alicia McKay
Local government expert
I've worked with over 50 Councils across New Zealand and Australia and spoken at local government conferences around the world. In 2025, I was named one of LGIU's top 25 global thinkers in local government, and I travelled to the US to speak to the ICMA Annual Conference and Global Engagement Committee. I created the Local Legends Toolkit, delivered through local government member associations across the world, to teach Mayors and Councillors strategic leadership skills. Read more about my work with local government.
Themes of my work
My cynicism is always outweighed by my compassion. Everyone is doing their best, even when the outcomes are unjust or ineffective. We can design systems and support people to shift toward value and impact.
Decisions
Decision-making is a teachable, learnable skill. When we know how to make better decisions, we deliver better outcomes. I'm fascinated by how people make tricky, subjective choices with no right answer. Read more about decisions.
Strategy and change
Shaping the future isn't simple - in our lives, work, or communities. We need to be clear on our values and priorities and understand how systems, people, and stories interact. Strategy helps us see patterns and align people and resources to turn ideas into action. Read more about strategy and change.
Public leadership
The public sector aims to deliver public value, but that doesn't mean they will. Leading in the public sector requires different skills than business: navigating bureaucracy and politics, serving diverse and conflicting goals and stakeholders, and delivering on the promise of democracy. Read more.
Stories and the systems that shape them
Our default thoughts are rarely our own. Ideas, beliefs and norms aren't neutral, and they have a powerful impact on how we live, work and lead. I'm interested in how we see, survive and shift the systems we live in and the stories we tell. Read more about systems and society.
Above all, my work is about agency. I believe that when people take charge of their choices and futures, individually and collectively, we live better lives and build better societies.
What I do
In practice, these themes and skills form the basis of my work as a writer, speaker and strategist.
Writer
I publish newsletters, essays, articles and op-eds. I've written three books on strategy, change and leadership and I am working on a new project focused on power - how to see and shift the systems we live in, and the stories we tell. Subscribe to receive my writing directly to your inbox.
Speaker
I speak on stages and screens across the world to audiences from over 20 countries. I deliver keynotes and workshops, MC conferences, and moderate panels.
Alicia McKay
Strategic advisor
I partner with a select few organisations each year to offer support and advice on strategy, decision-making, leadership and systems design. This includes in-house and online workshops, strategy sessions and leadership training.
Alicia McKay
Current projects
Local Legends Toolkit
The Local Legends Toolkit builds on the book and in-house programme to offer self-paced strategic leadership development for Mayors and Councillors around the world. Available in New Zealand through LGNZ and elsewhere via your local members' association.
Power literacy
I’m currently working on a new body of work around power literacy. Who has it, what is it made of, how can we see it, and how can we shift it? I want people to have the tools to understand how power works - and how to use it well.
