In this episode of Project Brave, we welcome Lucy Broadbent, an original member of the Project Brave community and a woman whose story captures exactly what this movement has always been about: courage built over time, purpose-led leadership, and the messy middle of navigating ambition and motherhood.

Lucy is a senior leader in customer and product innovation, with a career shaped at the intersection of customer behaviour, product strategy, transformation and purpose. She’s worked across complex, regulated industries such as health, insurance, and education in organisations including Bupa, RACV, RMIT University and IAG.

But today, she joins us from a very different chapter: maternity leave with baby number two, navigating the 24‑hour job of motherhood while preparing for her next evolution as she returns to work.

In this conversation, we explore Lucy's current season of joy, exhaustion, identity shift, and the trade‑offs required to be the kind of mum she wants to be and the kind of leader she aspires to become. She talks about the realisation that you can have it all, just not all at the same time, and how she’s redefining success in a way that honours her ambition without sacrificing the moments that matter most.

We explore Lucy’s early days in Project Brave, when she was a 25‑year‑old newcomer to Australia, sitting in rooms with senior women and battling imposter syndrome. She reflects on how those experiences (and the women who advocated for her, challenged her, and held her accountable) shaped her confidence and leadership philosophy.

Lucy shares how courage is built like a muscle: through small, quiet acts of bravery, not just big dramatic ones. From asking for what you need, to negotiating flex, to having hard conversations, to backing yourself even when you feel underqualified, these are the moments that have shaped her into the assertive, values‑anchored leader she is today.

We also dive into the sideways, peer‑to‑peer mentorship that keeps women progressing and the powerful advice that changed her trajectory: “If you only ever work for people who inspire you, you limit your impact on the world.” Lucy reflects on the leaders who shaped her, including the late Donna Walker and former IAG CEO Peter Harmer, and how their humanity influenced her leadership style.

This episode is a masterclass in modern womanhood: ambition without burnout, leadership with heart, motherhood without apology, and courage built one intentional step at a time.