“It’s not enough to be busy (the ants are busy).
We must ask, “what are we busy about?”“
- Henry David Thoreau
Our vision is
for a vibrant, healthy Australia.
Public servants make that happen.
Our mission is to amplify the public sector’s positive impact on our world.
To do this we identify the moments when public sector staff are vulnerable to losing their effectiveness, then deliver interventions that permanently improve their capability.
Our purpose is to deliver training to public servants that achieves three things above all else:
1. Our training is inspiring, showing attendees the value and impact of their contribution to their organisation’s mission.
2. Our training is immediately useful, expanding attendees’ capability from day one.
3. Our training is transferable and scalable, helping attendees be more fulfilled and effective throughout their careers.
Everything we do focuses on ensuring the best possible growth experience for attendees, their organisations and by extension, society.
By empowering public servants, everyone wins.
Meet our founders
A thriving public sector is more than just our job.
For us, it’s personal.
Georgie Smith, MEM
Upsides Founder and Head Trainer
Staff deliver strategy. So why does most staff training embed mediocrity?
Georgie wondered this many times across her public sector career. From her beginnings in a Queensland Minister’s office in the late 90s, to the Queensland Ambulance Service, the Marrickville (Sydney) City Council, and then the Victorian Environment Protection Authority, Georgie has watched great teams waste time and money on lousy training that more often than not failed to even understand, let alone have respect for, what makes the public sector unique.
So drawing wisdom from her 20 years of experience, Georgie wrote the book on excellence in the public sector: The Formula For Impact guides public servants through the five critical components they need to succeed. No BS, no business speak, just the lessons that we all wish someone had told us when we were starting out!
Now, utilising her ground breaking Thriving Teams Methodology©, Georgie delivers training that gives public sector staff and their managers a foolproof roadmap to mastery.
Bringing illuminating insights and rock solid commitment to public sector values, participants rave about Georgie’s ability to transform how they see themselves, their roles and their pathway to impact.
That’s why federal, state and local government managers trust Georgie to help them grow high-performing teams they love to lead.
Travis Bates, BSc, MAICD
Upsides Co-Founder and Trainer
In a chaotic world, clarity counts.
From the ground floor to the boardroom, Travis specialises in integrating organisational strategy, operational realities and individual drivers to illuminate what really matters.
Travis’ 15 years in the public service started in the mines and ports of WA, before he came home to inspect the abattoirs and landfills of Victoria as an Environment Protection Officer. Moving from the field into operational policy enabled Travis to begin transforming his real-world experience into the wisdom and structure that can be passed onto the next generation of officers. It’s also where his love for training took hold - guiding new staff to transform abstract concepts into real-world wins.
Now, as a Garry Weaven Scholar and board member of the public sector’s largest superannuation fund, executives trust Travis for his integrity, insight and independent thinking. And with tales from a decade of staff advocacy, even the toughest teams know Travis is on their side.
Our Story
“Travis and I met in 2013, working at the Victorian Environment Protection Authority (one of those special places you never forget). We actually met while both Travis and I were advocating for our colleagues as union delegates.
I was actually the president of the union chapter, but needed to step down, because I’d taken on the responsibility of leading a big organisational restructure.
Travis took over the presidency, then gave me hell every inch of that restructure! But that process helped us really see each other’s character. The photos on this page probably give you a hint as to how that worked out - we got married in 2015, and our “Squisho” was born 3 years later.
When the world stopped in early 2020, we started asking ourselves what we wanted our legacy to be. Over hikes through our local forest, we gradually realised we had something important to say.
Our years of unique insights made their way to the surface. The result was our book, The Formula for Impact, and now, Upsides Training, where together Travis and I head a small team of passionate people with a huge goal - to reach all 2 million Aussie public sector workers and help them be their most awesome!
Upsides Training is our contribution to making our wonderful country the best it can be, by helping the people who help us all.
If you’re a dedicated public servant intent on being your best, we’d love to work with you!”
- Georgie, Melbourne 2022
Why “Upsides”?
Because we see the best in things.
You can’t have an upside without a downside - every situation has its bright and dark parts. We believe in seeing the whole story, then choosing to lean into the good.
We founded our company because we see the whole story of the public sector, and the individuals within it. We know what’s possible, and we want to help.
Our Guarantee
We want you to be 100% confident that you’re on the right path when you work with us.
That’s why we offer you a 100% Money Back Guarantee if things don’t work out.
No fine print. No gimmicks. We believe in what we do, and that you’ll love working with us.
We guarantee that, as a manager entrusting yourself and your staff to us, you will feel seen, supported, and structured for success at all times while working with us.
Here’s what that means in practice:
SEEN: We will listen deeply to you. As a result, we won’t give you canned answers or generic advice. We love getting to know each and every one of our clients, including identifying what unites you with the 2 million other members of the public sector in Australia, as well as recognising and embracing everything that makes you unique.
SUPPORTED: The foundation of every Upsides process is compassion and a deep belief that every single public servant matters. So we meet you (and your team) wherever you are in your journey. We have a process, sure. but it adapts to you, not the other way around.
STRUCTURED FOR SUCCESS: Every Upsides course is based on decades of relevant experience backed by cutting edge research. We’ve spent years thinking about what makes staff succeed (and fail). Crucially, we also continuously improve how we impart that insight to busy managers and staff. We’re only interested in methods that lead to relatable, retainable and repeatable improvements in performance. We don’t just rely on the fact that we’re entertaining and insightful speakers; we underpin our work with formulas, templates, and lots of other structures to guide our clients every step of the way.
Here’s how to invoke your Guarantee:
If we ever fail to live up to your expectations of us, you just need to let us know. We’ll ask you to be frank with us; we’ll listen deeply and with gratitude to your feedback. And when you’re done, we’ll ask you what will make it right. Whether that’s a do-over, course credit, a partial or full refund, or something else - it’s up to you.
So far, nobody’s needed to invoke this Guarantee. We plan to keep it that way by continuously pushing ourselves to be the best training in the industry.
