Serena Varendorff

MBA M.Mgmt (Marketing), P.Dip. Mgmt, Accredited Exec Coach (ICC)
Def: Big time thinker, leadership development and team effectiveness professional, highly creative, pragmatic, natural educator, passionate collaborator, corporate storyteller, talented influencer.

I’m Serena – Founder and Managing Director of Molto Bene (def. very well or very good – Italian). 

My career story includes a couple of decades working in senior leadership roles across a variety of industries, 10 plus years as a university lecturer/lecturer-in-charge/course developer, and a pile of time serving in global learning and development roles for large-scale corporates.

I’ve had the opportunity to see from every angle which development approaches deliver learning that sticks and brings out people’s best. This experience has shown me that today’s learners at every career stage need something fresh and more in step with the world of contemporary work. They deserve to be recognised for existing knowledge, respected for their intelligence and be given truly interesting ways to build their professional toolkit.

We figured out something that now seems obvious (although we seem to be ahead of the curve here): there’s no appetite to “do training” anymore. Teams and leaders want to be engaged, excited and inspired, and have zero time for stuffy, tick the box content they can’t relate to.

Fast forward a few years (and a lot of research, late nights, respectful disagreements, caffeine, and the occasional wine) and the Molto Bene Method was born. The team and I rewrote the rules of workplace learning by leaning into the power of intelligent conversation and human connection.  

Our method encourages participants to do more than learn - they evolve, connecting with ideas and each other in ways that create lasting impact for themselves and their organisations.

The work delivers growth opportunities that match the rhythm of modern professionals. It’s high energy, yet deeply meaningful and personally relevant while advancing organisational purpose. We create great environments where participants can be themselves and sow seeds to help them land at their own “aha” moments.

The method helps us design every learner interaction and is built around four simple truths –  

1. What are the conversations they need to have to grow?

2. How can we help them connect the conversation to their life at work to ensure resonance?

3. How and what do we want them to feel at the end of the experience?

4. What questions do we need them to ask themselves (even if it might feel uncomfortable)?

The Molto Bene Method is constantly evolving as our global team discover even more about how to turn on professional’s natural curiosity and ramp up their hunger for growth. 

We’ve built a rockstar team of clever, passionate and energetic professionals across Australia, Asia, North America, Canada and the UK. These individuals love learning and sharing their knowledge, experiences, mistakes, and insights. They aren’t entertainers, but their positivity, enthusiasm, and “fire-in-the-belly” bring vibrancy to every learning solution. They’re writers, designers, strategists, facilitators, trainers, coaches, psychologists, and project managers.

The challenges they take on include leadership workshops, onboarding programs, problem-solving, strategic planning, change management, executive coaching, and graduate curriculums.

We’d love to talk to you about how our team and the Molto Bene Method can help your organisation and team find and bring their A-game every single day.