Episode 25: Leading Through Shifts and Shocks with Steve Vamos
Our next Trailblazer has over forty years of experience in information technology and digital media in Australia, New Zealand, the USA, and Asia, leading companies such as IBM, Apple, Microsoft, ninemsn, and Xero, and as a result, has been on the frontline of every significant technological shift and economic shock since the 1980s. Steve Vamos, Global Executive, and former CEO, joins us in our latest episode to discuss this further as he reflects on his career and provides insights from his book, “Through Shifts and Shocks – Lessons from the Front Line of Technology and Change.”
Our next Trailblazer has over forty years of experience in information technology and digital media in Australia, New Zealand, the USA, and Asia, leading companies such as IBM, Apple, Microsoft, ninemsn, and Xero, and as a result, has been on the frontline of every significant technological shift and economic shock since the 1980s. Steve Vamos, Global Executive, and former CEO, joins us in our latest episode to discuss this further as he reflects on his career and provides insights from his book, “Through Shifts and Shocks – Lessons from the Front Line of Technology and Change.”
Listen to episode twenty-five:
About this episode:
Steve’s experience on the frontline of uncertainty has provided him with a unique ability to get straight to the point of what leaders must do today: establish great teams, maximise the potential of individuals in their workforce, effectively achieve alignment of aspirations at every layer of the organisation, and approach challenges with the right mindset.
This episode is a must-listen for leaders today who face increasing uncertainty and volatility.
Having experienced every technology shift and every economic shock in the past five decades certainly has given Steve clarity across key areas, including leadership, culture, and creating great teams. As he explains in our discussion, each of these waves and issues he has experienced represents a change issue, and it’s only human to find change hard. Through his experience, Steve knows too well that meaningful change comes from great teamwork and collaboration. Still, many teams today aren’t working to their collective and even individual potential.
Steve also recognises that creating better teams needs to come from the top, the leadership team. To establish great teams, people leaders need to enable individuals within their teams to speak up and improve how they work together every day, as little changes each day can lead to the creation of a whole new environment.
Steve touches on many other critical parts of his book, “Through Shifts and Shocks – Lessons from the Front Line of Technology and Change,” including the three lenses that he feels from his experience and lessons learned as a global leader that leaders today need to have in approaching change, how essential alignment is in effective communication through every layer of an organisation, and how we need to shift how we manage our workforce going forward from beyond the task level to managing to their individual potential.
He leaves us with key advice for leaders on remaining relevant and for those who may fear change or extinction: keep learning from experiences, failures, and others and be a ‘learn-it-all,’ not a ‘know-it-all.’
Find out more about this Trailblazer:
Steve Vamos
Author, Global Executive,
and former CEO
Steve Vamos is a former CEO and Global Executive with more than 40 years’ experience in information technology and digital media. Steve served as CEO of Xero from 2018 to 2023.
Steve has lived and worked in Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Asia at the frontline of every significant technology shift and economic shock since the 1980s with companies such as IBM, Apple, Microsoft, and ninemsn.
Steve has also been a non-executive director of ASX listed companies such as Telstra, Fletcher Building and David Jones and several start-ups and emerging businesses.
Steve also founded and ran a not for profit called the Society for Knowledge Economics (SKE) from 2005 to 2014. The SKE was a cross industry collaboration aimed at improving the quality of workplace leadership in Australia.
In his newly released book, Through Shifts and Shocks: Lessons from the Front Line of Technology and Change, Steve shares eight Must-Do actions that represent the most important lessons he has learnt about how leaders need to think and act in the face of uncertainty and change.
Tune in next week as we speak to a new trailblazer in another episode in our series on Thriving in Uncertainty.
Episode 24: Thriving in Uncertainty with Amanda Cattermole
When our next Trailblazer took up the challenge to take on the role of CEO and lead the Australian Digital Health Agency at the height of the pandemic, she felt that it was a near-impossible place to lead from, considering the limitations of not being able to be in the same physical space as most of the staff. But on reflection, Amanda Cattermole now sees how this has shaped the flexible and hybridised work environment that’s now fundamentally everywhere. In our latest episode, Amanda joins us to talk about taking the path less travelled and leading in uncertainty.
When our next Trailblazer took up the challenge to take on the role of CEO and lead the Australian Digital Health Agency at the height of the pandemic, she felt that it was a near-impossible place to lead from, considering the limitations of not being able to be in the same physical space as most of the staff. But on reflection, Amanda Cattermole now sees how this has shaped the flexible and hybridised work environment that’s now fundamentally everywhere. In our latest episode, Amanda joins us to talk about taking the path less travelled and leading in uncertainty.
Listen to episode twenty-four:
Also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify:
About this episode:
This episode is a great example of a leader who is passionate about creating an organisational culture that’s focussed on stewardship, built on deep collaboration, and comprised of leaders at every level who add to the culture by enabling stewardship and innovation and creating a convening role with the broader ecosystem.
It also conveys a powerful message of the impact that leaders can have in seeing things and pathways for others that they can't necessarily see for themselves and how, with the right encouragement, it can profoundly impact their career journey in a really positive way.
Even in the midst of the pandemic's uncertainty, Amanda could immediately see that everything had changed in the world of health and digital innovation. The conversation had changed. No longer was the debate around privacy and security, though these were still critically important; it was now about accessing healthcare immediately.
Amanda shares how another important change at that time was that the players in the healthcare ecosystems had to come together in a completely different way, which required radical and immediate collaboration. These fundamental changes saw the introduction of telehealth and electronic prescribing, things that had been spoken about for years, being implemented in six weeks.
As a response to these pivotal changes, the Agency needed to be really different, too. They needed to step into the role of convenors of the system. Leaders needed to have a relational skill set in crafting and amplifying the Agency's role as a steward and deliverer and focus on the organisational culture.
Amanda details this further, diving into the importance of hiring the right people, how every leader at every level needs to contribute something to the collaborative culture of the organisation, and how you can create an environment where the artefacts and daily ways of working exemplify what you have said your organisation is going to be. By creating artefacts that reflect this, you show clarity, which trust is built on.
“Some of the most unexpected ones (jobs) are the ones that I kind of couldn’t have seen if you’d gone back to my earlier self that I wouldn’t have predicted in anyway, have in some ways been the most incredible.”
Having also served as interim CEO of Services Australia during the 2019/2020 bushfire season, you may presume that Amanda has always been one for taking up challenges. Still, as Amanda describes, whilst the sense of making a difference and seeking purpose have been a common thread throughout her career stemming from her childhood and influenced by her parent's deep passion and dedication as public education teachers, it has also come from the privilege of working for leaders who have seen things and pathways for her, that she couldn't see for herself, and who were caring enough to press her in the right ways to take on roles that were seen as riskier.
Through these critical junctures, Amanda has overcome her own uncertainty in taking on roles that seemed unfamiliar to her at the time to realise that her skills aren't bound to the particular area that she worked in. Rather, they are broader and could be applied in different places and in different ways of leading teams during change, nurturing other leaders, and setting and creating positive cultures.
Find out more about this Trailblazer:
Amanda Cattermole
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Digital Health Agency
Ms Amanda Cattermole PSM is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Digital Health Agency, a role she commenced in September 2020.
Auspiced by the governments of Australia, the Agency is the steward for digital enablement of Australia’s health system, with a lead role in coordinating national engagement, delivery and adoption of digital health to enable person-centred, connected healthcare.
The Agency also builds national health infrastructure and delivers national digital health products and services that make it easier for healthcare providers and Australian healthcare consumers to access, manage and share health information and that support a sustainable health system delivering safe, high-quality health services for all Australians.
Prior to this Amanda held several senior roles at Services Australia, including interim Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer, and Deputy Secretary, Health and Aged Care Group, where she was responsible for the delivery of payments and services to Australians under Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits scheme and in the aged care sector.
Amanda has previously held senior roles in Commonwealth departments, including Treasury, the former Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Department and Prime Minister and Cabinet. She has held senior State government roles in the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services and the Western Australian Department of Indigenous Affairs. In her earlier career Amanda worked as a lawyer in Victoria, the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Amanda holds a Bachelor of Laws, a Bachelor of Commerce, a Master of Laws and a Master of Business Administration. In 2013, she received the Public Service Medal for outstanding public service leading reform in providing housing for Indigenous people in remote communities and the National Gambling Reform laws.
Tune in next week as we speak to a new trailblazer in another episode in our series on Thriving in Uncertainty.
Thriving in Uncertainty with Tim Beresford
When you've had a thirty-five-year-long career that spans industries and sectors as our next Trailblazer has, you have the benefit of seeing how organisational learning has changed and if it's changed for the better or worse. Tim Beresford, Chief Executive at the Australian Financial Security Authority, or AFSA, joins us to talk about this and much more in our latest episode on becoming a learning organisation.
When you've had a thirty-five-year-long career that spans industries and sectors as our next Trailblazer has, you have the benefit of seeing how organisational learning has changed and if it's changed for the better or worse. Tim Beresford, Chief Executive at the Australian Financial Security Authority, or AFSA, joins us to talk about this and much more in our latest episode on becoming a learning organisation.
Listen to episode twenty-three:
Also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify:
About this episode:
This compelling episode offers great advice to other leaders on shifting from knowledge organisations to learning organisations and on how important it is to be open, adaptable, and resilient to foster a continuous learning mindset in your workforce.
Tim dives into the key differences in how organisational learning has changed throughout his career, from focusing more on skillsets at the beginning in terms of what knowledge you could bring to an organisation to now being more focussed on mindsets and what you're willing to learn.
He explains how this fundamental shift from knowledge organisations to learning organisations is for the better, as this has created much more of a two-way dialogue in how organisations communicate, which promotes sharing, teamwork, and curiosity in the workforce.
Tim elaborates on why mindset is so critical in today's workforces, which are facing more external shocks in an increasingly uncertain and ambiguous world. This uncertainty requires all of us to develop resiliency and agility to be more adept at dealing with these external changes and shocks.
From an industry-agnostic perspective, Tim shares three aspects for creating a learning organisation: systems thinking, a genuine openness to self-awareness and reflection, and a diverse team approach to solving problems. He provides advice to leaders on how to drive self-awareness, empathy, and engagement in the workplace, enabling individuals to want to foster and enable themselves to grow, lean into, and become more self-aware.
References from this episode:
Don't Fence Me In by Wendy McCarthy
ISBN: 9780855616953, Published 4 February 2000.
Find out more about this Trailblazer:
Tim Beresford
Chief Executive and Inspector-General in Bankruptcy
Australian Financial Security Authority
(AFSA)
Tim Beresford is the Chief Executive at the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA), having joined the agency in mid-2022.
AFSA’s role is to support a strong credit system for Australia and is a visible, modern and contemporary regulator. The agency administers and regulates the personal insolvency and personal property securities systems and manages criminal assets.
Tim is a Board member of the St George Community Housing (SGCH) and the immediate past Chair of the Benevolent Society (TBS), Australia’s oldest non-Indigenous not for profit. Previously, Tim has held the roles of Acting Chief Executive of the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Macquarie University and First Assistant Secretary of the Social Policy Division in Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
He has significant leadership experience in the higher education, government, not-for-profit, financial services and professional services sectors. His areas of expertise include strategy, governance, public policy, change management and organisational design. He holds a Bachelor of Economics (Honours), Bachelor of Laws, a Masters of Philosophy (International Relations) and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Tune in next week as we speak to a new trailblazer in another episode in our series on Thriving in Uncertainty.
Thriving in Uncertainty with Josh Thomas
What does learning look like in an organisation when a high proportion of your workforce is already doctorate-level educated, formally trained marine scientists and former teachers? Josh Thomas, Chief Executive Officer at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, talks about this and much more as he joins us to discuss becoming a learning organisation in our latest podcast episode.
What does learning look like in an organisation when a high proportion of your workforce is already doctorate-level educated, formally trained marine scientists and former teachers? Josh Thomas, Chief Executive Officer at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, talks about this and much more as he joins us to discuss becoming a learning organisation in our latest podcast episode.
Listen to episode twenty-two:
Also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify:
About this episode:
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has a critical job of being guardians and protectors of the Great Barrier Reef, a world heritage-listed coral reef, for future generations. With a high percentage of their workforce made up of marine scientists, their unique organisational DNA is centred on understanding the world around them and has a natural and instinctive curiosity-driven culture that helps fuel their courage to experiment and test ideas about tackling existing and emerging threats to the ecosystem.
As CEO, Josh explains how risk is a key element that drives their organisational strategy and how they approach learning and development, as understanding risks in your environment is critical in understanding what you need to learn and lean into, and if an organisation is calibrated to understanding medium to long term risks, it will be more proactive in addressing challenges and returning value to stakeholders. Josh discusses this further in how their organisation views themselves as a learning and evolving organisation that's generous with knowledge sharing, have honest relationships with peers, and is led through a coaching mindset – leading others to come to their own conclusions on how they want to take a given piece of work and where they want to focus their learning and development on, within boundaries.
He also talks about how information is more publicly available than ever before; their organisation doesn't have a mortgage as being a 'knowledge holder,' instead, they see their role in knowledge sharing, and they are generous with it with the programs of work that the Reef Authority delivers, including educating over 300 schools in Queensland and internationally, working with 19 Reef Guardian Councils, producing outlook and Reef health reporting, broadcasting podcasts, attending multilateral forums, and more.
This episode is an excellent example of a learning organisation that is curious and generous with its knowledge sharing and a leader who is passionate, authentic, and respectful in helping his workforce work in uncertainty.
Find out more about this Trailblazer:
Josh Thomas
Chief Executive Officer
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
Josh has over 20 years’ experience in the public and private sector in Australia and overseas. He has helped shape and lead environmental policy and programs for the Great Barrier Reef and in terrestrial natural resource management.
Josh has worked in a number of senior public sector roles and across the environment, agriculture and finance portfolios, as well as in federal Ministerial offices. He has a strong track record of public engagement on matters affecting Australia’s World Heritage sites, and through major environmental programs such as the Biodiversity Fund and Caring for our Country.
Josh’s policy experience in the marine environment extends across the Great Barrier Reef and its catchments, migratory and endangered species, whaling matters, marine parks and Antarctica. He is committed to enhancing Australia’s natural environment and has been a strong advocate for incorporating both contemporary science and Indigenous traditional knowledge into environmental management throughout his career.
Josh lives in Townsville and holds a Master of Business Administration, Master of International Affairs, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Arts (Honours).
Tune in next week as we speak to a new trailblazer in another episode in our series on Thriving in Uncertainty.
Thriving in Uncertainty with Marina Bowshall
For many leaders in the public sector, there are very few times in your career when you have the opportunity to develop a new agency for a state government entity. Our next Trailblazer, Marina Bowshall, had the chance to do just that as she took on the Chief Executive of Preventive Health SA role in September of 2023. Marina joins us in our latest episode to talk about her experience in leading through a machinery of government change.
For many leaders in the public sector, there are very few times in your career when you have the opportunity to develop a new agency for a state government entity. Our next Trailblazer, Marina Bowshall, had the chance to do just that as she took on the Chief Executive of Preventive Health SA role in September of 2023. Marina joins us in our latest episode to talk about her experience in leading through a machinery of government change.
Listen to episode twenty:
Also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify:
About this episode:
Taking on such an opportunity can be energy-giving and exciting as a leader, but Marina also knew that she had to approach this change with a lot of empathy for others. She understood that staff would have mixed responses to the change and that some would be asking many questions with different narratives.
Listen in as Marina shares how the biggest challenge in leading this MoG change was the cultural change and bringing people along with the change to see themselves in it, and the strategies she used to build an open door policy and establish rapport with teams, which involved meeting with every team, regardless of size, to understanding each teams priorities and passions, and how she used the fascinating insights she gleaned from these meetings to offer further support, increase collaboration and deepen engagement across the workforce.
Marina also discusses how she involved the broader stakeholder ecosystem in the MoG change through both formal and informal approaches and empowered her staff, regardless of their position, to engage with key people outside of the agency to grow their stakeholder base and build networks.
It’s a great episode for anyone who is leading change or experiencing change in their organisation. Through engagement and consultation, you can achieve strategic alignment, improve collaboration, encourage knowledge sharing, and bring a little more laughter into your organisation, too.
Find out more about this Trailblazer:
Marina Bowshall
Chief Executive
Preventive Health SA
Marina commenced as Chief Executive, Preventive Health SA in September 2023.
Marina led and collaborated on national and state health policy, strategy, and programs throughout her career. This has included leading legislative change; implementing state-wide and community-based programs; developing, implementing and evaluating whole of government strategies; partnering with agencies to implement evidence-based prevention approaches; and implementing business systems to support effective governance and the achievement of measurable outcomes.
Marina is the Co-Chair of the National Tobacco Officials Group, Presiding Member of South Australia’s Controlled Substances Advisory Council, a member of the Suicide Prevention Council, and works collaboratively across Australia with a range of research, policy, and service organisations.
Tune in next time as we speak to a new trailblazer in another episode in our series on Thriving in Uncertainty.
Thriving in Uncertainty with Liz Tydd
It was a privilege to talk with Liz Tydd, the Australian Information Commissioner, as she shared the future of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner or OAIC with us and how their postural organisational changes over the past year have positioned them to be at the forefront of being a contemporary regulator.
It was a privilege to talk with Liz Tydd, the Australian Information Commissioner, as she shared the future of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner or OAIC with us and how their postural organisational changes over the past year have positioned them to be at the forefront of being a contemporary regulator.
Listen to episode eighteen:
Also available through Apple Podcasts and Spotify:
About this episode:
In this special broadcast edition of our podcast series on Thriving in Uncertainty, Liz takes us through the latest figures on data breaches from their recent report. She explains how an additional dimension of misinformation (e.g., deepfakes) can become an accepted truth in the mind of the audience, highlighting how even the human brain is grappling to adjust to this very real and growing threat and its manifestations.
Liz also shares how the latest data tells us that the information from data breaches across various industries has commonalities in the fact that it is sensitive and valuable information about us that defines who we are and can be used to recreate identities.
The OAIC’s work centres on access to information to promote truth and accountability, particularly in government, but also to promote privacy and protect people from the devastating impacts of misinformation and cybersecurity breaches that result in a loss of identity. To perform this critical work, the OAICs need to have the confidence to operate in this new digital world safely and securely, taking a human-rights-centred approach in a dynamic and ever-changing regulatory environment.
In this enlightening episode, you’ll learn the OAIC’s latest thinking on the eight key elements in ensuring there is a human-rights-centred approach in the AI space and how essential it is for their workforce to be committed to preserving human rights, be curious and work collegially, and how the organisation has developed four pillars to manifest in their culture and operations which are proactive, proportionate, purpose-driven, and people-focussed.
She also explains how the OAIC has a unique vantage point on top of the hill in that they can look at the sectors they regulate, pull out common themes, and inform the guidance.
As a knowledge-based organisation, Liz highlights the critical need for knowledge to be shared internally and several ways that the OAIC are doing that through cross-collaboration teams, cross-professional teams, and communities of practice to share expertise, new approaches and ways of working, and refining skills which enables their organisation to then share that knowledge externally and amplify their messaging.
Liz’s leadership approach of being open to change, developing the ability to respond effectively in a dynamic landscape, and taking a human-rights approach to designing for trust is a masterclass for any leader in leading through change and dealing with complexity in a dynamic environment.
Find out more about this Trailblazer:
Elizabeth Tydd
Australian Information Commissioner
Office of the Australian Information Officer (OAIC)
Elizabeth Tydd took up the position of Australian Information Commissioner in August 2024 for a 5-year term.
Elizabeth joined the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner in February 2024 as Freedom of Information Commissioner after two 5-year terms as the Information Commissioner at the Information and Privacy Commission (IPC) of New South Wales.
Elizabeth’s role at the IPC was to promote public awareness and understanding of the right to access government information in NSW, as well as providing information, support, advice, assistance and training to agencies and the general public.
Elizabeth has occupied a number of statutory decision‑making roles in NSW commissions and tribunals, including deputy president of the Workers Compensation Commission and deputy chairperson of the former Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal.
Elizabeth has extensive regulatory and governance experience at an executive and board level in a range of jurisdictions and industries, including commercial, not for profit and public sector oversight.
She holds a Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws from the University of Technology Sydney, as well as postgraduate certificates in executive management and governance together with post graduate qualifications in leadership and policy from Harvard University. Elizabeth possesses expertise in digital government and has written extensively on this subject.
Tune in next week as we speak to a new trailblazer in another episode in our series on Thriving in Uncertainty.
Thriving in Uncertainty – Episode Seven with Maree Bridger
Failure is often regarded as a bad word in the workplace. No one wants to fail or intentionally sets out to, and it can make you feel pretty terrible when something you are working on goes wrong. Reframing failures positively by rallying around those colleagues and helping them work through them can turn failures into successes, and importantly, it can build resilience in a team, which is essential for embracing challenges, turning them around, and thriving in uncertainty.
Having leaders who acknowledge their mistakes early and take accountability for their team's mistakes by owning them as their own without directing blame to the individual builds a culture of respect. It helps to shift the perception of failure in a team.
Joining us to discuss this further is Maree Bridger, Chief Operating Officer at the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, and the Arts.
Maree details the three key things that underpin planning work and help her department with anticipation, proactivity, and responsiveness to priorities that serve multiple ministers. She also explains how her department overcame scepticism to view 'red as your friend'—and how encouraging others to share projects or initiatives that aren't going well helps colleagues rally together to work through challenges.
In this compelling chat, Maree shares experiences from her career from times when things haven't gone to plan and how she has kept moving forward and turned things around through active listening and engagement. She also offers a different perspective on how organisations view innovation and how often, when you are in the trenches, you don't necessarily look around you to realise how far you've come.
Don't miss this uplifting chat with an inspiring leader about changing how we view failures at work.
Listen to episode seven:
Also available through Apple Podcasts and Spotify:
Find out more about this Trailblazer:
Maree Bridger
Chief Operating Officer
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, and the Arts
Maree has worked in the APS for 16 years across a range of policy, program, regulatory, corporate and service delivery functions and she has held senior roles at Services Australia, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection and the Australian Customs Service.
Prior to the APS Maree had seventeen years in the private sector and held roles at the Shell Company, Osborne Computers and Austar United Communications. Prior to her move to the public sector, Maree worked as a consultant for eight years, with a specific focus on organisational change, strategic planning, maximising competitive advantage and building organisational capability.
Maree has a Bachelor of Economics from ANU, Executive MBA from the AGSM at UNSW and is a Certified Practicing Accountant.
Tune in next week as we speak to a new trailblazer in another episode in our series on Thriving in Uncertainty.
Series three – Solving the Capability Gap – episode five
Our final episode today is the perfect conclusion to our series, providing advice and insights on how to maintain an ongoing connection with your employees that helps to fuel a culture of continuous learning in your organisation.
Thank you for listening to our third podcast series on Solving the Capability Gap. We hope that you found the insights that our trailblazers have shared valuable in helping your organisation to build skills capability and develop future-ready, high-performing workforces.
Our final episode today is the perfect conclusion to our series, providing advice and insights on how to maintain an ongoing connection with your employees that helps to fuel a culture of continuous learning in your organisation.
In the series' opening episode, we spoke to Subho Banerjee about continuous learning and how organisations must adopt it to develop a high-performing workforce ready for the future.
Equally crucial to adopting a continuous learning culture is maintaining one. This involves ensuring that employees have an ongoing connection to their organisation, which sometimes is more easily said than done. Globally, there are alarmingly high rates of disengaged employees who are 'quiet-quitting,' and it takes leaders with an EQ approach to navigate the often uncomfortable conversations to reconnect employees to their organisation.
Maeve Neilson is a highly respected and experienced leader in New Zealand. In this episode, she joins Andy to discuss how she has developed and led teams in New Zealand, drawing on her direct experience in creating a cross-functional team from the Mosque Shooter sentencing event in 2020 to create a great workplace culture.
Listen to episode five:
Also available through Apple Podcasts and Spotify:
Download the full transcript of episode five:
Find out more about this Trailblazer:
Maeve Neilson is the former General Manager – Health, Safety and Security for the Ministry of Justice, New Zealand. Maeve is a senior leader with unique and broad experiences that enable her to bring an innovative and fresh approach to any opportunity.
Maeve has substantial depth and breadth of experience having worked in diverse sectors and functions to deliver commercial and sustainable outcomes whilst lifting productivity and engagement. This includes a range of challenges from managing large operational functions, organisational transformations, and significant incidents and workplace fatalities, including the operational response to COVID-19.
Maeve’s ability to successfully communicate organisational vision and priorities across multiple levels sees her frequently called upon to translate the "complex" into a language all can connect and engage with, transforming both leadership behaviours and organisational cultures. She has managed teams through significant change, complex disputes and negotiations that have enabled organisations to deliver against strategic goals, and aligned teams to the direction, significantly shifting engagement. She comfortably interacts with Boards and executive teams and maintains strong networks across public and private entities.
Maeve is passionate about Aotearoa, New Zealand, particularly organisations doing great things within their communities to enable tamariki and mokupuna to thrive. She welcomes the challenge of solving “wicked problems” and enjoys aligning the operational delivery and people capability to the strategic direction. Her commercial acumen and operational management expertise allow her to quickly adapt to any environment and bring value and different thinking to support organisational growth.
Maeve holds a Masters of Arts (Psychology), and subsequent qualifications in Innovative Thinking and Dispute Resolution. She is also accredited in several leadership development tools, including the suite from Human Synergistics.
That now concludes our third series on Solving the Capability Gap. Thank you to our trailblazers and all our listeners for tuning in!
Due to popular demand, Trailblazing with CorbettPrice will soon return in a regular and ongoing format. Follow us on LinkedIn to stay updated on the latest information.
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Trailblazing with CorbettPrice Podcast - Episode 5
Welcome back to our podcast series on organisational health and the seven dimensions of wellness. This week in episode five, we continue to explore the theme of employee experience by looking into one of the crucial factors that impact this positively or negatively, an organisation’s culture. Workplace culture is our fifth relational dimension of organisational health.
Listen to episode five:
Also available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts:
Workplace culture, as defined by BambooHR, is the personality of an organisation – it’s a shared set of workplace beliefs, values, attitudes, standards, purposes, and behaviours. Research by Gallup shows that employees with a strong connection to their organisation’s culture are more likely to be engaged and less likely to experience burnout as often as those without.
Cherie Canning from Luminate Leadership joins us to discuss this essential topic, where she draws on real organisational case studies to talk through the attributes leaders need to have to create a people-centric culture, how this starts with psychological safety and how to create that, how organisations can overcome toxic workplace cultures, why mental health first aid is essential for everyone throughout an organisation, and how to build a connection with employees regardless of whether they are in the office, or working from home.
This episode is must listen for anyone who wants their organisation to be more people-centric or learn how to maintain a positive and strong workplace culture.
Download the full transcript of episode five (with references):
Find out more about this Trailblazer:
Cherie’s passion lies in inspiring people to achieve their potential by developing their 'human skills'.
Cherie is a passionate optimist, an avid traveller and the Founder and Director of Luminate Leadership.
With almost two decades of leading and developing leaders at Luminate and previously at Flight Centre Travel Group, Cherie has proven results and her authentic communication style and workshop content continue to leave a long-lasting impact on leaders and their businesses.
Cherie founded Luminate Leadership in 2020 with one purpose in mind; to grow and inspire leaders of today to create a better tomorrow. Her intention is to embrace human based Leadership traits such as connection, collaboration, courage, empathy, compassion and kindness.
It’s her mission, and the mission of Luminate to share these skills with as many Leaders as possible, inspiring them to be the best humans they can be and bring as much joy and fulfilment to their work and lives. Cherie will also host Luminate Leadership’s annual IGNITE conference this August, celebrating Women in Leadership through coming together to connect, learn, inspire and be inspired.
Web: www.luminateleadership.com.au
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cheriecanning