Episode 29: Taking the path less travelled with Sandy Pitcher

The benefit of hindsight is that you can see how things from your past have carefully placed the pieces together to create the path that you’re on. Our next trailblazer, Sandy Pitcher, Chief Executive at the Department of Human Services for the South Australian Government, joins us in our latest episode to talk about this as she reflects on her career. Sandy shares her experiences in growing up in a small country town, how having the desire to change the world led her to the public service, how she rises to the task of many challenges she has been given, and the important lessons she has learned along the way in knowing what your strengths are, using them, and letting others step up in using their strengths towards a shared vision and authorising environment.

Listen to episode twenty-nine:

Also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify:

About this episode:

This episode offers an honest reflection on how our values and aspirations, even from an early age, can guide us throughout our careers. It also demonstrates that knowing your strengths and recognising strengths in others around you can help you all work towards a shared vision with the authorising environment to achieve great outcomes.

Sandy Pitcher has always been an activist. Even from an early age, she was passionate about gender equality, and she wanted to change the world by changing the laws. Soon, she realised that the best place to do that was in the public service.

In a career marked by many ‘firsts’, Sandy was the first woman to head the South Australian Department of Environment and Water Agency, led Victoria’s COVID response, and was also the inaugural Secretary of the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing in Victoria. Surprisingly, though, for many of these roles, Sandy didn’t put her hand up to take them on; instead, as she says, she was ‘unwillingly volunteered.’

Sandy reflects on these times and provides specific examples from throughout her career, crediting COVID as the hardest, most illustrative, and possibly the most rewarding challenge of her career to date, as well as the invaluable lessons she has learned along the way.

One of these is recognising her strength in the ability to think in systems – seeing how they need to be changed and the role that systems thinking must play in the public service to constantly learn and try ways of doing things better.

Sandy also shares how it’s important to recognise that when you run towards a common goal, you can do things fast and strong, but you will inevitably lose people and things along the way. You lose goodness. Sandy believes that the happy medium is working towards a shared vision and authorising environment and that by doing this, you can achieve great outcomes.

Find out more about this Trailblazer:

Sandy Pitcher

Chief Executive

Department of Human Services

Government of South Australia

Sandy is an accomplished public-sector leader, with experience leading agencies to make significant contributions to public policy and deliver outcomes that improve people’s lives.

As Chief Executive of the South Australian Department of Human Services, Sandy is dedicated to promoting inclusion, independence, community support and modern services.

Prior to this role Sandy was Deputy Under Treasurer with the South Australian Department of Treasury and Finance. 

She was the inaugural Secretary of the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing in Victoria, an agency which includes child protection and women’s policy.

Throughout 2020 Sandy led the Victorian COVID-19 response, returning the state to COVID-19 zero.

Sandy has also held roles with the SA Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, the UK’s Commission for Racial Equality and the South Australian Office for Women.

In 2012, Sandy won the Telstra Businesswoman of the year ‘Community and Public Sector’ category, and in 2013 she was inducted as an IPAA National Fellow.

Educated at the University of Adelaide, Sandy has degrees in law and the humanities.

Tune in next week as we speak to a new trailblazer in another episode in our series on Thriving in Uncertainty.

Episode 28: How failure can lead to your biggest success with Tania Rishniw

Do your employees operate with a license to innovate? It's an interesting concept. When you have a real problem to fix where usual solutions haven't worked, understanding the benefits and risks of innovating and articulating that to others around you gives you a licence to try a new and different way forward. But you have to be prepared for failure to be a part of that. Tania Rishniw, Deputy Secretary of Employment and Workforce at the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) joins us in our latest episode to talk about this and much more about how failure can lead to your biggest success.

Listen to episode twenty-eight:

Also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify:

About this episode:

This episode showcases an engaging and authentic leader whose experience in crises and uncertainty offers excellent advice on overcoming challenges, managing risk, innovating, and building resilience.

Tania talks about how it's necessary sometimes to know not what to do before you can figure out what to do, and you need to think through contingencies and plan for those when you're innovating.

In a point often made by senior leaders in past episodes on overcoming setbacks and building resilience, Tania also acknowledges that you can't get to becoming an SES leader or manager without having made mistakes or experienced times when things haven't gone according to plan.

Tania looks back on those times in her career. She shares a specific example from when an environmental impact assessment's advice that she was involved with to a minister didn't go according to plan. That experience helped her learn an important lesson: Sometimes, the answers to ministers and government are that there is no actual basis for them to make a specific decision. You have to fight your natural inclination to try and give them different options unless it is robust and well-seasoned advice.

Tania also describes her time working on the crisis response to the Montara Oil Spill in 2009, an unprecedented time in Australian history. There was no playbook to follow, so they had to try different things to manage it and think about a different way of operating.  

As she looks back on leading in these times of uncertainty, Tania offers terrific advice that's helpful to anyone overcoming challenges in their workplace and working in uncertainty. This includes having clarity of objectives and a common purpose, building trusted relationships with others, having a team around you that gives you strength, and focusing on an outcome without blaming others when something goes wrong.

Another important element is storytelling because occasionally, you need relativity, perspective, and the knowledge that others have dealt with issues just as hard to help you keep going.

Find out more about this Trailblazer:

Tania Rishniw

Deputy Secretary

Employment and Workforce

Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

Tania is the Deputy Secretary of Employment and Workforce, in the Department Employment and Workplace Relations in the Australian federal government. She leads a range of programs that enable services to support and help people overcome barriers and develop skills to gain employment.

 Prior to commencing with DEWR, Tania worked in the Department of Health from 2015-23 delivering primary and community care policy and programs. She has worked for over 20 years in public administration, across areas of social, environmental, and economic policy.

 Before being appointed as Deputy Secretary in May 2020, she held senior positions in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Department of Finance, Department of Education and Employment, and Department of Environment.

 Tania has delivered policy reform at the federal level in environmental and financial regulation, First Nations' employment and education, primary care and mental health, and service delivery. She led the response to the Montara oil spill, has represented the Australian Government at the United Nations, and successfully negotiated with states and territories in areas of hospital funding, mental health and suicide prevention, primary care COVID arrangements and wider health reform.

 Tania has a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, as well as holding an Executive Master's Degree in Public Administration.

Tune in next week as we speak to a new trailblazer in another episode in our series on Thriving in Uncertainty.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

Wendy McCarthy LinkedIn

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 – Episode Twelve with David Coltman

We often speak about the importance of everyone continuing to learn. After all, learning, in its essence, is about being alive. While some may approach learning with curiosity and be open to the possibilities it may provide for us, others may find it overwhelming to be able to decide in the direction to go. David Coltman, Chief Executive of TAFE SA, joins us to discuss this and much more in our latest podcast episode on change resilience.  

David shares his perspectives on the role of leaders going forward in helping people find pathways through what can feel like a dense forest at times. With an extensive career in education, David has witnessed the shift in education delivery, becoming more demand-driven, just-in-time, or just-enough training in focus, and how that is shaping education now and in the future.

He’s also no stranger to leading in challenging times, having come into TAFE SA at a time when the organisation needed to transform and be led in a new direction. David reflects on that time, having moved from Victoria to Adelaide for the role, and how he used that journey in becoming South Australian to humanise himself with his new workforce rather than it just being about becoming the new Chief Executive of TAFE SA.

He also talks about the importance of alleviating fear in the workforce through authentic communication that cuts through the jargon, giving people the opportunity to be heard, and how being physically present, where people can see him, provides an anchor for his workforce. David also shares how important it is to lead with kindness, but that, like good parenting, being human doesn’t mean just being Mr Nice Guy all the time; it’s also providing boundaries for people to work with and being consistent with them.

This episode isn’t just a masterclass in leading change, it’s also a great example of how to lead authentically and with kindness.

Listen to episode twelve:

Also available through Apple Podcasts and Spotify:

Find out more about this Trailblazer:

David Coltman

Chief Executive

TAFE SA

David Coltman is the Chief Executive of TAFE SA. Prior to joining TAFE SA in April 2019, David was Deputy Vice Chancellor at Swinburne University of Technology and Chair of the National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA). 

David is a New Zealander who made Australia his home in 2014. 

David holds postgraduate qualifications in Adult Education and Public Administration. His early career work focused on the delivery of programs that sought to increase participation in higher education of underrepresented communities. 

More recently David’s work has focused on the use of digital technologies to improve access and participation in post-compulsory education.

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 ten with Judith Formston

Often, asking simple questions such as “Is everything OK?”, “What’s happening with you?” or “What are you working on at the moment?” can help us learn more about the people around us and form connections with one another. Many post-pandemic workplaces have a range of flexible working arrangements, and it can be challenging for those workers to feel connected to others, leaving many lonely, burnt out, or disengaged.

Judith Formston, Deputy Chief Executive of Corporate Services at the Department of Health and Wellbeing SA, joins us in this episode to discuss authentic leadership. Judith shares her experience leading others by showing her human side, which helps her team realise she is just like everyone else. She also provides strategies for how her organisation fosters connections to create a safe space where everyone is invited and feels that they can express themselves freely through a range of initiatives, that help workers to disconnect from the workplace, but connect with each other, including coffee breaks, Friday night wines, groups, and communities of practice.

Listen in as Judith talks about key takeaways from the Jarwun Program she participated in. She enjoyed the yarning circle, where she connected to others during lunchtimes by basket weaving and talking. She also discusses the current journey her department is on to give their employees a better experience and improve mental health through organising meditation sessions.

Judith is a great example of a humble, authentic, and ‘human’ leader. We hope that you get as many takeaways from this episode as we did.  

Listen to episode ten:

Also available through Apple Podcasts and Spotify:

Find out more about this Trailblazer:

Judith Formston

Deputy Chief Executive of Corporate Services

Department of Health and Wellbeing

South Australia

Judith is a Deputy Chief Executive of Corporate and Infrastructure, at the Department of Health & Wellbeing, where she has Executive responsibility for Workforce, Finance, Procurement and Contracting and Infrastructure Projects. Judith has worked in Government over 20 years and has held Executive and Senior Management positions across a number of Government agencies in South Australia.

Judith is leading the project delivery team, in delivering the new Women’s and Childrens Hospital to the South Australia, being the State’s largest health infrastructure project.

Judith has a passion for reform and project delivery, leading a number of reform projects across Corporate Services, driving change and innovation across systems and processes. Judith has a key focus on the Employee Value proposition and embedding diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace.

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 Eight with Martin Hehir

In 2025, we are honoured to continue sharing more uplifting and encouraging stories in our series on Thriving in Uncertainty. Martin Hehir, who joins us for today's episode, is no exception.

Martin Hehir, the Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer for the Governance and Corporate Group within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, joins us to share his experiences in the public sector of Taking the Path Less Travelled.

As an experienced public servant, Martin has led teams in the Commonwealth and ACT governments. In this episode, he takes us back to the start of his senior leadership career by providing us with invaluable insights into how he has adapted his leadership style to take on a new role in a new department, and how the importance of communication helped him to navigate unfamiliar territory where his team increased by a factor of 20.

Martin also shares the importance that a couple of mentors played at this time in his career in helping him to stay real and honest with himself, which are invaluable attributes today for leading authentically. He also shares his key learnings from experiences in putting together multi-disciplinary teams and how fostering creative tension respectfully and engagingly can contribute to making sure that the right outcomes are achieved.

This open and honest conversation with Martin has many great takeaways, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Listen to episode eight:

Also available through Apple Podcasts and Spotify:

Find out more about this Trailblazer:

Martin Hehir

Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer

Governance and Corporate Group

Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet

Martin is the Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer for the Governance and Corporate Group within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, where he is responsible for the administration of the Executive Branch of Government, the management of Cabinet and Cabinet Committees, Ministerial Support, and the department's internal Corporate functions.

Before joining the Department in January 2024, Martin was the Deputy Secretary of Workplace Relations where he lead a range of industrial relations policy and programs. During his time in this role, Martin successfully delivered key legislation for the Government in relation to workplace relations, family and domestic violence leave, protecting worker’s entitlements and work health and safety measures. This included deep engagement and liaison across a variety of key stakeholders. Martin was awarded a Public Service Medal in June 2023 for outstanding public service in relation to workplace relations policy and employment services.

Prior to his role in the Workplace Relations space, Martin has held several deputy secretary positions in federal government during his career. He has been responsible for areas including developing a new employment services model; work, health and safety policy; and small business and industrial relations policy. Before this, Martin Worked as Deputy Secretary for Schools and Youth in the former Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and the former Department of Education, dealing with the Australian Education Act, and associated funding mechanisms.

He has also held a number of positions in ACT Government, including as the Director-General of the Community Services Directorate, ACT Government. Martin also holds an Economics Degree from the Australian National University and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment.

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 two

Thanks for joining us for another episode in our new inspiring weekly podcast series, Thriving in Uncertainty, where we spotlight leaders who have gotten comfortable with ambiguity and hear their professional stories about overcoming challenges to navigate change successfully.

In today's episode, Jody Grima, Chief People Officer at the NSW Department of Customer Service, joins us for an open and compelling conversation as we talk about leading change and preparing workforces for the future.

Listen in as Jody shares how there is no 'rinse and repeat' process for approaching change and that the first step is to be on the ground, understand the environment in which you're working with, what the culture is, and sensing the appetite for change. She also talks about other critical success factors, such as transparency and communication, and how without these, you risk losing trust very early on in the change process.

Over just 30-mins, you'll hear Jody share her experience in gauging the success of change programs working for Service NSW in the early days when they were establishing the three channels for service delivery in the state, how mindset and EQ play pivotal roles in preparing the workforce for the future, the biases that organisations need to overcome to ensure our workplaces are inclusive and equal for all, and how leaders throughout her career have inspired her to become the leader she is today.

It's a great episode that will leave you with some great takeaways to reflect on, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Listen to episode two:

Also available through Apple Podcasts and Spotify:

Find out more about this Trailblazer:

Jody Grima

Chief People Officer

NSW Department of Customer Service

As Chief People Officer for the Department of Customer Service (DCS) Jody is focused on growing a diverse and inclusive workforce to build out the experiences we offer for both our people, and our 8million+ customers across NSW. With extensive experience in transformation, service delivery, governance, and people development, Jody is committed to driving initiatives that foster transparent ethical behaviours, enhance employee engagement, and equip teams with future-ready capabilities. 

Jody has a wealth of experience across the NSW public sector, where she has been instrumental in championing transformation, supporting workplace wellbeing, and promoting an inclusive, speak-up culture. Jody’s background is leading significant reform in service provision and running large multidisciplinary teams in complex environments, including in Family and Community Services, and Service NSW, and more recently as Chief Operating Officer of DCS. 

Jody oversees strategic people initiatives that align with the Department’s commitment to delivering exceptional customer service. In 2020, Jody was recognised with a NSW Public Service Medal for outstanding public service to the community. 

Please tune in next week as we speak to Dr Rachel Bacon, Deputy Commissioner, Integrity, Reform and Enabling Services at the Australian Public Service Commission, as she joins us in discussing a growth mindset approach to change.