RECOGNITION
intern and an audiologist in training.
About halfway through my career as an audiologist
(which I loved being), I got an opportunity to start in
management and found a new passion. I ended up in a
centre management role and then became what they now
call a general manager, and eventually progressed into one of
the executive positions.
You said that you found a new passion in management.
What was it about that role that inspired you?
Initially it was about being in a position where I was able to
have greater influence on how to change or improve aspects
of our service delivery. I really liked supporting people as
they developed, and the whole area of staff development,
training, mentoring, and coaching. Those sort of things I
found personally satisfying. I got good feedback when I did
it, so it was a position where I felt valid.
I really believe in what Australian Hearing does; we do
change lives. I like being part of a team where I can shape
strategy and direction, and where the organisation goes.
“Sharon has been my EA
for 12 years. She is a part of
me, we’re a package deal.
That’s how people see us”
What do you believe are the qualities that make up a
good boss?
As an audiologist one of the most important skills to have is
to be a good listener. It’s really important that the client is at
the centre of your decision making process and that you are
recognising what their needs and goals are, so you can help
shape the service that you do.
That turns out to be really valuable as a manager and as
a leader. You need to be able to listen to what people are
saying and really understand what they need from you. It’s
also about trying to get the best out of people and working
with them to really understand what their strengths and
development opportunities are.
A lot of my part is about trusting and building trust, and
with that comes empowering people. Having trust in them
to be able to run with things, and develop those skills and be
more confident in their role.
A manager thinks that they have to do everything and are
often overwhelmed with too many tasks. You need to trust
your people and delegate appropriately.
How do you strategise and implement change at
Australian Hearing?
The thing that helps me in my career at Australian Hearing
is that I have come from an audiology background. I’ve built
up a lot of credibility and knowledge so when I talk about
delivering hearing services, I’m not talking in an abstract
sense. I can talk from personal experience, and that carries
some influence.
People talk about change being hard. I don’t know if it’s
hard, it just needs a good plan. One of the things that I do
(and I’m sure I’m not unique in this) is spend a lot of time
focusing on the ‘why’.
My direct reports and I spend a lot of time focusing on
making sure the reasons behind things are really clear to us,
then supporting my team so they can convey that to others.
That’s the strategy around role modelling, but it’s also
profiling the right language that works at different levels of
the organisation.
If we can’t be clear with our communication then we
can’t be effective leaders.
I’d like to understand your relationship with your
EA, Sharon Wilson. You spoke before about how
you enable people to take on responsibility, I’d like
to understand how that comes into play in your
partnership.
If I was to say a sentence about what she does, it would be
that she helps me stay sane every day. She helps me manage
what some people would think is an unmanageable diary.
Because our head office is in Sydney, I spend about 50
percent of my time in Sydney and about 50 percent of my
time in Melbourne, which requires me to have a really great
relationship with my EA. She not only needs to make sure
I’m in the right place at the right time, but with the right
paperwork and the right briefing.
There are a number of things that I trust her (and I do
totally trust her) to oversee, especially when I’m not in the
office. Whether that’s monitoring my emails for things that
need urgent attention, to helping people when they need an
immediate response.
She shows interest in different aspects of her role. For
example, she said to me that she was really interested
in events management. She already organised all of our
management meetings every couple of months, so I could
see that she was very invested in this area.
I gave her an opportunity to do an event management
course and now she organises our national conference every
year. She does a fantastic job and it’s not a small event. We
bring somewhere between 120 to 150 people together for
a big gala dinner. Now Sharon is known throughout our
organisation for her event management skills. Whenever
there are special events in our head office or in one of the
regions, they will ask if they can have her assistance. That’s
just one example of how she demonstrates her abilities.
I want her to be happy in her role. So I give her the
opportunity to do the things that give her greater job
satisfaction. Sharon has been my EA for 12 years. She’s a part
of me, we’re a package deal. That’s how people see us. As
my role has evolved, we’ve evolved. As my reach has grown
we’ve had to sit down together to talk about how we manage
our work-flow.
She’s incredibly patient when I’m having a very hectic
week. She always asks if there are things that she can do in
that time. Sometimes there aren’t, there’s things that I can’t
give to her, and sometimes there are and I say to her, “thank
you.” We’re just a team. S
Issue 2 2019 | Chief of Staff 23