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In 1991, Captain Billy Tyne of the Andrea Gail made a fatal decision. Faced with an incoming storm, a broken ice machine, and 40,000 pounds of fish on board, he chose to head into it—hoping to save the catch. What he didn’t know was that three weather systems were colliding into what would become the...
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Years ago, I asked a senior executive how she managed to stay so calm in the middle of a crisis. Her response stayed with me. “I’m not calm,” she said. “I’m conflicted. But I’ve learned that rushing to be right doesn’t make things clearer—it makes them worse.” Back then, I didn’t fully grasp what she...
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Saturday morning, Cyclone Alfred had made landfall. However, the sun was breaking through, whilst warnings continued to echo through the media. I stood on my back deck, debating whether to rehang the baskets of plants I’d taken down to prevent them from becoming flying missiles. The worst seemed to have passed. But something held me...
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There was a time when the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) and government health representatives were at an impasse—trust was thin, tensions high. When the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) required government representation on RACS decision-making Boards, I found myself on the Board of Surgical Training, right in the middle of that dynamic....
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I recently revisited the first season of 1923 before watching the next season. One theme stood out—the human tendency to dehumanise those who seem different. Whether Native Americans, Chinese immigrants, or those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, the show highlights how often people fail to truly see one another. That reflection led me to current global...
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In the late 2000s, my BlackBerry was practically an extension of my hand. As a Government Executive, it was my direct line to work—meetings, emails, urgent messages—all at my fingertips. BlackBerry was the gold standard at the time, and its company leadership was convinced of its dominance. But conviction isn’t the same as foresight. While...
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Have you ever gone above and beyond to meet your leader or client’s needs? I know I have, especially when there was strong alignment between what was required and my values and purpose. However, there have been times when doing so resulted in a significant cost—to my private life, other work commitments, business or finances....
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Do you feel like the year has well and truly taken off and your old friend ‘busyness’ has re-appeared? Are you wistfully looking back on those few hours, days or weeks when you had space to think creatively and marvel at what you came up with because you gave your mind the freedom and permission...
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As leaders, we know all too well that life away from work can often unexpectedly add to our load. Often, that load is not visible to others, but it contributes to our feeling that we are caught in a perfect storm. 2024 was a year of significant transitions, challenges and in the last six months,...
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Implementing a new ICT system that delivers much-needed benefits can be complex. I learned this firsthand as the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) implementing a new system to support the management of government social investment processes from beginning to end. The early scoping work identified system specifications consisting of hundreds of requirements. However, stakeholders had different...
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What happens when agility outpaces the systems and processes holding it all together? You’re leading a high-stakes project, adapting swiftly to each new twist. Then, unexpectedly, you hit a funding gap that derails momentum. The reason? In the excitement to adapt and move fast, no one applied the tried-and-true cost-tracking process—a routine so embedded it...
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Imagine your organisation releases a new strategic plan. It’s full of objectives that require cross-team collaboration. Unfortunately, the teams in your organisation tend to be competitive and work in silos. The last time you tried to get teams from different areas to work together produced lacklustre results. How will you get them to work together...
Read itIf the complexity in your organisation isn't going anywhere, and you have less certainty than you'd like, that's ground Susanne has worked for thirty years.
Start with a conversation to find your team's way through.
