Leaders' Secrets Revealed

Penny Swift took on the role of Executive Director of Education Through Music in 2019, after first joining ETM as Chief Operating Officer in 2017.She has had an extensive career as an operational and strategic leader in early childhood education, particularly in low-income neighbourhoods and communities. She has worked as a teacher and a special education administrator.As Divisional VP with Brightside Academy, she oversaw all academies in New York and Philadelphia. In this role, Penny has oversight for a budget of approximately $10M, a staff of more than 1,000 employees, business operations across more than 40 sites, and compliance and Board management responsibilities.Penny instituted a broader performance management system across the organization, to lead to more efficient and targeted staff management and coaching, while also building sustainability and capacity within the organization.Why listen Learn about Penny’s leadership journeyPenny’s focus on building a high performing team – and not settling for anything lessWhy succession planning is so crucialHer leadership secretsWhat you will also learnWhy the book ‘Very Hungry Caterpillar’ is part of Penny’s recommended reading listOther linksFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/etmonline/Twitter: https://twitter.com/etmonlineInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/etmonline/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/etmonlineLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/etmonline/Connect With Penny SwiftOn LinkedInConnect With Maree Burgess· On LinkedIn· On Twitter: @mareeb· On Facebook or search @burgessmaree· On Instagram: @Maree_BurgessThank You for Tuning In!If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it with others. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on https://mareeburgess.com to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live!If you are looking to enhance and develop your leadership skills please contact me to find out how.

With a long history working in government Kathryn has fine tuned her leadership skills and self-awareness to lead and manage a team that she finds a joy to work with.Why listen Key points I took away:Lose the ego – we don’t have to have the solutions or the answers – trust the team to help create theseProvide mentoring and creating buddy opportunities within the team – more senior team members with more junior team membersLook for ways to give junior team members an opportunity to see the bigger picture – take them to senior meetings so they can hear what gets discussedKathryn is a delegation expert – and knows that she can’t do everything. And she is also aware that a manager can’t delegate everything. She focuses on what work is coming in and who is best placed, has the capacity and interest to do it. It’s also about balancing project work with reactive work so everyone has specific work to call their ownKathryn’s 3 leadership tipsTake a collaborative approach to problem solving – and take a step back to allow the team to do some critical thinkingProvide constructive feedback, with sensitivity to the person’s feelingsLose the ego and think about the whole teamAnd finally, in being recognised by peers and colleagues and being included in the IPAA Victoria Top 50 Public Sector Women for 2019 – Kathryn has realised that mid-level managers and leaders can make a difference. We don’t need to be at really senior levels to have a positive impact.Other linkshttps://jobs.vic.gov.auhttps://www.vic.ipaa.org.au/top-50-public-sector-women-2019Connect With Maree Burgess· On LinkedIn· On Twitter: @mareeb· On Facebook or search @burgessmaree· On Instagram: @Maree_BurgessThank You for Tuning In!If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it with others. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on https://mareeburgess.com to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live!If you are looking to enhance and develop your leadership skills please contact me to find out how.

With a background combining technology, portfolio management, process improvement, talent management and leading large complex change programs, Caroline delivers powerful people focused, transformation programs.Giving back to industry is a powerful driver for her. Caroline is currently Director and Program Lead for the Importance of Women in IT, an initiative of VIC ICT for Women.Why listen Learn how Caroline developed her leadership skills as a teenager in the Girl GuidesCaroline’s leadership tips: become more self-aware, put your own health and well-being first, and focus on developing your communication and feedback expertiseOther linksCaroline recommends the following books:Jason Fox “The Game Changer”Brene Brown “Dare to Lead”John H. Zenger and Joseph Folkman “The Extraordinary LeaderConnect With Caroline StainkamphOn LinkedInConnect With Maree Burgess· On LinkedIn· On Twitter: @mareeb· On Facebook or search @burgessmaree· On Instagram: @Maree_BurgessThank You for Tuning In!If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it with others. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on https://mareeburgess.com to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live!If you are looking to enhance and develop your leadership skills please contact me to find out how.

Why listen In this podcast I talk about our beliefs.Beliefs fall into one of two overarching categories: empowering or limiting.By identifying and understanding our beliefs, we can use them, or change them, to guide our decisions and behaviour in all areas of life. The more understanding and control we have over our beliefs, the more choice we present to ourselves.I talk about present state and beliefs in my book Connecting Us.Connect With Maree BurgessOn LinkedInOn Twitter: @mareebOn Facebook or search @burgessmareeOn Instagram: @Maree_BurgessWebsite: www.mareeburgess.comThank You for Tuning In!If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it with others. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast at https://www.mareeburgess.com/podcast to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live!If you are looking to enhance and develop your leadership skills please contact me to find out how.

Why listen In this episode I focus on understanding where we want to go (what we want to achieve)We may have a sense of where we'd like to get to but, just like finding the x on a treasure map, we need to figure out where we are in relation to it before we can work out how to get there.It comes down to our beliefs.We do not believe what we see; rather, we see what we already believe.Our beliefs are assumptions we have about the world.I talk about present state and beliefs in my book Connecting Us.Connect With Maree BurgessOn LinkedInOn Twitter: @mareebOn Facebook or search @burgessmareeOn Instagram: @Maree_BurgessWebsite: www.mareeburgess.comThank You for Tuning In!If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it with others. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast at https://www.mareeburgess.com/podcast to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live!If you are looking to enhance and develop your leadership skills please contact me to find out how.

Dianne Hardy began her career with a Bachelor of Applied Science and worked in a range of medical research roles. She has since worked: as a secondary teacher; as a professional development coordinator in a not for profit company; and in a range of strategic human resource management roles in Victorian Government departments and the State Services Authority.In July 2010 she left her role with Victoria Police as Assistant Director – Leadership Development to establish her own consulting business Dianne Hardy Consulting.Since then she has led the development of the first recovery college in Australia and went onto be Director. The Mind Recovery College.She chaired the International Recovery College Community of Practice for more than two years.Currently Dianne leads the Disability Workforce Innovation Project working with Victorian regional organisations to help build the workforce needed for NDIS service delivery.Why listen Learn how Dianne developed her leadership skills – based on the complex projects and tasks she was asked to work out how to do and then completeDianne’s tips for creating great teamsHer leadership secrets – trust yourself, don’t second guess – ask, take development opportunities, and use the 80/20 rule – don’t aim for perfectionConnect With Dianne HardyOn LinkedInConnect With Maree Burgess· On LinkedIn· On Twitter: @mareeb· On Facebook or search @burgessmaree· On Instagram: @Maree_BurgessThank You for Tuning In!If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it with others. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on https://mareeburgess.com to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live!If you are looking to enhance and develop your leadership skills please contact me to find out how.

Why listen Self-awareness is crucial to leading effectively – and it is something we never stop building. What I share in this podcast is the example of leader I watched over many years build high-performingI’ve always been curious about what makes someone good at creating performing teams and this leader gave me key insights into what is required.They had a strong sense of self-awareness. Knowing their values, beliefs and strengths.Knowing even a little more about each of these improves our ability to manage our emotions and be more flexible in the way we respond to situations.Connect With Maree BurgessOn LinkedInOn Twitter: @mareebOn Facebook or search @burgessmareeOn Instagram: @Maree_BurgessThank You for Tuning In!If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it with others. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast at https://www.mareeburgess.com/podcast to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live!If you are looking to enhance and develop your leadership skills please contact me to find out how.

Why listen Organisations continue to underperform in many ways. What I share in this podcast is the concept of ‘right level management’.I explain what I mean by this and talk about why we may not operate at the right level.I also list the reasons that prevent us from operating at the right level and how this often shows up when someone has been promoted to a more senior role, maybe from within their own team, and maybe into a new team.Connect With Maree BurgessOn LinkedInOn Twitter: @mareebOn Facebook or search @burgessmareeOn Instagram: @Maree_BurgessThank You for Tuning In!If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it with others. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast at https://www.mareeburgess.com/podcast to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live!If you are looking to enhance and develop your leadership skills please contact me to find out how.