Current role: Head of Strategy
Current organisation: Australian Football League (AFL)
Last role at Strategy&: Senior Engagement Manager
Time at Strategy&: 2015 - 2021
How would you describe your time at Strategy&?
Enriching, challenging, fast, fun and punctuated by some of the most formative and comical moments (usually not at the same time) of my life.
How has your experience at Strategy& helped you in your later career?
The experience I had at the firm was such a gift in terms of my career now. There are very few things I haven’t needed to draw on in some way - except an intimate acquaintance of the freight rail value chain, but there’s still time. The depth and variety of work that we’re exposed to creates such strong foundations.
While we’re at the firm we tend to home in on the similarities between our engagements and look for what we can reapply to come to an answer more quickly, or with fewer scrapes along the way.
What I have a greater appreciation for since moving to industry is the complexities of different engagements - political settings, what eventually went well or not, the role a particular decision played in what eventually unfolded. Being able to draw on such a diverse set of experiences is uncommon and has been hugely valuable.
The living, breathing part of what my time at the firm has given me is the incredible friends and mentors who I can pick up the phone to when I’m in need of an opinion or some banter.
What is the most rewarding part of your role?
I work with incredibly collaborative, open people in an environment where getting things done happens very quickly. It’s rewarding to engage with so many different parts of the AFL that are geared toward action and see decisions come to life in a matter of weeks - or sometimes less. I’ve learned to be cautious about suggesting that anything can’t be done because the business is so good at redefining that boundary.
What challenges have you faced in your role and how have you overcome them?
The breadth of what my team juggles at any one time has been an adjustment for me, combined with the pace of a business like the AFL it can feel like conducting a very chaotic piece of music. I wouldn’t say I’ve overcome that feeling, just gotten more comfortable with it and developed a better sense of what is critical.
What is the highlight of your career to date?
We did a revenue growth project a fair few years back - it was a lean team and we were working to cover as much ground as possible, but it meant that every single person on the team had a really important role to play (it was also when I started using the phrase “but how hard can it be?”). About a year later that client had seen topline revenue grow by 30% and has continued to grow since. For me the highlight was seeing that what we do isn’t theory, it isn’t shelfware, and with the right effort and guts behind it you can genuinely get to ‘winning in the market’. It makes me optimistic when I start a piece of work that its potential could come to life.
What is your personal definition of good leadership and how do you try to implement it?
Good leadership to me is about setting clear direction, building trust in the people around you and creating an environment for your team that brings their strengths to the forefront, and encourages them to take some risks. I try to be as open as possible about my thinking and sharing what I’ve learned, and encourage my team to do the same.
What is the best piece of career advice you’ve ever received or that you would give to someone aspiring to pursue a career in strategy?
The best advice I received was very early on and it has never stopped being true for me; it was, don’t lose your sense of clarity and curiosity. It’s in our nature to look for patterns, start typifying things, making assumptions, embracing complexity as necessary. I think that’s where we lose our edge or find ourselves surprised by the unexpected, so I try to revisit this advice when I find myself slipping into comfortable habits.
What skills and expertise do you think will be in demand for strategy-related roles in the next five years?
I think all strategists will need to be able to navigate data, technology and automation with a proficiency that maybe hasn’t been demanded of us so far - not just understanding its potential, but being able to identify the right partners and create the right ecosystem for the organisation, particularly in the more bespoke, operational parts of businesses.
Can you share an insight into the future direction of the AFL?
Well, there’s Tasmania…
But actually, one of the key elements of the AFL’s future direction is reaching a wider base of fans and participants. We’ve seen phenomenal growth in the participation of girls and women, and sustaining that kind of growth to make the game ‘truly national’ in our players and supporters is a big part of our focus.
Information current as of 20 July 2022
