Areas of Expertise

Leadership

Apart from significant leadership training throughout my Air Force career, I have practical leadership experience in command of an airbase in 2015-16 and leading my rifle flight during the evacuation of Australians from Cambodia in 1997. Leadership is more than just a position, it is how you approach the situation and consider your people. Some say leadership is convincing people to do something they wouldn’t normally do. I see that as an outcome of leadership, because to me leadership is showing the way in such a way that others follow.

Strategic Planning

As a Director on the board of the Canberra Services Club Ltd I led the strategic planning for the board and management to reinvigorate the Club, improve patronage and commence the upward trend in trading. strategic planning takes into consideration the environment, the risks and the uncertainty of the future to determine an end state, key points on the journey and ideally the performance indicators which should be evident if the strategy is on track.

Crisis Management

Effective car isis management starts before the crisks commences do an organisation is postured to be able to respond, rather than react. Whilst you can never predict everything that is going to happen, risk analysis should identify what could happen and provide guidance for planners to develop those contingency plans for the ‘what if’. Crisis management is then a case of implementing those plans or at least having the brain space to assess the situation and work out a way forward. In the immortal words of Douglas Adams, ‘Don’t Panic!’

Written and Oral Communication

Communication is key to getting things done. Oral communication is where you pass information to get buy-in from another decision maker and I have significant experience briefing senior decision makers and my peers to have them understand the situation and be able to make a decision.

Written communication is the basis for actual decisions, because that is the record. I have written numerous briefs for senior officers and board papers to outline a situation and the options moving forward. Most recently I wrote the brief from the Commander of the ADF forces in the Middle East to the Chief of Joint Operations about the future size and structure of our presence there. Clear, concise and structured written communication is the foundation for decision making.

Capability Evaluation and Analysis

My last two role for the Air Force have been in capability evaluation and analysis. This has included developing the framework used by the Air Force to gather, track and review observations from activities and convert them from lessons identified to lessons learned. If we do not learn from the past we are doomed to repeat it.

Capability Evaluation is a complex concept and rests on the understanding that superficial ‘clipboard evaluation’ (someone walking around to see whether things are being done right, procedures are being followed, etc.) doesn’t provide you with a true understanding of whether you are doing the right thing – that level of evaluation requires planning, effort and should be conducted in parallel to strategic planning, not as an afterthought.

Strategic Thinking

Strategic thinking is about getting outside the tactical bubble and away from the day to day minutia of business as usual. Strategic thinking is an approach to see the bigger picture, understand the external influencers and second- and third-order effects of decisions made, which may not be immediately apparent. When thinking strategically you need to consider things at least two levels above you, including ‘how will this be perceived’. Not easy, but time invested thinking strategically will pay in the longer term.

Governance Experience

Governance is about structure and good processes to support decision making and have an auditable trail. In my Board career and during my time in the military I have brought structure and a framework to support decision making.

Media Experience

During my Australian Command and Staff Course we were provided with media training. Focus on the key talking points, be prepared and don’t get flustered – sounds simple. Until you are on live radio answering questions about contamination resulting from the firefighting foam used on our base. This was the situation I found myself in whilst the senior ADF Officer at RAAF Townsville. As difficult as it was, and I felt drained afterwards, it was a successful interview and I was congratulated by the Deputy Secretary for the way I handled it.