Mentors have made a huge difference in Sam Palmer's career personally, and she has also worked with teams to set up mentoring programs and to find mentors for others as well. Sam is the Secretary and Fellow of IPAA and current APS reviewer on the independent review of the Commonwealth Department of Education, on secondment from Austrade. Sam shares that, unlike supervisors, mentors don't have a responsibility to you, but they are a person you can talk with and play back what they have heard, ask questions, and make suggestions. Sam also provides a great metaphor for how champions in organisations are like elephants in this FAQ. Listen to her full episode here
Listen in as Sam Palmer, Secretary and Fellow of IPAA and current APS reviewer on the independent review of the Commonwealth Department of Education, on secondment from Austrade, talks about a time in her career when she was on secondment to the Director General of a department in WA, and on her fourth day, joined an executive meeting when it was announced that one of the most senior staff was being arrested for corruption and fraud, and how they wanted Sam to take on that person's job and fix many of the problems across various areas of the organisation that had created the conditions for that person to steal millions of dollars. Sam reflects on how stressful that situation was and how important communication with staff was at that time, as staff need to know what is going on, why things are happening, and what they need to do. Listen to Sam's full episode her
Listen in as Sam Palmer, Secretary and Fellow of IPAA and current APS reviewer on the independent review of the Commonwealth Department of Education, on secondment from Austrade, shares how there can be different contexts to change in this FAQ. Sometimes, change can be unexpected, but at other times, you may seek it because you want to improve and achieve a better outcome. Regardless of the context or what’s driving change, learning is an inherent part of it, and you do have to stop, think about your options, and steer a path into the change that will be effective. Listen to Sam's full episode here
Listen in as Sam Palmer, Secretary and Fellow of IPAA and current APS reviewer on the independent review of the Commonwealth Department of Education, on secondment from Austrade, shares her perspectives from both sides of running HR teams and working with HR teams as an individual leader in this FAQ. Sam talks about how essential it is for leaders to work with HR in collaboration, understanding how they can support organisational strategy and support the HR team as an effective contributor, and how leaders need to do more than communicate the programs that HR is running to their teams, but also engaging with those programs directly, reflecting on that with their team, and feeding back into HR to enable change, growth and adjustments as well. Listen to her episode here
Listen in as Sam Palmer, Secretary and Fellow of IPAA and current APS reviewer on the independent review of the Commonwealth Department of Education, on secondment from Austrade, shares more on why diversity and inclusion are so rewarding in this FAQ, not just from the human part, but the potential in making a real difference to an organisation. Sam shares an example from when she worked at the Department of Health and Ageing and how the Commissioner provided a new direction of using young people with an intellectual disability by removing some barriers to obtaining permanent employment through a different merit-based process. Sam reflects on how this group of people made such an amazing difference and had a positive influence everywhere they went in the department. Listen to her episode here
Listen in as Sam Palmer, Secretary and Fellow of IPAA and current APS reviewer on the independent review of the Commonwealth Department of Education, on secondment from Austrade, reflects on how diversity and inclusion have been one of the most rewarding parts of her career, and shares some of the reasons why in this FAQ. Sam talks about how so many amazing people in the community come from different areas and have different characteristics that are an untapped resource for employers. Sam also provides compelling statistics on how inclusive workplaces and employing people with a disability are better for wellbeing, performance, innovation, and business results overall. Listen to her episode here
No one-size-fits-all answer to this question exists, as all organisations are different. However, leaders ensure that at all levels of the organisation, it’s important to understand people’s motivations when you’re in the hiring frame, your needs, and the likely timeframe for that individual, and if that fits within your requirements. The second part is maintaining regular conversations about what your staff are seeking in their role, providing timely feedback, and having a broader discussion about what they are looking for. Listen in as Sam Palmer, Secretary and Fellow of IPAA and current APS reviewer on the independent review of the Commonwealth Department of Education, on secondment from Austrade, shares how important it is to give people the chance to grow and how as public sector leaders have an obligation to grow the skills across the public service, being realistic as their role as stewards in supporting people across their career. Listen to her episode here
Listen in as Sam Palmer, Secretary and Fellow of IPAA and current APS reviewer on the independent review of the Commonwealth Department of Education, on secondment from Austrade, shares how at Austrade, they have benefited from bringing other people into their division from different parts of the organisation, rather than always just having someone act up from underneath. It’s about finding the right balance for your organisation’s needs, but encouraging and providing movement across the branches, at level, can strengthen the organisation, build individual understanding, and fuel collaboration. Sam also explains that opening yourself up to other views and perspectives helps to achieve the best outcomes as it provides different ways of thinking about solving problems and addressing issues. Listen to her episode here
Listen in as Sam Palmer, Secretary and Fellow of IPAA and current APS reviewer on the independent review of the Commonwealth Department of Education, on secondment from Austrade, shares the value of taking up mobility opportunities and how in moving sidewards throughout her career into different roles and experiences, has assisted her to understand things from a different framing or mindset. Sam also provides specific examples of how she has used what she learned from these opportunities to test, trial, and adapt the learnings as she progressed in new roles. Listen to her episode here
Ivan Williams, Chief Medical Radiation Scientist at ARPANSA, joins us to outline the vast range of methods they use to galvanise learning across their organisation and how they expect their staff to invest in their learning at a business-as-usual level. Ivan also explains why it is essential for staff to be aware of contemporary developments, how they are being applied, their effect, and how this learning is used in the many advisory roles that ARPANSA staff serve.
Listen to his full episode here
It can be difficult sometimes in organisations like ARPANSA, where people change their area of expertise regularly for others to be aware of it, but usually, the title of the section or the person's job title is a good indication. Dr Ivan Williams, Chief Medical Radiation Scientist at ARPANSA, joins us in this question and provides an example of an agency-wide celebration they do every couple of years where the entire agency comes together. Each area presents what they are doing and what they have been working on. These presentations can be enlightening for other agency areas and encourage engagement and consideration of how techniques could be applied to similar areas.
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It's a common challenge that many organisations face to ensure that staff continues learning, maintaining their skills, and developing new ones, while still delivering on their remit. Dr Ivan Williams, Chief Medical Radiation Scientist at ARPANSA, also recognises the tension and stress of his workforce in facing this exact challenge. Listen to hear Ivan explain how critical it is to create a culture where staff are comfortable in communicating, and having those open conversations both formally and informally through regular meetings is important, as well as acknowledging that these conversations are not static and set in stone either.
Listen to his full episode here
It's important to recognise that people are individuals, their work packages are different, and what they need to do at a particular time is different too. While all components of learning are relevant, their relevance can differ depending on where people are at and what they need to do. Ivan Williams, Chief Medical Radiation Scientist at ARPANSA, explains how, because of the technical and hands-on nature of his team's work, they find on-the-job training particularly beneficial, and he explains why in this FAQ.
Listen to his full episode here