EP#113: Cultivating collaboration and leadership under pressure with Martin Hehir PSM and Kathy Hilyard

Work with Purpose: A podcast about the Australian Public Service.

If your team is grappling with an increasingly busy workload, today’s episode of Work with Purpose with Martin Hehir PSM and Kathy Hilyard will give you some useful tips on how better collaboration can become part of the solution.

With a busy work program following the pandemic, Martin Hehir PSM, deputy secretary, Governance and Corporate and chief operating officer, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and his team faced this exact challenge while working at the Attorney-General’s Department. At the time, Martin had an inkling that expanding collaboration might be the key to meeting these increasing demands, whilst also maintaining a sense of happiness and resilience in the team. But how could he bring them along for this change amidst persistently high workloads?

On this episode, Martin shares the story of how his team made it happen with the help of Kathy Hilyard, co-founder of the Centre for Collective Leadership. Martin and Kathy tell presenter David Pembroke about the “aha” moments and challenges, from experimenting with new ways of working across groups and professions to addressing fears around authenticity and vulnerability. Along the way, their efforts profoundly changed how leaders interacted with their teams and each other, fostering a more connected and resilient work environment.

Discussed in this episode:

· how people’s workstyle changes under pressure

· creating a more collaborative culture

· opening up and being vulnerable as a leader

· learning through discomfort

· working across teams and professions

· growing relationship intelligence

· why professionals with specific expertise can often struggle to collaborate

· finding and empowering influential leaders in an organisation

· why leadership isn’t about position

· practicing how to disagree with grace

· honest, save, and respectful engagement

Show notes:

• Strength deployment inventory | Core Strengths
• Dare to lead the story rumble process | Brené Brown

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