New Beginnings

 

So I’ve been a little busy lately and time just seems to have flown by in the last few weeks. But all in an exciting and fulfilling manner.

The reason for my being busy? I’m pleased to say that I’ve taken on a new role, as Asia-Pacific Environment & Sustainability Director at large ASX-listed professional service consulting firm, Cardno.

After working with, achieving and helping others achieve many good things with respect to sustainability and sustainable infrastructure in the construction industry and McConnell Dowell at an organisation level in particular, it was time to branch out and go for some new challenges.

And so I accepted the challenge of taking on this new Director role – coalescing a regional team of extremely dedicated and technically proficient professionals, developing and leading the implementation of a new strategy in the Environment and Sustainability space for Cardno in the region and growing the business. Easy right?!

I jest of course, but I have no doubt it will be a positive experience, particularly working with the fabulous folks in the team that I’m now meeting and getting to know across Australia and New Zealand. I know it’s my job to pump them up and spruik them, but genuinely they are some seriously talented and people highly dedicated to their disciplines, be it ecology, climate change flood risk assessment, coastal management or environmental managers and everything else in between.

Laying the Foundations

So my initial few weeks in my new role here are all about laying some solid foundations – solid foundations with respect to relationships with my new colleagues and team members and understanding the lay of the land upon which to build our new strategy together.

And it is very much a together thing. I like to think of myself as the conduit through which to shape and guide the new strategy and direction but its strength will lie in the various team members’ inputs and sense of ownership.

As such, one of the most important things I can do (and am doing) with my time at the moment is to meet as many folks as possible face-to-face, one-on-one and in groups, around the region. And this time is spent asking lots of questions, doing lots of listening and learning – a fact-finding mission if you will – drawing together various threads of messages, thoughts, ideas, opinions, concerns and opportunities. As I talk to people a number of consistent messages are coming through which are clear action points for us, and start to provide that starting point and foundation from which to grow our strategy.

In addition to that I’m also gauging the outside temperature, as it were. It’s all very well and good looking at ourselves internally and where we want to go, but unless we’re also talking with clients, partners and other key external stakeholders about what it is they really need help with, who we are, what we represent currently to them, and indeed how we are currently and could be assisting them, then the internal stuff is quite meaningless really! So that’s also what I’m doing, understanding how people in the wider world think and feel about the organisation currently,  what their key issues and pressure points are for them, and where could potentially help them out with those.

So that’s all today folks – I may have gone a little quiet on the blog front recently, but I am still here and I am still blogging moving forwards. And I’m sure there will be lots to talk about, discuss and share. Watch this space!