Leading when human lives are in your hands
Women in Governance lunch series. 28 March Good governance is not just about being ‘best practice’ but must understand that human lives will be impacted. Governance must be designed to make it easier for people to do their job, if this isn’t the case then it’s useless.
We were honoured to hear from 3 incredible CEOs who shared with us their journeys, missions and insights.
Gabrielle Borggard is the CEO of Domestic violence action centre, when observing the ‘profile of the people’ they support, what is obvious is that it could be any of us but is predominantly women, children and young people.
They pay attention to those who are marginalised e.g. migrants, people living with disabilities etc. A key challenge is to provide immediate safety to those requiring help. Post trauma impact is massive, it introduces self doubt, depression and will prolong recovery from abuse.
Did you know that single women over 50 have the highest poverty levels in Australia What is abuse? Anything that can be used to control or hurt. This group supports people to decide and define their lives and not to take over and become another controlling factor, people are experts in their own lives. They also identify the solution resides in taught behaviour so they offer programs to men who want to change. Funding is only from state government and different political parties will value these services differently and therefore fund differently Kerrie Freeman is the Chief Executive of West Morton Health, it aims to keep people well.
It’s classified as medium sized organisation and provides health services to approx 300,000 people which is expected to double by 2036 making it the fastest growing health provider in Queensland.
They use insights and analytics from population, demographics and growth data in order to plan and grow their own services.
Health funding is 30 % of GDP and this will grow to 50% if we don't do things differently. Therefore they look for technology and innovations and plan accordingly, e.g. as society changes and the focus moves towards health support at home they are not planning to build large central hospitals.
Hetty Johnston is the Founder and Director of Bravehearts, we were thrilled to learn that Hetty will run for Senate as an independent at the next federal election #believeagain Bravehearts mission is to make australia the safest place to raise a child their key drives are Educate, Empower, Protect Educate: the millionth child will be attending the Ditto show by September.
The DITTO show Provides age appropriate information about body ownership and the right to be safe.
They run the CyberEcho program which teaches children to stay safe online, from social media to creating a time digital footprint.
ProjectYou addresses personal safety issues unique to young people, understanding emotions, healthy and unhealthy relationships, importance of consent, cyber safety inc. sexting and the law, personal boundaries, bullying, helping others seek help. Empower: counselling services, sexual support, early intervention for children abusing other children Protect: research and legislation Secrets are a paedophile’s best friend. The courage to disclose comes from trust that the person you disclose to will listen to you and do something. Women need to lift each other up, we don't achieve on our own. When women rise we all rise. The industries where women do hold a greater proportion of higher roles are in the 'caring and protecting" industries, these industries being the most important to protect and grow society, and the least well paid. The imbalance needs to be addressed. If people can relate to your mission then they will share you vision and celebrate your values. Only then will they follow you and embrace the change you are working towards, you don’t need to do anything fancy than be a trustworthy leader who people can believe in.