Peta Wittig is the General Manager for Phillip Island Nature Parks, an organization that focuses on conservation and research funded by their remarkable visitor attractions. After starting her career at the age of 17 on the opening team for a local aquarium, Peta fell in love with startups and aquatic wildlife attractions. Peta gained incredible experience by traveling the world and helping bring various aquariums and wildlife attractions to life in her journey leading to Phillip Island. In this interview, Peta takes her years of experience to teach us about inspiring action, being your authentic self, and knowing your purpose. 

Inspiring Action

"Inspiring people to act is about making a connection."

Entertainment and education are much more synonymous than you might think. The balance of creating a fun environment where people can enjoy themselves whilst simultaneously creating a call to action isn’t rocket science. By creating a connection through the world of entertainment, the doors are opened to insert a powerful message inspiring action within a person by simply letting them have fun.

Live animals are another key element of inspiring action, where it’s important to maintain the balance of education and entertainment. Ultimately, animals are not there for people’s entertainment, but should instead be used to help benefit the balance of education and enjoyment by having employees teach people about the unique aspects of wildlife and how we can protect it for years to come. 

Being Your Authentic Self

"Your purpose is key to enjoying what you do and being authentic."

Being authentic is key to not only enjoying yourself, but also letting others enjoy you. When being your true self, your leadership and goals become much more transparent and can make you a leader worth following. By showing what your message is and what impact you want to make on the world, it creates a much more positive atmosphere and helps generate an aura of success. 

By being authentic, you can break down barriers that stem from cultural differences and help bridge the gap between people with different backgrounds, something that leaders often struggle with. By maintaining the same goals and messages, it’s never impossible to rally a team towards those objectives. 

Knowing Your Purpose

"Your purpose is key to enjoying what you do and being authentic."

When you’re doing something you enjoy, it’s easy to get up in the morning and it’s easy to be your authentic self. Enjoyment stems from your purpose, and your purpose creates your goals and impact you want to make on the world. By creating and recognizing your purpose, it’s easy to become a natural leader and enjoy what you do.

Knowing your purpose is key to being happy and being your authentic self. Without knowing your purpose, it’s impossible to work towards your goals that should stem from that purpose.

To learn more about Peta’s purpose, you can visit penguins.org.au. To contact Peta directly, you can connect with her on LinkedIn.

This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our amazing team:

• Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas