Good Will Hunters

I’d like to begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land that I record these episodes on, the Gadigal people of the Eora nations. I pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging and I extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people listening today.

Welcome to the seventh episode in our leadership series of Good Will Hunters.

I have to admit, this series was a bit of a risk. It’s the first series we’ve done without a series partner in two years. I went back to basics and did it all myself - none of the usual help with sourcing guests or designing social media posts or marking up transcripts - it was all me, at home, making it happen and of course working with our brilliant sound editor Bruce Heald from Noise International.

The series was self-funded, because leadership is an issue I personally care so much about and when I came up with the idea for this series, there was no going back. I was completely determined to have conversations on purpose-driven leadership with some outstanding guests. And the risk has paid off - the response to this series has been huge, but it’s also been very personal. I’ve never had so many listeners get in touch to share their own challenges in regards to having a purpose-driven, values-aligned career at the heart of social change and community development.

I know that we’re onto something special here, and I have some big plans for what comes next. But for now, we’ll air the final episode in our first leadership series today, and then we’ll be airing a very special three-part series recorded at the OzWater conference in mid-May. You would remember our water series last year, with our two outstanding hosts Michael Wilson and Rosie Wheen - well, after much demand, they’re back with a three-part series continuing the conversation on Water for Development. Stay tuned for that in the coming fortnight.

Now today’s guest is Peter Chandra. Peter is an experienced Executive Leader and Board Director. I met Peter last year when I undertook my Foundations of Directorship course with the Australian Institute of Company Directors. It was a significant milestone for me personally, because it was the first big investment I’d made in the next stage of my leadership journey. It was daunting, as the average age in the room was probably double my age, and I felt a bit out of place in the boardroom. But Peter was a supportive and insightful facilitator, and we have stayed in touch since.

In this episode, Peter reflects on his leadership journey, and the lessons he’s learnt as a board director, and also as an executive in the development and not for profit sectors. Peter shares his philosophy on aid and empowerment, which aligns closely with my own. I hope you enjoy the episode, with Peter Chandra.

I’d like to begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land that I record these episodes on, the Gadigal people of the Eora nations. I pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging and I extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people listening today.

Welcome to the sixth episode in our leadership series of Good Will Hunters. I’m Rachel Mason Nunn, and I am the Founder and Host of Good Will Hunters.

Today on the show, I speak to Terence Jeyaretnam. Terence is an environmental engineer and Partner at EY in the Climate Change and Sustainability practice, based in Melbourne. He is EY’s national leader for indigenous reconciliation, as well as the D&I leader for EY’s Melbourne office. He has been an integral part of EY’s cultural diversity efforts over the past two years.

Terence is a passionate social justice leader, working with NGOs from Sri Lanka, his place of birth, and also social enterprises in Australia. This is a candid conversation on contemporary leadership.

Enjoy the episode,

The GWH Team

Welcome to the fifth episode in our leadership series of Good Will Hunters.

Today’s guest is Peter Varghese AO. Peter would be familiar to many of us who have been working in development and foreign affairs for the better part of the last decade, or longer. Peter has had an extensive career in the public service spanning 38 years. From 2012-2013 he was the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (or DFAT), during the period where AusAID was integrated into DFAT.

He was also the High Commissioner to India from 2009 to 2012 and authored the India Economic Strategy to 2035, commissioned by the Australian Prime Minister. I have included Peter’s full bio in the show notes. I actually first met Peter a few years ago in Melbourne during the Australia-India Youth Dialogue where he have a talk alongside the now Australian High Commissioner to India, Barry O’Farrell.

In this episode, we discuss what it was like to lead DFAT during the AusAID Integration, including Peter’s thoughts on why the decision remains controversial. We discuss Australia’s development leadership, including our development policy. And we also look at public sector versus private sector leadership styles during periods of change or crisis. Peter is always insightful and a privilege to learn from. I hope you enjoy the episode.

Full bio:

Peter Varghese began as Chancellor of The University of Queensland on 11 July 2016. Prior to this appointment, Mr Varghese’s extensive career in public service and diplomacy spanned 38 years and included senior positions in foreign affairs, trade policy and intelligence. Most recently, he served as Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2012-2016). Previous senior appointments included High Commissioner to India (2009-2012), High Commissioner to Malaysia (2000-2002), Director-General of the Office of National Assessments (2004-2009), and Senior Advisor (International) to the Prime Minister of Australia (2003-2004). Mr Varghese was the author of a comprehensive India Economic Strategy to 2035 commissioned by the Australian Prime Minister and submitted in July 2018.

Mr Varghese was educated at The University of Queensland, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours and a University Medal in history in 1978. He was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) in 2010 and received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from The University of Queensland in 2013.

Mr Varghese sits on the boards of CARE Australia and North Queensland Airports and chairs Asialink’s advisory council and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Editorial Advisory Board. He is also on the international governing board of the Rajaratnum School of International Studies in Singapore. He was awarded the Sir Edward “Weary” Dunlop Asialink Medal in 2019 in recognition of outstanding contributions to improving Australia-Asia relations.

Welcome to the fourth episode in our leadership series of Good Will Hunters. I’m Rachel Mason Nunn, and I am the Founder and Host of Good Will Hunters.

I hope you enjoyed last week’s episode with Giles Gunesekera Once again, the response from all of you was overwhelming, in a great way. I’ve had a lot of listeners get in touch to say this series is really resonating with them. It’s clear many of us find ourselves navigating values-based leadership whilst working in a purpose-driven role.

Today’s guest is the fabulous Melanie Tran. Melanie is a designer, innovator and social entrepreneur. Her work as a User Experience Designer and social entrepreneur has been recognised internationally including being named the winner of the Laureate International Universities Global Here for Good Award 2018. Melanie’s lived experience, developed skills and knowledge allow for her work to span the disability, health and technology sectors. If that’s not impressive enough, Melanie was named in the Top 100 Women of Influence list in 2019 by the Australian Financial Review.

In this episode, Mel and I discuss Mel’s formative experiences as both a woman with a disability and a woman in tech, and how these contributed to her unique capabilities as a leader. We discuss the need for leaders to integrate theory with practice and we discuss how leaders should be constantly questioning why things are the way they are.

I hope you enjoy the episode. Join me next week for the next instalment in our leadership series.

Welcome to the third episode in our leadership series of Good Will Hunters. I’m Rachel Mason Nunn, and I am the Founder and Host of Good Will Hunters.

Your response to our first two episodes has been huge. This topic is clearly resonating with you, and it’s so special to receive messages and emails from many of you about your own experience on your leadership journey. In particular I’ve received messages about the need to invest more in leadership development for young women, particularly young women of colour, and the need for more horizontal networking for aspiring leaders in the development sector. Some thoughts to ponder as you listen to today’s episode.

Today I ‘m speaking to Giles Gunesekera. Like our previous guest, Jacqui De Lacy, Giles has also been on Good Will Hunters before, several years ago now.

Giles is the Founder and CEO of the Global Impact Initiative and he has over 25 years of experience building teams and businesses which solve global challenges.

In this episode, Giles and I discuss the impact of being a first generation migrant in Australia on Gile’s leadership style, encompassing resilience, tenacity and persistence. We talk about diversity and how the aspiration for greater diversity amongst boards isn’t yet translating into the board landscape we see today. And we talk about why your leadership pipeline is as important as your leadership team. This episode contains some really specific skills that we as leaders can look to develop. Like all of the episodes in this series, I hope this is a useful, practical discussion of what it takes to be a remarkable leader in a purpose-driven organisation.

Gile's organisation, the Global Impact Initiative - https://www.globalimpactinitiative.com.au

Enjoy the episode,

The GWH Team

Welcome to the second episode in our leadership series of Good Will Hunters. I’m Rachel Mason Nunn, and I have the great joy of stewarding has through these conversations on leadership.

Your response to our first episode was nothing short of incredible. Thank you for listening with such a genuine willingness to reflect on your own leadership, and grow as a leader.

Today I speak to Jacqui De Lacey. Many of you would know Jacqui as the Managing Director of Abt Associates Australia. In this role, Jacqui is on the Boards of Abt Associates Australia and the UK, as well as being on the Board of UNICEF Australia. This is Jacqui’s second appearance on Good Will Hunters. The response to Jacqui’s first episode was huge, and for a long while it was our most downloaded episode ever.

Today, we speak about Jacqui’s experience growing in PNG and how it shaped a love for working in international development. Jacqui’s shares the importance of adaptive leadership and mentoring, and we talked about the human-skills required of authentic leaders, like vulnerability, humility and emotional intelligence. We also discuss diversity and how efforts to promote diversity must be bold and deliberate.

I hope this episode supports your leadership journey. Since announcing this series, a few of you have reached out to me to share your own work in the sphere of leadership, which I’m very grateful for.

I had a great conversation recently, offline, with Susan Pizzati who is doing her PhD on Navigating Complexity and Paradox: Leading Strategic Structural Innovation in the Not for Profit Sector. The research aims to provide valuable insights into the way not for profit leaders are tackling current and emerging challenges, with a focus on the approach to strategic, structural innovation. It was so fascinating to speak with Susan about her research. More about Susan here:

Susan Pizzati spent over a decade working in a range of senior management, executive and board roles in the not-for-profit sector in Australia, before establishing her own consultancy and leadership coaching practice in 2020. She is a certified Workplace and Leadership Coach, as well as holding bachelor’s degrees in Business and Communication; a master degree in Social Investment and Philanthropy; and is currently a PhD candidate at the Centre for Social Impact researching organisational change, complexity and implications for leadership in not-for-profit organisations.

And here are some relevant links:

Centre for Social Impact's Governance for Social Impact Course - https://www.csi.edu.au/education/programs/UNSW/exec-ed/

Institute of Community Directors - https://communitydirectors.com.au/

A great paper on nonprofit boards - https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/nonprofit-boards-it-is-time-to-lift-your-gaze-and-see-the-system

I’d like to acknowledge the the traditional custodians of the land on which I create Good Will Hunters, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. I honour their leadership, stewardship and custodianships, and I pay my respects to their elders, past present and emerging.

I’m really excited to be sharing new episodes with you, after a long break for Good Will Hunters. After four years of podcasting and over 140 episodes, I thought it was time to take stock. When I started GWH it was the first podcast airly weekly content dedicated to international development in Australia. And since then, many other incredible podcasts have come online, exploring all facets of the development sector. I’ve linked to some of y favourites in the show notes.

When I considered what’s missing, though, I think it’s deep conversations on what leadership and governance means for international development, right now. As I continue in my own executive journey, I’m increasingly asking myself what does it mean for me to be a leader?

In this series I’ll be asking a range of leaders the same question - what does their leadership mean. What formative experiences shaped their leadership style. And what advice do they have for you and I.

Today’s guest is the formidable Srilatha Batliwala. Srilatha is a feminist activist, researcher and scholar. For a fun fact, we studied at the same college in India, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Srilatha has spent the past 45 years working on grassroots movement building in India. She has vast board and leadership experience which you’ll hear about during our conversation. Srilatha and I talk about how she became a vocal advocate for feminist leadership principles, and she shares her very special and personal leadership mantra. We discuss personal transformation and spiritual shifts, and how by looking inward, we become better leaders. And we discuss decolonisation and how international organisations can turn the mirror on themselves and view themselves as sites of change.

With our further ado, here is Srilatha Batliwala.

The Readout Democracy Series Part Five: A US Perspective by Good Will Hunters

Hi GWH listeners. We want to introduce you to a new show. It's called The Readout, and it's produced by the Development Intelligence Lab. We've never done this before, but we're simulcasting this six-part series of the Readout right here, where you get GWH. And we're doing this because we think you, our listener, will really love it. Enjoy! – GWH Team.

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Welcome to Part Four of our Democracy Series, with Dr Nicola Nixon and Peter Yates (The Asia Foundation).

What exactly does ‘democracy promotion’ mean in real terms? How do practitioners approach the work? And critically – what’s the challenge with adopting a US-style approach to the issue?

Series host Bridi Rice shares her conversations with Nicola and Peter, where she gets stuck into the gnarly issue of being loud about democracy in the region.

Want to learn more? Find our essay publication, including an essay from Nicola and Peter, here.

To learn more about The Readout and the work of the Development Intelligence Lab, head over to devintelligencelab.com and find us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Happy listening.

- The Lab.

Hi GWH listeners. We want to introduce you to a new show. It's called The Readout, and it's produced by the Development Intelligence Lab. We've never done this before, but we're simulcasting this six-part series of the Readout right here, where you get GWH. And we're doing this because we think you, our listener, will really love it. Enjoy! – GWH Team.

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Welcome to Part Three of our Democracy Series, with Professor John Blaxland (Australian National University).

So we’ve heard why governance support is critical for prosperity in the region. But just how seriously should Australia take this? According to one of Australia’s top security experts – very.

Series host Bridi Rice shares her conversations with John, where she learns that governance challenges in the region is one of the top threats to our national security.

Want to learn more? Find our essay publication, including an essay from John, here.

To learn more about The Readout and the work of the Development Intelligence Lab, head over to devintelligencelab.com and find us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Happy listening.

- The Lab.