Sonja Bernhardt OAM, CEO and Director of multi award winning ThoughtWare, on business, success, and women in the IT industry

Part 4 of the ChangeMaker Interview Series – Empower Change

Sonja Bernhardt OAM, CEO and Director of multi award winning ThoughtWare, serial technology entrepreneur, role model, mentor, and arguably Australia’s highest profile woman in IT. Sonja is a leading ChangeMaker in her field.

Sonja is extremely passionate about what she does and how she does it, as well as the talent and skills of people in the IT industry, so much so that she does a lot of volunteer work in this area. When we asked Sonja what her personal motivation to starting each day was, she said quite simply happiness.

“My motivation and end goal is to be happy about WHAT I do, and HOW I do it.”

Sonja’s tips on maintaining happiness when things don’t go smoothly:

• Understand the reality
• Accept the reality
• Pick yourself up and move on
• Learn the lesson without spending too much time on it

In order to keep Sonja’s performance improving, every day in her morning shower, Sonja thinks through her morning schedule so that when she hits her work desk, she has it clear and sorted. Sonja also has a lot of filters on her email system, so it’s easy to identify at a glance which ones are the important ones.

Where does the passion come from?

“Philosophy. I’ve taken a lot of time to understand who I am, what drives me, and even what other people perceive of me and why. This helps me be comfortable with who I am, and also understand other people, giving me good balance in effect.”

What is the main trait responsible for your success?

The reality of life in whatever you do is it takes a struggle, you have to be innovative and creative to come up with new ways to do things, or you get knocked down.”

“Other peoples opinions hold you back from success. Don’t listen to the nay-sayers – believe in yourself.”

Two important things Sonja suggests to keep in mind if you want to be successful:

1. Keep an eye on your expenditures and know and understand your bottom line.
2. Know the skill and talent of the people around you in your business.

Sonja’s highest achievements:

Work – “To be in a position where I can offer work to people that suits what they are looking for. That I am able to offer roles to people without the stresses that I had.”

Public – “Receiving the Medal of the Order of Australia. That was fantastic, I can’t go past that one.”

Personal – “I’m really happy with my family life, and I’m in a delightfully happy marriage.”

The main lessons Sonja has learnt in business:

• A deal is not a deal until the money is in the bank!
• You don’t have to do it all yourself.

Sonja says the main attribute of good delegating is focused around the people – what you think of them, and how you treat them.

“It’s about the individual – each has something unique to contribute. People want to learn, grow, be creative and use their brain.”

“Don’t over-prescribe. I never over-prescribe. I give a broad outline or general outcome of what is wanted, and tell them to work out how we get there.”

What would you do differently if you could start over?

“I would’ve started earlier, and I would’ve been much more focused. I’ve chased so many rabbit holes. I would make sure I really understand what my focused end goal for the business is and avoid as much as possible side-line rabbit holes.”

Want to find out more, including Sonja’s top tips on how to improve your business?

Click here to watch the full inspiring interview with Sonja Bernhardt OAM, or click on the video below.

Here is a simplified story that explains why putting on a “Change Management Hat” in the workplace is worth the effort (names and places are fictitious):

Joe was part of a group of 10 in a team that developed applications. His role was to make sure it was bug free (well you know that really means no major bugs). 

As part of their improvement program the organisation wanted to bring in automated testing of the areas that could be automated so that Joe could focus on building those tests and do the manual tests that still needed to be done.

Joe was not enthusiastic about this and argued that he was doing a better job doing what he was doing and that the change would initially reduce quality.

What was going on for Joe? He was doing what all humans do when confronted with a change to what is happening in their life – letting the part of the brain that responds to fear take over. 

Very few of us see change as an opportunity, most of us fear it as it means we need to learn something new and that means we are temporarily no longer in control.

What was needed was to cater for Joe’s fears. Does he need support to learn the new tool? Does he need support to learn the processes that go with the new approach? What needs to be done to support Joe so he won’t feel he is going to fail?
I hope this is helpful.

Written by: Frank Yarsley

Leaders more often than not recognise the need for change agents to support the implementation of new initiatives:

·        When technology is upgraded or introduced

·        When organisations restructure, downsize, or merge

This is because in these circumstances there are staff issues that cannot be ignored such as: 

·        Fear of not having a job at the end of the project

·        Having to learn new tools, skills and processes, due to the new technology

·        Resentment of not being in control of their destiny

·        Fear that they will lose their relative importance in the organisation

If the staff issues are not managed then history shows that projects are often derailed and result in:

·        The initiative failing

·        The initiative being only partially successful – some areas work, others don’t

·        Delays and cost overruns

The need for project related change agents will always be important, but often leads to the business as usual aspects of managing change being missed.

Organisations, their departments and teams are organic and as such are dynamic, changing continuously to fulfill their role(s) and the needs of the people. These changes can be positive, but equally they can be quite negative. I will give you an example using fictitious names:

Example 1

ACME IT had an R&D department run by Tim, a manager whose approach was to direct. He would work with his trusted lieutenants and with them direct the team on their deliverables and timeframes. It worked well because the manager selected his lieutenants and the others self-selected according to whether they liked his style of leadership. When the employment market was weak there was little loss of staff as this was a “safe job”.

When the market picked up, Tim left the organisation and Jose, a manager with a consultative style took over the role. The change of management style was new to the group who were used to being told what to do by Tim rather than being asked by Jose. Many blossomed and grew as a result of the opportunity, while others felt a loss of importance as they were no longer the key lieutenants. The lieutenants left.

The change of managers, regardless of style, was a signal that things had changed and staff would need to adapt to the new environment. Jose was a people person and recognised that the team would need to be nurtured through the leadership change and that there would be a change in the dynamics of the team either by default or through good management by Jose. He took the front foot and communicated with his team individually and as a group, providing them with a clear vision, asking them for their input and encouraging them to be active participants in the process.

Over a 2-3 month period Jose changed the group from being compliant to being keen, positive and enthusiastic contributors.

Example 2

ACME IT had an R&D department run by Tim, a manager whose approach was to direct. He would work with his trusted lieutenants and with them direct the team on their deliverables and timeframes. It worked well because the manager selected his lieutenants and the others self-selected according to whether they liked his style of leadership. When the employment market was weak there was little loss of staff as this was a “safe job”.

When the market picked up, Tim left the organisation and Steve took over. Steve’s approach was quite regimented and he was far from a people person, being more interested in the technology than the people.

While the staff did not dislike him, he was hard to get to know and handed out the work in a way that they did not appreciate how they fitted into the overall delivery of solutions to the customer.

This meant that over the 2-3 month period after Steve took over productivity dropped and staff left.

This time of the year we hear a lot about how business is doing. The analysts call it Reporting Season. Where the investors look forward to good news, rising share prices and increasing dividends.

With this as a business driver we hear executive management talk about sales, profits and costs as they are all linked to the share prices and executive rewards system. For middle management the focus is on service, quality, efficiency and effectiveness. These are drivers for customer satisfaction as well as reducing support and production costs. Next come the group who develop, deliver and support the services and products provided. The worker bees.

How do each of these groups communicate, within and across the groups?

• Do they understand what drives each group?
• Do they understand how each group contributes to the overall success of the business?
• Do they understand what contributes to their happiness at work? 

Good communication supports any improved understanding:

• Management communication allows staff to understand how each of the parts make the whole, and how small changes add up to worthwhile improvements.
• Staff communication allows information to flow up and across; providing feedback and ideas that can contribute to those improvements.

For any improvements to ‘stick’, staff at all levels, from upper management to those at the coal face, need to be happy in the workplace. ( Happy employees are 12% more productive )

The SCARF Model is one tool that provides an insight into how staff can be happy in the workplace. This model indicates that each of these factors can contribute or influence how we respond to events (whether we see a threat or a reward).

STATUS: One’s sense of importance relative to others.

CERTAINTY: One’s need for clarity and predictability about the future.

AUTONOMY: A sense of control over the events in one’s life.

RELATEDNESS: One’s sense of connection to others.

FAIRNESS: Just and non-biased exchange between people.

Written by: Frank Yarsley

If you think your business could benefit from an innovative change and you would like to discuss options, please feel free to contact us for a chat.

Part 5 of the ChangeMaker Interview Series – Empower Change

Craig Cameron, CEO of Progility PLC, is a successful international businessman, inspiring, enthusiastic and humble – a true leader and ChangeMaker. We had the privilege of interviewing him about what made him successful, and what advice he has for other business owners.

“What I really enjoy doing is learning every day, helping people learn and having fun.”

Craig got into business after graduating and getting married. “I had to get a job, so I took the first job I could find.” Craig continues to say, “I found with business, its fun and you have to treat it as fun, and I enjoy going to work every day – well almost every day.” He says, “If you don’t enjoy going to work, you need to do something else.”

“When work gets a bit challenging, treat it like a game, don’t let it get personal. This doesn’t mean you don’t treat it seriously, but you remove as much of the emotion out of it, which lets you get through, fix the problems, get on with life and enjoy it at the same time.”

What is the most important thing you’ve learned about leadership?

“Trust in your team, communicate, engage others, and make sure your team is strong and capable.”

What are 3 things that improve your performance and the performance of your team?

1. Consistent Vision and Goals
2. Engagement
3. Have a Business Plan

“As a leader in business, you set the benchmark for performance.”

What are the 4 most important areas to focus on in business?

1. Vision
2. Focus
3. Passion
4. Leadership – The leader sets the performance benchmark

What has been your biggest challenge in life and the lesson you learned from it?

“At the beginning I was in a senior role at quite a young age and didn’t have any experience in being a good manager. I wasn’t good at listening or engageing. Once this was not-so-subtly pointed out to me, I applied myself to fixing and addressing that and it has become a strength, not weakness.”

“You want to have a strong and capable team with you.”

Craig’s 3 tips to turn your business dream into a reality:

1. Before doing anything, talk to lots of people about your idea – anyone and everyone. Flush out your ideas before investing too much capital.
2. Build a plan. Get that plan solid, not necessarily super detailed because things in business can change so fast.
3. Make sure you’re not going to run into serious cash flow problems. Build your plan conservatively.

What advice would you give to someone that has their business going and have built decent cash flow, but have run into problems?

“Every business runs into problems, whether they are large or small. It’s how you deal with those problems that’s important. Look for help while dealing with those problems. When you have a real crisis, have the courage to take some action, and be prepared to change that action if it doesn’t work out.”

What are the 3 most common mistakes in business?

1. They change the goals too much and too fast – It’s Confusing.
2. They don’t build a plan that says, “here is how I am going to execute”.
3. They don’t engage the people inside of the business well enough.

“If you do all of these things, you have a reasonable chance of success.”

How important is a business plan to you, and how often do you review it?

“Firstly, the single most important thing is the vision and goals. This need to be clearly articulated before any business planning is done. This should be looked at every year or two.”

“The financial plan is typically looked at annually. In a very high growth and dynamic business, you might want to look at it more often, but you don’t want to spend so much time planning and not enough time executing.”

Craig’s tips for your business:

• 1.Set shareholder and board expectations low. If you overachieve – life is easy. Don’t over-commit.
• 2.Communicate, communicate, communicate – with everyone in the business, including shareholders and the board. Have them understand when there is good news and when there is bad news.

“Every single business owner is running the risk that in the next ten to twenty years, whatever their doing could be obsolete. They have to stay on top of what’s happening in their industry and what’s happening in similar industries.”

If you were to coach a CEO or person in leadership, how would you suggest they approach that to keep on top of this?

“Network. You have to talk to people – in your industry, in other industries, customers, suppliers, even your competitors.”

Want to find out more? Click here to watch the full inspiring interview with Craig Cameron, or click on the video below.

Successful organisations develop, implement and maintain strategic plans that ensure the business adapts and thrives regardless of the changes to regulation and compliance, the competition, or the impacts of disruptive technologies.

Carrying out these strategic plans often involves one or more of:

• Implementing technology related projects
• Carrying out operational improvements at a functional and/or process level
• Reskilling sections of the workforce
• Improving employee engagement
• Tuning the company culture to keep pace with the strategic changes and to societal expectations

These activities have a higher probability of successful implementation in organisations where Leadership fully appreciates the importance of undertaking rigorous organisational Change Management programs as integral parts of any strategic change effort. Implementing strategic shifts in an organisation’s position are disruptive to any business and it is vital that this disruption is managed to drive the best commercial outcome for a business. This is the reason to be strategic about Change Management.

“Don’t just think about the Change Management implications as a separate project associated with the implementation of a strategic plan, but, look at how management of organisational change need to be incorporated into all components of a strategic plan.”

Some of the questions that are asked by Leadership when considering strategic change are:

• What do we need our organisation’s culture to be like in 5 years given that “X” disruptive technologies will impact our industry?
• What skills will our workforce need in 2-3 years to be able to deliver the services we plan on introducing during the next 5 years?
• What technologies do we need to introduce and how will this impact our workforce – skills, engagement, geography/locations, loss of experience and knowledge of the business?

An organisation needs to have a clear vision that explains the strategic plans to the various stakeholder groups and it is vital that each impacted stakeholder has a clear view of how they may play their part helping the organisation realise this vision. Stakeholders need to be able to understand:

• How does the vision and its related messages support the components of the strategic plan?
• How are stakeholders in related business units impacted by this plan?
• What do they need to do to thrive in the future?

In highly successful organisations, Change Management is not just viewed as a component of a strategic plan, but it is seen as an essential element of every Change Management program. Leadership understands that a key determinant of success associated with any new program, large or small, is the quality of design and implementation of the associated Change Management program.

Developing a Change Management strategy provides direction and purpose for Change Management plans associated with projects and operational improvements. As with successful program management where projects often have other project dependencies, Change Management is not an isolated event but needs to be incorporated into the fabric of an organisation so it can quickly and effectively respond to strategic and operational change, a never ending occurrence in so many organisations today.

Written by: Frank Yarsley

If you think your business could benefit from an innovative change and you would like to discuss options, please feel free to contact us for a chat.