- The graduation address gives us the opportunity
to hear from a distinguished member of our alumni community.
And we are fortunate today
that the address will be delivered
by Ms. Sarah McCann-Bartlett.
Ms. McCann-Bartlett is a highly experienced leader
of professional and industry bodies
and is currently the Chief Executive Officer
and Managing Director
of the Australian Human Resources Institute.
In her role,
she focuses on supporting members
and the broader human resources profession
with practical advice,
policy development,
and research on emerging issues,
including employee wellbeing,
post pandemic skills development, and the future of work.
Previous positions include senior appointments
with the British Construction Steelworks Association
and the Building and Plumbing Industry Commission
where she was instrumental in delivering regulations,
including the introduction
of the five star environmental standard and the approval
of the first bushfire bunker design in Australia.
Ms. McCann-Bartlett holds undergraduate degrees
from the University of Melbourne
and a Master of Business Administration
from Monash University.
It now gives me great pleasure
in inviting Ms. Sarah McCann-Bartlett
to deliver the graduation address.
(audience clapping)
- I'd like to begin today
by acknowledging the Boonwurrung people of the Kulin nation.
As the traditional custodians
on the land where we meet today
I pay my respects to elders both past and present
as it's their knowledge and experiences
that guide future generations.
Deputy Chancellor the Honourable Simon Crean,
Provost and Senior Vice-President, Professor Susan Elliot,
Senior Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics,
Professor Michelle Welsh,
members of faculty, new graduates and friends.
What a pleasure it is to be here today
in a room full of people looking towards the future.
Looking to your future.
How wonderful?
What opportunity?
Opportunity for what though?
Often graduation speeches
exhort graduates onto greatness.
Particularly if the speakers achieved
a bit of greatness themselves.
They might tell you
that if you strive or work hard enough
you can really make a difference
by becoming a preeminent expert in your chosen field,
achieving a scientific breakthrough,
making a 30 under 30 list.
Now, was there ever anything so unattainable
to those of us over 30?
Or becoming the founder
of the next big techo biotech startup
and while Monash University, also, my alma mater
has produced plenty of these over the years.
In reality, most of us graduates
of this fantastic institution won't go on
to achieve quite so fantastic heights.
So is it time to pack it all in
just as you're getting started
or are we resigning ourselves to not making a difference?
No,
absolutely not.
What we do need to do though
is we need to reframe
what it means to make a difference and to be a leader.
Given where the world is today,
I'm compelled to speak about
the horrific situation in Ukraine.
Despite having majored in international politics,
I'm not going to talk about geopolitics.
Instead I want to continue
on this theme of leadership and making a difference.
When we think about leadership
and the contexts of the Russian invasion of,
and war on Ukraine
of course our minds go to Volodymyr Zelensky,
Ukraine's brave and inspirational president
who's galvanised his nation
and inspired and impressed the rest of the world.
However, when we think about leadership
and making a difference in a broader context,
you could choose any of those ordinary Ukrainians
who are so bravely staying
to protect and defend their country.
Taking a perilous journey
from a safe haven back into Ukraine
to fight or help their fellow citizens,
making mammoth efforts
to keep children, the sick and the elderly safe
or reporting from a war zone
to make sure we all understand the atrocities
that are happening on the ground.
And there are others.
Ordinary Russians defying their government
at great risk to themselves and their families.
Citizens of Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary
and other European countries
who are actively helping, supporting,
and taking in Ukrainian refugees.
And of course, those of us undertaking fundraising
and those who are forgoing something to donate.
Earlier this month, my organisation,
the Australian HR Institute
hosted a fantastic International Women's Day event
where content creator and author Holly Ransom spoke
and facilitated a panel of women HR leaders.
Holly's overarching belief is that if you walk past it,
you are telling the world that it's okay.
She's recently written her first book, "The Leading Edge."
And at our event, she spoke about it
and what she calls distributed leadership.
Holly is a strong proponent of stepping up
and leading in every aspect of your life.
She believes that centralised leadership,
the concept of one person having all the answers
and solving all the problems is outdated
and a recipe for failure.
So instead, she exhorts us to all be leaders
and in her words be the change we want to see.
I once worked with someone
who told me that one of her life objectives
was to leave people better than when she found them.
What a concept?
Leaving someone better in some way than they were before,
while she wasn't fated as an industry leader.
She didn't appear on talk shows.
She hadn't written a book.
She really did make a difference.
So what did that look like in the workplace?
Well, she acknowledged everybody's contribution.
She was thoughtful and curious
when responding to their ideas.
She helped them develop their ideas or work further
or she brought in others who could
and she showed interest in them as a person.
This determination of hers improved
both our workplace and our business outcomes.
We were more creative because people weren't afraid
of putting themselves out there.
They knew their ideas would be considered
and discussed respectfully.
And that if it was a goer,
she'd help find someone who progress it.
She also influenced others in the business
to adopt the same approach
because they could see what a difference it was making.
Are some of you wondering why I'm telling you this?
Many of you, in fact, hundreds of you
are going to become managers and leaders during your career.
And these examples are demonstrations
of what leadership looks like today.
I was asked by a journalist last week
whether I thought that leadership styles had changed.
And my answer to her question was a resounding yes.
Before COVID, we were already moving away
from a directive style of leadership
to one that provided coaching, learning
as well as autonomy to employees.
Having said that when COVID hit,
I came across many managers and leaders
who were incredibly concerned
because they wouldn't be able to see their employees
sitting at their desks working.
That was how they've been managing.
They've been focusing on inputs.
Well,
we all know how the shift to working from home panned out.
It was great.
Productivity went up,
employees digital skills strengthened across the board.
We all learned about being flexible, resilient, creative
and employers started focusing
on employee wellbeing and mental health.
Of course, there were many challenges.
The dreaded homeschooling,
a higher rate of anxiety,
frontline workers who bravely left their homes
to deliver essential services to all of us.
As our physical workplaces, start to open up again,
one thing I can tell you
is they won't be the same as they were before.
Workplaces will continue to be more flexible
and employees will have more say in how they do their jobs.
Organisational cultures will be more constructive
and drive inclusiveness and belonging
and employees, all of you, will be celebrated
for your individual differences and strengths.
We've had a taste of how it can be,
and we can't go back now.
We can't lose this momentum, this opportunity.
Not if we want to embrace a better concept of leadership,
if we want to make a difference.
There's still a long way to go
but I'm optimistic for the future,
for your future.
Before I close,
I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to all of you
for achieving this significant milestone
in your lives and in your academic careers.
I know it didn't come easily.
And for at least two of those years,
you were working under incredibly difficult circumstances.
I definitely think it's worth taking some time
to reflect on your success
and how you got to where you are today
and also to thank your family and friends
for their support, their listening,
for encouraging you
and possibly for doing some of those chores
you didn't have time to do.
And I want to ask you
as you celebrate this milestone
to just think for a minute
to ask yourselves,
how am I going to start
or continue my leadership journey right now?
How might I make my difference?
Congratulations again.
I wish every one of you a rich and interesting journey
and all the very best.
(audience clapping)
- Thank you, Sarah, for that inspiring address
and bringing your reflection
as an alumni of this organisation to the
newly set of alumni gathered in this hall
particularly the importance of inclusion and of reflection.
And we thank you again,
wish you well in your continuing career and your advice.