1. What was your very first paid job?

I did a local newspaper run (which then got picked up by my brother and my sister over time – although I do recall my parents ended up covering for each of us from time to time!)

 

2. Your Tech Fest talk will address ‘Growing Leadership Capability at Z Energy’, what leader(s) have inspired you the most either professionally or personally?

Our CEO – Mike Bennetts - exemplifies great leadership to me. He founded Z Energy in NZ, and his commitment to leading a fuel business AND his commitment to transitioning our business to support a low carbon future are a great example.

 

3. Do you have a statistic related to leadership that people might be surprised to learn?

Naturally, I will go for 100% - At Z we believe that 100% of our people are leaders. Another interesting one is this ‘63% of millennials believe they aren’t being fully developed as leaders by their employers’.

 

4. You are a strong believer that 'everyone is a leader' – what’s one thing someone can do to get in touch with that side of themselves if they aren’t already?

For me, a good way to connect to this is to ask yourself two questions –

• What does a predictable future look like for me if I do nothing different to what I am doing today? (Just pick one aspect of your life - this could be at home, at work, in the community, for my wellbeing).
• What could a different future look like? And how can I make that happen?

 

5. What is your favourite technology (app, device, system, solution) right now?

Can I pick two? Peakon – great tool for us to use to listen to our people in real time. Education Perfect – This started life primarily the education sector but has evolved to help businesses to help their people to learn - we are using this to learn about Te Ao Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi – great company, great people and great learning tool.