Director & Film Legend!
My current role is primarily supporting organisations, teams, leaders and staff to respond with energy and creativity to their current environment and future challenges. I do this through my key skill sets as consultant, facilitator, trainer and presenter. I love my work and particularly enjoy working with leaders, teams, women’s programs and assisting individuals to capitalise on their strengths. This work is often framed by discussions on global trends in the future world of work, careers and change, an area of significant interest for me.
Lifelong learning is important to me and I hope it never stops! Formally, I have a degree and post graduate qualifications in Literature, History, Classical Studies, Anthropology and Education from the University of Adelaide. I have also gained several accreditations in Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (Steps I & II), Team Management Systems, QO2, Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument, Covey 7 Habits Leadership Program, City and Guilds of London Youth and Adult Training Award and Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. My interest in the future spurred me to complete short course studies in Scenario Planning and a Master Class in Facilitation through the Melbourne Business School.
Both Michelle and I like to ‘think big’ and regularly schedule professional development opportunities in other parts of the world, just to see what’s happening beyond our shores. In New York, Singapore and London, we have participated in learning events around Strategic Thinking, Organisational Development and Humour in the Workplace. My best education and learning has come from life experience however and I have learnt a great deal from my clients.
Starting MJL People Dynamics with Michelle in 2001 was the best career move I ever made! We had both finished our government careers in the Commonwealth at CommNet SA. This was a small self-funded consultancy providing Organisational Development (OD) services to Commonwealth agencies, their Chief Executives and staff. Prior to this I had senior OD roles in the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA) as well as the Bureau of Statistics.
The first part of my career started in the retail sector, at school and university, but once qualified began secondary teaching in rural South Australia. In the mid 80s I moved to Scotland, where it took two years to have my qualifications recognised. Not able to teach in those early years, I made a lateral move into adult learning in a business setting and have never looked back. Experiences in the UK included OD roles with British Gas, Kirkcaldy Regional Council and Stevenson College in Edinburgh where I provided consulting services to industry. At Stevenson, College I co-authored and delivered the first tertiary Train the Trainer qualification for SCOTVEC (Scottish Vocational Education and Training Council). On my return to Australia, I furthered my OD experience as the training specialist for Coles Myer; worked with long term unemployed at Vector Consultants and then joined the Commonwealth government.
Why film legend? I am a truly passionate student of the cinema arts, have written film scripts and have a large collection of English and foreign film DVDs and books. Get me around the dinner table and invariably the conversation will shift to all aspects of filmmaking and the cinema. Thankfully many of my family and friends share this obsession!
I have many other passions in life too: family; music, especially jazz and live music; gastronomy and running a small gourmet group for the last 20 years; the Arts; travel (more please!); world history; politics; international relations; education; philosophy; and culture. Many of these passions have found their expression through my work and family life. I love the exploration, connecting and synthesising of disparate fields of thought and study and have a particular interest in the pursuit of individual history and identity. This is evident in my work with people and my love of storytelling through film and books.