UES West’s Post

Happy New Year All! To set the foundation of this year, its best to express gratitude of the big milestones hit last year. We onboarded 11 amazing coaches, delivered our first graduate engagement strategy and graduate program, held 2 coaching sessions and secured our first workshops for February 24. A dream come true! We also worked on our first blog.... Click the link (https://lnkd.in/gVZ_CaKY) to see our full article. in the meantime, here is a snippet "What’s in a Graduate Development Program? Graduate Development Programs typically involve an organisation introduction, access to a workplace buddy, opportunity for rotations around different business units, and internal/external workshop training sessions covering soft skills such as: *Self-awareness and emotional intelligence. *Communication and presentation skills. *Leadership and ethics. *Career planning and networking. *Business development strategies (start them bringing in business young!). But is this enough? Does this really help with creating technically confident and industry-proficient members of the workforce?" If you want to stay up-to-date with us, please follow our Page. Want to chat about what we're up to? book in a discovery call with Rach! https://lnkd.in/gK8pqXs5

12 years ago, I found myself at a crossroads in my engineering career at Woodside. Armed with a Masters in Engineering Management, I was eager to transition from traditional technical roles into leadership and strategy positions. However, in professional development discussions, the path laid out before me was the conventional route of becoming an engineering team leader, then manager. I hesitated. Leading engineers? Me? Doubts about my technical capability clouded my vision. I questioned myself... despite my impressive performance ratings, I didn't see myself as a "good engineer". Little did I realise that whilst I was competent in the technical realm, my sweet spot was in professional problem solving beyond analysing the failure mode effects of a bearing failure ;) I am a natural people person with a gift for stakeholder engagement. I was more than equipped for leadership in that technical world, but the fear of not fitting the conventional mold led me to exit stage left. Determined to carve my own path, I ventured into entrepreneurship, founding my leadership development business. A decade later, my journey brought me back to the engineering realm, not as a traditional leader, but as a General Manager supporting the growth of Australia's supply chain in mining technology and services with METS Ignited Australia Ltd. It was there that I had an epiphany. I possessed the problem-solving acumen and leadership skills needed for success in the technical world. However, my journey has taught me that working within an ecosystem aligned more with my passion and personality profiling, and is where I thrive rather than being dedicated to any single organisation. The dynamic landscape of supporting economic development, applying the lens of my nine years experience living and working in the regions and with minority groups, I realised leverages my unique skill sets. Today, as I reflect on my unconventional journey, I'm grateful for the detours that led me to where I am. I do wonder where I would have ventured had I had the belief in my abilities as a leader in the corporate world. Although I'm sure I would have diversified at some point ;) Embracing my strengths as a professional problem solver and people person, I've found my true calling in fostering the growth of entire ecosystems. Here's to the lessons learned and backing myself when I stumble across self doubt in future endeavours! #leadershipjourney #engineering #buildingecosystems #economicdevelopment #regionaldevelopment #professionalgrowth

At Missouri University of Science & Technology, a key part of my role is to empower students through teaching a concept called bystander intervention. During trainings we explore the "Four Ds" of intervention: Direct, Distract, Delegate, and Delay. The Four Ds reflect a range of strategies to constructively respond in the face of emergencies and problematic behavior. These approaches can also be used in non-crisis moments for stepping into leadership opportunities that "real-life" throws in one's path. This is a great example of bystander intervention in a crisis situation. He starts with Delegating to authorities... Then dynamically shifts to a Direct intervention to prevent irreversible harm from occurring. Nice work, Bob Van Dillen! Below, I will link to the footage of him interrupting his live report and an interview where he debriefed on the incident.

First finished work of this new project

Finally putting that Geology degree to some use...

We're formalizing our Voice of the Field program. Haven't you been gathering feedback from the front lines, Alex? Well, sure. Yes. The roadblocks we've encountered: - Many individuals want feedback from the field - Lack of a structured process for sharing feedback that we could act on - Time constraints preventing in-depth exploration - Failure to disseminate findings to all interested parties So, we're evolving! The plan includes: - Compiling and organizing questions - Providing a pre-read to the VOF team - Developing the overarching summary - Categorizing, assigning, and prioritizing action items - Reporting progress This initiative goes beyond listening. It involves shaping a viewpoint, challenging beliefs with our front-line, addressing actions, and upholding accountability. It's not rocket science, but it's a fresh approach for us, and we're anxious to dive in! What else should we consider?

On the San Juan National Forest leaders and resource professionals are considering and communicating trade offs associated with fire response decisions; evaluating and contextualizing opportunities and risks in the immediate, near, and long term; and thinking about fire strategically to reduce long term risk to communities and ecosystems. These managers and practitioners are committed to open dialogue and learning together with their partners and communities, and their commitment comes across loud and clear in this overview of the 2023 fire season: https://lnkd.in/dYjpHSZY

Just finished the course “Reframing: The Power of Changing Your Perspective” by Madecraft and Lia Garvin! 

The next chapter begins.

Our project continues at full speed.