I’ve been at Partners in Perforamnce since 2011, starting my career here as a Business Analyst. I had been doing some consulting work elsewhere and I was chatting to someone at the firm; he was telling me about the implementation work he was doing and the great results he was seeing. The idea of having an impact like that sounded pretty satisfying, so that’s what brought me here!

Work that makes a difference

In the last seven years I have worked on an interesting variety of engagements. I started out doing a year in a coal mine in the Bowen Basin, helping them increase tonnes produced. I then went on to do procurement of chemicals and explosives for a gold mine up in Papua New Guinea, and also helped a Malaysian property developer with construction productivity. Amongst that, I’ve done a secondment to the Prime Minister & Cabinet working with the Office for Women around grants and gender equality strategy. It’s been varied, to say the least!

Enroute to work via helicopter in Papua New Guinea - bit different to the normal commute!

The construction productivity work we did in Malaysia has been my favourite engagement so far, as it had a lot of the elements of what makes the engagements here so satisfying. It had a big results-focus upfront, so we were showing that the methodology really works and that the client could use that to rapidly improve their performance. We also built a Continuous Improvement team within the client’s business, using the company's role modelling and coaching model – helping their team set it up and then watching them run with it. By the end of the eight months, it was just a few of us in the background providing feedback; the client was doing it all themselves - and getting great results. To see that transformation all the way through is so satisfying – it’s why I became a consultant at Partners in Performance.

Partnering with clients to achieve big results

As an Associate Principal, I really enjoy being able to help define the focus for an engagement with the client and the team based on what’s going to have the biggest impact. A lot of the time this means getting neck-deep into the problem with the client, getting out on site, experiencing the pain, the challenges, and not hiding away working on an Excel analysis or PowerPoint presentation. I think that’s the best way to learn and the best way to come up with solid improvement ideas with the client.

Making every day a good day

Work-life balance for me now is really about time with family. Recently I was discussing with my wife the key ingredients for a good day. For me, it was having breakfast with the family, doing some interesting problem solving, playing outside with my daughter, then enjoying family dinner together.

We’ve achieved this by bringing my wife and daughter along with me for engagements around Australia, and soon, internationally. In January, we are off to Malaysia as a family for an eight-month engagement.

The little one enjoying nomadic lifestyle with her dad

Catching up with director Lyntern, with both our partners and children, in Australia

Partners in Performance have been very supportive in making this happen. I put together a proposal on how I would make it work, and what I would need from them. They said ‘Yep, all that sounds reasonable. Let’s give it a crack, and you tell us if it’s working or not’. Here, if you can identify the problem and take responsibility for coming up with a solution, you’ll receive support in making it happen. I love that.

Embrace the opportunities that come your way

My advice to anyone considering a career with Partners in Performance is to embrace the diversity of thought on offer here, enjoy the challenges and opportunities to learn that come from working on projects outside of your comfort zone, and take advantage of the travel opportunities where you can. We get some cool opportunities to travel to places where other people pay to holiday. Spend the weekend, get your friend/partner/family over, and take the time to enjoy it!