Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?

This example highlights the leadership role I have played in accelerating our chapter community within our new Agile structure. In 2022, we became a legal services chapter, adopting an Agile design and structure. Within this framework, we have distinct roles, including leaders of work (product owners) and leaders of people (chapter leads). As chapter leads, we are responsible for our people’s career development, remuneration, and overall well-being, while the product owners are tasked with overseeing the work within their respective mission teams.

The separation of leadership between people and work creates a deliberate space for discussing career development, performance, health, and well-being with our chapter team members. Additionally, it helps us prioritise the most strategically significant legal work by leveraging our organisation-wide quarterly review process and allocating resources accordingly.

As one of the two chapter type leads, I have coached other chapter leads in our first year, balancing between providing care and challenge, while focusing on progress over perfection.  

We navigated new roles and accountabilities, adapting to different ways of working, which included new language, processes, technology, cadences, ceremonies, and engagement. This allowed us to reimagine our traditional approach to work and the roles we play. Despite the advantage of drawing on the experience of internal business teams that had already transitioned to Agile earlier, along with the support from our Agile coaches, our team found itself breaking new ground on a large scale.

As a chapter type lead, I have played a key role in positively influencing, engaging, and coaching others in our new ways of working and the growth mindset required. Coming together early as a chapter community to agree our standards and behaviours, how we prioritise, communicate, and deliver the work in service of our whole chapter are key foundational standards which we continue to build upon. We have also learned to embrace the discomfort of working in draft and adopting a mindset of holding strong views lightly, enabling us to see the possibilities in others’ perspectives. This approach has kept us at our best, both in terms of performance and behaviour, and has helped us achieve better outcomes for our people.

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

The legal services chapter has been involved in a number of transactions and cases recently encompassing climate and sustainability initiatives, network and telecommunications projects, and data and AI ventures.
What is a cause, business related or otherwise, that you care about, and why?

The Redfern Legal Centre’s Financial Abuse Clinic, situated on Gadigal Land in Redfern, New South Wales, Australia, plays a crucial role in building awareness within the social services sector about the prevalence of financial abuse. The clinic educates professionals about the available options for helping victims and, most importantly, in helping abused women escape from situations not of their making so they can move forward independently and unburdened by the financial constraints imposed by their partners. I am grateful for Telstra’s support of this pro-bono program, which enables me to volunteer every fortnight and provide relatively simple interventions. This work gives me purpose, and I consider it a privilege to be able to make a positive impact on the lives of others.