DONNA KERR
Head of Shared Services at Queensland Police Citizens Youth Welfare Association
Awarded a McKinsey Academy Scholarship for the McKinsey Academy Young Leaders Forum, 2019
What sort of work does your organisation do?
PCYC Queensland provides young people with an environment that supports individual development, encourages community connection and celebrates diversity. Preparing young people to meet the challenges of adolescence and adulthood is a fundamental part of our vision. Many of our programs encourage young people’s personal development, such as Deep Blue Line (police mentoring to enhance young people’s positive sense of self) and Braking the Cycle (volunteer driver mentor program for those without access to a supervisor). We are also provided with funding to implement other important government initiatives such as Youth Support Services, Safe Communities Program and Emergency Services Cadets. Describe a typical day's work.
Most days are started with connecting to team members and checking in on their wellness, with a team of 17 it can be challenging. I like to remind myself what meetings have been scheduled for the day and ensuring I have things prepared. I do task myself things for the day, in the old school notebook, so I can go through at the end of the day and tick what has been completed, check what needs to be rescheduled or delegated. Batching email three times a day, whether they are action emails or just information, this works well. There are team meetings, chats with team members or other colleagues checking in on the progress of projects. Connecting to upper management to ensure the team is focusing attention where it is necessary for the organisation. Ensuring members are staying tasks focused and not overwhelmed with the busy day to day functions. What were some of the key learnings from the course?
Getting an understanding of key dynamics during our group workshops. In most instances, the extraverts went straight into the command lead and ran with their ideas and seems oblivious or less interested of the ideas of other team members. I was determined when I returned to my organisation that whilst I run meetings, I ensure each team member speaks their opinions and contributes. I believe it is an important aspect of leadership which we covered in the course was listening, if you allow your team the opportunity, they can provide the solutions to the issues with some guidance for reassurance. Empowering the group provides a smoother work environment that each member feels they are contributing or willing to. How has it impacted / changed / benefited your role and your organisation as a whole?
My direct team was impacted as I facilitated a team building day to share some of my experiences. We worked through several of the exercises prior to moving into what our own organisations values mean to the group. It was a very successful day and allowed the team to understand their wider colleagues outside of the team who they communicate mostly with. It also provided an understanding of the importance of listening both individually and as a team. The change to managing a team remotely has brought interesting viewpoints, some people believe you can only successfully manage your team whilst within the same building. Moving to work remotely to protect the health of people, was a struggle at first for me. The pressure to constantly be talking to members daily ended up a draining concern for myself. Ensuring I was self-checking my own wellness needed to become a priority, as we discovered in our workshop we often fail ourselves in this area, whilst we concern ourselves with our team members. I would like to think I have become better at maintaining a structure and implementing my team leaders to be solution focused so discussions can be supported within the leaders. How did you come to be working in the not-for-profit sector?
My personal circumstances changed seventeen years ago, and I returned back into the workforce. My career prior was within private sectors. I was managed throughout my career by very strong, domineering and influencing managers. When returning to work I wanted to try a more community approach, a role that provided a sense of accomplishment, connection as well as more family involvement. I was employed into the QPCYWA where I am still apart of the organisation. The organisation has many opportunities for development which I have successfully obtain for myself during my career. My 21-year-old son throughout his childhood enjoyed the extended family this environment provided. It also afforded him opportunities to be involved with myself and participate within programs that provided him with personal development and leadership qualities he would not have been exposed to if I had furthered my career within the private sectors. Exposing your family to another side of the less fortunate brings about them a sense of humanity that some people never experience. The NFP sector provides this as a daily occurrence. What do you feel is most needed to sustain and build the impact of the not-for-profit sector?
Some people shy away from working within the NFP sector. It tends to get a bad rap within the wider community. It was shown to me whilst discussing with other young leaders at the forum, when expressed you where representing the NFP sector some conversations ended quickly. I wasn’t sure if they felt they were more superior in knowledge or skillsets coming from private, however I feel it is the opposite. The NFP sector provides a wonderful understanding of how to show and manage empathy, and I have had firsthand experience the private sector staff do not grasp. As most NFP organisations are supported through funding sources, obtaining high quality staff can at times be a problem for the sector. Staff feel the differences between sectors are considerable, however, what price can you place on job satisfaction? The current changing circumstances have without a doubt placed more pressure on the sector, some programs have struggled to adapt to the norm of social distancing, some facilities are not available due to closures, it has forced rethinking to ensure our NFP sector maps the ever-changing minefield to sustain into the future. Both sectors need to try and bridge the gap between them so further opportunities can be obtained. What is something interesting / unique / unusual about you?
I like to personally challenge myself and have managed to adapt to various surroundings. I recently was afforded an opportunity by my husband to take a helicopter flying lesson. This certainly was an enjoyable experience and one that makes you reevaluate if an office job really is the place to spend your day.
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