Engagement through Change and Rapid Growth with Peter Whalley.
After our series of podcast episodes with tech leaders from the Silicon Valley, this week we hear from Peter Whalley – entrepreneur, visionary and leader from the thriving IT sector right here in our own backyard.
The Good, the Bad, or the ‘What-the!’
Simon shares two experiences of receiving feedback and mentoring around something he feels vulnerable about – and how one experience paralysed future performance while the other validated, challenged and empowered him. He and Kirralea discuss how those scenarios play out in workplaces every day.
Worth the Time
An oldie but a goodie. We discuss one of the first business books that Simon ever read – Maverick by Riccardo Semmler, who inherited a struggling manufacturing business in Brazil. By challenging established and conventional thinking, Semmler turned the business around and created a united and motivated workforce.
Words of Authenticity:
This episode’s Words of Authenticity are an extract from an e-book we wrote (and will publish soon) on Leading Change. During change, people tend to overestimate what they are leaving behind and underestimate what they are gaining
Simon and Kirralea discuss why change efforts tend to struggle (and often fail) and provide a few tips on how to approach change better.
Our Guest
Our guest is Peter Whalley, Managing Director of Plus Software and VisionAI Head of APAC of Computer Vision.
Peter has a great story to tell and he shares it in an engaging and captivating way. We discuss the roller coaster journey he embarked on, starting as a young and uncertain adult in South Africa. That journey brought him to Australia, initially on behalf of head office, to bring a struggling IT business into line.
After beginning a transformational change process with two of the senior leaders in Australia, they bought the organisation from the South African owners and took it to new levels of success.
Peter discusses:
The personal changes he needed to make when he discovered his default leadership styles didn’t always land as intended in an Australian context
His approach to engaging people, inside and outside the company, in a change to the fundamental way the business operated – a change that was essential to the ongoing survival of the organisation but that was also a radical departure from the traditional model
The imposter syndrome he struggled with as young leader in his first board room environment
You can connect to Peter via LinkedIn here (https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterbwhalley/)
Unpacking the interview
Simon and Kirralea discuss the key messages that emerged from the discussion with Peter and share some of their experiences working with those dynamics in organisations. They focus on helping listeners apply Peter’s wisdom to their own work lives.
Want to check out how Authentic your organisation is? Take our free online Authentimeter Assessment tool here
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Got a question for the Podcast? You can drop us a voice message via Instagram or email us at: authenticity@reallearning.com.au
Thanks to our Podcasting producer, Josh at Deadset Podcasting for all his work behind the scenes.
Thanks for listening!