Introduction
Welcome to this new blog series from the International WaterCentre (IWC).
Water leadership is an essential process to ensure that teams, projects, programs and processes of change are successful. Water leaders work collaboratively to achieve a common direction and sense of purpose, to align resources with that direction and generate motivation and commitment to success (read more here). They require particular skill sets and behaviours to be effective in this work, skills and behaviours that can be developed through a mix of approaches including conscious practice, feedback, coaching, mentoring and learning from research about what works and why.
The purpose of this blog series is to profile emerging water leaders globally, their practices, and how they go about improving their capabilities through leadership development in various ways. Through this our aim is to build wider appreciation of the value of engaging in water leadership development, and ultimately to foster the growth of water leadership capacity globally.
Meet Lisa – our first profiled water leader
In this first episode of the blog we talk with Lisa Andersons who is about to move from being Skills and Training Co-ordinator with the New South Wales State Government’s Department of Climate Change, Water, Energy and Environment (DCCEEW) to a new role as Manager Workforce Futures within the same Department. She is at the time of writing about 2/3rds of the way through the IWC’s Water Leadership Program (WLP) and will be complete by October 2025. We will start off by building a picture of Lisa’s backstory – how and why did she move into the water sector and the role that she occupies with DCCEEW?
“I have always felt a really strong connection to water, from when I was a kid and learned to swim which quickly progressed to snorkelling and then scuba diving. I just love being anywhere near water, whether it be saltwater or fresh water. Throughout school I enjoyed any subject that had to do with environmental sustainability, but I also felt a strong drive to help people. I went on to study a Bachelor of Science at Griffith University, which was broad enough to keep my options open. Working in the water industry has given me the opportunities to combine environmental sustainability with helping people.”
“After working within a local water utility in scientific roles, for almost 15 years I moved into state government, which gave me the opportunity to shift my focus more broadly, rather than a single local government area.”
“My roles here rely on building trust and relationships with stakeholders, to improve training opportunities for operators within the water industry. I felt like this was the right time to invest in my professional development and enhance my leadership skills, to really have a positive impact within the organisation, and across the water sector.”
“I have recently been appointed to a new management role, and I am confident that I am the right person for the job. I’m excited to show my commitment to the industry and want to make some positive change.”
How has investing in leadership development impacted you and your work?
“A big part of my role is collaborating with different people across the industry – local water utilities, the training sector and broader water industry stakeholders. One of the big challenges is being able to influence with little authority. I’ve realised how important building trust and being authentic is to collaborating with different stakeholders and to really bring people along on the journey to influence and drive change.”
“Really listening and giving people the opportunity to speak: being inclusive is important. When you’ve built trust people are more likely to open up and say, well, these are the things that I’m concerned about and then we can work on trying to deal with those specific things rather than coming in, thinking that we know what the solution might be. Really slowing down, understanding the different perspectives and making sure we have the right people in the room, and knowing the audience. I think I’ve come a long way in stakeholder engagement, and I quite enjoy it, talking to different people from different backgrounds.”
“Understanding my strengths has also been really helpful for me. To understand the kind of leader that I want to be and that it’s OK to be different to other leaders. Developing my own leadership style and really focusing on being authentic, inclusive and building trust, valuing relationships and being able to bring people together, has been really valuable.”
“A lot of the time when we’re looking at our own strengths and weaknesses we focus on improving the weaknesses. Leadership development for me has also been about understanding what my strengths are as a leader and improving those and really getting the most value out of what those strengths are to help me with my day-to-day work. Also understanding different approaches to leadership, different styles and how and when to use them.”
“Leadership development has given me the confidence to really back myself, to be confident I’m in the right role, but also to understand where my gaps are. I know when I need to bring in other people with different expertise and perspectives, and to be able bring it all together.”
What are the most challenging aspects of leadership for you?
“In the role of Skills and Training Co-ordinator one of the most challenging aspects has been trying to influence without having a high position of power. And that will continue with my new role.”
“The new role itself will present challenges but will also be a position of privilege where I will be able to recruit my own team, inspire a shared vision and really work together to figure out the best way that the team can succeed. That will hopefully translate to some good results across the industry. I’m really looking forward to that challenge of building a team and working together to achieve positive results.
What does the future look like in terms of your leadership practice and development?
“Being an adaptive leader really resonates with me because, of course, in the water industry there’s a lot of external factors that we need to adapt to. So, it’s important to be flexible and agile and able to change our approach to get the best outcome.”
“Learning how to use the various tools we were given during the Water Leadership Program I think is going to be really useful for me. Practicing them, trying them out, being brave enough to try new things then reflecting on how well that worked and what can be improved.”
“Another thing that really has stood out to me about leadership practice and development is around empowering and enabling others to drive positive change. Supporting a new team and encouraging them and really wanting to see the best out of the team, empowering them to make positive change will be important in the future.”
“These are the things I’d like to keep working on and improving over the next couple of years but also knowing that leadership is a journey and there’s no end point. It’s not like you can get to a point and say, OK, I understand all there is to know about leadership now. That’s not the way it works. Instead, it’s being keen to grow and change and learn as we go. I find that challenge quite exciting.”
“I’m lucky enough to have some really great mentors and they play an important role in my on-going development. I have a lot of them within DCCEEW but one woman in particular who I catch up with regularly. I learn a lot from her around the intricacies of state government and how it all works. For example, briefings that go up to different levels within the organisation or up to the Minister and that whole decision-making process is quite structured in government and it’s really good to have that mentoring relationship with someone who can help me to understand what the processes are, the budgeting cycle, the political cycle and the politics.”
“I’ve also got a local mentor who I used to work with at the local water utility and I was speaking with him recently. I can be really open and honest with him and I trust his advice, including to trust my gut feel, and not second guess myself. Once you start talking to someone, you can read a lot. I think I am more aware now of myself through things that I’ve learnt within the Water Leadership Program around self-awareness and self-confidence.”
“I really recommend professionals in the industry investing in themselves to developing their leadership abilities. Once you have the mindset of identifying as a leader, you open yourself up to so many opportunities to grow and learn. Being a leader is so much more than being a manager, It is not based on your position within an organisation, but on your mindset and desire to influence positive change. “
More information
If you want to learn more about leadership development then please read more about the Water Leadership Program (if you are living in AU/NZ) or Pathway Program (if you are living and working in another country). Contact us at IWC_training@griffith.edu.au for the opportunity to talk through your aims and needs. We are always happy to partner and collaborate.