Curiosity, challenge and making a difference

Looking beyond the policy path

Some of Audrey’s most valuable development has come from opportunities she never expected to take. With a strong policy background early in her career, she was surprised to be asked to join an accommodation project while at Treasury. However, it became a valuable opportunity to develop her experience and confidence leaning on people and learning to incorporate their views and skills to achieve things as a team, rather than solely relying on herself. 

Later in her career, another opportunity as acting Head of Corporate at the Ministry of Justice gave her valuable insights into how organisations work, organisational change, operating at scale in larger organisations and using corporate tools to support strategic outcomes. 

Being observant of how other leaders led was another source of learning. While many experienced leaders have shaped her leadership approach, one manager early on had a significant influence. 

“She was really awesome to work for, she looked after staff but also had high expectations of the standard she was after. I took a lot away from that combination in terms of how I could lead”, says Audrey. 

Moving around agencies was also incredibly valuable to broadening Audrey’s perspective. She found as each organisation had a different mandate, culture and operating environment this enabled her to think more systematically through issues and be more deliberate in her actions as a leader. 

“The government will always be dealing with complex issues. If they were simple, we'd have already solved them. It's really interesting work and I'm genuinely interested in improving health outcomes for New Zealanders and solving problems for them.”

Keeping outcomes in sight

The experiences that have stretched Audrey in her career continue to shape how she leads today. She describes herself as pragmatic and results focused. 

“I'm not afraid to be curious, to ask questions, to engage and challenge where appropriate to ensure we’re being robust on things. I like to push what I would say are assumptions, but people might think are evidence-based.”

While discussion and debate are important, she feels that she is often the person asking “What are we going to do? What’s the action or advice to move this thing forward?”.

At the centre of her leadership approach is a belief that people perform best when they understand their role. She sees her role as creating the conditions that allow others to succeed. To her, listening is such an important skill to understanding more about the people she works with and whether she’s being realistic about what she knows and what could be assumptions.  

“It’s about playing a role.  Don’t try to do their job, enable them to do their job. My job is to create the conditions to help them succeed. Removing barriers, ensuring people have as much context as possible and helping them to navigate the political system, where that's needed.”

Working across the health system

One of the Ministry’s most important roles is helping the health system work as a connected whole, and for Audrey that starts with relationships. No leader can improve a system alone. She believes relationships work best when there is a solid foundation, with an understanding of different perspectives, the common goals and broader context. 

She explains, “You need to understand your institutional position, the role of your agency and your role in the system, otherwise it doesn’t work if everyone plays out of position. Then you just get chaos.”

As the Ministry of Health plays a monitoring role in the system, Audrey is clear about roles, responsibilities and understanding there may be disagreement at times. 

“I think it’s important to separate out the different hats and be clear with an entity when we've asked for something if we’re approaching them in a policy, monitoring or leadership team role”, says Audrey. 

She finds that role clarity gives certainty. 

“We're not out to get them. We're actually trying to achieve the same thing–to improve outcomes for the system and improve performance. We have a role to play in that as a monitor, but also as a policy, strategy, investment advisor and all those other things we do as the Ministry. We're just as much a part of the performance of the system as the entities we monitor.”

Making a difference

Looking back, Audrey's career shows that leadership doesn't start with a title. It starts with curiosity, a willingness to take on unfamiliar challenges and a commitment to helping others succeed. For her, the goal has always been simple: leave things better than you found them.

“The government will always be dealing with complex issues. If they were simple, we'd have already solved them. It's really interesting work and I'm genuinely interested in improving health outcomes for New Zealanders and solving problems for them.”

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