Moments we will never forget
There’s power in a 42-second moment. Michelle Cowan, head of women’s football at West Coast Eagles, says her voice still shakes when she tells the story of former employer, Melbourne Football Club boss Peter Jackson’s expression of gratitude – namely, a 42-second phone call recognising her leadership in changing the face of football, in the same moment that Michelle Payne won the Melbourne Cup, changing the face of horse racing.
Cowan and her West Australian football peer Paul Hasleby, a Fremantle Dockers veteran, shared their advice for leadership in sport and in business during an ACE Radio summit on Friday.
Their words were still fresh in our ears when news came that a former Wimmera newspaper editor had died. Rod Case, formerly of the Wimmera Mail-times, lost his fight to motor neurone disease at just 55.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Liza.
News reporting reflects its community, and shows leadership, and Rod supported the Wimmera through many challenges, including the Millennium Drought and Black Saturday.
He was key driver behind a drought concert at Longerenong and led the selling of jars of ‘Wimmera drought’ to raise money for the community.
He secured a pin flag from one of Tiger Woods’ PGA titles as a money-raiser after fire razed the Horsham Golf Club. The flag raised more than $6000 for the club.
He also drove the staging of a Triple J One Night Stand concert in Natimuk. Wimmera climbers abseiled down the Triple J studio to present officials with a rock and the application on the region’s behalf.
Rod could nudge the line with his approach to news and storytelling, but the community’s interests remained at the heart of everything he did.
And that included his work community.
What people couldn’t see behind the newsprint was the care he had for his people.
For his team – myself included, in two separate stints – he was a mentor and a friend, and the impact his influence had on our lives is difficult to articulate.
Rod’s leadership was a series of 42-second moments.
Sometimes, he could be your harshest critic. He knew you could achieve more, do better – so he would tell you. He was also your biggest cheerleader and always managed to generate quality work.
Rod gave many journalists and photographers their start in the industry and that grounding prepared us for a successful future. He ensured we could do anything our next employer asked of us – selflessly putting effort and energy into our skills development while knowing he and the masthead wouldn’t necessarily benefit long-term.
He showed belief in me, as a cadet journalist fresh from high school – well beyond what I ever imagined for myself at the time.
He was a boss; but his investment in our lives, holistically, created a level of trust and rapport where honesty was appreciated, and often sought.
A few years after leaving Horsham, when I accepted an editor gig in northern Victoria, I received an email – the subject, simply saying, ‘proud’.
A 42-second moment. He still had my back.
I went on to work for him again, this time in Bendigo. I wanted to be part of his team, and he welcomed me with open arms.
The power of Rod’s leadership, of his 42-second moments, continues to live through those who were privileged to know him.
The skills he shared and the examples he set – both professionally and personally – are deeply entrenched and a new generation is, unknowingly, still learning his valuable lessons. Vale, Rod.