Fiji Sun

ANZ First Female Regional Executive Motivates Senior Civil Servants

- Nemani.delaibatik­i@fijisun.com.fj

An innovative initiative led by the Ministry of Civil Service exposes senior civil servants to leaders across a range of sectors including business, Government and internatio­nal sports. ANZ’s first female regional executive for the Pacific Islands, Tessa Price, shared invaluable insights on leadership habits and driving a customer service focus, at this week’s Senior Leaders Forum held at Suvavou House.

To meet Fiji’s growth market, Ms Price explained how ANZ sharpened their ‘people not product focus’ to enhance the individual experience.

According to Ms Price, ANZ measures great customer outcomes around nine principles centred on customer service.

She encouraged senior leaders to ‘lean in and listen’ through critical feedback habits and embedding tools within teams such as a ‘speak up policy’.

Three years of ‘leaning in’, Ms Price said, has been significan­t in evolving and transformi­ng the ANZ model in the Pacific but she explained to participan­ts how she

adapted her leadership style to sustain support.

“Your engagement as a leader should empower people to question what we’re doing and encourage diverse thinking,” she said.

Flexing the ‘curiosity muscle’ is what Ms Price believes is a critical leadership quality, “rewarding curiosity and experiment­ation is how we support people to adapt to change.”

Permanent Secretary for Civil Service Susan Kiran urged the senior officers to model good leadership practices, lead similar conversati­ons within their teams and identify areas to create a better experience for our customers – the Fijian people.

Over 60 senior leaders throughout the Civil Service take part in the quarterly forums, which have included interactiv­e discussion­s with Rugby Sevens head coach Gareth Baber and Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviatio­n Mereseini Vuniwaqa.

The next forum will be held in December. Source: DEPTFO NEWS

 ?? Photo: DEPTFO News ?? From left: Permanent Secretary for Civil Service, Susan Kiran, with ANZ’s first female regional executive for the Pacific Islands, Tessa Price, during the Senior Leaders Forum at Suvavou House earlier this week.
Photo: DEPTFO News From left: Permanent Secretary for Civil Service, Susan Kiran, with ANZ’s first female regional executive for the Pacific Islands, Tessa Price, during the Senior Leaders Forum at Suvavou House earlier this week.

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