Dr Lisa Griffiths, is the CEO of OzChild and in this episode we are treated with insights into a leader who is driving sustainable outcomes by embedding evidence-based practice in the very DNA of the organisation.
Over the past five and a half years, under Lisa’s leadership, OzChild has grown into a National, For Purpose organisation that is a lead provider of evidence-based programs in Child Protection, Family Violence and Youth Justice in Australia. Lisa draws on over 30 years in executive leadership roles and in her Doctorate in Business Leadership she developed an Evidence-Based Ethical Leadership Model for the Community Services Sector.
Lisa is a former double commonwealth games medallist in Judo. More about that in the Podcast!
The Key Leadership Insights you will hear in this Conversation:
How to bring the head and the heart together to deliver great outcomes.
- Keeping the purpose of the organisation, and those it seeks to serve at the forefront of one's mind while driving a smart and sustainable business model that will deliver on the purpose.
The power of applying an evidence-based approach to all aspects of leading organisational growth.
- This ensures people are not just working from their 'gut-feeling'. Many of us get 'gut-feelings', and where these can be backed up by the evidence, they can prove very useful.
- We have seen some of the outcomes of 'gut-feelings' about COVID-19 play out to the detriment of entire populations around the globe - as a result of evidence being dismissed and usurped by 'gut-feelings'.
Insights into leading sustainable growth through the application of evidence based decision-making.
- Robust, evidence-based, decision-making frameworks that underpin all decisions about investment of human, financial or other resources in a particular direction.
- Embedding accountability partners at executive level through the creation of a safe environment where diverse views are tabled for discussion.
The importance of checking yourself for bias
- Effective Leaders establish a culture of psychological safety that supports robust conversations.
- Biases are 'blind' - we all have them, however we generally don't recognise them in ourselves. Creating a safe space where your own team members can call out a bias you may have that is impeding progress, or influencing poor decision-making is essential. It also requires high levels of Emotional Intelligence from us as the lens is focussed on our biases.
A ‘For Purpose’ organisation is a business that must succeed to meet the organisation’s Charter.
- People can think that a For Purpose organisation is the soft option. This is not the case. The challenge of running a highly successful business whose purpose is to make a profit, and plough that profit into further meeting it's charter requires an intense focus - and the ability to bring heart and head to balance.
Across the conversation, Lisa speaks of two strong influences on her journey to leadership in the For Purpose Sector.
Victor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor:
- Frankl, after surviving the Holocaust, said one of his greatest insights was the three things vital for people to have: Paraphrasing Frankly: We must have something to do, someone to love, and we must have hope.
- Frankl had a long and impactful life beyond the Holocaust, founding Logotherapy, and writing many books, most famously "The Pursuit of Happiness".
Kano Jigoro Shihan, Founder of Judo
- Kano saw Judo as a principle useful in many aspects of life. He felt it could contribute to human and social development including "mutual prosperity for self and others".
- Lisa returns to the powerful influence the philosophy and practice of Judo has played in her lifelong personal and professional development, and its application to effective leadership.
Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-lisa-j-griffiths/
Learn more about the work of OzChild: https://www.ozchild.org.au/
Thinking, Fast and Slow | Daniel Kahneman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjVQJdIrDJ0
The Pursuit of Happiness | Viktor Frankl https://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/viktor-frankl/
