Ep 1. What kind of mindset does it take to be successful in the public sector?

🎙️ Welcome to IPAA Insiders! This brand-new podcast is your go-to resource for navigating and excelling in the public sector. This season has been designed to answer your biggest questions and fuel your career ambitions, with each episode delivering insights from seasoned experts and thought leaders from inside and outside the public sector.

🌟 Episode Highlight: In our debut episode, we explore The Mindset Needed to Succeed in the Public Sector. Join Rob Balmer from Executive Central, Harry Hatzis from NSW Department of Planning and Environment, Amy Mathai from NSW Treasury, and Liz Gould Performance Psychologist from Encountas as they unpack the perspectives and attitudes that drive success.

Key Takeaways:
•The power of cultivating a growth mindset. Rob Balmer reminds us that "people's talents, capabilities, and strengths can all be enhanced through development and practice."
•Strategies for building resilience and adaptability in a fast-evolving sector.
•Insights into how diverse experiences contribute to long-term success.

🎧 Whether you're just starting out or looking to take your public sector career to the next level, this episode is packed with actionable advice to help you thrive.
Tune in now to unleash your potential and start your journey with confidence!

SHOW CREDITS
Host: Jo Rose
Writers: Alessia Campagna, Nicola Hardy and Jo Rose
Producer and Editor: Alessia Campagna
Technical Producer: Anthony Watson
Executive Producers: Jo Rose and Nicola Hardy

Music Credits:
Let The Good Times Roll: Music from #Uppbeat
https://uppbeat.io/t/ra/let-good-times-roll
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Enchanted Puzzle: Music from #Uppbeat
https://uppbeat.io/t/andrey-rossi/enchanted-puzzle
License code: YTN0OYX8RBDDUQ73

Easy Flow: Music from #Uppbeat
https://uppbeat.io/t/hybridas/easy-flow
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Not That Easy: Music from #Uppbeat
https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/not-that-easy
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On Tiptoes: Music from #Uppbeat
https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/on-tiptoes

We would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which the podcast is taking place today. We pay our deep respects to all Elders past, present and emerging. We would also like to extend that respect to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples listening today.

Transcript

Episode 1

IPAA NSW acknowledges the traditional owners of the lands and waters this podcast is recorded on and pay our respects to elders past and present.  Through sharing stories on IPAA Insiders, we pay homage to the rich story telling history of the world’s oldest living culture, the traditional custodians of the lands on which we live, work and play. We extend our respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People listening today.

Welcome to IPAA Insiders, the podcast that takes the topics that are top of mind and shares unique perspectives and actionable advice from senior leaders, blue sky thinkers, and IPAA members across the sector.

Jo Rose

Hi, I’m Jo Rose, and I’m the CEO of IPAA NSW. Our events, networking opportunities, and courses are designed to help everyone in the NSW public service build a career they’re proud of. 

As the professional association for the public sector we represent the more than 400 000 people who work for NSW. 

This gives IPAA unique insights on the state of the sector, what we need to be thinking about next and how we can all thrive in public service. 

When we bring together our members to build capability, we get asked a lot of questions. 

Some of them are easier to answer than others. 

But then there are the other types of questions – you know the ones – thorny, gnarly, burning, and this is exactly what IPAA Insiders is all about. 

Our members are at the heart of everything we do at IPAA, so it seemed natural to ask you, our 50,000 strong member base to share your questions. 

And you resoundingly asked questions about careers. Whether it was wanting to love the job you’re in or landing your next big opportunity.  You told us you wanted to hear about career stories that included alternate paths and sideways movements. You wanted to know what transferable skills you need and the tips and tricks for building them.

And with the amount of uncertainty in our world you also wanted to hear that yes change is hard, but it really is the only constant. 

By talking to experts in and outside the sector we want to show you the opportunity in the change and how you can be in the driver’s seat.

In this season, we are going to get into it all and help you build a thriving public sector career. 

Episode One –      What kind of mindset does it take to be successful in the public sector?

Jo Rose

Change is an inevitable part of today's workplace and being adaptable is a crucial skill when you work in government. If you've ever felt hesitant or nervous about change, this episode is for you.

We’re sharing practical steps to become more resilient and adaptable when faced with change. We’ll walk you through strategies for managing your mindset and techniques for building resilience. We will also show you how mindset shapes how we work and the work we do.  

Rob Balmer

A mindset is is really a set of beliefs and attitudes that people bring to any situation. It's really their worldview, if you like, the way they see situations, the way they react to things, the way they deal with challenges, is a great example. The mindset is their starting point or their baseline that they're bringing to that situation, broadly, particularly in the development world, we talk about growth mindset versus a fixed mindset. And growth mindset is really that core belief that people's talents, capabilities, strengths, can all be enhanced through development and practice, I can continue to grow.  

 Jo Rose

This is Rob Balmer. Rob is the Co-Founder and Chair of Executive Central, a team of senior executives from business, government departments and NGOs who coach and mentor leaders in Australia and Asia-Pacific. He’s also the author of three books and a regular on the keynote speaker circuit. 

When I sat down to talk to Rob about mindset, I wanted to get his thoughts on how he would define it and what we actually need to think about to develop a mindset that will ultimately help us thrive. 

Rob Balmer

A growth mindset response to a challenge is not to see the negativity of that, that something's in my way. It's to see, how can I get around this? What's the opportunity here, and what can I learn? And then, importantly, not just learning it, but putting that learning into application. A fixed mindset on the other hand, tends to be that belief that, you know, I am what I am, my talents are what they are. You can't teach an old dog new tricks, those sorts of things. And really, it's very fixed. And it's kind of almost a scarcity mentality to say I've got what I've got, and that's what I need to use, and I don't want to lose any of it. I can't grow beyond where I am.

 Jo Rose

For Rob, a growth mindset is one of the core ingredients to a successful career, and his definitions are spot on. But what happens if you’re stuck, feeling a little bit jaded, and feel you can’t get away from a fixed mindset? 

Rob Balmer

There's an old saying, Before you can solve a problem, you need to actually realize there is a problem, the self awareness, part of your mindset, being able to fairly and reasonably hold the mirror and go, How am I thinking about this situation that's easily said. It's not easily done. You know, a lot of people just don't take the time to be self reflective. I would argue that in our world, we have a lot of people looking externally for what the problem is, because I call it attribution bias. I want to attribute the problem everywhere else other than here. I'm not saying you're always the problem, but I think a good starting point is to is to actually look in the mirror and say, Well, hey, what? What part of my playing here? So that's the first step, a genuine self reflection, to say, well, what is my mindset here? The things that people can do to enhance their mindset is to get away from that one dimensional, singular view of things. So if, like, I see the world this way, that's it. That's a very fixed mindset. It's actually seeking input from other people. So things like feedback, for example, great ways that people can broaden their views by getting the views of others. Now I will just go to another bias here that I think we all need to be very careful about in our world, particularly driven by social media engines that keep feeding you what they know you want to hear. And that is this sort of confirmation bias, where I only hear the story that I want to hear, and I only hear from people that agree with my view. That can lead to a very fixed, inflexible view on things. We see this in the workplace, you'll see people will kind of go and have coffee with people who all agree with them. So therefore we must, we must be right. When you get different views, you don't have to agree with them, but the fact that you're getting those different views is actually, in and of itself, giving you a broader consideration set from which you can then determine what your view is.

Jo Rose

Like Rob said, turning the mirror inwards can feel awkward and uncomfortable, but it’s an essential step in nurturing that desirable growth mindset. 

My takeaway is that it is super important we remember to take a step back and seek other perspectives to gain clarity. 

Amy Mathai 

I got some great advice very early on in my career. I was invited for early promotion, and I felt very unsure that I wasn't ready, and that I didn't know enough and I wasn't ready to go forward. And my coach, at the time said, Don't be the one to say no to yourself. You can let other people do that. And that felt like a really liberating reframing, because I often find that I am very quick to say, Oh, I don't know enough, or I'm the right person, but almost to shift that to think, well, I could try and if I'm not the right person, somebody else can tell me. 

 Jo Rose

This is Amy Mathai. She’s the Executive Officer to the Deputy Secretary of Financial Management and Services at the New South Wales Treasury. 

Amy started working in the public sector right in the middle of COVID. Sitting in hotel quarantine and thinking about what to do next. She was struck by the obvious care and concern of how the public service supports communities (especially in times of crisis) Amy wanted to be a part of that. Her journey from the private sector into the public service is very personal. 

Amy Mathai 

 I love what I do, because I want to give back to the system that has given me so much and supports my community. I went to public school. I live out in southwest Sydney. I'm not getting anywhere if the trains don't run. So if I can, in some small way, be part of a helpful service that adds value to community and individuals lives, then I want to use my time to do my little bit

Jo Rose

As an executive officer, Amy holds a senior role in the field of administration. The Executive Officer is a complicated role with many moving parts to support the successful operation of the Deputy Secretary’s office and Amy’s mindset is a huge contributor to her success. 

Amy Mathai  

I want to feel proud of my work. I want to know that I've contributed, but I want to know that I've done that together with my team. Because when we work together, we're going to go further, and we're going to find where we bring those diverse perspectives and knowledge and lived experience together. I strongly believe that's how we find the best answers, and that, to me, then inherently means that we're doing our best to support the state.  

Jo Rose

Diversity of thought is so important in every aspect of public service life. It’s how we get the best outcomes for the people of NSW and grow in our roles.

Personally, I believe that diversity of thought isn't just about us having different opinions to others though. It's about being curious, open-minded, and trusting that when a team works together, the ideas that bubble up through discussion and dialogue might just be the key to success.

Amy Mathai  

Every day, I'm asked to solve a problem that I likely we had never seen before, which means that I go on a new task every day, but that's exciting, because everything is figure out a ball. So it's about having a growth mindset and just to be curious, to ask those questions. And I love being able to ask questions that I don't know the answer to, because somebody will. So it's about using my network and connections to find the people who do have the answers, and then work collaboratively to find the most effective and efficient solution. I think that's just my general mindset to everything. I'm always conscious that I know things, but I don't know everything, and makes me excited to learn. That's why we work as teams.   

Harry Hatzis 

Picture it as a big moving machine, the government, and you're that little cog. And sometimes you can get overwhelmed, but that little COVID needs to move for the other ones to move as well. And my mindset is to thrive in the public sector, as long as you're passionate what you do understand the work that you do will benefit the people that live in New South Wales, which is you, because even a person who works in accounting won't say, I just run books here, but without you allowing us to give that money, we can't deliver the projects. So everybody is important, okay? And I think the mindset should be what I'm doing is important in the overarching scheme of what we are responsible to deliver by the elected government, by the people of New South Wales.  

Jo Rose

This is Harry Hatzis. He currently works in Partner Capability in Learning and Development within the Department of Planning, Housing, and Infrastructure. We affectionately call him a “for-lifer” in the public service due to his length of service which he wears proudly. 

Harry Hatzis 

How long I've been in public service? How long is a piece of string. I would say, 20 odd years worked in various departments. I'm an old timer, so I love what I'm doing. I love working for the government in different departments as well. 

Jo Rose

Harry worked most of his career as an Accountant, but then an opportunity came up that planted him on a completely different path.  

Harry Hatzis 

I was a financial accountant. I was contracting back in 2018 and then lnd, they were providing workshops and sessions, but they were using external providers. So therefore we had to charge people attending. So I was doing a financial work, and then perked my interest. I asked a question a time where basically what they were doing, you know, we facilitate, we design, we look at external providers to do particular workshops, for soft skills, for our stakeholders, our colleagues who work within the department. I said, Okay. And then from there, I asked could I attend a workshop that were kind enough for me to attend a workshop over the time, the manager was kind enough to allow me, to do a little bit of work where I engage with stakeholders. I even did catering to see how that works would say, over 12 to 18 months, the opportunity arose for a facilitator, and I put my hand up, and I was lucky enough to get it. So one thing I can say to people is, The only limitations are the ones you place upon yourself. When you're working for government, you'll be surprised what opportunities arise. I didn't say to myself, Oh, look, I can't do this because I've done accounting for 25 years. Okay, let me ask questions and what possibilities could arise out of it. And that's a great thing about government. 

Jo Rose

This is the perfect example of what Rob was talking about earlier—Harry leant into a growth mindset and learned some new tricks. It took time, perseverance, and a lot of curiosity, but he was able to land an opportunity that was different from what he’d always been doing. 

Much of this stems from his ability to stretch himself and an openness to step out of his comfort zone. 

Harry Hatzis 

We have two circles. We have a circle where we live in every day and we're comfortable and where we grow is the other circle, we'll call it out, sort of our comfort zone. And the great thing about out of our comfort zone, and I do this in a workshop, is it's great to be there for a while, but not too long, because you get mentally exhausted. So what they did that they didn't overwhelm me with the stuff. But for example, I think the first thing was where I was asked to facilitate a workshop. Now, Im probably unnatural was taken 1000 workshops to get there, but the great thing about is, they helped me with the guidance of saying, we're not going to give you a workshop. We're going to let you first view it. Be our producer. Okay, next one, Harry, you're gonna do six, seven slides. But what I loved about out of my comfort zone, it allowed me to build that confidence. I could do it. I don't have to be an expert at it, but I can do it I'll call it the first brick in building a house. It takes 10,000 bricks, but I won't be able to build a house if I don't put that first brick. Give me my comfort zone, if I facilitate my life. I loved it because even though I was uncomfortable and probably a bit geeky and probably a bit out of whack, I loved it. I really enjoyed it.

Jo Rose

We hear this mindset echoed across many of our members: getting out of their comfort zones, setting professional stretch goals, and putting their hands up for exciting new projects or secondments. But sometimes, it can be hard to keep up the good work. Missing out on a promotion, being passed over for a role, or having a project put on the shelf can all take their toll. I asked Harry what we do then? 

Play Tape Harry 

I don't think anybody's been alive, hasn't been passed over for a role. I always embraced it as a learning journey. You are disappointed, and that's human, that's a human trait. Embrace that, then ignore that, okay, but I think the most important thing is understand, Okay, why was I overlooked? And it's never personal. It's always, you know, either particular capability or particular skill set. Sometimes I've learned more from my failures than from my successes. I call fail first attempt in learning. I don't even call it to be that successful. I just say, a journey. Well, I haven't finished the finish line yet. I need to take a few more steps, and I'll become better at it. So I say to people, don't take it as a negative thing. Some people might need 20 steps to get there. Other people might need 10 steps to get there. But always remember, at the end of it, there's a finish line, there's a goal there. So never change that mindset.

Jo Rose

What Harry is tapping into here is that both resilience and a growth mindset are about trying again. Resilience is about not giving up when things get hard, and the growth mindset is about thinking about what you can do differently and giving it another shot. 

It’s a powerful combination that helps you bounce back from tough times and keep growing and learning, no matter what challenges you face. 

Liz Gould 

I love resilience. It's my favorite topic to talk about. It's essentially the ability to adapt to adversity, bounce back from challenges and to continue to move forward.  

Jo Rose

This is Liz Gould. Liz is a performance psychologist, Facilitator, and Executive Coach. Liz spent the first decade of her career working with high-performance athletes, with Olympians, world champions and the English Cricket team. 

Now, Liz works using all of those performance-based strategies to support individuals, teams, and organisations in a workforce setting, to help them maximise their full potential or, as I like to think of it how to go from good to great.  

Liz Gould  

I stay in this career because each day and each time I'm working, whether it be an individual all the way through to an organization, I can see the impact that it's having on somebody's mental health on somebody's overall well being, and how that really influences their whole system. So how it influences their well being in terms of how they feel about themselves, their self belief, their sense of achievement and accomplishment, but also to, I guess, some of that ripple effect around how that has an influence on the people around them, whether it be around them in the workforce and their team, or whether it be around them in their personal lives, their family, their friends, you know, their social environment, how their well being impacts on their connection to others.  

Jo Rose

Resilience is such an important topic, and it’s critical, especially in a work environment where change is constant. But what exactly is resilience?

 Liz Gould 

A lot of people think it's not about avoiding stress, but it's actually about managing it effectively. So that's the difference. People with higher degrees of resilience are actually able to manage their stress much more effectively than someone who is less resilient, but it involves a growth mindset. It involves that growth mindset and being able to see opportunities as a growth opportunity, rather than a setback. So it's so important in a workplace to build resilience and to lean into curiosity in that learning culture, because that's where all the good stuff happens. That's where all the reflection happens, that growth in terms of self awareness. And rather than going, Oh, I did this wrong, looking at it, how can I do this better? And how is that going to affect me in terms of my learning, my professionalism, my performance, my productivity, all of those, you know, good things that come from any kind of setback, rather than looking at it through a lens of helplessness and hopelessness. Woe, is me. I'm a failure. I can't do this. I'll never get it done. I'll never get it right. How do you grow from a setback? 

Jo Rose

So, we’ve got the growth mindset - tick, and we’re leaning into curiosity - tick but what are some ways we can build resilience so we can manage stress and recover from setbacks without being overwhelmed? 

Liz Gould 

There's a couple of practical things that people can do that it really quite simple. You know, the level of self awareness is number one, absolutely important. A lot of people talk about journaling, talk about sort of mindfulness, practice and reflection. I really like Martin seligmans three good things, and I often use it myself a couple of times a week, especially when I've had a really high delivery, busy kind of period.

But I also use it with my daughter, she's almost five. It's something that simple that it can be used by anyone across an age profile, but essentially to break it down for three good things, so the end of each day, reflecting on three good things that have happened for you during that day now that could be anything from I went for a walk at lunchtime to I've delivered that project on time and to budget, I finished writing the ministerial brief, I got that out before the deadline. So really reflecting on your achievements of the day, three good things that you've been involved with, or that have happened, or that you've contributed to for that day, and then one thing that you're going to focus on the next day.

What that allows for is that real self reflection of saying, actually, this is what I've done today. We know that that sense of personal achievement and that reflection around achievement orientation is a really important protective factor in terms of burnout but one thing that you're going to do tomorrow, one thing that you're going to focus on tomorrow, that's goal setting, so you're able to then go, Okay, well, this is my not just my to do list or the tick boxes that you have to this is my priority. This is what I'm going to focus on tomorrow, there's clarity in that, there's focus in that, there's attention in that,  and at the end of the next day, it can be your thing that you've achieved. And so it really just perpetuates this cycle. And why is that important? Because we know resilience is about your ability to bounce back from setbacks, and they have been in various shapes and forms every single day. So being able to reflect on what you have actually achieved, rather than focusing on your failures and the thing that you haven't really tunes yourself in to really building that growth mindset and building up your bank of resilience. 

Jo Rose

One of the most common benefits to building resilience in the workplace, is that it helps us handle pressure, meet deadlines, and navigate conflicts. 

We know that conflict is a common and often unavoidable aspect of working life. There are lots of reasons why conflict pops up: challenging co-workers, competing priorities or resources, and situations where you don’t feel you have the power to influence.

What’s the best way to handle conflict?  

Here’s Rob again: 

Rob Balmer 

When we talk about dealing with difficult people or difficult situations, the first thing that comes to my mind is, the earlier you deal with an issue, the better. The analogy I often give to people is any any problem or issue is a little bit like a party balloon that gets a bit of air in it. When that party balloon is little to get the air out of it, you just need to go. It's really quick. You know, it's it's fast, simple. It doesn't draw a lot of attention. It's not a big, dramatic thing that the longer you put it off and you don't address things, the party balloon blows up, and many times we see people trying to get the air out of a big balloon, right? And if you think about that, you really only got two options. One is to go, and it's very loud. It's a shock to the system. Every head turns in that direction, or you let it go, and it's just like, you know, spit flying everywhere. It's interfering with other people. And we've got HR getting involved and all sorts of things, dealing with little balloons is way easier than dealing with big balloons. And I would say, just from my experience, not only as a coach, but in my own career, and seeing people do this, we're too nice. When I say we're too nice, it's important to be nice, but we often don't address the little balloon issues because we don't want to offend, whereas I can tell you, it's a whole lot more offensive to someone when you're dealing with an issue that's really been going on for six months, and you're only now talking to me about this. You know that it's like, Why did on Earth, did you tell me that you had an issue back there? When you raise a negative issue, if you just go straight to the issue, right? I want to talk to you about this problem, naturally, you're going to get a defensive reaction, because it's like, well, hang on, a lot of people go, you know, you're picking on the one thing that's that's a problem. You're not acknowledging all of the other things that are going on that are probably going right. It's important to kind of have a balanced account here where you are acknowledging things that are going well, and you're acknowledging the intention that they might have to to be getting a positive outcome and doing the right thing, and then it'd say, so to help you get that better outcome, could I just make one observation that I noticed this, or, you know, you raise the issue, and therefore, again, it's a little balloon, but it's like a suggestion to help them get to their positive outcome. Rather than just going, you're doing this wrong, it does require a degree of courage to be able to front a situation and raise it right, if the person behaves badly in response to what you say, that's actually their issue.  

Jo Rose 

So you’ve worked up the courage to raise an issue with a challenging co-worker. What’s next? How do you actually have that conversation? 

Liz lists a few things you need to do to prepare when dealing with difficult people, here she is again.  

Liz Gould  

Who hasn't been in an organization or a job or a workplace where you had to have an interaction with someone who's difficult, who's resistant, who may be a bit Prickly, maybe just a bit of the energy or the vibe is off with that particular person. I mean, put your hand up. It's everyone. I don't know anyone who hasn't had that kind of interaction in the workplace, whether you've been in the workplace for a year or 50 years. But dealing with difficult people, it requires empathy, and it requires boundaries. 

So when I'm talking about empathy, what I mean there is managing your own curiosities and saying, Well, where is this person coming from? what do I need to understand about them? To see their point of view, try to understand their perspective. And even if you don't necessarily agree with it, try to understand it. The second part there is really around boundaries and making it very clear around what you're prepared to tolerate, knowing that from the beginning, I mean, lots of code of conducts will tell us what we can tolerate, but really understanding you know where your sense of comfort and safety is actually going to be. 

And a lot of people think that, okay, well, if I just need to have a difficult conversation with my manager, I need to have a difficult conversation with my colleague, I've just got to go in and have the conversation and use assertive communication technique. Use the I statements. I feel when this happens, I feel this, here's a fun fact. It's a little bit bigger than that. It's not just about having the difficult conversations.  

Jo Rose

As Liz explains, when someone is met with something that makes them feel uncomfortable, they are going to have one of four responses. We all know them: Fight, Flight, Freeze or Fawn.

 You'll get someone highly reactive and argumentative - they get ready to Fight. You're going to get someone who says, "Uh-huh, I’m not interested in this. I don't want to have this conversation." So they choose Flight. 

Then there are the people who Freeze and completely shut down, they don't want to get involved. They put their head in the sand, and say I’m not going to have anything to do with this. 

And finally you're going to get people who are going to backtrack and say oh, no, no, no, no, everything's OK. It's fine. What can I do to help? They're going to Fawn - they're trying to people please. 

I’m sure we can recognize ourselves in these types. The challenge is that none of these responses are necessarily productive in terms of moving the issue forward—they are all simply rooted in anxiety. So, how can we avoid this and prepare ourselves for these tricky conversations? 

Liz Gould  

So when we're talking about difficult conversations, it's not just about the preparation for the assertive communication using the I statements. It actually starts before that.  

What are you doing to actually manage your own emotional, psychological and physiological regulation?  

Because I don't know about you, but when I get a bit nervous and I have to have a difficult conversation, I notice my heart rate increase. I get a little bit jittery. My voice isn't as strong and as clear, and it says it's a bit wobbly and a bit pitchy. I find that my hands get a bit sweaty and I'm often quite fidgety. And there's a number of different other signs and symptoms as well. You will know yourself the best, but what that is a sign off is activation, and it means I need to calm down. 

Now when we're talking about anxiety, anxiety is a fear of loss of control. Anxiety often happens in situations where we perceive threat, like perhaps a difficult conversation, so it's really important that we actually pull ourselves back and have some prep time. And I'm often coaching people to say, Well, why are you going back to back to back to back meetings when you've got to have a difficult conversation between meeting a and c? What are you doing in terms of preparing yourself to have that difficult conversation? And how are you grounding yourself in calm and in control to minimize some of that anxiety so you can articulate in the way that you need to, in an assertive way, in an empathetic way, mindful of your own boundaries, mindful of their safety in their space as well. How are you going to do that without the preparation?

 So my advice in terms of managing difficult conversations is manage yourself. First look at how you're actually experiencing reacting and responding to something that you may be perceiving as quite difficult, challenging, a bit of a threat yourself, and do that work first, before you do the prep work around the conversation before you then engage in the conversation might sound like a bit of a long way around, but it will get the job done.

Jo Rose 

That brings us to the end of episode one. In this episode, we talked about how to embrace opportunities when they arise, and how to silence your inner critic. We spoke about the importance of learning from setbacks, and how to prepare yourself for difficult situations head on and get the air out of your small balloons.  

At IPAA NSW, we're all about helping you build a public service career you're proud of. Whether you love the job you're in or you’re eyeing that next big opportunity, mindset is key.

We know that change can be scary, but guess what? There's opportunity in every challenge, and with the right mindset, you're in the driver's seat of your career.

In our upcoming episodes, we'll bring you more insider tips, expert chats, and practical advice. Think of us as your personal career GPS, helping you navigate the challenges and changes of public service life.

IPAA Insiders is a production of IPAA NSW. Our Producer is Alessia Campagna, with mixing and sound design by Anthony Watson, our Executive Producers are Me, Jo Rose and Nicola Hardy. 

If there is anyone you know who might get something out of this episode, please share it with them.

If you want to ask our community a question, you can message me on LinkedIn. 

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