Thank you for coming back for part 2!

Keep reading to learn more about Lynne’s faith and how she combines a busy homelife with business…

You are a follower of Jesus, does your faith play a part in your business life?

Absolutely. If you have found faith, I believe it should permeate everything you are and do – in a natural, beautiful, engaging way – not in a pushy, obnoxious way. A fundamental part of faith in God is ‘doing to others what you’d have them do to you’.

In business this means scrupulous honesty, professionalism, integrity, quality and service.  Another fundamental part of faith is having a relationship with God and involving him in everything – big or small. I pray for my work all the time – for projects and people, for problems and goals and joys (with thanks!). I pray God uses me through my work and that it never becomes an ‘idol’ in my life (something I value more than his will). I seek and receive God’s direction. Sometimes a couple of us at work get together and pray – I enjoy that. A friend also painted me a beautiful piece of art for my office wall – ‘Wisdom’. It’s a colourful tree of life, with lush fruit, sparkling jewels, a dove and a book – and can be a talking piece for visitors. I love it and it’s a constant, humbling reminder that I walk by grace.

You are not only a Director and Chair at Access Economics, but you were involved in last year’s 2020 Summit, you’re a spokesperson for the ABC and a reviewer for the Medical Journal of Australia. You are an active member of a number of not-for-profit organisations, as well as having church commitments, four kids and a very busy husband…how do you fit it all in? How do you achieve balance in your busy life? Where do you get the energy to keep all of these things happening?

This is a FAQ! I think I was blessed in starting my family fairly young – it taught me to be efficient! Here are some efficiency tips I practise (they may not be for everyone).

• Organisation and prioritisation: Set up systems to manage things, especially your time. I love lists, rosters and Microsoft Outlook!
• Don’t do just one thing if you can do two or more at the same time.
• Don’t procrastinate – just do it (girlfriend ).
• Do something hard every day. Soon you can stretch a lot further.
• Strategically outsource, including teaching your kids to help out with the household tasks.
• Plan to have balance. Schedule in the things you want to do (be realistic!) including special times, acts of service in your community, fun and togetherness, and keep them sacred.
• Like what you have (even if you don’t have what you like always). Enjoy what you do. I enjoy my church and not-for-profit activities – the latter overlap my professional interests. I also enjoy preparing food and even folding the washing! Joy is a choice and joy brings strength (=energy).

What strategies do you employ to deal with the inevitable stresses that come your way? Do you separate work and home life?

I like to always have my PDA with me so I can check email (even on holiday) and I have a laptop at home that synchronises with work, so my work and home environments are not separate. That’s how I like it, but I know other women and men who hate that – when they leave work, they want to leave work. I actually find it is less stressful to me to be able to respond to work issues as appropriate when I’m away from work, rather than coming back to a mountain.  But it’s important then to enforce boundaries, and having a lot of non-work things in your life that you love doing prevents work from dominating. I’m fortunate in that in my job I am able to flexibly take time off during business hours to go to children’s events, appointments and also do non-work things, ensuring that I still get my work tasks done too.

I see the process as a blend, not a juggle. I think it’s important to let the kids know if I have a crunch point at work, and to mitigate by planning ahead so they don’t feel deprived – also by filling up their emotional tanks before and after with lots of quality time, cuddles, words of affirmation (whichever is their love language).  That said, no-one is superwoman and sometimes I have to manage overly high expectations from work, family, others and (yes) myself.

What do you do to feed your soul and nurture yourself away from the business arena?

OK this is a long list! I like to take time out – ‘snack’ time out, ‘meal’ time out, and ‘feast’ time out. It’s physical, emotional and spiritual renewal time.

Snack time out might be driving to work singing and praying. Meal time out might be reading The Message with my husband in bed, going to church or going for a walk around the lake together. I run a lot in the mornings, and I like the outdoors – especially hiking, skiing and climbing mountains, and the beach and our pool in the summer with the family (I love water). We go on great holidays and learn about far-flung places, and those are ‘feast’ times out.

I find music very nurturing, listening to others’ music, playing violin/piano, and occasionally writing songs. I enjoy also painting and various types of art (my first business, actually, was making ceramics, when I was in primary school).  I like growing things in my garden, and sharing meals and wine and good conversations with friends and family. I like movies and reading and dancing and I make conscious decisions to really sense things – to smell, touch, taste, listen and look. To pamper myself during hormonal/stressful times, I schedule a spa bath, a hair appointment, the occasional massage or pedicure, or a purchase from EziBuy.

But a real ‘tanking up’ for me is watching the sun rise and set (God’s daily show) or reflecting with him on the different moods of the sky and seasons of the landscape – particularly the colours of natural beauty.

And, this may sound odd, I think the best form of nurturing for me is making a difference in others’ lives – which is why I do what I do at work and home and in non-profit and other activities. So they nurture me too, as well as keeping me busy!

What do you want to be remembered for?

One of my favourite songs is Nicole Nordeman’s “Legacy”. It goes: ‘I want to leave a legacy, how will they remember me? Did I choose to love? Did I point to you enough to leave a mark on things? I want to leave an offering – a child of mercy and grace who blessed your name, unapologetically.” That’s me and, to be really honest, I don’t care if I am remembered or not on earth. I figure I have an audience of One, and when I die then what I long for is my Father’s arms and: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’. I hope people can be blessed by my life and I can help others to find life.

My father died when I was a child and I don’t remember much of his funeral, but at my mother’s funeral, when I was a young adult, I was amazed by all the people who had been deeply touched by her life. She had chosen her own funeral songs and the last hymn was ‘How great thou art’. I will never forget how the last verse was sung: “When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation, and take me home – what joy shall fill my heart; then I shall bow, in humble adoration, and there proclaim: ‘my God how great thou art’.” It was triumphant, it was a celebration; the roof nearly came off that flower-filled church.

That’s how I want to die, and that is how I want to live. It is not about me. It’s about Someone much more important.

=========================

Thanks for sharing so candidly Lynne! I really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk to me so that I could share you with my readers.

You can connect with Lynne via her Facebook page, or by dropping a comment for her here.

I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine. She’s the calibre of woman that I aspire to be.

Our husbands have known each other for about 20 years (they were Army Reservists together), but Lynne and I have really only known each other for a couple of years. She’s the kind of person that puts you at ease from the first moment you meet, and you feel as though you’ve been friends for ages. I love it when that happens.

Lynne is the type of role model that our world is crying out for, so I thought I’d share her with you . She’s an award winning business woman, she’s a dedicated mother and loving wife. She’s a devoted follower of Jesus and gives freely of her time and skills to not-for-profit organisations. She writes songs and leads worship. She finds time to follow her dreams. She’s a leader and a beautiful woman, inside and out.

Lynne was generous enough to answer some interview questions via email a little while ago, and I will be sharing her responses with you over the next couple of days.

Allow me to introduce to you…Mrs Lynne Pezzullo.

Lynne at the Telstra Business Women’s Awards

You recently won the Telstra ACT Business Woman of the Year award for your work as a Director of Access Economics in Canberra. What is it about the way you do business that makes you such a strong role model for ACT business women?

The Telstra awards recognise women who have excelled in their field, innovated, taken risks, and built a high-growth, diversified and successful business that contributes to Australian society. I’m passionate about good, equitable health outcomes, and aim to help achieve that through my health economics business, which is something I decided to do after ten years working in international economics for government. It’s still quite novel for women to achieve business success, public profile and influence, particularly in a highly technical, male-dominated sphere like economics consulting. Also, recently my business went global, so now I have the opportunity to make a difference overseas, in areas like HIV prevention and the eradication of preventable blindness. I think role models are people who inspire others through what they do and who they are, so hopefully I can do that – inspire and encourage others to make a difference in the world through their work, among other things.

You are the only female director on the board of Access Economics…have you found it difficult being a woman in your field? What challenges have you faced? What advice would you give to young women starting out in business (I guess it isn’t restricted to young women is it?)?

When I worked in the public sector in the 1990s, there was little or no flexibility to work part-time, work from home or work non-standard hours. Meetings were scheduled at 5pm, when I had to leave to pick up my son from childcare. At one international meeting, a foreign delegate would only meet my male junior, because I was a woman. In former workplaces, there were sometimes ‘girlie’ jokes, ‘girlie’ entertainment and ‘girlie’ posters, and I experienced inappropriate behaviour on a few occasions. Women can be treated differently – excluded or overlooked – and are not well represented in senior positions, sometimes not represented at all. There were few senior women at Access Economics when I started, and no maternity leave policy, but the culture was much more flexible than in the public service – a key to AE’s success. My husband has challenging work too, but I’ve borne the brunt of household and childrearing tasks. None of our four children slept regularly through the night till they were one, and I breastfed them, so sometimes I was pretty tired (we don’t have family in Canberra). I’d advise young women to try to find a workplace that genuinely supports flexible work practices. Accept it will be hard sometimes – that’s ok, dream big and go the distance. It’s worth the sacrifices when you’re standing on that glass ceiling and putting out a hand to help some other women up!

What’s the best piece of leadership advice you have ever received?

I don’t think I ever received any ‘leadership advice’ per se! My mum was a great inspiration in my life, and encouraged me that whatever I did, to work hard at it and pursue excellence. Mentors (and experience) over the years taught me a few things about leadership, and here’s my ‘top five’.

1. Some leaders are ‘out on their own’ – they may be right, but they can be bossy and arrogant; people follow them because they have to, not because they want to. Other leaders are just consensus-brokers, going with the majority – they’re popular, but spineless. The best leaders are not afraid to be different, but they listen carefully and are appealing – people choose to follow them, because they are inspirational, offer insightful perspectives and mentor others to be leaders too.
2. Good leaders treat other people well, even when they have to make tough calls. They communicate clearly and respectfully, with warmth and empathy. They cultivate genuine closeness – not claustrophobic, but interdependent. Their teams are like family – they can celebrate together, cry together and have fun together. They share a common purpose, and complement each other in ways that get all parts of a job done well.
3. Good leaders make decisions quickly once they have assimilated the necessary information. They evaluate and learn from their mistakes and their successes. They take time to reflect and plan.
4. Good leaders establish and protect their boundaries, so they don’t burn out. They are not hesitant to charge what they are worth, and they don’t feel guilty saying ‘no’ to things that are outside what they have chosen to do. They are also generous with things (including voluntary and pro bono things) that are within their boundaries.
5. Good leaders set their gaze firmly on their goals, and then tenaciously but flexibly work their way towards them. They don’t get distracted and don’t stop till they arrive.

====================================

Please come back tomorrow for the rest of the interview with Lynne

Do you agree or disagree with Lynne’s top 5 leadership tips?

At the suggestion of his teacher, Shel has joined the big wide blogosphere….please pop on over and make him feel welcome! I am so proud!

www.sheldongeorge.wordpress.com

What do you think…is this a good thing for a 9 year old to be doing?

I love it when the boys cook! They are getting really good at cracking eggs! They were arguing about who was get to lick the bowl…so I made them build a batch each
Yum!
(this is the first post sent from my iPhone. Wahoo!)

I am the proud owner of a shiney new iPhone (even though I said I’d never get one..usability and Twitter won me over). The problem is that it’s not working like it’s supposed to. The good thing is that it’s not a problem with the phone. My problem lies with my mobile carrier. Virgin Mobile Australia. You see, I ordered the phone last Wednesday, and received it within two days…excellent service so far. I expected to charge it, activate it and I’d be right (speaking from experience, I’ve seen it done). But that’s not what happened. I contacted Virgin the following morning and was told that I’d need to wait 24-48 hours for my previous plan to be changed over to the new data plan. I wasn’t happy, but what could I do? I put up with only having Net access when I was in Wi-Fi range, and called again first thing monday morning. Again I was told … 24-48 hours, your service will be switched on and someone will contact you. I was willing to show a little more grace, so I waited…still no one called and my data plan still wasn’t operational. This morning I called for the third time and spoke to two different people. and for the third and fourth times I was told … wait another 24-48 hours! It has been a week since I ordered my phone and verbally agreed to the contract for the data plan, and yet I still get told to wait for a phone call, with no explanation of why or how long it will take for the data plan to be set up!!!!

I have been a Virgin devotee in a number of areas for many years, faithfully choosing their services over traditional, established providers, because they offered great service with a quirky twist that appealed to my inner rebel. I have always been very impressed and pleased with their service. This experience however, has left a very bad taste in my mouth. I am extremely disappointed with the lack of adequate communication as well as the delay in delivering the services they promised.

I hope this gets sorted out soon….next stop … the Ombudsman.

signed…Waiting by the phone