HGI News and Editorial

I have thoroughly enjoyed the move.  Transitioning from a large and complex bureaucracy to a small and self-reliant team has not been as challenging as I had thought it might be – though perhaps the team may have other views about that!  My two months at HGI have reinforced for me just how much time we as public servants (by which here I mean all those of us who work in public sector organisations) spend in activity which is tangential to our principal purposes.  That’s not to say that these things are unimportant – but it is always difficult to strike the right balance between meeting the needs of our clients and the demands that all large organisations create within themselves.  Of course, I have had to learn a few new tricks and I have been very grateful to all the HGI staff for welcoming me so well and helping me to learn the ropes. 

I have especially enjoyed the opportunity to meet and interact with many of our clients and associates.  Being facilitator for a brand new Learning Set and one near-new set was a real pleasure.  (I hope the set members thought so too.)  As a set member for four or five years myself, I already knew well how powerful Set meetings can be in solving problems, developing strategies and in making long-lasting friendships. 

In HGI we have spent some time recently consulting with a number of Set members about consolidation and development of new sets.  We are very conscious of the need to assure set members that they will have sufficient numbers in attendance at each meeting (recognising that inevitably there will be one or two who are unable to attend at the last minute).  And as people move around the jurisdictions into new roles we also need to ensure they are placed in Sets that are most appropriate to their circumstances.  We want to enhance the range of Set members’ roles and work challenges that can be the subject of discussion.

With an Australian federal and a number of state elections to be held this year and the budget consequences of the measures taken in response to the global financial crisis, mean that there will be plenty of challenging topics for discussion and a testing time for us all.  There will be no shortage of issues for Learning Sets!

We are delighted to have been engaged by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to undertake a coaching assignment with the CASA senior  executive team.  As frequent flyers ourselves, we feel we have a personal stake in this playing a very small part in the work of this incredibly important organisation!  The Government’s recent National Aviation Policy White Paper will have an impact on CASA and will clearly be important background to our assignment here.

Finally, may I take this opportunity to send all readers of HGI Insight my own best wishes for 2010?  I hope you and your families enjoy a professionally and personally fulfilling year.