Chief Executive, Primary Industries and Region (PIRSA), Michelle Edge arrived in her new role ‘right in thick of it’ as the COVID-19 pandemic response unfolded. This presented both a number of challenges and opportunities for her department, as Ms Edge hit the ground running to provide leadership and direction during this challenging time.

With a strong background in crisis management from her time and experience in New Zealand, dealing with an outbreak of tuberculosis and an earthquake disaster response, Ms Edge came to SA with a unique perspective and set of capabilities to respond to the challenges her department faced.

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges during this crisis period for Ms Edge and her department was monitoring and responding to how crisis and disaster situations affected their stakeholders. With the recent bushfires and then the subsequent pandemic, the health and wellbeing of the community was at the forefront of planning their response. The importance of business continuity, preparedness and identifying what needed to change and what needed to continue or adapt, was in key consideration during this time, and as we move forward to the recovery phase.

As a leader, Ms Edge faced many challenges, especially coming directly into a new role and team from interstate. Ms Edge highlighted the importance of communication with both her own people and across the industry during a time of uncertainty.

“Letting people know that what they were feeling, others were feeling”

Ms Edge highlights that COVID has brought new opportunities to build more empathetic and positive workplace cultures, which is a change she hopes to see persist in the new normal.

“COVID has brought out people’s natural abilities to be more tolerant and understanding of each other”.

As we move forward, Ms Edge shared that building the skills and capabilities of her department to remain resilient and to care for mental wellbeing will be a strong focus.

Above all, Ms Edge praised her department and teams for their ability to react adaptively to this crisis. The preparedness of her team to meet the challenges of different scenarios, such as bushfires, disease outbreaks and pandemics was vital in both the initial response to the pandemic and bushfires of 2020, and has reinforced “the value of preparedness exercises”. In the coming bush fire season, Ms Edge has put renewed focus on using the lessons, of what has ultimately been a very challenging year, to increase our bushfire preparedness and apply new learning from experience and the outcomes of the royal commission.

#ThankSAFarmers

Agriculture and farming have keenly felt the impact of COVID-19. Ms Edge and her department are calling for everyone to show their support towards our farmers, who are busy putting food on our tables, and join in the #ThankSAFarmers movement. To take part all you need to do is share your thankyou message to our farmers on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn with #ThankSAFarmers.

In this interview, Ms Edge answered the following questions…

• How to did it feel to be new to the State and the CE Role in PIRSA amidst a pandemic?
• How did the border closures feel to you on a personal level?
• What has been the biggest challenges for your agency during this crisis?
• What were some of the most important things you did to respond?
• Looking after each other will be an important part of how teams, workforces and communities get through the next few months, what advice would you give to those leading teams at the moment?
• How did you respond to leading a team that you had never worked with before?
• Communication has proven to be key during these times of uncertainty.  How have you worked with your leadership team to ensure information is shared in real time throughout the department, and the community?
• How do you equate the challenges of this pandemic with the scale of rebuilding [after the earthquakes] in New Zealand?
• What do you think we can capture to build a new normal?
• How has the lack of backpackers and seasonal workers impacted the farming industry?
• How has the situation changed for international and interstate exporters? What had to change here and what is still impacted?
• How prepared do you think your department was for this emergency? Did you already know how you would react?
• What are your key strategic focus areas for economic growth for South Australia?

Ready to expand your capabilities?

As Ms Edge mentions, building the resilience of you and your team, as well as honing your skills in communication and adaptive leadership is more important than ever. Explore the upcoming training and development for these skills areas below…

• Leading and Managing Change (face-to-face) – 15 October
• Leadership Communication Skills (online) – 29 October
• Emotional Intelligence and Beyond (online) – 13 November
• Maintaining Positive Focus in Changing Environments (face-to-face) – 17 November

Joining us virtually On the Couch Chief Executive, Environment Protection Authority (EPA), Tony Circelli, shared how this unique crisis situation called on his department to embrace different ways of providing service.

“The key thing is communication”

As highlighted by many public sector leaders in these sessions, Mr Circelli emphasised how vital communication is, both internally and externally, particularly during the early response to the pandemic. In these challenging circumstances, stakeholders and staff needed to know if services were continuing and what this would look like.

The health and wellbeing of both the EPA’s teams and customers are a big part of the culture at the EPA, Mr Circelli shared. From the initial stages of the pandemic, this mindset helped them recognise that everyone was going to respond differently to the changes brought about by working from home, distancing restrictions and impacts on businesses’ operations. From his department, there was a large effort to provide support to staff who needed it, especially younger employees or those entering the sector, who had not yet had the chance to form connections.

“The big cultural change to society, is that everyone has had to learn the technology”

As we now emerge into the recovery period, a key focus for Mr Circelli will be examining how we can embed the ‘new business as usual’ into what services will look like post-COVID, and how the delivery of those services may be changed for the better.

When asked what Mr Circelli and his department might do differently post COVID-19, he noted his enthusiasm for taking up new and existing technologies to save time and increase their ability to communicate. The new possibilities of working from home have changed the way recruitment and HR may work, where people in rural areas can access increased opportunities.

“Leadership is an area where you are focusing on change. It’s being prepared to change yourself. It’s being prepared to lead people through those changes”

Mr Circelli also shared his thoughts on important traits for leaders during this time of change. With all the new opportunities to shift the way things have been traditionally done, we can learn from Mr Circelli that now is the time to be exploring those new opportunities and being ready to take the leap.

During this Interview, Mr Circelli was asked the following questions…

1. Looking back at everything that has happened over the last 4 months, what has COVID-19 meant for your organisation?
2. What do you think the biggest challenges were?
3. Looking after each other will be an important part of how teams, workforces and communities get through the next few months, what have you done in the EPA to look after your staff?
4. What have you learnt about how you will do things differently?
5. What have your interactions been like the businesses you work with during COVID-19?
6. Is there a leadership tool, framework, or mantra that you use in times like this?
7. What is the approach of the EPA, toward those who breach regulations during COVID-19?
8. What are the big issues for environmental regulators over the next year or so?

Expand your learning with these professional development opportunities…

• Leading and Managing Change (face-to-face) – 15 October
• Leadership Communication Skills (online) – 29 October
• Emotional Intelligence and Beyond (online) – 13 November
• Maintaining Positive Focus in Changing Environments (face-to-face) – 17 November

If there was one positive to take from the impact of COVID-19, it was the marked decrease in emissions and pollution, as industry around the world ground to a halt. However, as these industries ramp back up into production scientists are observing a return to pre-COVID ways.

Many are calling on the pandemic as a wakeup call to further reduce our environmental impact, with some experts now fearing an increased focus on economic recovery will push environmental concerns to the back burner.

“How do you get that economic, environmental, and socials equation around sustainability working for us?” – Chief Executive, Environment Protection Authority SA, Tony Circelli

So what can COVID-19 teach us for the future?

• The behavior change barrier has been broken. We now know we can take big steps to do things differently and explore solutions that may have previously gone unconsidered.
• The workday commute may have changed forever. There are ways even individuals can reduce their reliance on fossil fuels by embracing new ways of working.
• A “see-saw” approach to economic growth and environmental impact may no longer be suitable. We need to search for ways to decouple our growth from fossil fuel emissions.
• And finally, if we do make change successfully, how can we maintain it without falling back into old patterns.

Where to from here?

As we continue into the recovery phase of COVID-19 there will undoubtedly be opportunities for policy makers around the world to tap into the experience of the pandemic. Many scientists continue to highlight environmental change as the major crisis for this century. The lessons we have learnt from the COVID-19 crisis will put us in good stead to use our new experience and knowledge to make big positive changes and make them stick.

Resources for this article…

https://www.science.org.au/curious/earth-environment/what-impact-will-covid-19-have-environment

https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/covid-19-is-an-opportunity-to-reset-our-environmental-future

https://singularityhub.com/2020/04/16/coronavirus-what-are-the-chances-well-change-our-behavior-in-the-aftermath/

https://sa.ipaa.org.au/events/virtual-on-the-couch-with-tony-circelli/

Expand your learning with IPAA SA professional development…

Leading and Managing Change (face-to-face) – 15 October

Building a Constructive Culture (online) – 16 October

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving (face-to-face) – 2 November

Positive Psychology PERMA+ – 5 November

Maintaining Positive Focus in Changing Environments (face-to-face) – 17 November

Erma Ranieri FIPAA, South Australia’s Commissioner for Public Sector Employment and IPAA SA President, joined IPAA ACT in the latest episode of their ‘Work with Purpose: A National Perspective’ podcast. In this interview Dr Gordon de Brouwer PSM FIPAA, IPAA National President, discussed the COVID-19 pandemic in South Australia.

“The clear message at the end of the day was that you keep talking to people”.

As highlighted by Commissioner Ranieri, while the pandemic presented a series of challenges it also showcased the real capability of the South Australian public sector.

“The innovation and resilience of the public sector were on display during this time, as they worked to support and collaborate with SA Health, SAPOL and other agencies to mobilise the sector to meet the unique needs of the pandemic. As the Mobilisation Coordinator, Commissioner Ranieri noted that this played a key role in the agile response to the pandemic.

“We have connected more than we have ever connected before”.

“COVID has shown what is possible within the public service”.

COVID-19 has also brought about a change to the existing paradigm for leadership and performance management in the workforce.  The Commissioner is encouraged to see great outcomes in flexible work arrangements which are “reshaping the workforce to be more adaptable and diverse”. Commissioner Ranieri’s office and IPAA SA will continue to focus on fostering the skills and capabilities leaders need to adapt to this rapid shift in the workplace.

The Commissioner also highlighted the importance of awareness of mental health and wellbeing and the materials available to help leaders and employees to manage the COVID-19 pandemic:

• a Manager Toolkit  has been released to assist leaders navigate the challenges of COVID-19
• a Mentally Healthy Workplaces Framework and Toolkit has been released to provide practical information and resources to support wellbeing strategies, and additional supporting guidance for the COVID-19 context.

The Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment continues to work with agencies to implement a peer support program and develop an online training program for new peer support officers to build on the existing skills of employees trained in mental health first aid.

The COVID-19 Mental Wellbeing Interview Series, also offers valuable new resources for those working in the public service, with advice and tips from experts in the field

LISTEN HERE

RESOURCES

Open Your World.sa.gov.au

VIDEOS

– COVID-19 Mental Wellbeing Interview Series with Forensic Psychologist, Luke Broomhall

– COVID-19 Mental Wellbeing Interview Series with Chief Psychiatrist, SA Health, Dr John Brayley

– Virtual on the Couch with Commissioner Erma Ranieri

– All Virtual on the Couch interviews