In honour of International Women’s Day 2023 – and given that one of International Women’s Day’s official Missions this year is to celebrate women forging change – we spotlight some of the incredible female leaders within The Push-Up Challenge, Australia’s biggest mental health and fitness event. Scroll on to meet the formidable cohort of women currently standing at the helm of the #pushforbetter mental health.
HEATHER MCINTYRE, Non-Executive Director at The Push-Up Challenge
HEATHER MCINTYRE, Non-Executive Director at The Push-Up Challenge
How important is it to ensure women are represented in decision-making within organisations?
Gender diversity and inclusion are hugely important for the success of an organisation; all the more so where those organisations are working to achieve a mission or cause. A diversity of opinions, skill sets and approaches at the decision-making table helps organisations to take charge of achieving their objectives effectively and sustainably, and I believe has contributed to the success of The Push- Up Challenge.
As a leader, how do you advocate for a mentally healthy workplace culture?
There are so many aspects of ensuring a mentally healthy workplace culture. A key consideration for me is treating every person with courtesy and respect, always. This foundation helps to ensure a mentally healthy workplace culture, as even in times of pressure or stress, people feel respected and valued, and can work together and help each other, avoiding toxicity.
What strategies would you encourage women to employ to grow their influence within their organisation?
Where you can, take opportunities to grow your skills and networks, and don’t be shy to put yourself forward to do so. Whilst obviously very important, simply working hard isn’t always enough to get noticed or to be considered for opportunities. It may not come naturally, but sometimes you need to be assertive and advocate for yourself, and over time this becomes easier as your confidence and experience grow.
DANA SAWKA, Communications and Brand Manager at The Push-Up Challenge
How important is it to ensure women are represented in decision-making within organisations?
Diversity in as many senses possible in decision making is key. Diversity in thinkers, experience and backgrounds. That’s where it counts. Every single person can bring something different to the table, it’s just about finding the right balance of diverse people who are strategically aligned, yet can respectfully challenge the status quo, views of others, and most importantly, their own.
As a leader, how do you advocate for a mentally healthy workplace culture?
There are two things at play here for senior leaders. Understanding and ensuring there’s an adequate formal framework in place to manage mental health as it continues to be an important part of workplace health and safety, both legislatively and culturally. Then shaping this framework into workplace culture from the top down. I make a point of highlighting workplace culture across the board at our leadership meetings, and I pay close attention to those around me in the office. Behaviours, comments, body language, performance. My observations prompt discussion around positive ways we can support the team or things we need to be mindful of as a leadership team. It’s also what triggers me to action initiatives to those in my team if I sense it’s needed. These might be little things, but the little things go a long way in building trust and a mentally healthy workplace culture.
What strategies would you encourage women to employ to grow their influence within their organisation?
The most important strategy in my view is to be selective about the jobs you take, the organisations you work at, and the team you work with. Do your research about the organisation and the people, who your leader might be, the networks you can be exposed to, ask questions about culture, professional development, and an organisation’s values at interview so you understand if you’re aligned. If you have a supportive leader and team, they will allow your work to be recognised and shine at all levels of the organisation. It’s in this kind of space you will feel confident, empowered and your influence will have an opportunity to grow.
EMMA FITZSIMONS, Partnerships & Corporate Engagement Manager at The Push-Up Challenge
How important is it to ensure women are represented in decision-making within organisations?
It’s remiss of any business in 2023 to ignore the fact that more than half the population is female. All business decision-making MUST include women. Not only gender diversity, I do think it’s all important for all facets of the diverse society we all live in to have representation within business decision-making. It’s imperative to the systematic evolution required for modern business to thrive into the future and for everyone to flourish within your organisation.
As a leader, how do you advocate for a mentally healthy workplace culture?
I encourage others to show yourself the compassion you naturally show others. You only have 100% in your tank. That’s it. For everything. You can’t give 100% every day. You certainly can’t give 100% every day to work and expect to still have energy for your friends, family, hobbies, exercise etc. If you continue to treat yourself as though you have a never-ending tank, your energy stores won’t just deplete, they’ll go into deficit and you will crash and burnout. Think about your day, week and month and goals ahead with compassion and care. Then expend your energy accordingly, giving priority to investing into what energises you in return.
What strategies would you encourage women to employ to grow their influence within their organisation?
If you have the capacity, I recommend becoming more visible outside of your core team in a meaningful way which will not only raise your profile and help with career development, but it will also have positive business impact. Examples could be joining a key project group (in an area of interest or with a leader/mentor you admire), culture change or wellbeing committee within your sector or organisation. I believe learning from your peers is invaluable in gaining trust and trust is invaluable to growing influence. Therefore, going down this path or similar will give you the opportunity to meet/work alongside with different people in your organisation who you can learn from and who will learn from you in return. I recommend sharing any plans with your immediate line manager too, a good manager will always want to support your development if they have the capacity to do so.
AMBERLEE NICHOLAS, Mental Health Promotion Manager at The Push-Up Challenge
How important is it to ensure women are represented in decision-making within organisations?
If women are part of your target audience, then women should be included in the decision-making! Having a diverse range of views, experiences and perspectives will ultimately result in better decisions and better outcomes.
As a leader, how do you advocate for a mentally healthy workplace culture?
The evidence shows if people are happy and healthy at work, productivity will increase — so it makes human and economic sense to create a mentally healthy workplace. Promote the benefits and offer practical, evidenced-based strategies for your workplace to adopt.
What strategies would you encourage women to employ to grow their influence within their organisation?
First, take the time to do a leadership course. In all likelihood, it will reinforce what you have learnt naturally, and will allow you to reflect on your leadership style and continually improve your approach. Secondly, celebrate achievements! As humans we seem to have a natural tendency to point out when something could be improved, but we’re not as good at celebrating when things go right! Celebrate and share your own achievements. Whilst it’s sometimes hard to do, to grow your influence, you need to be your own cheerleader. You can celebrate others too – recognise when a colleague has excelled at something, and make sure they are recognised for their efforts. This will create a mentally healthy culture in your workplace and inspire future success.
SONI PIETRO, Operations Lead at The Push-Up Challenge
How important is it to ensure women are represented in decision-making within organisations?
Hearing all voices is critically important. Loads of evidence shows the benefits of having women at the decision-making table; it creates more collaborative teams, improves outcomes, establishes holistic and often unconventional solutions. Women can often bring increased emotional intelligence, leading to new perspectives, and the ability to foresee issues and challenges that could heavily influence the impact and acceptance of the decision. As 50% of the population, female representation is critical in terms of offering a comprehensive decision-making process that is inclusive of a range of views.
As a leader, how do you advocate for a mentally healthy workplace culture?
I feel super passionate about this one! Community services and the health sector in general tend to attract people who want to make a positive difference in the world. What I’ve seen happen is that so much attention is placed on supporting others, at the expense of one’s own needs. I’ve become increasingly enthusiastic about encouraging teams to practise what they preach. We can do our best work when we look after ourselves. I think this needs to come from a combination of personal responsibility for our own wellness and boundaries, as well as modelling from our leaders and managers.
What strategies would you encourage women to employ to grow their influence within their organisation?
I feel grateful to be working in an age where there are new types of leadership emerging. Rather than needing to ‘man up’ to get a seat at the table; empathetic, empowering ways of leadership are showing a new way forward across industries. The ‘imposter syndrome’ seems to plague women more than men in the workplace, and recognition of this in oneself can be a good first step. Find other people who inspire you, and appreciate that as humans sharing a human experience; we can find commonality and learnings from everyone we meet. Seek out communities and teams where people are empowered and celebrated for showing up in their authentic selves.
ROMINA FAVERO, Public Relations Director at The Push-Up Challenge
How important is it to ensure women are represented in decision-making within organisations?
SO important! Women can do everything men can do, and often we bring a different perspective to the table than our male counterparts. Gender parity and diversity is crucial in leadership so every member of an organisation is represented in decision-making.
As a leader, how do you advocate for a mentally healthy workplace culture?
I try to encourage honesty and openness in the workplace as best I can. I share insights into my own life and struggles when they present in the hope that my colleagues feel that they too can share when they’re having a bad day. People need to feel supported to take a break or time off when they need it, and that they can ask for help when things get busy or intense!
What strategies would you encourage women to employ to grow their influence within their organisation?
In my experience, women can be really modest about their achievements in the workplace. To make people recognise all your hard work, you need to make noise about it! Make sure the organisation knows about all your big wins and that your managers know about all the small ones. I’ve learnt that only way to be heard is to speak up and celebrate your achievements.
