Episode #38. Lessons Learned with Anna Leibel
“If there wasn’t trust within teams prior to working remotely on scale, you can’t build that trust once the people have left the office.”
— Anna Leibel
Anna is UniSuper’s Chief Delivery and IT Officer. Since 2017 Anna has been leading the business through transformational change to deliver better value to members through efficient, scalable and modern processes and technology. Anna’s cross-industry career spans more than two decades, and she is renowned for her ability to blend strategy development and transformational change across technology, business practices and growth culture. In addition, she is a passionate advocate for women in STEM and leadership, participating in many speaking panels about these topics at business and industry forums. Anna is a board member with Ambulance Victoria and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
In this episode, Anna talks us through successfully implementing remote working on scale, as well as how this has impacted specifically on the security and tech functions of the business. Anna's board experience places her perfectly to discuss the impact of board diversity, and she also runs through the traits that lead to successfully cohesive teams. Anna shares her gems of wisdom that she imparts on graduates, as well as recommending some key knowledge for CISO's with direct reports.
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Time Stamps:
00:30 - Anna’s introduction and background
01:10 - The impact of remote working on teams
01:55 - “If there wasn’t trust there with the teams prior to working remotely on scale, you can’t build that trust once the people have left the office.” - Anna Leibel
04:30 - Have security and tech leaders and employees been impacted more by not having hallway conversations?
08:12 - Capability recognition in security
09:01 - Focusing on your security leader
10:34 - “We’re implementing a three-year strategy, we are two years into that. So Vijay makes it very easy for me to be able to understand where we’re at, what we’re doing and why we’re doing it, and then what is coming up next.” - Anna Leibel
12:40 - Key knowledge for CISO's with direct reports
14:13 - Traits of successful, cohesive teams
14:58 - “The foundation for me in any team, regardless of size, is actually the clarity of accountabilities.” - Anna Leibel
19:01 - The advice Anna gives to graduates
22:23 - The impact of board diversity on tech and cyber