EP#5: Making good decisions in a time of information overload – with Frances Adamson

In our social media driven world, information is available from all corners of the globe 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

On this week’s episode of Work with Purpose David Pembroke and our first co-host, IPAA’s Future Leader’s Forum chair, Holly Noble, ask Frances Adamson, the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, how she makes decisions when coping with information overload. How does she keep her team motivated and focused as she works to provide the best possible advice to Foreign Minister and Prime Minister.

Frances is an accomplished public servant, a South Australian and former captain of boats at the Adelaide University Rowing Club. She joined the Australian Public Service in 1985. She has served twice in the United Kingdom, the second time as deputy high commissioner as well as in Asia on post in both Taipei and Hong Kong. Between 2011 and 2015, she served as Australia’s ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, the first woman appointed to that role, and she was also the first woman appointed as Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Frances was also foreign policy advisor to the former Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull.

Discussed in this episode:

• Reflection on the COVID period
• The challenges of getting Australians home
• Government communication through social media
• The change in her department and their routine
• What is the right leadership style during a crisis
• What does recovery look like
• Adjustments future leaders need to make
• Becoming resilient through personal reflection

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