How the Y2K bug reset Opera House CEO Louise Herron's career
Dec 11, 2023
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Louise Herron, CEO of the Sydney Opera House, discusses managing stakeholders, morning routines, pivotal career moments, coping mechanisms for stress, and the importance of taking opportunities.
Playing the cello has given Louise Herron a sense of joy and independence, allowing her to feel in control of her own life.
Louise Herron emphasizes the importance of playing to one's strengths and being self-aware in order to find fulfillment and satisfaction in career choices.
Deep dives
Morning routine and playing the cello
Louise Herron, CEO of the Sydney Opera House, shares her morning routine and how she took up playing the cello as a way to reclaim her own identity outside of her demanding job. She wakes up at 6:10 am, rides her electric bike to the gym for a 45-minute workout, then heads home to make tea and orange juice. From 8 to 9 am, she plays the cello which she started learning four years ago. Playing the cello has given her a sense of joy and independence, allowing her to feel in control of her own life.
A pivotal moment in her career
Louise Herron reflects on a pivotal moment in her career when she realized that the work she was doing as a lawyer didn't have as much impact as she had thought. Standing on the Champs-Elysées at midnight on New Year's Eve 2000, she realized that she didn't want to spend her life doing something that didn't truly matter. This realization led her to leave her law firm and take on a new role as co-CEO of a Macquarie private investment billing company. This experience opened her eyes to the possibility of applying her skills and expertise in different domains.
The best piece of career advice
Louise Herron shares the best piece of career advice she received, which was to be true to herself. She learned this while working for an amazing mentor in a London law firm. Her mentor told her that she can only ever be the person she is and should embrace her own strengths and qualities. This advice resonated with her and she now applies it in her own leadership style and when mentoring others. Herron emphasizes the importance of playing to one's strengths and being self-aware in order to find fulfillment and satisfaction in career choices.
For our last episode of 2023, Louise Herron, the chief executive of the Sydney Opera House chats to Sally Patten about how a former boss responded when she said she wanted to be just like him, why she learns the cello and what she does when work gets stressful.