Mim Haysom is a respected change and transformation leader.
As the CMO and EGM for Brand & Marketing at Suncorp, Mim is one of the executives responsible for steering the insurance giant into a brave, new, customer centric world. She is no stranger to hard work.
It's this hard work ethic that piqued Emily Wilson's interest and provided the inroad to discuss how Mim manages the ever increasing workloads endemic to today's business environment, and what's really at stake:
Mim Haysom: If we're overloading people with workload, then they're not getting the thinking time to do things well. They're not getting the execution time to execute well. They're just not getting any head-space to think, 'how could I do things differently... or better?'
By overloading people, you end up with poorer productivity. You also end up with a disengaged and an unhappy workforce.
Emily Wilson: How do you keep a check on not asking too much from people?
Mim Haysom: Look, you know, to be honest with you I'm grappling with that at the moment. I think you've got to be really aware of the temperature of your team. One of the things I'm trying to get better at for my team at the moment, is saying, if we take on more and we can't put more resources against it...
What are we going to stop doing?
Because people do have a limit, they've got a ceiling. There are only so many hours in the day. I think this is something for all leaders to be really aware of and to keep a check-in with their teams.
So, when you spot resourcing challenges or stretch challenges, really step in and lean into that. Find a way to solve for that.
Because I think that one of the biggest challenges of leadership, in this current environment, is that we are all being asked to do more.
