Every now and then one of our former students writes or drops in for a chat and catches up up with their journey since graduating from the Avondale Business School. Recently one of our 2018 graduates, Velan Sormin sent us a lovely update, which she has given us permission to share so you. Congratulations to Velan, and thank you for dropping us a line, we wish you continued success and enjoyment.
Dear ABS Crew,
Greetings from Danone Indonesia!
I hope this email finds you well. It’s been awhile since the last time I promised Lisa to share updates of my career journey. I just got back from work when it pops out of my mind 😊
Early August, I started my journey as Danone’s Management Trainee (MT). I am placed in the Digital Marketing Team (Thank goodness I took the e-marketing unit in uni!) for one of their Specialised Nutrition brands; Bebelac. Being an MT has been challenging with many ups and downs, due to the big expectations they placed on MTs. However, along with the challenges, comes great opportunities to learn and grow.
Last week, I have officially passed my first-term review, where I shared the results of my project: Search Engine Optimization & Search Engine Marketing. It involves creating strategy to improve brand’s presence in search and optimizing the Consumer Value Journey by focusing on the micro-moments. The review went really well with no follow up questions from the panel, as they said it's crystal clear! Apart from that project, I have also handled several other things, such as e-Commerce Consumer Activation, Brand Website Revamp, and the most current one is a bundling package project with PZ Cussons.
Going through this journey, I came to a conclusion that what I gained from Avondale does create a really strong base of knowledge and understanding, which supports my profession. I am a real-life proof of how amazing Avondale Business School has shaped me into a well-rounded fresh graduate!
Big shout out to the ABS Crew that has contributed to my growth during Uni days: Lisa, Warrick, Peter, David, and Diane! You are all AMAZING! ✨
Finally, I hope that ABS continue to grow and produce even better fresh graduates moving forward.
God bless!
Sincerely,
Velan Sormin
Digital Marketing Bebelac
I once had a sign on my wall that said “Money can’t buy friends, but it can purchase a better class of enemy”. This is trite and silly, but we are finding that money can’t buy everything. A recent article in the online version of In The Black by Angie Cui (read it here) notes that it is unlikely employers will be giving out pay rises anytime soon, and even if they did, pay rises are not necessarily the best way to retain key staff.
So what are the other methods of being able to keep key staff other than cash, well the article offers 4 alternatives that are well worth exploring further. While the detail is in the article, the summary is:
There are some great ideas in amongst these, and organisations are well advised to give thought to them if they want to keep their best staff.
Dr Warrick Long, Senior Lecturer and Leadership Postgraduate Studies Coordinator.
We all know leadership is a big deal, and there is so much written about it, including by me. A person could get very confused trying to follow all the latest fads and ideas about how to be a great leader. And I’m about to share another. But this one I feel is quite different as it deals with a very foundational aspect of great leadership that you can begin putting into practice from the first day of your career. The big idea? It is good followership.
There is a growing amount of writings on followership, and it can be distilled into a simple process that involves ensuring you follow your leader in a supportive and strategic way. A recent article by Augusto Giacoman in the strategy+business online newsletter (read it here) makes the point that followership is not blindly following orders, but is a requirement to becoming a truly great leader.
In fact, the article advocates very strongly that being a good follower involves both critical thinking and enthusiastic participation. Giacoman proposes three practices that will enhance your followership, and prepare you for great leadership. These are noted in very simple form below, but the article is well worth the read to get the full picture of what these practices involve:
1. Know your leader’s comfort zone. This involves understanding how external conditions effect your boss, and pay attention to what irritates them so you can avoid sparking negative emotions.
2. Stay within the comfort zone. It goes without saying, that you need to stay within the comfort zone of your leader.
3. Work to expand the comfort zone. Where you are willing to do the work, anticipate their needs, and willingly shoulder new responsibilities, you can expand the comfort zone of your boss, and demonstrate your readiness to take on more leadership roles.
It is also important to note that leadership and followership are not separate, but rather part of an inseparable system. You are never too far along the chain of command to be a good follower.
Like it or not, you are going to face criticism at different times throughout your professional career. You have the choice of sulking and complaining, or taking a more positive approach. And that is the suggestion of Josh Womack in a quick-read article for fast company (find it here).
In his article, Womack draws on his professional network to give us 5 tips on how to get more comfortable with criticism. The full article is quick to read and has more detail, but a quick summary of the 5 tips follows:
So give this a try next time you face criticism, and see if you can turn the negative into a positive.
Dr Warrick Long, Senior Lecturer and
Postgraduate Leadership Studies Coordinator
“Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, your worst enemy already lives inside you: your ego.” So begins Ryan Holiday in his excellent little book Ego is the Enemy: The Fight to Master Our Greatest Opponent (2016, Profile Books) about living your best life
Holiday makes no apology for demonstrating that we are our own worst enemy, and that by mastering our ego, we can be better humans – including being much more productive. The author comes from a strong industry background of strategy and ideas, and has seen some of the most spectacular business collapses up close and personal. The book is structured around Holiday’s philosophy of beating ego by being:
Drawing on a huge collection of modern and ancient examples, Holiday does provide a compelling case with very practical implications. It is a very well organised and written book which is easy to read. It is highly recommended for people who are aspiring to leadership, and for existing leaders who are willing to take an honest look at themselves.
Reviewed by Dr Warrick Long, Senior Lecturer and Leadership Postgraduate Studies Coordinator, Avondale Business School
Suck it up princess! That was the advice I received early in my career regarding dealing with any emotional problems at work. Thankfully attitudes have changed significantly since then, and continue to do so.
In a recent article Harvey Deutschendorf (read it here) notes that Millennials are much more likely than boomers to be engaged with therapy and self-improvement processes, and workplaces need to adapt to this. To assist, Deutschendorf provides a list of 7 self-care habits that we can develop at work. In summary these are:
The article expands on each of these points, and is well worth the read. And remember to take care of yourself.
Dr Warrick Long, Senior Lecturer and
Leadership Postgraduate Studies Coordinator.
The Avondale Business School is fortunate to work alongside a number of key business partners. With the growth in work integrated learning opportunities for students, Internship and project-based opportunities for students have been welcomed by ABS.
In 2020 we have already linked a number of our students to Internships with both our Adventist key business partners, as well as other entities. It is highly likely this year we will see Internships, individual student projects, as well as class projects, being undertaken by our students, providing them real life learning opportunities. For these students, the opportunity to work on such projects allows the ability to integrate their learnings from their business course with its practical application in a workplace. This is one way that we at ABS believe we are meaningfully preparing our students to be work ready when they complete their studies.
Thank you to those business partners who are considering their needs, and who are identifying opportunities where such students may be providing benefit to their entities. If ABS are not currently working with you, but this may be of interest to you, we would be happy to talk to you about the opportunities this may present your business.
Dr Peter Williams, Senior Lecturer and
Course Convenor for the Bachelor of Business
2020 has already seen 2 papers be presented at the Sydney International Business Research conference held at the University of Notre Dame campus in the Sydney CBD, for further information the link is provided http://www.sydney-conference.com.au/. The papers were a reflection on research conducted throughout 2019.
The first paper was: “Informal Communities of Practice in Faith Based Higher Education Institutions: A study of the “Muliebrous” Effect (ME)” by Associate Professor Lisa Barnes*, Professor Maria Northcote, Dr Carolyn Rickett, Lynette Lounsbury, Professor Lily Arasaratnam-Smith, Kira-Leigh Josey & Noelle Obers from Avondale University College, *Conjoint University of Newcastle, Alphacrucis College & Rhodes University. The thematic map presented is shown right.
The second paper was presented was “Remote Business Hubs embedded in Higher Education Business Institutions: Unique Stakeholder Engagement Opportunities”, Author(s): Lisa Barnes, Warrick Long, Peter Williams, David Wilson, Erin Poulton and Velan Sormin, Avondale University College, Australia. Great way to start the academic year!
Associate Professor Lisa Barnes, Head of Avondale Business School
Renovating or building a new office? STOP!! Before you go on with your project, you need to read Nicola Gillen’s book Future Office: Next-Generation Workplace Design (2019, RIBA). This book will change the way you think about office design. While you may still end up where you thought you would, at the very least you will have gone through a robust process to ensure that is the best design for your workplace, not just now, but well into the future as well.
This book is excellently written in a very easy and logical sequence. It starts with a bit of history regarding how office design has evolved, and moves through into what we can be expecting 40 years from now. There is a very thorough design process that includes how to work with architects and how to implement the change process.
Gillen draws on her own architectural experience as well as other leaders in the built environment to challenge our established thinking on office design, to instead design for what the people doing the work actually need, and will need into the future. This book has changed the way I think about office design, pushing me to think outside my comfort zone to recognise the importance that “one size does not fit all”.
A highly recommended read, and one I would love to hear your feedback on. The Booktopia link is here – Future Office
Reviewed by Dr Warrick Long, Senior Lecturer and
Leadership Post graduate Studies Coordinator
Being on a Board of Directors can be fun, challenging and rewarding. It can also be very scary at times. There is much written about what to do when you are on a Board, but not so much about how to get onto a board. HBR Online have a great article entitle ‘Are your ready to serve on a Board’ (read it here). The article proposes 5 key areas that aspirants need to develop in to ensure they have the right intelligence (skill)s. The full article has much more detail, including how to develop that skills, but following is a quick summary of the 5 key types of intelligence:
As mentioned earlier, the article provides some good steps on how to develop in each of these intelligence areas, but overall, seeking the advice of experienced colleagues is a good start. And don’t forget, people won’t know you are interested unless you express your desire to be considered at this level.
Dr Warrick Long, Senior Lecturer and
Postgraduate Leadership Studies Coordinator
