This one time I led Tasmanian Community Programs at Australian Red Cross

paul initiated change for fourteen weeks, four days and forty seven minutes at Australian Red Cross in early 2024

Across my two-decade career in the community services I had worked beside Australian Red Cross (ARC) on countless occasions and had always admired the work they performed in our community, particularly in times of localised emergencies. I was aware of their origin story and their proud history internationally. I was conscious of their presence in Tasmania and Australia bush fire and flood emergencies, and performed detailed work with the Tasmanian Branch on community development activities in the children and family space. When the opportunity arose to contribute to the movement I jumped at the chance.

I accepted a 12-month contract at ARC in Tasmania in December 2023. Paperwork challenges and the XMAS-New Year break meant I did not commence in the State Manager for Community Programs role until early January 2024.

In accepting the position I knew I was stepping into a role that was unlikely to continue in its current form beyond my 12-month contract. ARC was “right sizing” across the country, with significant program and staff reductions scheduled over the course of 2024. My role was clear; support the change process, close two programs (community development and prison program) and transition people and programs in a values aligned way. I was determined to do this with respect and kindness.

The third prong of my portfolio was the long running aged care programs of delivered meals and the transport program- primarily used by seniors to attend medical and social appointments. These activities were slated to continue, if not expand, so I set about seeking to support long mooted program improvements focused on efficiency through technology and the client and volunteer experience.

In my first month I completed induction and onboarding, immersed myself with my leadership team and direct reports, and set about meeting as many volunteers, clients and program stakeholders as I could fit in. I was seeking to observe and orient myself to the people and the programs. I asked questions, listened more than I spoke, read a lot of reports, and scratched out some basic “quick wins and next steps” plans.

In my second month I had built rapport rapidly enough with staff, volunteers and my peers that I was able to “cut to the heart of the matter” and identify blockages and barriers and begin to address some long-standing challenges. I was leading and managing.

For the community development program and the prison program the plan was closure. This was irreversible. A decision from National Office was made long before my arrival and they weren’t for turning. I set about working with all affected people inside and outside the organisation to make this final year of operation count – and where possible transition the activity to an alternate provider. Working beside affected staff was a highlight of my time there – simply because the team members remained professional and committed to their clients despite the knowledge they would no longer have ongoing employment. They were selfless and true to the spirit of ARC.

For the aged care programs I worked with a very competent Team Leader and set about landing many of the “continuous improvements” she had long envisioned. This included a transition from paper-based rosters and reporting to digital software and a phone app for the Transport program… and, the upgrade of 1990’s DOS computer software that was running the meals program. We made significant progress on both counts before I departed, but more importantly it was the change process that included volunteers that was really valued. I initiated one on one and small group chats with volunteers in Launceston and Burnie to engage them in the need for change, and to identify what training and support they would need to ensure the transition was a success.

The Delivered Meals program, despite its aging computer software, was run by a high functioning team and a gaggle of volunteers. This included an experienced team member who commenced volunteering with ARC at age 9 and had never left- six decades of commitment and still going strong.

Early in my tenure I spotted a dusty old photo on the wall of the team office. It captured the original ARC team delivering the very first meal on day one of the program in March 1960. Like a time capsule the photo anchored the work of the current team back to that day. We estimated that more than 3millions meals had been distributed across North and North West Tasmania since the program commenced.

I visited the Meals Team several times daily, and regularly looked at the photo and pondered the importance of the team and the volunteers who delivered the meals. Basically, if there were no volunteers, there would be no meals delivered. No deliveries would mean a vulnerable community member missed out on nourishment and social contact.

Late one afternoon while chatting with the team I looked at the historic photo once again. I had done the math, and worked out the program was about to celebrate 64 years of operation. The Beatles song, “When I’m Sixty Four”, and more specifically the lyrics, “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, When I’m sixty-four” came to mind. I asked the team if they thought we could celebrate the 64^th anniversary, acknowledge our volunteers, and generate media to promote volunteering in our programs. The team were onboard with this initiative immediately.

Several weeks later in mid-March 2024, a tribe of current and former volunteers and staff, as well as key program contributors celebrated the 64^th Anniversary in the Mowbray office. The longest serving staff member assembled memorabilia spanning six decades for the occasion, while television, radio and print media published stories over the week to acknowledge the long running service, the staff, and volunteers. Each media outlet broadcasting our ‘call to action’ seeking more volunteers to support the organisation. I also managed to commission a cake from the Launceston General Hospital (LGH) kitchen to match the one also produced by the LGH in the original photo.

With celebrations over, my third and fourth months at ARC were focused on  strategic “doing”:

• I initiated stakeholder meetings for the prison program that had stalled. This enabled the movement toward handing the program over to another non-government provider;
• I initiated the due diligence process leading to the procurement of dedicated software for the Delivered Meals program to enable replacement of the 1990 era DOS software and bring the program into 2020s;
• I initiated business continuity discussions that enabled the deliberate and detailed thinking required to mitigate service risks, particularly risks to aged care services if the office and the “aging” computer software were offline;
• I initiated the order of information technology (IT), namely ipads for use in the Transport program to replace paper folders, and supported the development of training and a peer-to-peer network to support transition to the new technology;
• I initiated the fast tracking of efforts to invoice for the Transport Service rather than have volunteers handle and receipt cash payment. This was based on feedback from volunteers that they felt they were at risk while carrying cash in the community;
• I initiated internal discussions to ensure there were sufficient electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities in our office carparks to support the growing fleet of EVs;
• I initiated the exploration of alternative pool car parking options for two of our Burnie based cars upon hearing that the hospital carpark arrangement was to be discontinued;
• I initiated in depth conversations with volunteers on all matters related to mooted program changes, including rosters, use of ipads, invoicing, and telecommunications while on the road. Using the feedback to adjust transition timelines and approaches;
• I initiated internal conversations about the management of risk for drivers leaving the North West of the state to transport patients to medical appointments in Hobart and return on the same day. Some drivers described completing 16+ hour shifts on a regular basis to ensure clients did not miss their appointments;
• I initiated partnership conversations with a remote neighbourhood house as a replacement for the “pick up point” for meals when a previous solution looked on the verge of collapse;
• I initiated conversations with meal suppliers to explore alternative food options should the Federal program funder require clients be afforded more “choice”. This included engagement with my Canberra based counterpart who ran a similar sized Delivered Meals program and had significant recent learnings to share;
• I initiated (and re-invigorated) the meetings with current meal suppliers (the Tasmanian Health Service – namely the Launceston General Hospital and the North West Regional Hospital) to ensure mooted changes to meals, and the containers, labelling, and processes could be introduced without negatively impacting clients. The shift from aluminium meal containers toward plastic containers was significant given the preferred method of heating frozen meals was the traditional oven, and not the microwave.
• I initiated and chaired office meetings in the Mowbray office – reinvigorating a key communication space that had evaporated following staff departures and more central and remote forms of leadership. This promoted better local communication and plans for a return to the social dinners of the pre-COVID era; and
• I initiated local safety and cleaning processes that had not been addressed due to the absence of local leadership. This was not my delegated responsibility, however my assistance to get long overdue processes unstuck was truly appreciated by the staff.

The last day of April 2024 was to be my last. Not that I knew it when I woke that morning. I had an “in-person” meeting with my line manager scheduled for 9am. Normally based in Hobart, she was travelling the state that week and we had locked in the meeting some four weeks prior. She was late to our “catch up”, so I waited in my office using the free time to prepare for a stakeholder meeting that I was due to chair later that week. When my manager and the human resources business partner entered my office and closed the door, I knew I would not be chairing any more meetings at ARC.

I leaned in to hear the softly spoken couplet tell me that my services were no longer required. I had anticipated that I might be “let go” at the end of the financial year (still some eight weeks away) so I had commenced looking for other work, but to be “let go” earlier than that was unwarranted, unkind, and not ARC values aligned. What made it unsavoury was the reason given to terminate me immediately. I was told I was unsuitable for the management role, and I had failed to show initiative in the discharge of my leadership responsibilities. I get that it is the prerogative of an employer (under Fair Work Australia rules) to part ways with an employee inside the first six-month probation period for any reason, but to make something up was brutal and unprofessional.

I remained silent with a neutral posture and nodded at respectful intervals throughout the tag team lecture. I made extended eye contact with both executioners to ensure they understood I was listening. The corners of my mouth curled up, and I raised my eyebrows as my skill deficits were listed one after the other. To be honest, all I could think about as it unfolded was Michelle Obama’s quote, ‘when they go low, we go high’. I resolved instantly to play this out as a professional, accept my fate, and be a model servant leader in that moment. After all, what was spoken by them was a complete fabrication and not borne out by the facts that I detailed in the 14 dot points above.

I pushed back when I was told to leave the building immediately. I had not been accused of misconduct, nor was I a risk to the organisation or staff and clients. I respectfully requested an opportunity to “preform a handover” of current activities and time sensitive tasks to another manager. I took 35 minutes to “download” my to-do list and brief my replacement on the “next steps” of my work. I then packed my office, and like a cliched character from an American sit-com, I walked to the rear of the office with a single archive box of possessions under my arm. I spoke briefly with my direct reports and shook hands or gave them a hug. Some cried, some were angry, some slumped in their ergonomic chair communicating disappointment and numbness. I then walked out of the office proud of my time at ARC – all fourteen weeks, four days and forty-seven minutes.

If the roles had been reversed and I was the one to deliver the news to a direct report, I would have approached the duty with empathy and kindness (as I have when dismissing staff for misconduct or when I had to make the Therapeutic Residential Care team of 30 staff redundant at Anglicare in the mid 2010s). I would have worked with Human Resources, Budget and Finance and my line manager to ensure absolutely every avenue for the continuation of the role or other duties had been exhausted. I would have dedicated significant time to the assembly of information that meant I could offer the outgoing team member specific and positive feedback on their contribution to the service. I would have offered to assist with their transition to their next role, and I would have afforded them time to talk with their team and exit respectfully. I would have communicated authentically, and demonstrated deep care for their wellbeing by checking in with them at the end of the conversation, and at several intervals after. I would have communicated with the outgoing team member’s staff and answered questions that arose that could be answered such as the context of the restructure and budget that led to the decision. None of this was afforded to my team nor I, I was unceremoniously “cancelled” and this sits exclusively at the hands of a bad boss.

Based on my experience at ARC I am more convinced now of the value this institution plays in our community than I was before working there. The local, national and international work of the Red Cross is truly inspiring – the staff and volunteers even more inspiring. True unsung heroes.