The Ringleaders
Kate Billing
There is no other single thing we spend more of our waking hours doing than being at work. So why are so many of us prepared to declare that ‘dead time’, simply exchanging it for money to ‘have a life’ in the few hours before and after sleeping? What if we could all become better people through our experience of work and do good in the world as well as create financial success? Those questions occupied my mind for years while I moved from job to job and country to country – playing the same game as everyone else.
Since returning to NZ in 1996, I’ve explored the talent, culture and brand arenas in senior roles spanning talent acquisition and management; employer branding; internal communications; engagement and retention. I took the road less travelled in 2007 and left the corporate world for the thrills and spills of self employment. I thought I’d give it a year and see what happened. Short answer – I love it! Working in an external role with multiple businesses, I can affect and support far more positive change than I ever could on the inside as an employee. No two days are ever the same. I’m learning and evolving every day. My clients are amazing people and I love seeing them deliberately forging their businesses through strength of purpose, connection and the performance power of their people. I’m proud to be a Blacksmith.
Paul Leacock
Like a lot of kiwis, I grew up in a small town in provincial New Zealand and after returning from four amazing years of travel overseas I got my big break in Auckland and landed a role at IBM. The learning curve was intense – I didn’t know what cut & paste meant and here I was working for the biggest IT Company in the world.
When I think about that time and why I was successful, I have to attribute it in part to having a great manager who connected with me and channelled my passion and enthusiasm into the results that mattered. Unfortunately I have found that generally this is the exception not the norm.
Having managed teams myself, I understand the frustration and isolation one can feel when there are limited resources and support for how to get the best out of your team and align them to the overall business strategy, purpose and brand promise. This is why I am so excited about being part of Blacksmith and the results I know we have delivered for clients across New Zealand by doing just that.