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Getting it Right the First Time: The Value of Psychometric Testing in the Hiring ProcessBy Vanessa Gavan Psychometric testing is a Maximus specialty. It all starts with your people. The attraction, development and retention of the right people are the foundations of not only a strong culture but in delivering excellent results on organisational strategy. |
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Extend Your Talent PipelineBy Vanessa Gavan By smoothing out an uneven playing field between ambitious men and women, formalising female peer groups can increase your bench strength and improve gender balance at the top. |
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Development at the TopBy Vanessa Gavan In an unforgiving world, taking steps to be the best CEO you can be is a wise strategy. |
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The Three-In-One CEOBy Vanessa Gavan There are fundamental differences between administering, leading and managing. Successful CEOs have a clear philosophy. |
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Reinventing HRBy Vanessa Gavan HR has evolved more than any other function since the advent of industrialisation. To extract maximum value from HR investment and ensure talent strategies support business growth, CEOs need to not only understand HR’s need for transformation but to help drive it. |
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Building an Agile OrganisationBy Vanessa Gavan With change being the new normal, Australian businesses and their leaders need to increase their agility. |
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Growth is on the HorizonBy Vanessa Gavan With the tide slowly turning for Australian Businesses, forward-thinking CEOs should be positioning for growth as well as optimising their core business. |
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Creating a high MQ workplaceBy Vanessa Gavan To achieve peak performance, leaders must help employees find meaning in what they do. Workers at all levels are now looking for a high “meaning-quotient” – they want to know the why, what and how.
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Why Always Being "On" Is No Longer OnBy Vanessa Gavan New insights into how our brains work and how to regain control in a hyperative world. |
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How to Develop and Retain the Best LeadersBy Vanessa Gavan While finding and grooming the next generation of senior leaders is vital to every organisations sustainability, looming demogrpahic and economic shifts mean the gap between supply and demand will widen substantially. |
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TEDxMelbourne: OFF THE GRID 2014This year Associate Director Ant Williams will be going OFF THE GRID with some of Australia leading experts. |
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Why You Should Adopt Collective Leadership22/09/2014 Fridge Magazine: Why You Should Adopt Collective LeadershipWritten by Vanessa Gavan The future of leadership lies in Collabortive Leadership. Vanessa Gavan idenitfies 3 key reasons it should be considered in your organisation |
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Talent IdentificationCEO Magazine: Talent IdentificationWritten by Vanessa Gavan With the executive talent shortage a growing issues, Vanessa Gavan believe it is time to review how to identify and develop future leaders |
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CBA's 4 Step Plan to Developing a Customer Centric Mindset2/9/2014 Inside HR: CBA's 4 Step Plan to Developing a Customer Centric MindsetWritten by Vanessa Gavan and Commonwealth Bank of Australia Vanessa Gavan worked closely with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia to analyise how they shifted from an asset driven organisation to a customer centric one. |
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Is Face Time Esstential to Measure Performance?12/6/2014 Comments by Brent Duffy Cannon Fast Company: Is Face Time Essential to Measure Performance?Technology is changing, leadership is changing, employees are changing. We're facing times were change is inevitable, it also leads to questions about measuring performance ... |
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The Road to Strategic Alignment. Creating a Line of SightCEO Magazine: The Road to Strategic Alignment. Creating a Line of Sight Written by Vanessa Gavan Short-term thinking, opportunistic moves and personal gain: The first and surest signs of impending decline... |
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Developing leadership capability in the new world of work: Teleworking05/06/2014 HC Online: Developing leadership capability in the new world of work: TeleworkingWritten by Brent Brent Duffy Brent Duffy, Director of Maximus International, explains how modern leaders need to change the way they view people management and leadership by being experts at managing by outputs and keeping track of work progress... |
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Organisational Design, a New Perspective20/01/2014 CEO Magazine: Organisational Design, A New PerspectiveMaximus Insights on Organisational Design Today's organisation design trends will soon be outdated. 'Quick fix' design solutions rarely work, yet few businesses are adopting a long-term, holistic and sustainable approach to their design needs... |
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Getting the Maximus out of Leadership26/06/2013 Smart Company: Getting the Maximus out of LeadershipSpotlight on Vanessa Gavan Vanessa Gavan, Managing Director of Maximus International spoke to Smart Company about her history in consultancy work and the challenges of taking a business beyond its first 10 years. "I spent the early part of my career in larger consulting organisations. I was about to make a move into a different organisation, but my husband suggested to me that I had done it three times, so I should go and try and make a business for myself. Consultancies were traditionally large, very corporate organisations. I wanted Maximus to be more results-oriented." |
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Profiling Successful Entrepreneurs16/04/2013 Smart Company: The Psychological Profile of Successful EntrepreneursWritten by Nina Hendy It's no fluke that entrepreneurs are outgoing, gregarious and confident people with high levels of self-discipline. People with such personality traits are often drawn to entrepreneurship, driven by the challenges that running your own business presents. So, could an assessment of your personality traits pre-determine whether or not you've got what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur? Perhaps so, it seems. Maximus Managing Director, Vanessa Gavan discusses the benefits of personal profiling and how to make use of the results. |
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SMH: Business Lessons from Freediving25/02/2013 Breathe in, then take the Plunge to ChangeWritten by Sue Green There are times in business when you have to take a deep breath and dive straight in. Ant Williams knows this well and he's had the perfect training. Williams is an international freediving champion. He can hold his breath under water for eight minutes and in December, at Dean's Blue Hole in the Bahama's, a 202-metre sinkhole, dived to 100 metres in one breath. With no scuba gear or breathing devices, it's a dangerous, extreme sport requiring physical and mental strength, courage and a willingness to take risks. Maximus Associate Director, Ant Williams discusses how he uses his personal lessons to help clients develop their companies and improve their bottom lines. |
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CEO Magazine: A New Approach to Diversity21/02/2013 Maximus Insights on Managing DiversityGender diversity has a legitimate place in governance and quite rightly so, it gets a lot of air time. However, the value of diversity goes beyond addressing under-represented social groups. It makes different types of thinking available to solve complex business problems, optimise boardroom performance and drive transformational business change. Homogeneous group-think will not achieve the best outcomes. What you need at the table is a range of opinions, experience and knowledge and a willingness to listen to them. Managing Director of Maximus International Vanessa Gavan, discusses a new approach to diversity and how embracing this change can set your company on the path of success and innovation. |
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5 Tips for Starting your Own Business18/01/2013 Maximus Insights on Start-Up SuccessIn 2001, I set out with an objective to build a great company; one which provided excellent service to clients, and a terrific culture for employees. Fast-forward 12 years, here are my top five tips for start-up success: 1. Have a Clear Direction |
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Australian Business Solutions: Innovation, Australia Lagging Behind14/01/2013 Maximus Insights on Innovation"Figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics earlier this year from the Business Characteristics Survey show that innovation is slowing down. The proportion of businesses actively innovating fell nearly 5 per cent, to 39 per cent of businesses. Meanwhile, business sentiment as to how innovative we are is poor, with the GE Innovation Barometer earlier this year showing that when ranked by business sentiment as to how innovative we are, Australia ranks 16th out of 30 countries." Maximus Managing Director, Vanessa Gavan discusses these alarming statistics. |
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Dynamic Business: Embedding Business Learning in the Workplace12/12/2012 Maximus Insights on Embedding Business LearningSending people on training programs is simple; making sure they apply what they learn to their jobs can be hard. Here's how to get ahead of the competition and make sure your organisation's investment in learning and development (L&D) translates into business results. According to some studies, just 10-40 percent of business training is used on the job. Why? The answer lies with the how, where, when, what and why of business learning. |
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CEO Magazine: Successful Successions15/11/2012 Maximus Insights on the Succession and Handover of PowerThe succession and handover of power within an organisation often determines the lasting legacy of a Chief Executive Officer. The individual chosen as a replacement will be responsible for any projects or plans that the previous leader set in motion. To ensure continual growth and success for the company; executives should carefully undertake a thorough and extensive succession program. Director of Maximus International Brent Duffy discusses how companies can implement successful succession plans. |
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Company Director Magazine: Thinking Outside the Square25/10/2012 Building Opportunity Through InnovationCompanies that fail to think creatively will find themselves at the back of the pack or out of business. Maximus Managing Director, Vanessa Gavan, discusses how directors can help their organisations become more innovative. The only constant is change, and change is taking place at a rate faster than ever before in our history, thanks to rapid technological advancements. And, in times of flux and great economic uncertainty, new ideas and creative thinking are the key to productivity, growth, future jobs, staying ahead of the competition and, sometimes, even survival. |
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Dynamic Business: Why 'No Worries' ISN'T the Way to Approach Engagement23/10/2012 Maximus Insights on Unlocking Engagement & Improving ProductivityStep 1. Link Engagement to Tangible Outcomes. Approach engagement from a whole of business perspective and relate it directly to productivity improvements and bottom line results. if you treat it as a feel-good exercise to simply boost morale, you're wasting your time. |
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AFR Interview with Daren Hill2/10/2012 Daren Hill: The Business TravellerDaren Hill, associate director of Maximus International, shares highs and lows of his life of travel. First, Business or Economy? I fly Economy around ANZ, but for trips to Asia or North America, it's always Business—it's all about the circadian rhythm and I find it impossible to sleep in Economy... |
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IPAA International Congress: Conference White Paper20/09/2012 Managing Talent on a Budget: A guide for the Public SectorBy nature, the public sector needs to be discerning about who will suit their organisation, and their approach to talent development must be flexible and affordable. Talent management is a hot topic in public sector organisations due to the changing dynamics of the workforce. The baby boomer generation of employees who have been the core of the public sector are now retiring, and the need to attract and retain skilled workers has become critical given the niche abilities the public sector requires. Proactive HR management and planning is necessary to contend with lengthy approval processes and multiple stakeholders. The coming years are likely to be increasingly difficult for the public sector... |
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Leadership and the Art of Persuasion16/09/2012 Top Eight Tips for Persuasive Communication"Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done, because he wants to do it." - Dwight Eisenhower For some people, the art of persuasion appears to come naturally, while many of us struggle. However, the principals of persuasive presentation can be learned by any one, and applied to gain consensus, sell an idea or generate support. Top Tips for Persuasive Communication |
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Smart Company: How You Can Unlock the Entrepreneurial Spirit Within Your
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Recruitment Extra: Maximising Sales Performance9/07/2012 Maximising Sales PerformancePut together a thorough sales plan. We are all time-poor. A good sales person is not the one who spends the most hours at work; they are the one who is clear about the most productive ways to invest their time. Use your industry knowledge to plan your next sales period. List clients you want to see and the insights or value you can offer them, and create a list of new clients to target and why. Prioritise your lists – which ones are likely to provide the best outcome for your efforts? Do this every quarter. This kind of tactical planning will help you spend productive time and look after your existing clients and win new ones. |
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SME: Daren Hill Guest Speaker for SME Association6/06/2012 Daren the "Change Guy"Daren Hill invited to speak at the SME networking and Hot Topic business event held at the meeting rooms of Beaumont Consulting in Sydney. Daren helmed active discussions on the night. |
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CEO Online: Flexibility - The Face of Modern Leadership5/06/2012 Flexible LeadershipWith market volatility the only constant in the new business world, how do your leadership skills fare? In the face of modern leadership requirements, a rigid style limits your effectiveness. Find out how to adapt your leadership style to suit changing Your management style is a reflection of your personal strengths, weaknesses, attitudes and the values that you have build up over the course of your life. Because of this, there are as many kinds of leadership as there are leaders. From the autocratic to the democratic, from the conceptual to the task-oriented, managers come in all shapes and sizes - with varying levels of effectiveness. Although aligned to your personality, your leadership style should never be static. As you work with different people, in different organisations and different business environments, you need to change the way you lead accordingly. |
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CEO Magazine: Unlocking Innovation30/05/2012 Unlocking InnovationIn uncertain times, it can be easy to put off innovation as too expensive, time consuming, and risky. Yet innovation that is controlled and driven by the concept of return on investment (ROI) is an essential element of a successful business-growth strategy and can generate ideas worth millions of dollars. Fresh thinking can take organisations to new heights at any stage of an economic cycle. |
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Teach a CEO: "Turning Entre, Intra": Developing Entrepreneurship within the Enterprise14/05/2012 Intra VS EntreEntrepreneurial businesses grow regardless of how the economic landscape looks because they are clearly differentiated, seize growth opportunities, and respond quickly to changing markets. But how do you actually leverage entrepreneurial talent and turn a reactive, risk-adverse environment into a proactive culture of innovation? Different centres of the globe seem to have a natural ability to bring up entrepreneurial talent. Countries like Australia, South Africa, and key parts of Europe come to mind as environments that have a natural flair for innovation and entrepreneurship. Possibly this relates back to the heritage of these countries and the success profiles and capabilities that people have passed through the generations. |
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Fast Thinking: Innovation Culture2/05/2012 Innovation CultureIn uncertain times, it can be easy to put innovation on the back burner as too expensive, too time-consuming and too risky. Yet controlled, ROI-driven innovation is an essential element of a successful business growth strategy and can generate ideas worth millions of dollars. In our experience, fresh thinking is essential to take organisations to new heights at any stage of the economic cycle. |
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Career One: Hit the Breaks14/04/2012 Tackling the PessimistsEmployers' negative perceptions about taking work breaks are best dealt with by being up from with your boss, Maximus International Managing Director Vanessa Gavan says. "It's about making your outcomes visible to employers and ensuring that they know it is all about what you produce, not the inputs," she says. |
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The Age: Checklist in Pursuit of Success2/04/2012 How to be a Successful LeaderDoes management theory work? It provides a good baseline because people and organisations need a frame of reference around what is expected from managers and leaders. Businesses need to find pragmatic ways to make management theories, models and frameworks relevant to their world. Are there any books every business leader should know? Some of my favourites are Jim Collins' Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don't, which gives an evidence-based view around the things that matter in creating a great business. And Peter Drucker's Innovation & Entrepreneurship, which is a good one to spark new ideas. What makes a good business leader? |
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The Sydney Morning Herald: Checklist in Pursuit of Success2/04/2012 How to be a Successful LeaderDoes management theory work? It provides a good baseline because people and organisations need a frame of reference around what is expected from managers and leaders. Businesses need to find pragmatic ways to make management theories, models and frameworks relevant to their world. Are there any books every business leader should know? Some of my favourites are Jim Collins' Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don't, which gives an evidence-based view around the things that matter in creating a great business. And Peter Drucker's Innovation & Entrepreneurship, which is a good one to spark new ideas. What makes a good business leader? |
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BRW: CEO Q&A29/03/2012 BRW CEO Q&A with Vanessa GavanWhat was your first job? What was your worst deal? |
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Dynamic Business: How to Manage Talent on a Budget: A guide for SMEs6/03/2012 Managing Talent on BudgetWhen it comes to recruitment, small businesses have to be more discerning than big companies about who will suit their organisation. So, what are the benefits of having a talent acquisition, performance development and succession strategy in place? Having grown a medium sized organisational development consultancy, I know too well the challenges of competing for top talent as a small or medium enterprise. By nature, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have to be more discerning about who will suit their organisation, and their approach to talent development must be flexible agile, and affordable. What are the benefits of having a talent acquisition, performance development and succession strategy in place? |
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Career One: Finding Balance in the Boardroom3/03/2012 Diversity in BoardroomsCompanies need to consider diversifying their boardrooms with more women to get the best results, says rising executive and entre-preneur Vanessa Gavan. In the lead-up to International Women's Day on Thursday, March 8, the founder and Managing Director of Maximus International says a mixture of both male and female executives will ensure companies cover the broader base of relationship types. |
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HC Online: Unlocking Innovation27/02/2012 Unlocking InnovationAustralia was founded on innovation and natural entrepreneurial spirit is now part of our DNA. Every day, innovative people generate ideas in every Australian organisation. Realising the value of these ideas is something that few organisations do well; they lack formal processes for collecting, qualifying and prioritising ideas based on strategic and financial returns. |
