The Power of Values-Driven Leadership

So years about being brave and trusting in your own gut feel about what you want to do. I could have easily stayed in Wagga and just, you know, separated away and sort of worked out my own group of people, but I felt it was better to give my ex the space that he needed and that I would go and carve out what I wanted to go and do so

So Di one of the things that I think women today, a lot of times it's the apprehension, it's the fear of what could happen that keeps us frozen, that keeps us stuck, that keeps us you know what this is. You know better than the unknown. Yet you are willing to take a step into the unknown. Can you talk more about what is it about you that allows you to do that? Because there are so many people that literally can't they can't get out of their own way to do something different.

Welcome to the ReLaunch Podcast where we are sharing stories of Transformative Leadership and bold career shifts. And today's guest is somebody that I have had the privilege of getting to know over the last couple months, and I gotta tell you, she is a powerhouse, and I love her story of how she relaunched into what she is doing today in such a massive way, and she continues to reinvent and shares with us today how you can continue to grow, continue to connect and continue To have the fun and the joy that life is all about. Her name is Di Mantell. She is a pioneering CEO in the Australian Hair Care Health Care System, starting as completely what you're not going to expect and moving into this. This is what I love about this, that no matter what you want, you can grow into it. And now she leads a $2.2 billion company managing South Australia's largest infrastructure project, known for breaking down stereotypes. Dai is a sought after mentor speaker, and today she is going to share her relaunch journey, her resilience that was literally created over those relaunch roller coaster moments.

So let's dive in. Di it is so great to have you here today, and again, I just want to give you this big hug and say, Wow, you are truly a powerhouse of possibility. But for those that don't know you, and they will know you very well after the end of this show, I'd love for you to walk us through what at the very beginning was like, what were you doing, and how did you end up where you are in your most significant relaunch journey?

First of all, Hilary, thank you so much for having me, and it's been such a pleasure to get to know you. Yes, my journey is slightly quirky. It certainly wasn't a straight line, like lots of people who started writing. So I started as a registered nurse back in New South Wales, in a town called Albury. I did that for quite some time. I moved into Intensive Care Nursing. A lot of my friends at that time were deciding that to do midwifery. Midwifery was the thing that was seen as a platform to let you go and travel and do all sorts of things. I personally could think of nothing worse than doing Midwifery, with all due respect to all midwives out there, not for me. So I chose intensive care. I was very fortunate to be offered the nurse unit manager role to run one of the busiest intensive care units outside of Sydney, Newcastle, and will go in doing that. I didn't want the role.

I didn't think I was made for the role. I was convinced to do the role for six weeks. I then took on and did the role for nine years. A number of people came along that journey with me, so I had an amazing team to work with, which made it all so much more interesting and enjoyable. To show how busy it was. It started with 450 patients a year going through the department that we ran. At the end of my time, we were putting 900 patients through with only one more bed in the department. So fairly hectic sort of workplace to go through.

You know, what's really fascinating is that, again, you're an ICU, ICU nurse, and you're looking at this as, here's, I mean, it just shows you where you are today, and your journey along and this, this purpose led path. Did you realize? Was that you were kind of going one step at a time towards where you are today, or was it kind of like, instead of that, you know, step by step by step, it was, it was all over the place, and it just kind of led you here. What do you think? I

think it was I knew what I didn't want to do. I didn't want to do Midwifery, and I didn't want to be a director of nursing. And other than that, I really didn't know. My mum was a nurse, my sister was a nurse. My sis ter in law was a nurse, myauntie was a nurse.

That is a sisterhood of nurses I know.

So everybody sort of felt that I would stay in nursing in the traditional sense. And as you probably know, I'm not very traditional about my style. So

for those that can't see you right now, she's got pink hair. She is, I mean, her outfits when she was at this event that we just did were so terrific. She has such great style, all very unique to her. And so, yes, you you bring it all together in such a unique, eclectic way. It's so fabulous, hm,

only because I like it, though, not because I'm trying to impress anyone else. So, you

know, what did you could tell that you own it. This is you. It is authentically you, and it comes across.

Yeah, so, yes. So after I did that for a while, I then did some other senior nursing roles, a bit exciting. I did then get divorced, which I called, which was clearly a turning moment. So I then left and went to run a health service in Tumut in

the summer. Let me ask you, Dai, how old were you when you got that divorce? Just over 40. So, yeah, yeah. So that was pretty much I was, I think I was just late 30s, and it is a, it is definitely a significant relaunch as well, where you're trying to figure out, you know, kind of like, how do you you're no longer the the misses to the mister. You're trying to figure out, like, where, you know, where do you belong in this whole the mass that we wear, the identities that we How did you? How did you cope with that?

I think I so. I called it off. So it was on me and my children were both grown, so they both finished school, so they were both off starting to do their own thing. I thought that wager was big enough where we were living, for both of us, with a population of 60 or 1000, to let both of us do our own thing within that. It wasn't, and it was clearly that my husband, who is still a really, you know, lovely guy, was not moving anywhere. He had his own business and was well established. So I made the decision that, therefore it would be me that would just go do something else, and I didn't have a big plan, and when I made the big decision to move from tumor to go, my next move was to Kalgoorlie. Kalgoorlie is in Western Australia, so a long distance away from Wagga, 600 kilometers from Perth, the nearest capital city, and in the middle of red desert. So it's a mining community.

So for me to go there, I didn't know anything about it, but I thought it had the right field to do something very different. And I felt I could be a director of nursing, which I was never going to do, but for me, it felt like it was the right thing to do, and the people were amazing, and the opportunities that then flowed from that made it all really worthwhile. So so it is about being brave and trusting in your own gut feel about what you want to do. I could have easily stayed in Wagga and just, you know, separated away and sort of worked out my group of people, but I felt it was better to give my ex the space that he needed, and that I would go and come at what I wanted to go and do so so

di one of the things that I think women today, a lot of times, it's the apprehension, it's the fear of what could happen that keeps us frozen, that keeps us stuck, that keeps us you know what this is. You know better than the unknown, yet you are willing to take a step into the unknown. Can you talk more about what is it about you that allows you to do that? Because there are so many people that literally can't. They can't get out of their own way to do something different. Yeah,

I've always been a believer that if it is to be it's up to me, and for me, if I don't want to stay somewhere where I'm not happy and I'm not being the best person I can be, I'm very fortunate that I have a career in nursing that you can go anywhere. So I do have a skill set that I knew I could go to New South Wales, I could go to seats I so I had that as a base, um, my children were both grown, so they weren't of doing their own thing. So I could make that move. And I didn't want to stay and feel that I had to settle for something less than I wanted. I didn't have the aspirations of landing where I where I now. It.

But for me, I've always, I've took on the opportunity, and a lot of people said to me, but what if you don't like it? What if it's awful? And I said, I'll leave. And I think a lot of people, when I talk to people mentoring and leadership, a lot of people think that you're taking this next job, and then that's it, and it's not. You're not signing up for life. You're signing up for however long you want to be there and what you want to do. So be brave and take that step to do it. And if you don't like it, go and do something else. So

die. How long when you're coaching and mentoring people? When you say, you know you don't have to do it forever. You know you just but try it, there's people that do something and within a short period of time saying, See, it didn't work. How long do you suggest? Or what steps do you suggest to really give it a chance?

I think, first of all, you probably, I don't think you can do it for less than 12 months, unless it is horrendous. If it is absolutely not your fit. Then you need to get out. But for me, you need to get to know the people that you're going to work with. You need to consider what you actually want to do. You need to sign up for something that sort of gets you up in the morning and make gets you motivated. It makes you want to do what you want to do. And then you need to build those relationships, where it is you go, where I went to Kalgoorlie, and then later, when I went to Adelaide, I did not know one person in that health service. When I signed up for the Kalgoorlie job, I didn't even have the interview in Kalgoorlie.

We did it in Perth. So I was going to this place. I'd never seen the hospital. I didn't know any of the people except the person who interviewed me. But it's like, well, I've it's got the right feel. I thought it was important enough to apply for the role. I now need to give it some time and try and make some relationships and get to know people, and let me find my way in this new place. And then, if it works for you, that's really good. And my dear, and then sort of moved on to other things. But if it doesn't, then after that time go, what was good about it? What was it? What didn't work? What is it that I really want? So maybe that helps you decide what you want to do next. You know,

you and I are very similar with our whole idea around it's how it feels. It's the energy that it brings to you. Does it light you up? Does it just suck the air out of you, and you really have always been somebody that also prioritizes this human, centered approach, that connection has always been so important. What do you base your ability and how do you help coach people when it's like, it's it's about human connection. What do you think is the most important part of that

you need to be authentic? So you can't front up if you're going somewhere where you're new, don't try and be what you think they want, because you can't keep that going. That's That's not a sustainable way to have a relationship. So for me, mine is about being really authentic, being ethical and being really kind. And I think those traits get you a really long way, because people really see you, and then they make a decision about this is the person that I want to connect with, because I've got similar interests, I've got similar values, and you get to know the relationships that you then build up based on that. So if you're not authentic at the start, then it's going to be a very difficult road to go.

Are those authentic, ethical and kind? Are those your core values? Yes, you know what, and and you wear them. Well, yes, as I sit here, as we spent three days together, I'm like, You know what? That's spot on. So continue with this journey. You're You're now in this new location, things are starting to happen for you, but a lot more

was ahead. Yes, so I'd only been there very short period of time, and I got asked to go and represent the 22 rural health services that make up Western Australia, at the nurses negotiations for their wage case. So we call it the enterprise bargaining agreement in Australia, they'd never had a rural rep before, so I was the first. Again, I was told it was for six weeks. There's a theme here in my world, and it took six months to negotiate it, but we got a really good outcome that really represented and supported what rural nurses really needed. Each time I had any decision to make, I had to go back to all of the 22 general managers and get their approval for doing it. Some of those were calls on the weekend. They were very supportive, and I was when I first asked them why me, because I'd only been there like for a moment in WA. They said they liked me because one, I knew what I was talking about. They thought tricky. And two, they said that I wasn't tainted with anything that had gone on before in WA. So quite clear.

So I took that as a positive thing, sort of, but we. Doing the negotiations over the six months, and then someone else in the metro, metropolitan area was supposed to roll this out. They weren't. They left. They got another job. And so I went to the city and commuted backwards and forwards during the negotiations and the roll out. And did that for the best part of six years, moving into the department. So that exposed me to very different way of working. I'd never worked in a central administration, I'd never worked in a straight office block. I'd always been in a health service patients and doctors and cleaners and clinicians and all of that. So it was a very different way of working. It is not my jam. I'm really clear that I am not made for an office from Monday to Friday, 895 it is. And a lot of roles will teach you as much about what you don't want to do about as much as you do want to do. And the reason I stayed and did the role for the six years was because, for me, I got to travel to every rural health service across Western Australia.

So it's the best tourism trip ever that I got to go all the way from up in the Kimberley up north, in places like Broome that you'll have heard about, all the way down to Albany at the very bottom and everything in between. Met amazing ladies that you know cook scones from the CWA country Women's Association, but at hospitals for morning tea and met amazing people. So for me, I will be forever grateful for that opportunity to get to know so many people during that pilot process.

So die you run a $2.2 billion company managing one of the largest infrastructures, literally, in in the world. And how, right now, how long you've been doing that? I've

been in the role for 10 years and seven years of CEO.

And now I have to ask you, what's next. We talk about relaunches of the past, we hear how you have come to where you are, and the relaunch of you know, just your your you're doing an outstanding job seven years as the CEO. But what's the future? What does the future look like for Dai?

So the contract that we have got with the state government goes till 2046, so that will not be me, and I've said that to my board, that I can guarantee that is not what I'm doing. So somewhere in between now and there, my plan is to I want to keep using the knowledge and the wisdom that I've got to help other, both men and women, achieve in their own worlds. So for me, my eventual transition will be for me to move into board roles, and I have just secured my first one of those, which I'm very excited about, because it's in a health organization, and I get to give back some more, but also thank you. But I also want to continue doing mentoring, and I want to do keynote speaking. Our hospital has the largest green and social loan globally in healthcare, and was the first at $2.2 billion and that has taught us a lot about sustainability. And so for me, being able to speak about leadership, bringing sustainability into your organizations and building up your team, are things that I think I'll remain passionate about. So

let's talk more about this transition time period. Right? That you know that there's you could be there for a very long time, and they want you to do that, but you're saying, hey, there's also another chapter to be written, to be lived and boards as well as mentorship, speaking opportunities. How do you when you think about getting on a board, and how many? If we could just say, let's just go big right now. I call them scaz Eagles, scary and crazy. And what would what would you really want to achieve? How many boards do you want to be a part of?

I think it's four to five boards that are significant boards. And then I'm already currently doing one other that is a local related to healthcare. But yes, my ultimate is four to five those top line boards.

So talk to us about that transition period, like, how do you, how do you start to put your feelers out there, still maintain the CEO job, still be able to impact the way you've been able to there's a lot of people right now that have the desire to do a relaunch, to to start to look at new opportunities, but they don't know how to do it. They don't know how to take those steps. And feel very much like, When am I going to be able to do it?

I think the first thing is to make sure you've got an educational base to what you want to do. So I've done in Australia. There's a Australian Institute of cup. Directors to do a course, so I've done that program, and I'm a graduate of that so that is very helpful, and holds you in good stead for knowing all the basics about boards. I think it's also reaching out to people who you see on boards that you think work really well and are what you would see as an ideal board member, and talk to them about their experiences and be potentially mentored or sponsored through those people. I'm very fortunate. My board is a very inclusive board, and I've got a very good relationship with them, which I've had for my seven years as CEO.

We certainly started with a fairly rugged time when we first took on this contract, so that has given me the opportunity to learn a lot of skills that I would not have otherwise got. But I think it is reaching out to people at UC that you would like to model your style on, and then connect to organizations that and follow them on LinkedIn and the like that you would like to be connected with, so that they know that you're interested. So you've gotta do the work. They will. They will not just fall in your lap. So if you want them, you've gotta do the work the same as you would for any other role that you want to take on.

Well, I love what you said in terms of the idea around the knowledge, right? You have to, if you have something new that you're going to be taking on, you have to become knowledgeable in what it's really all about. And you did that. And then the second thing that I love what you said in regards to you, look for somebody that has already done it and is doing it the way that you would like to do it. And then you reach out to them, or you follow them, as you said, link into them, find groups and organizations that could help with either giving you more knowledge or the connections. And that really helps streamline it so significantly. I remember when I was going through a divorce and I really wanted to have, I wanted to get married again. I knew it. I knew it was in me. I felt very strongly about it.

And so I looked out in the world, and I said, who are three couples that I really admire from a marriage perspective, that have been able to keep it together, that have been able to, you know, on the surface, do what I want in my future, and I reached out to them, and I talked to them, and I asked them what they did differently than others. And then I use the same approach when I started to shift into different industries and do new things. And I think that it's it's so forgotten. It's something that we don't think about doing, and there's always that future identity of who you want to become. But a lot of times you can look around and there's already somebody else doing it. Why? Like rack your brain so die as you're as you're going through this now, and I know, giving back and helping people and seeing people elevate we I talk a lot about impact. What is it about your legacy now that you really want to make sure you're establishing in this next phase? I want people to

see me for who I am. I've talked a lot about the whatever I do next. I want to. I don't want to be a token person on board. I don't want to be there because we ticked the box for us. Now we've got a female that's on and, you know, they've done whatever. So for me, I want to, I'm a mother, I'm a grand, I'm an Omar. Couldn't be a grandmother, and I'm a wife. I do have a husband now. So for me, I want to role model the behaviors that I think will hopefully inspire them. I want to be able to be clear that what I do I haven't changed my values at all, and that I've still been able to be very true to them, and hopefully others will see that and think that they are things that they too, should role take on board as I move forward. So

di, how are you managing your time right now? You just said a lot of things that were personal, professional. I mean, how do you do it? Well,

I normally work in Adelaide, and my husband is based in Perth without puppy dog. That's two and a half 1000 kilometers difference. And has he would point out you don't normally get married the second time to live two and a half 1000 kilometers apart, but some of my other friends said it's probably what makes marriage work at times. So that's good. So we've got a way that that works. We get together every two weeks, somewhere, wherever that is. So that has worked for us, and we've been doing that for quite a long time. Now I've got two beautiful twins. So I've got twins that are grown up. And when I'm in Perth, I get to see my Perth family. When I go to Sydney, I get to see my Sydney family. And they've both got two grand, two children each. So I get to see them at the same time. So I make. Time for them. I make sure that when I have to go for meetings, I fly up on a weekend so I can see them and then go to work on the Monday, Tuesday, or the other way around. You fit in the things that matter to you, and you make the time so life is short do the best with it that you can.

So when you think about how important female connections. RTO, you just went to an event that was entirely female based. And we talked about boards, we talked about people, you know, that you had to go to all of these different what was it? 20 plus people and talk to them. What do women mean to you now? And the connection with women, how important is that? It's really

important, and I think it's become more important as I've moved along. And you don't need a lot of people in your corner, but you need to know who your sort of main group of people are. I mean, if you have one or two friends that you can go to to sort of tell them anything that that's priceless. If you then have an amazing support network, which I have developed over the last 12 months or so, that is incredible. Um, the people that I have met at the LA event and have stayed in touch with since then, have proven to be so supportive they will tell you if you're doing something dumb, so it's not about it's all you know, rah, rah, and you're all amazing, but they are there to hold your hand, to give you connections and to lift you up to do whatever it is that you want to do. And the feel in the room was something that I hadn't experienced before, where everybody really genuinely was there to be supportive. When people said, I'll follow you afterwards, it wasn't just usual. I do that and never hear from them. So to me, getting those people around you is pivotal to you being able to be the best you that you can be.

Well, this has been so inspirational. I think that people need to hear about journeys, right? A lot of times we look at somebody and we think, this is, you know, this it hasn't been very challenging for you. I'd like to ask as one of my final questions, what has been the most challenging thing for you getting to where you are right now, being the CEO of a $2.2 billion company, what has been the biggest challenge?

When I first went to Adelaide, I was called into a meeting with about 30 people. They were all male, other than me and the tea lady. First of all, I was surprised. They had a tea lady. But for me, I was looking around this room, and there were lawyers, there were builders, there were finance people, none of my Troy at all, none. And I caught thinking, and I went with my CEO. At the time I was the Operations Director. It's like, why am I here? What? What am I doing? And I sat there for a while, and after they ratted on for a bit about all of their comments and their important components, I realized I was the only person in that room that had ever actually been part of building a hospital and operating a hospital. No one else in there had done it.

And so when they were coming up with great ideas about what they were doing and where they were going, and I'd moved there again, like not knowing anybody. For me, this is when I realized that was my secret sauce in this component, and that that would be enough for me to be able to step up and step forward and do what I needed with confidence versus thinking I shouldn't be here. I've gotten the right I don't know what I'm doing. So for me, that was an absolute turning point for me, knowing that I was in the right space.

That's so good. And it's again, having that point where you have the confidence, where you're like looking around and you realize, how do you with your mentorship and your coaching. How do you help people develop confidence?

I think it's about little steps. It's about believing in yourself first, and if somebody else, often, people go, I've got this new job, but I'm not sure if I can do it or if I can't do it. So you have to remember the people who interviewed you saw something in you to give you that role, and you need to take that and run with it. So you need to now build your relationships and learn from that, but, but they've trusted in you, so go with that, versus going, oh, you know, I shouldn't be here. It's not okay and whatnot. So I think that's the, the first and the biggest step to going, okay, that's right, I am here because I've got all these skills and I can do this, and it's not to say there's not a lot to learn, but you've got that first big step that you've mastered, so keep going.

So di, how can people get in touch with you?

So I'm on LinkedIn at DIA mantel. Be happy to chat to anybody. My contact. D. Counselor on there and happy to speak to anyone.

And we'll go ahead and put those in the speaker notes. Thank you again for sharing your relaunch journeys. There have been many I am so excited to hear where you end up with these boards, which ones you're going to end up on, and I know that I've connected with you, with a couple incredible women that are one step ahead of you, which is, again, what we're what we're going for everyone. Yeah, you don't have to do this on your own. Th ere are women who have done this ahead of you that are just so open like die to say, hey, reach out. Contact me. I'm on LinkedIn, and I will absolutely, you know, have a conversation with you so Di, thank you, and again, what a journey. I have been so impressed, and have just really loved getting to know you. And I look forward to the future and everything our paths will continue to cross and everyone. Thank you for being here. And think about what you learned just by listening in what kind of triggered for you, what came up for you, what in, what di was talking about. Did you think like, you know what? Yeah, maybe it is time. Maybe it's time to move. Maybe it's time to change a position. Maybe it's time to try something that you've always thought about, but it hasn't happened yet. So please let us know in the notes, come over and comment Hillary DeCesare at Instagram on LinkedIn, and let us know what you thought of this episode, what stood out for you. And again, live now, love now, and there's never been a better time than to relaunch now. See you next week.