August 14, 2025 • 28 mins
Jane Brownbill stands at a crossroads many of us dream about – after decades in high-powered roles as a CEO and senior manager, she asked herself what she truly wanted to do when she "grew up." Her answer became See Yourself, a coaching practice specifically designed for young adults and neurodiverse individuals who need support finding their unique path forward.
See Yourself offers a suite of tailored programs including one-on-one success coaching, "Get Unstuck" for directionless young adults, "Spicy Business" for neurodiverse entrepreneurs, and fractional operations management for organisations. The power of this approach comes through in the testimonials from volunteers Blanca and Supre, who describe finding not just professional development but genuine belonging. Their enthusiasm speaks volumes about the need for such spaces in our business community. As Jane puts it, Next Gen Leaders is about creating a place for "misfits and outliers" to thrive together – where walking in and feeling immediately comfortable is the norm, not the exception.
Want to experience this unique community yourself? The Next Gen Leaders program launches its monthly gatherings in September at Ambrosia Gin Distillery. Visit www.seeyourself.net to learn more or reach out to Jane directly if you're a business professional interested in supporting this remarkable initiative through mentorship, prizes, or running a masterclass.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:14):
Hello and welcome to the Canberra Business Podcast.
I'm Greg Harford, your hostfrom the Canberra Business
Chamber, and today I have astudio full of people.
I'm joined by Jane Brownbill,who's the coach and founder of
See Yourself, and we're joinedby Dr Supre Panapa and Blanca
Barraras, who are coaches andvolunteers, alongside Jane in
(00:36):
one of her programs.
So, ladies, welcome to thepodcast.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Thanks for having us.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
It's great to have you here and, jane, let's kick
off with you.
What is See Yourself?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Thanks, greg.
Well, I have spent the lastnearly 30 years working in
high-level jobs from an industryCEO National Industry
Association.
Senior management rolesoperations general management
association.
Senior management rolesoperations general management
(01:10):
and last year I had anopportunity to take six months
off and just sit and think andwonder what I actually wanted to
do when I grow up.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
And did you do that here in Canberra?
Yeah, in Canberra I've beenback in Canberra since gosh 1998
.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Had babies and then just hung around and I'm happy.
I in Canberra since gosh 1998.
Had babies and then just hungaround and I'm happy.
I love Canberra.
So I was able to just sit andthink and what I decided is I
wanted to be able to use theskills and knowledge I've gained
over my career to work with,specifically young adults and
small organisations and peoplewho might have some sort of
(01:49):
neurodiversity, for them to beable to realise their dreams.
So see yourself is literallyabout success and it's about
achieving goals, whatever theyare.
And when I decided to start SeeYourself, I had a little think
about what was important to me.
So I'm at a place where my kidshave grown, but I want to be
(02:11):
available to them all the time.
So for a day, I wanted everyday to be fun, family, I wanted
to be autonomous, I wantedflexibility and I wanted to be
honest.
So that's what See Yourselfbrings.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
So what sort of things do you do at See Yourself
?
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Well, thank you for asking.
See Yourself has a suite ofproducts.
Obviously, there's theone-on-one coaching, which I
call myself a success coach.
I call myself a success coach,I call myself a success coach.
So what that means is I workwith people to find their
success, and I don't really carewhat that is.
It could be finding a new job,it could be finding a girlfriend
(02:54):
, and that's the one-on-onecoaching.
I have a couple of otherproducts which I'll just skip on
, and one of those is SeeYourself and Get Unstuck.
That's a specific program forour younger people probably 18
to 25, who are lost, just stuckin the mud and really don't know
(03:18):
what they're doing with theirlives.
Now, I could go on and on aboutthat, but I won't because I
want to focus on a couple ofother things.
I could go on and on about that, but I won't because I want to
focus on a couple of otherthings.
The other one is Spicy Business.
Again, it's a really tailoredprogram for people who might be
a bit neurodiverse and they'rerunning their own business.
(03:39):
So I work with them to be ableto set in place operations,
processes etc.
For the business to be assmooth as possible, but also for
them to realize their theirneeds and to be able to look
after their health as they'regrowing a business.
(04:01):
I specifically want to talkabout next-gen leaders, but my
other really important thing isI call it.
Let's get rid of the drama now.
In America they call call themfractional coups, and no one in
Australia knows what the hellthat means.
So it basically means you canhave an operations manager on
contract and that person canjust come in whenever you need
(04:23):
them and do whatever is needed.
So, for example, I've beenworking with an amazing charity
called Women with DisabilitiesACT and we've worked on their
strategic plan, business plan,fundraising plan.
Redone their governance, redonetheir governance training and
(04:44):
their human resources.
So that's the sort of thing Ican offer a business anything
from working on policies,looking at teams and what you're
doing in a HR space, but also,more importantly, strategy,
business planning, fundraising.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
So neurodiversity is obviously something that runs
through a lot of what you do.
What is it that's drawn you tothat as a focus, and how has
your background set you up forthat?
Speaker 2 (05:12):
So it is a focus, because I worked for six years
in the NDIS space and I alsohave a lot of people around me
who are somewhat on the spectrumand I just love working with
(05:34):
them because it is spicy, it isinteresting and I feel that
there are a lot of specificallyyoung adults out there who are
on the spectrum or neurodiverseand they have incredible talents
(05:57):
but need some sort of directionand assistance just to be able
to see those strengths and thenchannel them.
And a lot of the time thatchanneling works in a small solo
business because of not beingable to work within a company or
(06:22):
that sort of structure.
So it's those people beingempowered to work where they
work and how they work and nothave to mask or be in a place
that they're not comfortable.
So that's where spicy businesscomes in, to really give those
(06:43):
people a lift.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
So how did you build your expertise in this?
Speaker 2 (06:50):
I've been a senior manager for well.
I spent nearly 10 years of mylife working in national
industry associations as a CEOfor nearly four years and a
senior manager for about five,six years.
So as a senior manager, Iworked on national projects.
(07:10):
I've worked on training.
I worked on fundraising,strategic planning, business
planning because always inassociations you're looking for
funds.
I've also been general managerand operations manager for
community organisations inCanberra.
(07:31):
So again, fundraising, strategy, building teams, and I think
why I decided See Yourself inYoung Adults is because they're
the people I love working with.
Fair enough, and building themup and giving them, empowering
them to really grow, and I'vedone that all throughout my
(07:51):
career.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
So how does seeing yourself differ from other sort
of coaching or mentoringplatforms that are out there?
Speaker 2 (08:01):
I'm not a traditional coach.
Look, I I'm not a traditionalcoach but I am, I think, quite
good at it.
I'm good with working withpeople to find what they need to
find and also, if they need abit of a kick up their bum, I'm
(08:23):
not scared to do that.
The other thing that does standout for see yourself, greg is
no one specializes in youngerpeople in Canberra.
There's not a coaching serviceor success or strategy people in
Canberra who specialises withyoung adults.
So I think that's where mydifference is and that's why
(08:46):
NextGen Leaders, which I knowwe'll talk about, is so
important to me.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
So just let me ask you, before we move on to talk
about next gen leaders, I wantto ask you about the kind of the
diversity of issues that you'redealing with with these young
people with some challenges andsome of these neurodiverse folk,
because you talk abouteverything from finding a job to
finding a girlfriend to sort ofeverything in between.
Where's the balance of issuesthat you're helping people with?
(09:12):
Is it in the personal space oris it in the professional
employment space?
Speaker 2 (09:17):
I think when you're coaching someone, they may come
to you with a professional issueand it may be I need to find a
job, but as you get into therelationship, there are probably
many more things going on intheir life as well.
So mental health is a big one.
(09:40):
I think loneliness is a reallyimportant, which I could talk
for this whole podcast about,and I don't want to.
But I feel that for our youngadults especially, covid hit
them hard and a lot of our youngpeople were locked up when they
(10:04):
really learned how to be socialbeings, how to actually form
long-term relationships and, youknow, trying to go through
college in Canberra online orstarting university without
O-Week.
So I feel that that communityand that being able to actually
(10:33):
just feel safe with other peopleand trust is is something
that's coming out as an issue.
Obviously it's careers, becauseeverything is changing so
quickly, so you might go touniversity and, you know, study
at commerce, but at the end ofthe day you'll come out and go.
Actually, I really like to dothis.
(10:56):
So for me, it's aboutempowering people's strengths
and their values.
Mental health is obviouslyanother big one, greg, because
again, our younger adults werehit hard If they already had a
mental health issue.
Covid came along and itexacerbated it a lot.
(11:18):
So those are the sort of thingswe deal with.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
And it's really interesting that you peel the
onion back and you have lots ofissues under the surface.
Potentially, how long does aprogram like this take?
How long are you typicallycoaching someone?
Speaker 2 (11:38):
that's a hard question because it it a lot of
the time we're coaching as well.
I'm not a psychologist and I'mnot a doctor, so I can only go
so far with people and I willobviously refer on because it's
dangerous for somebody to gooutside of their skill set.
(12:00):
A coaching should only no, Idon't know, is the question.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
So it varies from person to person.
It varies.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Some people might have come along.
One person I was working withcame for only three months.
Others it's a longer process.
It would be like asking me howlong do I need to go to a
psychologist for to get better?
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Indeed, all right.
Well, let's move on and talkabout the Next Gen Leaders
Program, which I know issomething you're very passionate
about.
So tell our audience what isthe program when does?
It kick off and what are youaiming to achieve?
Speaker 2 (12:50):
So something that I've realised is um, our young
adults don't have a I'm going tocall it a professional
community where they can becomfortable, fit in where
they're, we're crazy or beingdifferent is celebrated.
So I, next gen, grew out of anidea that young adults need that
(13:17):
community which I've talkedabout before place to belong and
a place to be celebrated.
But also when I did a focusgroup a while ago and what came
out of that was really, we alsowant we're time poor, we also
want skilled building, but notlike just, but not have to go
(13:41):
online or whatever.
So part of NextGen is theability to look at masterclasses
where they can learn aboutinterviewing and career
development, or a community ofpractice where they can get
together with peers and discussthings like well, my manager is
giving me a really hard time,I'm being micromanaged, or when
(14:05):
I do a piece of work, she takesall the credit for it, and that
could be a community practice ofhow to deal with difficult
managers when you're trying tobuild your career.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
So where are you at with the program You've launched
already or you're about tolaunch?
Speaker 2 (14:26):
So we have had an event and membership is open.
Please go to wwwseeyourselfnet.
Um and we are very excited toannounce that um next gen
leaders will be back up andrunning monthly gatherings um
(14:50):
first week of september, becauseI love spring and I thought
that would be a lovely time.
That would be a lovely time tostart again.
But also excitingly and I thinkthis could be a member of yours
as well is that ambrosio gindistillery have said that we can
hold our first spring gatheringthere fantastic venue,
(15:12):
fantastic time of year.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
So look at this point .
I'm going to turn to Blanca.
Thank you and tell me, blancayou know you were volunteering,
I think, in the first sessionwhat drew you into the Next Gen
Leaders programme?
Speaker 3 (15:26):
Yeah, fantastic Greg, and a wonderful question.
Honestly, I met the incredibleJane and I truly do think that
of her.
I think very highly of Jane.
She's helped me both throughcoaching services, through my
own difficulties in my careerand giving me also that sense of
purpose and involvement in NextGen leaders.
We met at the Back to Businessevent held by the Canberra
(15:49):
Business Chamber, which I highlyrecommend.
Everyone attends these events.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
They're great events, they're phenomenal events.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
It was a lot of fun.
I met a lot of incrediblepeople who all have boosted me
up already in the short timeI've known them.
Jane and I just had anoff-the-cuff conversation about
ourselves.
I told her some very personalstories I'm a very open
individual and she reciprocatedtelling me about this phenomenal
idea.
She had to bring alllike-minded people, maybe with
(16:19):
even slightly lesser socialskillset than I, together to
build upon that and where peoplelike myself, who certainly have
had their own difficulties, maybe able to champion those
greatly affected by COVID.
I couldn't imagine have been ayouth during that time.
I would be a very differentindividual if I'd gone through
(16:40):
that experience at a younger age.
So upon this discussion veryoff the cuff again still all at
this one event I looked her inthe eye and said how do I sign
up?
I'd love to volunteer.
Where do I sign?
When do I join?
And she just goes oh, it's onlyan idea at the moment.
And looking her dead in the eye, I said let's make this happen.
(17:03):
I believe that I've got somestrong Canberra connections
through my own world in therecruitment sphere.
I have some very, very closefriends, such as the owners of
Ambrosia Distillery and Lounge.
I thought that we couldprobably, between the two of us,
pull together a bit of a gameplan, some sponsorship and, yeah
(17:24):
, a path forward, not only formyself to give me that added
purpose I really needed earlierthis year, but also to give
something back to the communityand maybe to the areas of
community that feel shunned alittle by society or frightened
to venture to the businesschambers events.
In such a formal forum, Ireally wanted to see there be a
(17:47):
space for slightly lessformality and a coaching
experience to where, one day,our members of NextGen leaders
will feel fully confidentwalking into the Canberra
business chamber, back tobusiness events and having a
conversation with somebody whomay be incredibly different,
whether that be in skill set orneurodivergency levels, etc.
(18:09):
I think that it could be anincredible opportunity for us to
be able to blend society in avery wholesome, seamless fashion
back together.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Fantastic.
And look, I have to say thatthe Canberra Business Chamber
aims to make its events reallyinclusive and we want everyone
to come along.
So you shouldn't feel that ifanyone's listening to this, you
shouldn't feel that it's somesort of highbrow event.
But of course it is anetworking event.
They are networking events forbusiness people and everyone's
welcome.
(18:39):
But, supre, let me turn to you.
How did you come to be involvedwith the program?
Speaker 4 (18:46):
That's a very interesting question and thanks
for asking that, greg.
It was Blanca who invited mefor the first time to meet Jane.
Interestingly, blanca and Ididn't meet until then.
We were having a phoneconversation.
She's into recruitment spaceand I work for various
departments in the past.
So we're having this discussionand she comes up with this
beautiful idea of like hey,you're going to meet someone
(19:08):
really special and you're goingto enjoy the event, so you
should tag along as normal, mebeing skeptical, have no clue
how the event is going to be,just turn up and meet this
fantastic person, jane, and Ihappened to notice she was
speaking about next-gen leadersin there, and then I happened to
(19:40):
meet some really interestingpeople out there.
That conversation was the wordmisfits was the big term for me
which made me feel like this isthe place for people who
consider themselves, you know,really don't fit into the very
typical environment, is whereyou find a place to be there.
And because I have worked inpublic service all my life and I
come from a senior managementlevel to a mid-managerial level,
so what I do understand is youneed someone's as Jane said in
(20:04):
the very early conversation abit of a kick in the butt.
You need that at times to youto pull your strings, and then
you know, direct you and thenkeep moving forward.
So for me that's somethingreally motivated to you know, be
a part of it.
And when I had furtherconversation about you know how
(20:25):
are we taking this forward orwhat are we going to do about it
, and then I was just surprisedand thrilled when she offered me
a free coaching.
And I'd love to bring this uptoday because I have been
meeting her since a couple ofmonths now and I've never felt
so good about myself or thedirection, the strategic path
(20:46):
that she's actually helping meout.
And the beauty is we come fromvery diverse background, like me
working in a public policyspace and she, you know, from an
our industry.
So bringing those amalgamationand directing and having that
very honest, brutal conversationis extremely important.
So my own experience taught methat it's important to be open
(21:09):
and honest and as genuine as youcan.
I think Jane in here, she'shappy, she's the one who's going
to provide that.
So, yeah, I think I'm urgingfor her because it's purely
coming from my own experienceand working with her.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Excellent.
So, Blanca, come first week ofSeptember we're going to have a
Next Gen Leaders event.
What does the evening hold forpeople who might come along?
Speaker 3 (21:33):
Yes, certainly so.
The idea at the moment is a lotof laughter, a lot of fun,
certainly so.
The idea at the moment is a lotof laughter, a lot of fun,
certainly.
Another fantastic prizegiveaway.
I very much thrive in the eventspace.
I'd like to think and, againwith the help of my friends, I
think we'll pull something verymeaningful together.
We're putting together a panelof about three different
(21:55):
personnel, all from diversebackgrounds, panel of about
three different personnel, allfrom diverse backgrounds, all
with their own little bit of apersonal story I suppose, to
share with our members ofcommunity, to speak on important
topics such as personalbranding, being an entrepreneur
and also how to navigate thegeneral workspace and, I suppose
(22:18):
, the hierarchical structure ofa typical corporate organization
.
That might not come naturallyto all.
It'll be a very light night,full of fun, as it's totally
just a launch versus any type ofseminar, but we certainly aim
to have some very key takeawaysthat give people a sample of
what we'd like to elaboratefurther on in the future.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
Yeah, and Jane, this is going to be the first of many
sessions.
Is that the intention?
Speaker 2 (22:46):
So, yes, my vision is that we would have a NextGen
gathering monthly and that thesesessions would be partly guided
by our membership, or probablymostly guided by our membership,
and what topics they might wantto look at or you know what
(23:09):
they want to, you know talkabout, but with NextGen Leaders
and it's actually I'm sothankful for my friends each
side is I do talk about misfitsand outliers, um, and you know,
if you don't completely fit amold, so you know that's what
(23:30):
our, our community is, is verymuch about.
But with the gatherings theyare very much.
You know, you walk in and youdo feel comfortable straight
away.
And I can say that because whenwe did have our gathering in
June, everyone went away sayingthey felt comfortable, they
(23:54):
learnt something, et cetera.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
And is that what success is for attendees?
It's coming along learningsomething, feeling comfortable.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
And connected, but also learning something new, or
being able to talk to someone ormyself about what a masterclass
might look like or what acommunity practice would really
be useful.
So that would be part of yourmembership would be the ability
(24:23):
to participate in different,very sort of fun but informative
groups where you actually learnskills that are hands-on.
You know that are hands-onskills that you need but might
(24:44):
not have got the opportunity toget in your workplace and you'd
be with peers.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
Yeah, and you talk about outcasts and misfits.
I wouldn't want to sort ofthrow that label around too
wildly, but you know how manypeople are you expecting to sort
of get involved and be therecome the event in September.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
I Blanca, how many people can we fit in Ambrosio
Lounge?
Speaker 3 (25:11):
Exactly that, jane.
I reckon probably about 60 at alittle bit of a jam.
But our last event, I felt, wasa great success.
We weren't in high hopes fornumbers.
We wanted quality over quantity.
We wanted to really instillthat level of comfortability in
everyone who attended,regardless of what walk of life
(25:33):
they were from, and we were veryenthusiastic about the numbers
we saw.
I believe that there were about45 attendees and this was
without any external marketingnecessarily.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
And that shows, obviously, that there's good,
solid demand for this kind ofservice.
Supra, how big do you think themarket is?
Well, the market the whole ofthat younger generation.
Is that what I'm hearing?
Speaker 4 (26:00):
Well, let's not talk about ANU, just as isn't it?
So there are so manyuniversities, so many, because I
started something called HigherDegree Set Students back from
QUT.
So I understand the crowd whowould be very interested with
what Jane is doing.
Sorry, jane, right, I shouldn'tbe doing this right now.
I am expecting at least, ifit's a 60-blank card, then can
(26:24):
we aim for 59?
.
Speaker 3 (26:27):
I'll have a bit of a chat with the wonderful Andy and
see what his restrictions onbuilding code allow.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
Excellent.
Well, look, I'm sure it's goingto be a great event and I look
forward to hearing how it goes.
Thank, you.
Come your debrief and lookforward to catching up then, but
in the meantime, look, thankyou so much, ladies, for coming
on the podcast.
It's been great having a bit ofa chat.
Jane, just to confirm, ifyou're a young person wanting
more information about this,where do you go to find it?
Speaker 2 (26:57):
My website at wwwseeyourselfnet or my LinkedIn
, just Jane Brownbell or InstaJane, see yourself.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Fantastic.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
And just if I can do a shout-out See yourself is
actually a social enterprise.
So the other thing that I justwanted to say is and I will be
sending something for themembers' newsletter and I will
be sending something for themembers' newsletter, but if
there are members of the Chamberwho want to get involved, to
(27:41):
run a masterclass, provideprizes, be involved and be seen
as supporting next-gen leaders,please reach out to me, because
we really want people to getinvolved.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Fantastic, all right well.
Jane Brownville, dr SuprePonapa and Blanca Barreras.
Thank you so much for joiningme here on the Canberra Business
Podcast.
It's been great hearing aboutSee Yourself and the Next-Gen
Leaders Program and to ouraudience.
Thank you so much for takingthe time to listen.
Don't forget to follow us onyour favorite podcast platform
(28:15):
for future episodes of theCanberra Business Podcast.
I'm Greg Harford from theBusiness Chamber and I'll catch
you next time.
Hello and welcome to the Canberra Business Podcast.
I'm Greg Harford, your hostfrom the Canberra Business
Chamber, and today I have astudio full of people.
I'm joined by Jane Brownbill,who's the coach and founder of
See Yourself, and we're joinedby Dr Supre Panapa and Blanca
Barraras, who are coaches andvolunteers, alongside Jane in
(00:36):
one of her programs.
So, ladies, welcome to thepodcast.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Thanks for having us.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
It's great to have you here and, jane, let's kick
off with you.
What is See Yourself?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Thanks, greg.
Well, I have spent the lastnearly 30 years working in
high-level jobs from an industryCEO National Industry
Association.
Senior management rolesoperations general management
association.
Senior management rolesoperations general management
(01:10):
and last year I had anopportunity to take six months
off and just sit and think andwonder what I actually wanted to
do when I grow up.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
And did you do that here in Canberra?
Yeah, in Canberra I've beenback in Canberra since gosh 1998
.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Had babies and then just hung around and I'm happy.
I in Canberra since gosh 1998.
Had babies and then just hungaround and I'm happy.
I love Canberra.
So I was able to just sit andthink and what I decided is I
wanted to be able to use theskills and knowledge I've gained
over my career to work with,specifically young adults and
small organisations and peoplewho might have some sort of
(01:49):
neurodiversity, for them to beable to realise their dreams.
So see yourself is literallyabout success and it's about
achieving goals, whatever theyare.
And when I decided to start SeeYourself, I had a little think
about what was important to me.
So I'm at a place where my kidshave grown, but I want to be
(02:11):
available to them all the time.
So for a day, I wanted everyday to be fun, family, I wanted
to be autonomous, I wantedflexibility and I wanted to be
honest.
So that's what See Yourselfbrings.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
So what sort of things do you do at See Yourself
?
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Well, thank you for asking.
See Yourself has a suite ofproducts.
Obviously, there's theone-on-one coaching, which I
call myself a success coach.
I call myself a success coach,I call myself a success coach.
So what that means is I workwith people to find their
success, and I don't really carewhat that is.
It could be finding a new job,it could be finding a girlfriend
(02:54):
, and that's the one-on-onecoaching.
I have a couple of otherproducts which I'll just skip on
, and one of those is SeeYourself and Get Unstuck.
That's a specific program forour younger people probably 18
to 25, who are lost, just stuckin the mud and really don't know
(03:18):
what they're doing with theirlives.
Now, I could go on and on aboutthat, but I won't because I
want to focus on a couple ofother things.
I could go on and on about that, but I won't because I want to
focus on a couple of otherthings.
The other one is Spicy Business.
Again, it's a really tailoredprogram for people who might be
a bit neurodiverse and they'rerunning their own business.
(03:39):
So I work with them to be ableto set in place operations,
processes etc.
For the business to be assmooth as possible, but also for
them to realize their theirneeds and to be able to look
after their health as they'regrowing a business.
(04:01):
I specifically want to talkabout next-gen leaders, but my
other really important thing isI call it.
Let's get rid of the drama now.
In America they call call themfractional coups, and no one in
Australia knows what the hellthat means.
So it basically means you canhave an operations manager on
contract and that person canjust come in whenever you need
(04:23):
them and do whatever is needed.
So, for example, I've beenworking with an amazing charity
called Women with DisabilitiesACT and we've worked on their
strategic plan, business plan,fundraising plan.
Redone their governance, redonetheir governance training and
(04:44):
their human resources.
So that's the sort of thing Ican offer a business anything
from working on policies,looking at teams and what you're
doing in a HR space, but also,more importantly, strategy,
business planning, fundraising.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
So neurodiversity is obviously something that runs
through a lot of what you do.
What is it that's drawn you tothat as a focus, and how has
your background set you up forthat?
Speaker 2 (05:12):
So it is a focus, because I worked for six years
in the NDIS space and I alsohave a lot of people around me
who are somewhat on the spectrumand I just love working with
(05:34):
them because it is spicy, it isinteresting and I feel that
there are a lot of specificallyyoung adults out there who are
on the spectrum or neurodiverseand they have incredible talents
(05:57):
but need some sort of directionand assistance just to be able
to see those strengths and thenchannel them.
And a lot of the time thatchanneling works in a small solo
business because of not beingable to work within a company or
(06:22):
that sort of structure.
So it's those people beingempowered to work where they
work and how they work and nothave to mask or be in a place
that they're not comfortable.
So that's where spicy businesscomes in, to really give those
(06:43):
people a lift.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
So how did you build your expertise in this?
Speaker 2 (06:50):
I've been a senior manager for well.
I spent nearly 10 years of mylife working in national
industry associations as a CEOfor nearly four years and a
senior manager for about five,six years.
So as a senior manager, Iworked on national projects.
(07:10):
I've worked on training.
I worked on fundraising,strategic planning, business
planning because always inassociations you're looking for
funds.
I've also been general managerand operations manager for
community organisations inCanberra.
(07:31):
So again, fundraising, strategy, building teams, and I think
why I decided See Yourself inYoung Adults is because they're
the people I love working with.
Fair enough, and building themup and giving them, empowering
them to really grow, and I'vedone that all throughout my
(07:51):
career.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
So how does seeing yourself differ from other sort
of coaching or mentoringplatforms that are out there?
Speaker 2 (08:01):
I'm not a traditional coach.
Look, I I'm not a traditionalcoach but I am, I think, quite
good at it.
I'm good with working withpeople to find what they need to
find and also, if they need abit of a kick up their bum, I'm
(08:23):
not scared to do that.
The other thing that does standout for see yourself, greg is
no one specializes in youngerpeople in Canberra.
There's not a coaching serviceor success or strategy people in
Canberra who specialises withyoung adults.
So I think that's where mydifference is and that's why
(08:46):
NextGen Leaders, which I knowwe'll talk about, is so
important to me.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
So just let me ask you, before we move on to talk
about next gen leaders, I wantto ask you about the kind of the
diversity of issues that you'redealing with with these young
people with some challenges andsome of these neurodiverse folk,
because you talk abouteverything from finding a job to
finding a girlfriend to sort ofeverything in between.
Where's the balance of issuesthat you're helping people with?
(09:12):
Is it in the personal space oris it in the professional
employment space?
Speaker 2 (09:17):
I think when you're coaching someone, they may come
to you with a professional issueand it may be I need to find a
job, but as you get into therelationship, there are probably
many more things going on intheir life as well.
So mental health is a big one.
(09:40):
I think loneliness is a reallyimportant, which I could talk
for this whole podcast about,and I don't want to.
But I feel that for our youngadults especially, covid hit
them hard and a lot of our youngpeople were locked up when they
(10:04):
really learned how to be socialbeings, how to actually form
long-term relationships and, youknow, trying to go through
college in Canberra online orstarting university without
O-Week.
So I feel that that communityand that being able to actually
(10:33):
just feel safe with other peopleand trust is is something
that's coming out as an issue.
Obviously it's careers, becauseeverything is changing so
quickly, so you might go touniversity and, you know, study
at commerce, but at the end ofthe day you'll come out and go.
Actually, I really like to dothis.
(10:56):
So for me, it's aboutempowering people's strengths
and their values.
Mental health is obviouslyanother big one, greg, because
again, our younger adults werehit hard If they already had a
mental health issue.
Covid came along and itexacerbated it a lot.
(11:18):
So those are the sort of thingswe deal with.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
And it's really interesting that you peel the
onion back and you have lots ofissues under the surface.
Potentially, how long does aprogram like this take?
How long are you typicallycoaching someone?
Speaker 2 (11:38):
that's a hard question because it it a lot of
the time we're coaching as well.
I'm not a psychologist and I'mnot a doctor, so I can only go
so far with people and I willobviously refer on because it's
dangerous for somebody to gooutside of their skill set.
(12:00):
A coaching should only no, Idon't know, is the question.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
So it varies from person to person.
It varies.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Some people might have come along.
One person I was working withcame for only three months.
Others it's a longer process.
It would be like asking me howlong do I need to go to a
psychologist for to get better?
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Indeed, all right.
Well, let's move on and talkabout the Next Gen Leaders
Program, which I know issomething you're very passionate
about.
So tell our audience what isthe program when does?
It kick off and what are youaiming to achieve?
Speaker 2 (12:50):
So something that I've realised is um, our young
adults don't have a I'm going tocall it a professional
community where they can becomfortable, fit in where
they're, we're crazy or beingdifferent is celebrated.
So I, next gen, grew out of anidea that young adults need that
(13:17):
community which I've talkedabout before place to belong and
a place to be celebrated.
But also when I did a focusgroup a while ago and what came
out of that was really, we alsowant we're time poor, we also
want skilled building, but notlike just, but not have to go
(13:41):
online or whatever.
So part of NextGen is theability to look at masterclasses
where they can learn aboutinterviewing and career
development, or a community ofpractice where they can get
together with peers and discussthings like well, my manager is
giving me a really hard time,I'm being micromanaged, or when
(14:05):
I do a piece of work, she takesall the credit for it, and that
could be a community practice ofhow to deal with difficult
managers when you're trying tobuild your career.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
So where are you at with the program You've launched
already or you're about tolaunch?
Speaker 2 (14:26):
So we have had an event and membership is open.
Please go to wwwseeyourselfnet.
Um and we are very excited toannounce that um next gen
leaders will be back up andrunning monthly gatherings um
(14:50):
first week of september, becauseI love spring and I thought
that would be a lovely time.
That would be a lovely time tostart again.
But also excitingly and I thinkthis could be a member of yours
as well is that ambrosio gindistillery have said that we can
hold our first spring gatheringthere fantastic venue,
(15:12):
fantastic time of year.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
So look at this point .
I'm going to turn to Blanca.
Thank you and tell me, blancayou know you were volunteering,
I think, in the first sessionwhat drew you into the Next Gen
Leaders programme?
Speaker 3 (15:26):
Yeah, fantastic Greg, and a wonderful question.
Honestly, I met the incredibleJane and I truly do think that
of her.
I think very highly of Jane.
She's helped me both throughcoaching services, through my
own difficulties in my careerand giving me also that sense of
purpose and involvement in NextGen leaders.
We met at the Back to Businessevent held by the Canberra
(15:49):
Business Chamber, which I highlyrecommend.
Everyone attends these events.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
They're great events, they're phenomenal events.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
It was a lot of fun.
I met a lot of incrediblepeople who all have boosted me
up already in the short timeI've known them.
Jane and I just had anoff-the-cuff conversation about
ourselves.
I told her some very personalstories I'm a very open
individual and she reciprocatedtelling me about this phenomenal
idea.
She had to bring alllike-minded people, maybe with
(16:19):
even slightly lesser socialskillset than I, together to
build upon that and where peoplelike myself, who certainly have
had their own difficulties, maybe able to champion those
greatly affected by COVID.
I couldn't imagine have been ayouth during that time.
I would be a very differentindividual if I'd gone through
(16:40):
that experience at a younger age.
So upon this discussion veryoff the cuff again still all at
this one event I looked her inthe eye and said how do I sign
up?
I'd love to volunteer.
Where do I sign?
When do I join?
And she just goes oh, it's onlyan idea at the moment.
And looking her dead in the eye, I said let's make this happen.
(17:03):
I believe that I've got somestrong Canberra connections
through my own world in therecruitment sphere.
I have some very, very closefriends, such as the owners of
Ambrosia Distillery and Lounge.
I thought that we couldprobably, between the two of us,
pull together a bit of a gameplan, some sponsorship and, yeah
(17:24):
, a path forward, not only formyself to give me that added
purpose I really needed earlierthis year, but also to give
something back to the communityand maybe to the areas of
community that feel shunned alittle by society or frightened
to venture to the businesschambers events.
In such a formal forum, Ireally wanted to see there be a
(17:47):
space for slightly lessformality and a coaching
experience to where, one day,our members of NextGen leaders
will feel fully confidentwalking into the Canberra
business chamber, back tobusiness events and having a
conversation with somebody whomay be incredibly different,
whether that be in skill set orneurodivergency levels, etc.
(18:09):
I think that it could be anincredible opportunity for us to
be able to blend society in avery wholesome, seamless fashion
back together.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Fantastic.
And look, I have to say thatthe Canberra Business Chamber
aims to make its events reallyinclusive and we want everyone
to come along.
So you shouldn't feel that ifanyone's listening to this, you
shouldn't feel that it's somesort of highbrow event.
But of course it is anetworking event.
They are networking events forbusiness people and everyone's
welcome.
(18:39):
But, supre, let me turn to you.
How did you come to be involvedwith the program?
Speaker 4 (18:46):
That's a very interesting question and thanks
for asking that, greg.
It was Blanca who invited mefor the first time to meet Jane.
Interestingly, blanca and Ididn't meet until then.
We were having a phoneconversation.
She's into recruitment spaceand I work for various
departments in the past.
So we're having this discussionand she comes up with this
beautiful idea of like hey,you're going to meet someone
(19:08):
really special and you're goingto enjoy the event, so you
should tag along as normal, mebeing skeptical, have no clue
how the event is going to be,just turn up and meet this
fantastic person, jane, and Ihappened to notice she was
speaking about next-gen leadersin there, and then I happened to
(19:40):
meet some really interestingpeople out there.
That conversation was the wordmisfits was the big term for me
which made me feel like this isthe place for people who
consider themselves, you know,really don't fit into the very
typical environment, is whereyou find a place to be there.
And because I have worked inpublic service all my life and I
come from a senior managementlevel to a mid-managerial level,
so what I do understand is youneed someone's as Jane said in
(20:04):
the very early conversation abit of a kick in the butt.
You need that at times to youto pull your strings, and then
you know, direct you and thenkeep moving forward.
So for me that's somethingreally motivated to you know, be
a part of it.
And when I had furtherconversation about you know how
(20:25):
are we taking this forward orwhat are we going to do about it
, and then I was just surprisedand thrilled when she offered me
a free coaching.
And I'd love to bring this uptoday because I have been
meeting her since a couple ofmonths now and I've never felt
so good about myself or thedirection, the strategic path
(20:46):
that she's actually helping meout.
And the beauty is we come fromvery diverse background, like me
working in a public policyspace and she, you know, from an
our industry.
So bringing those amalgamationand directing and having that
very honest, brutal conversationis extremely important.
So my own experience taught methat it's important to be open
(21:09):
and honest and as genuine as youcan.
I think Jane in here, she'shappy, she's the one who's going
to provide that.
So, yeah, I think I'm urgingfor her because it's purely
coming from my own experienceand working with her.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Excellent.
So, Blanca, come first week ofSeptember we're going to have a
Next Gen Leaders event.
What does the evening hold forpeople who might come along?
Speaker 3 (21:33):
Yes, certainly so.
The idea at the moment is a lotof laughter, a lot of fun,
certainly so.
The idea at the moment is a lotof laughter, a lot of fun,
certainly.
Another fantastic prizegiveaway.
I very much thrive in the eventspace.
I'd like to think and, againwith the help of my friends, I
think we'll pull something verymeaningful together.
We're putting together a panelof about three different
(21:55):
personnel, all from diversebackgrounds, panel of about
three different personnel, allfrom diverse backgrounds, all
with their own little bit of apersonal story I suppose, to
share with our members ofcommunity, to speak on important
topics such as personalbranding, being an entrepreneur
and also how to navigate thegeneral workspace and, I suppose
(22:18):
, the hierarchical structure ofa typical corporate organization
.
That might not come naturallyto all.
It'll be a very light night,full of fun, as it's totally
just a launch versus any type ofseminar, but we certainly aim
to have some very key takeawaysthat give people a sample of
what we'd like to elaboratefurther on in the future.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
Yeah, and Jane, this is going to be the first of many
sessions.
Is that the intention?
Speaker 2 (22:46):
So, yes, my vision is that we would have a NextGen
gathering monthly and that thesesessions would be partly guided
by our membership, or probablymostly guided by our membership,
and what topics they might wantto look at or you know what
(23:09):
they want to, you know talkabout, but with NextGen Leaders
and it's actually I'm sothankful for my friends each
side is I do talk about misfitsand outliers, um, and you know,
if you don't completely fit amold, so you know that's what
(23:30):
our, our community is, is verymuch about.
But with the gatherings theyare very much.
You know, you walk in and youdo feel comfortable straight
away.
And I can say that because whenwe did have our gathering in
June, everyone went away sayingthey felt comfortable, they
(23:54):
learnt something, et cetera.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
And is that what success is for attendees?
It's coming along learningsomething, feeling comfortable.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
And connected, but also learning something new, or
being able to talk to someone ormyself about what a masterclass
might look like or what acommunity practice would really
be useful.
So that would be part of yourmembership would be the ability
(24:23):
to participate in different,very sort of fun but informative
groups where you actually learnskills that are hands-on.
You know that are hands-onskills that you need but might
(24:44):
not have got the opportunity toget in your workplace and you'd
be with peers.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
Yeah, and you talk about outcasts and misfits.
I wouldn't want to sort ofthrow that label around too
wildly, but you know how manypeople are you expecting to sort
of get involved and be therecome the event in September.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
I Blanca, how many people can we fit in Ambrosio
Lounge?
Speaker 3 (25:11):
Exactly that, jane.
I reckon probably about 60 at alittle bit of a jam.
But our last event, I felt, wasa great success.
We weren't in high hopes fornumbers.
We wanted quality over quantity.
We wanted to really instillthat level of comfortability in
everyone who attended,regardless of what walk of life
(25:33):
they were from, and we were veryenthusiastic about the numbers
we saw.
I believe that there were about45 attendees and this was
without any external marketingnecessarily.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
And that shows, obviously, that there's good,
solid demand for this kind ofservice.
Supra, how big do you think themarket is?
Well, the market the whole ofthat younger generation.
Is that what I'm hearing?
Speaker 4 (26:00):
Well, let's not talk about ANU, just as isn't it?
So there are so manyuniversities, so many, because I
started something called HigherDegree Set Students back from
QUT.
So I understand the crowd whowould be very interested with
what Jane is doing.
Sorry, jane, right, I shouldn'tbe doing this right now.
I am expecting at least, ifit's a 60-blank card, then can
(26:24):
we aim for 59?
.
Speaker 3 (26:27):
I'll have a bit of a chat with the wonderful Andy and
see what his restrictions onbuilding code allow.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
Excellent.
Well, look, I'm sure it's goingto be a great event and I look
forward to hearing how it goes.
Thank, you.
Come your debrief and lookforward to catching up then, but
in the meantime, look, thankyou so much, ladies, for coming
on the podcast.
It's been great having a bit ofa chat.
Jane, just to confirm, ifyou're a young person wanting
more information about this,where do you go to find it?
Speaker 2 (26:57):
My website at wwwseeyourselfnet or my LinkedIn
, just Jane Brownbell or InstaJane, see yourself.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Fantastic.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
And just if I can do a shout-out See yourself is
actually a social enterprise.
So the other thing that I justwanted to say is and I will be
sending something for themembers' newsletter and I will
be sending something for themembers' newsletter, but if
there are members of the Chamberwho want to get involved, to
(27:41):
run a masterclass, provideprizes, be involved and be seen
as supporting next-gen leaders,please reach out to me, because
we really want people to getinvolved.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Fantastic, all right well.
Jane Brownville, dr SuprePonapa and Blanca Barreras.
Thank you so much for joiningme here on the Canberra Business
Podcast.
It's been great hearing aboutSee Yourself and the Next-Gen
Leaders Program and to ouraudience.
Thank you so much for takingthe time to listen.
Don't forget to follow us onyour favorite podcast platform
(28:15):
for future episodes of theCanberra Business Podcast.
I'm Greg Harford from theBusiness Chamber and I'll catch
you next time.
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