We are told – and only need to look around to see for ourselves – that change is the only constant in business. It is also clear that while for some change has happened more quickly and more radically than for others, for everyone the pace of change is increasing all the time. To put it another way – change will never happen more slowly than it does now. Obviously then, managing change, and developing the skills that will help business leaders to anticipate, adjust and be resilient to change is an important focus for business.
Melanie has thirty years’ experience both as an employee, as an academic at tertiary level, and in her own business as an external consultant/ business coach advising and supporting future leaders, businesses, business leaders and their teams in:
- Strategic and operational planning
- Organisational development
- Enhancing leadership capability
- Improving team interactions and performance
Aside from this extensive and broad-ranged practical experience Melanie has the academic qualifications across aspects of business, accounting and management, plus she is a certified Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) practitioner and trained LEADR mediator. She has accreditations in a range of assessment processes and tools including the full set of Human Synergistics diagnostics.
Read MoreMelanie is also a Master Instructor and Senior Consultant in change management solutions with Prosci, and regularly facilitates/presents in New Zealand and Australia the range of Prosci Change Management programmes, including the internationally recognised three-day Change Management Practitioners Programme – in both public and in-house courses for businesses and government.
In August 2017, after eight years at the University of Auckland, Melanie left her role – as Associate Director of Organisational Development. Her key responsibilities at the University included:
- Design and development of nine different leadership programmes
- Development and delivery of the annual staff Capability Development Programme of 200 workshops attended by approximately 9,000 registrations each year. Including IT workshops.
- Leadership development and support for senior leaders and Academic Heads
- Bi-annual Staff Engagement Survey
- Organisation of 360° assessments and external Executive Coaches for senior leaders
- Delivery of Prosci change management workshops for academic and professional staff; and
- Consulting work for departmental culture and leadership capability initiatives.
She maintains her links with the university by facilitating the Academic Leaders Programme and change management workshops.
Prior to joining the University in 2009 – in her role as director of her company Business Strategies Limited – Melanie worked for 10 years helping large and small organisations in the public and private sectors with business planning and strategy implementation, including the design and implementation of quality management systems and performance frameworks.
She uses her extensive academic and professional networks and knowledge to help leader/managers and teams to improve their effectiveness by using a participative and design-thinking approach.
Melanie has a proven ability to communicate and relate to people from all backgrounds with empathy and authenticity. A lateral, systems-orientated thinker, she can explore strategic issues and translate these into sound plans and workable client-specific operational solutions to manage change.
