The Spill

This article was written by outgoing Hydro Tasmania CEO, Ian Brooksbank

Culture eats strategy for breakfast. Or so the saying goes.  

As I step down as Hydro Tasmania CEO into semi-retirement after many years in senior leadership positions, I’m not sure I’d go that far. In my experience it’s a triumvirate of culture, leadership, and strategy, in which all influence and depend on each other. Success requires all three. 

Of the many things we have accomplished during my time at Hydro Tasmania, a strong focus on culture and leadership is what I’m most proud of. 

This has allowed us to refine a bold vision and drive our strategy towards fruition. And it has underpinned our response to droughts and floods and fires and the many other challenges we face managing a complex hydropower network in a weather-dependent energy system. 

Trevallyn Dam, September 2024

I cannot think of a single thing more important than ensuring people can go home safely at the end of a shift and we’ve worked hard to embed a strong safety culture. This has underpinned sustained low rates of workplace injuries over recent years, including last year’s record low. 

More than 600 staff have completed culture and leadership training since the program started in 2022. We don’t always take the time to develop what can be seen as the ‘softer’ skills, but they are crucial in any modern workplace, and especially in a rapidly evolving industry like energy. A big part of that is understanding what motivates and compels us, and how our life experiences influence the way we show up at work.  

We’ve strived to create a more diverse and inclusive workforce, with gender diversity a particular focus. I was honoured to be part of the Champions of Change Coalition, working alongside my colleague and managing director of Momentum Energy, Lisa Chiba, to help ensure women’s expertise, innovation and insights are harnessed in the national energy transition. 

I’m immensely proud to have approved the introduction of our parental leave policy that allows both parents to take 15 weeks paid leave. Several new dads have told me how precious that time was for them as they formed deep bonds with their babies. 

Flexible working arrangements are also helping people to better balance their working lives with personal responsibilities such as parenting. 

We have gender balance across the senior leadership level, but we have more work to do to improve balance across the whole business. We have set ourselves ambitious goals across pay, leadership and flexibility. 

This year we launched the Disability Employee Network, which will help drive changes that make Hydro Tasmania a better, more inclusive place for people with a disability to work, as we work to develop our second Disability Inclusion Action Plan. 

And we are developing clearer pathways for people to move internally, as well as new training and development programs so people can grow their careers and get broader business experience. 

Ian, with Lucy Aird (Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), Peter Esser (Cyber Security Operations Lead and expecting father), and Ruth Groom (Executive GM People, Culture and Engagement) announcing the new parental leave policy in June 2022

Reflecting on my initial triangle of culture, leadership, and strategy, maybe it all boils down to something as simple as ‘people’.  

Invest in people’s capabilities and career pathways. Invest in creating an environment that allows people to thrive at home and at work. Invest in diverse perspectives, experiences, and capabilities. Invest in the processes and training that keep people safe and well. 

Our survey scores over the past few years suggest this is working. Since 2021, our overall engagement score increased from 57 per cent to 72 per cent and our inclusion score from 58 per cent to 74 per cent.  

Ultimately, the legacy I want to leave is helping to make Hydro Tasmania a better place to work; a place that our staff are proud of, that people want to be a part of, where everyone is working towards a common vision. 

Finally, I want to say a big thank-you to all of those who so warmly welcomed me as CEO and allowed me to be who I am in the role. The business is in safe hands with Erin van Maanen as Acting CEO, supported by a very capable executive team. I will be watching Hydro Tasmania’s success with keen interest (from a golf course).