Laura Pyszkowski - A/Director, Office of the Secretary

In this episode of the One Health Podcast, Dorian Broomhall, Manager of Culture & Wellbeing, gets to know Laura Pyszkowski, outgoing A/Director of the Office of the Secretary, and soon-to-be Executive Director of Nursing / Director of Services for the Department’s home and community care programs.

In our conversation, Laura talks about times in her life she had decided to change direction and about how that has taken from Launceston to Sydney, Melbourne, and London.

She speaks about her desire to be of service to her community, and the sense of connection that brings her.

She tells us about her experiences working through the height of the pandemic. She speaks about how important it was to building relationships during that time, and the pride she felt in seeing great people come together to quickly make an idea a reality.

She speaks about embracing the strengths that come from the different ways people like to work, and the benefits of staying open to being challenged.

Laura speaks about the experience of receiving a Public Service Medal, and about how hard it can be for many of us to accept recognition.

Finally, she tells us about the responsibilities that fall under the role of the Director of the Office of the Secretary.

Transcript

Dorian Broomhall:

Welcome to the One Health podcast. This episode was recorded on the land of the palawa people. I acknowledge and pay respect to all Tasmanian Aboriginal people and to their deep history of storytelling. My name is Dorian Broomhall, I'm the manager of Culture and Wellbeing for the Department of Health here in lutruwita, Tasmania. In this third series of our podcast, we're continuing to get to know executives from across our organisation as people, as well as leaders. We'll hear about the varied paths they've taken to reach where they are today and hear what lessons they've learned along the way. We're kicking the series off with my chat with Laura Pyszkowski, the outgoing acting director of the Office of the Secretary, and soon to be executive director of nursing and the director of services for the Department's Home and Community Care programmes.

In our conversation, Laura talks about the moments in her life when she has made drastic decisions to change direction and about how that has taken her from Launceston to Sydney and all the way to London. She speaks about her desire to be of service to her community and the sense of connection that brings her. She tells us about what it was like to work through the pandemic, including the importance of building relationships during that time. She also tells us what the director of the office of the secretary actually does. I started every one of my conversations with the same question that we asked back in series one, so let's get into it. What did you want to be when you were in kindergarten?

Laura Pyszkowski:

Yes, I did have the heads up, Dorian, so I have given this some thought. Essentially, it was a hairdresser.

Dorian Broomhall:

Yeah, right. I don't think I've had that one yet.

Laura Pyszkowski:

I had to have a big think back to recognise where that came from. Essentially, across the road from a park on the way to school, there was a hairdresser. That was my walk to school, but it was also the place that we went on an excursion as our kindergarten class. I remember thinking it was such a long way to walk as a group of probably 16, 18 school children up to that hairdressing salon and go inside and it was probably everything you would imagine of an 80s hairdressers. It had beautiful gold riding on the windows and lots of mirrors and the hairdressers and people in curling sets. That's what I remember, and I think that's what I wanted to be because it looked exciting and new and different to what I knew every day. The alternative, I think was the other excursion was to the butchers. That was never going to appeal to me, and I still cannot stand the smell of a butchers. They were the two probably careers that were front and centre at that age.

Dorian Broomhall:

Yeah, fascinating. Notwithstanding the curiosity that I've got that your kindergarten teacher thought, "Hey, I know what we're going to do for a school excursion. We're going to go to the hairdressers. Oh, and maybe the butchers too. We'll pop around there and take a bit of a look." Interesting.

Laura Pyszkowski:

All within walking distance.

Dorian Broomhall:

Well, and as you say, you’ve got to think creatively. Where were you when you were in walking distance of a hairdresser and a butcher in kindergarten?

Laura Pyszkowski:

I was in Invermay in Launceston, which is where I grew up.

Dorian Broomhall:

Aha, in the swamp.

Laura Pyszkowski:

In the swamp, absolutely.

Dorian Broomhall:

Launceston girl.

Laura Pyszkowski:

Yes, absolutely. That was my childhood home, until I left after university.

Dorian Broomhall:

Did you study in Launceston?

Laura Pyszkowski:

Yes. Absolutely, at UTAS.

Dorian Broomhall:

Did you at that point go forth to do your nursing degree? Was that where you went?

Laura Pyszkowski:

Yeah, absolutely. Interestingly enough, nursing was always the second choice.

Dorian Broomhall:

After hairdressing?

Laura Pyszkowski:

After hairdressing, yes, it evolved. There are some synergies between nursing and hairdressing. We have to form connections very quickly and ensure people walk out with that experience that they expected. It was always the second choice. I'd gone through secondary school college with this ideal that I was going to join the Defence Forces, so I was quite tied to that particular career path. I actually went through a range of entrance processes for ADFA and came down to Hobart, I think on a Redline bus, went up to the barracks, went through the processes and had a number of occasions. Then somebody said to me, "Is this really what you want to do?" I think I astounded myself, and them behind that big desk and said, "No, I want to be a nurse," and completely changed my mind.

I recall calling my mother from a phone box, this is giving away my age, and telling her, like she was excited, wanted to know what the outcome was, how we're going. I said, "Oh, well, it went really well. they asked me was this what I really wanted to do, and I told them, no." Wow, silence. My mom, I'm pretty sure responded, well, "That's okay. What do you want to do after a moment?" I said, "I'm going to go to uni and be a nurse." That was the change. I can still recall, and it's not the same location where Redline is now, but bus stations were bigger back then as well because it was a primary mode of transport, being on that payphone and making that call and then catching the bus back and going, okay, this is a time to remember and things are going to look different to where I thought they were going to be for probably the past four or five years that I'd had this particular ideal that I was going to join the Defence forces.

Dorian Broomhall:

One thing, as a Navy reservist of 16 years, it's not too late, we'd still love to have you. You can be a nurse in the Navy.

Laura Pyszkowski:

Oh, absolutely. I think there was much of a conversation around that at the time. Come back when you're done.

Dorian Broomhall:

Totally, and hopefully, the door is always open, so never forget that dream. I think there's something amazing about even at that time you had the self-awareness to realise that this is actually a big decision and I'm going to remember this moment, but to make that decision and go, I actually got a feeling that actually no, I do want to go and do something different, and I didn't realise until that time. If you have any other moments of your life that have been that profound in terms of actually, no, I'm going to go and do something different?

Laura Pyszkowski:

Look, I probably have always been pretty strong in my decision-making, and I'm sure it stays to this day. I certainly know that when I finished my uni degree three and a bit years later, that on the receipt of that transition to practise or graduate year as it was then, in the piece of paper, I think was mailed to me. Might've been emailed, but I feel like I had a piece of paper, it was tangible. The offer that I received was six months on a general medicine ward at the LGH and six months at the North Eastern Soldiers Memorial Hospital in Scottsdale. I think at that moment, again, I went, "Am I saying yes to this opportunity or am I taking a different one?" Again, made a decision that I would then proactively look for graduate nursing year programmes across the country.

Again, really feel quite connected to that moment where this was dial up internet, sending off emails, making phone calls, and was really lucky that I had a couple of interviews and I managed to have one for St. Vincent's in Sydney. Again, was that I knew that there was something more. Whilst I loved my nursing placements at the LGH and I'm really much connected to my family and to Tasmania, I was seeking something else, and probably it was the fire in the belly that made me make that decision as a 17-year-old was, I'm not going to be tired, and where that takes me. There's been a few moments conversely when I, so I moved to Sydney, was staying in nurses' accommodation just on the other side of Kings Cross. It was a big eye-opening experience for me, and again, enjoyed a couple of years there.

Nursing really made massive impact to the type of nurse I was and where I wanted to be. Then again, okay, time to see something, to do something different and made that decision to travel overseas. I can reflect now that I've had these periods every sort of three to four years where I start to go, "What is it that I want? There's something more." I think it comes back to the conversation we're having offline. I'm always seeking to be challenged, but there's still a connection to those internal things that I want to do, which is about being there for my community, serving, whether it's in a clinical nature or for an organisation like health. I can match them along the timeline of those moments where I've gone, "Okay, it's time to make a decision. Where am I going to be? What am I going to do?"

Dorian Broomhall:

I love that idea of serving and that idea of service. I'm relatively new to the public service learning that I've had this concurrent military career. I realise now how passionate I am about the public service and how important service to the community is to me. I'm not a nurse or a clinician, of course, I've got to find different ways to contribute. I think it's important, and I don't think we talk about it enough, especially when we think about how we're going to recruit and retain and we talk about the job offers and the value proposition and all of these important things that we want to discuss.

We don't seem to talk a lot about tapping into people's desire to want to actually serve. Actually, that's much bigger for people than we might realise. I'm interested, what was the culture shock like? I'm from Launceston originally, too. I grew up in Hobart, so when I moved to Sydney, when I finished year 12 for a year with the Navy, even for me, that culture shock was pretty big. What was it like for you as a freshly-minted nurse going to work at St. Vincent's across from the cross? That's a wild time to be there.

Laura Pyszkowski:

Absolutely. Look, the big city appeal that was there for me, I was, "Okay, this is amazing." I was probably a little bit naive. I probably didn't see danger and risk as much as I might do now. Maybe I'm probably a little bit kinder to my mother and her reactions to me moving. Back then, the city was alive. There wasn't the lockout laws and the difference in nightlife that there is now. People intrigued me, they really do. I was probably, each and every one of the individuals I connected with, whether it was professionally or those that came in and were patients of mine during the time, they were varied, they were eclectic, but they were all there to be cared for. That was really appealing. There's a curiosity and an interest that I had with the individuals that I met, most definitely. It was a shock. I can remember walking along and all sorts of illegal things happening around me as I went from one end of the cross to work, but I also felt really safe because the hospital was key in that area and a real central place.

The way in which it is set up as part of that community is felt. It might be this inner city, big tertiary facility. Obviously, we've seen from many a TV show that's been based in that emergency department. At the end of the day, it was people that just needed care and they came from all over the eastern suburbs, and I found that really interesting. I made lifelong friends. I certainly, like most people in their first jobs, I ended up back where the people were nice because that's a key thing. I really fell in love with cancer nursing and being a haematology nurse during my time at St. Vincent's. We were working, I talked about before being at Scottsdale and the LGH when I went to a graduate year where I was in the palliative care unit that was still seeing a number of clients impacted by HIV and AIDS-related illnesses to working in a stem cell transplant unit to having a rotation in the emergency department.

I just had this amazing 12 months of experience. Of course, when you got to that point of where do you want to go, I went back to where they were nice, but made some amazing friends. I still really look back fondly on that experience. I enjoyed the nightlife, I enjoyed the arts, the culture, everything that Sydney have to offer. I mean, it's a beautiful city. What's not to love? Growing up in Invermay, I could walk anywhere, which was fabulous. I love Launceston. I'm completely tied to Lonnie and I love the fact that I could walk into town or to the gorge. In Sydney where I was living, I'd be like, I'd go for a 20-minute walk, I'd be down in the harbour, going down different parts of the city and exploring. It was just amazing. A big shock, but a welcome shock.

Dorian Broomhall:

I love that thing that you said couple of times there where do you want to go next, back to where the people are nice. I think that's a beautiful way to orient to which direction we might want to go.

Laura Pyszkowski:

Absolutely.

Dorian Broomhall:

Yet you thought, "Oh, I'm going to go overseas." Where did you go?

Laura Pyszkowski:

I went to London, and probably influenced again by living in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. Friends of mine that I'd made during that time, we'd all decided that we would go over. I was still really connected to working in cancer nursing, in haematology, so that really sort of tailored where I wanted to work. I did the usual thing, worked casually, travelled lots, all of those fun things. Essentially, based in London and working at the London Clinic, which is a very prestigious hospital on Harley Street. Probably again, another really diverse group of patients that I cared for in that environment.

Dorian Broomhall:

When you were finished overseas, you came back to Australia. What brought you back?

Laura Pyszkowski:

Home, family. It was just time. I'd had four and a half, nearly five years overseas. I had the option to stay. I was really enjoying work, but there was a piece missing and I think it was just time to come home. My sister had my nephew, so again, just have little draw cards that you go, "Actually, it's time to be a little bit closer," and so I returned.

Dorian Broomhall:

You moved back to Tassie at that point?

Laura Pyszkowski:

No, I didn't. It took me a while. I still haven't made it back to Launceston. My mother was very devastated by that fact. I moved to Melbourne. Again, I'd worked in, and you've probably picked up on my thread of my clinical career. I was like, "Okay, I've just spent a good chunk of time working in haematology, cancer nursing, where do I go if I'm going to Melbourne?" Reached out to Peter Mac and had an interview. I remember sitting in my accommodation in London at 5:00 AM on a telephone call and was interviewed for a position, so I came home to a job, which was great.

Dorian Broomhall:

How long did you spend in Melbourne?

Laura Pyszkowski:

Just close to two years. Again, that kind of, I think I'm ready. Next. At that point is when I came to Hobart. Finally, landed back in Tassie.

Dorian Broomhall:

What drew you back to Tassie?

Laura Pyszkowski:

I think people in place. I think I was seeking that excitement that big cities gave me.

Dorian Broomhall:

Of course.

Laura Pyszkowski:

I can even remember just having been in Sydney and coming back to Launceston and nowhere to get a coffee on a Saturday afternoon after 2:00 and how quiet everything feels. Then of course, that was amplified when you moved to London and then to come again. Look, and I really thrived in that environment and I loved it, but the things that I value most is essentially connection to people in a bigger community. I think I was lacking that more broader sense of community in Melbourne. I had great friends, I had a great job, but if I thought about that connection to place, I didn't really feel embedded as part of the community where I was. I have no doubt that had I stayed or had other connections that, that would've been different. I knew I had that ready and waiting in lifelong friends, family opportunities, and so that was really what was calling to come home.

Dorian Broomhall:

I think it's a beautiful way to put it. Often, you don't know that, that's what the pull is until it's happened. I spent nearly 10 years living in Melbourne before moving back to Tassie. It wasn't even until I got here that I went, "I feel like I'm home." That was really quite powerful. I think it's so important for people to go forth and go live elsewhere for a while and go experience all the things that you've just described that sound just wonderful. 10 years ago, I would've been like, "Yeah, absolutely, that's what I'm going to do." Right now, I'm like, I mean, sounds fun for somebody else. It's not what I want to do right now. I want to be here in this place with these people. People and place is such a beautiful frame for it.

Laura Pyszkowski:

I think it's that stronger connection to community where you know, and you touched on it before in terms of that strong drive of service, but it's being able, and maybe it's slightly selfish. I'm the first to admit that, but to really see where that investment of time and energy goes, I'm hugely committed to my career and my professional self, but also, myself outside of work. To be able to live and play in an area that I'm heavily invested in professionally and to be really able to see that, that's really important to me as well. Whereas, I think it can get lost, and there's a bit of that loss in a crowd component that I had when I was probably living in those big cities. That was essentially that pull to get back where you can be a bit more grounded.

Dorian Broomhall:

It's interesting, I mean despite us through health being the largest employer of Tasmanians, biggest organisation that there is in the state, you still feel like you can have that connection and that community even within our organisation.

Laura Pyszkowski:

Yes.

Dorian Broomhall:

You can really make those links and you can walk down the street and see people that you'll know in scrubs or not as the case might be. I agree, I think it's one of the most powerful things about Tasmania, generally. You've obviously been back in Tassie for a few years and you've done a few different things over that time. I know that somewhere along the line, family, simply because Tassie happened and I saw you at Bunnings a few months ago, and that's what we do. I'm really interested to jump forward a little bit here and go, your work during the pandemic, it sounds like you got some different opportunities compared to perhaps others or you seize different opportunities perhaps than you might've expected during that period. Would you mind talking a little bit about that?

Laura Pyszkowski:

Sure. I'm always a yes person, so I work from yes, backwards.

Dorian Broomhall:

Good.

Laura Pyszkowski:

That's just how I am. Often, to my advantage, but sometimes to my detriment, I will admit that. Ironically, in the December of 2019, I'd had a couple of yes opportunities throughout 2019 and I said to a colleague, "Next year, I'm just going to concentrate where I am." Lo and behold, a global pandemic hit. Whilst I had this great idea that I was just going to heavily invest in the role that I was in at the time, I got a phone call out of the blue. This one must've been early February from one of the nursing directors at the Royal asking if I was interested in an assistant director of nursing role. It was a pretty brief conversation. We're looking for a good communicator, can-do person, someone that's acted at level before. It's to support essentially Royal, Hobart Hospital South in preparation for the pandemic.

By that stage, things were moving pretty fast, so things were changing. We weren't verge of lockdown, but it was starting to move pretty fast in terms of the intel and situation, so I said yes. Then of course, worked my way back really fortunate. The team I was working with, there was someone that was able to step into my role. That role changed, I think the trajectory of the last four and a bit years for me. That role was a complete mixed bag. There was no performer or what was expected. It was literally jump in and go for the ride. I essentially became one of the key personnel to support the chief executive, the executive director of nurses and the senior leadership at the Royal Hobart Hospital as they navigated a number of changes. In that time, I had to quickly assimilate information, work with the department, I had to work with our teams.

This was in the period where we were learning as quick as everyone else where the premier would stand up and say, hospitals are now closed for visiting hours. Then we would then have to run to the front of the hospital, close those with the chief executive and have conversations with people around what was happening. It was an absolute chaotic time and there were efforts where everybody from our cleaning staff, security staff, clinical staff and numbers of staff across the department that were redeployed to different activities. Essentially, that role for me gave me exposure to a different layer or level of strategic and operational planning and activation, and it was just remarkable. I got to sit in the room, I got to work alongside people that I respected and looked up to. I got to see what worked, I got to see what didn't work, and essentially, became a role that was like the glue that brought everything together.

Certainly, I wasn't sort of leading pieces of work, I saw my role as real enabling. It was bringing in making sure the communication. I look back now in the emails and the amount of traffic that was going through was remarkable. One of the things that I looked back in that first particular period was it was all about relationships and how you interact with individuals and you treat them and how you get things back. Because there were things that we were doing that we didn't know if that was going to have a big impact or a little impact. I recall moments where it looked like we're going to have no alcohol-based hand rub for the state. That looked absolutely frightening. Through that, we got to do some amazing things. We got to look at novel solutions. We got to work with a range of different people around different PP. I worked with these amazing infection control, nursing staff where they were assessing and reviewing new products in this environment where we were just living day-by-day and providing advice.

I think back now and I smile because I'm so proud of each and everyone's effort in that time and just their contribution and their willingness to come along and to trust on that journey. That particular ride went for about 16 months in that I was also really fortunate to be part of the team that helped develop the clinical model of care for our hotel quarantine. Again, I look back fondly on a conversation with Dr. Stephen Eyre in the corridor and he said, "What do you think about remote monitoring? I reckon we could do that for these guests in the hotels." From that, being able to see how that idea just flourished and seeing Warren Prentice as the chief informations officer at the time and a number of his team coming together. Kim Ford, all these other people just coming, and us being able to initiate this new technology in a hotel with 150 odd repatriation flight guests, I suppose they were.

I'm not sure they thought they had the guest experience, but I use the term lightly. It was just amazing on that ability to see an idea almost flourish like wildfire and come to fruition. Now, we're able to reflect and see what technology and digital health transformation looks like and just, it's come full circle. That was the real stepping stone. Then from that, was really fortunate I think just from being exposed to different styles of leadership, working with members of the department and a grange of colleagues across government, here that I was offered the opportunity to come then and work as incident controller some six months later in the emergency coordination centre. Again, the irony being, having had that conversation in the corridor with Stephen some 12 or so months before doing it in the hotels and being able to go, do you reckon we could just use that technology and keep people with COVID at home?"

That's obviously, how COVID at Home was born. Again, that ability to pull people together to set a plan and to leverage just the absolute skills and capability we've got in our workforce. There were some hard conversations, but being able to go, "Well, this is the plan and will you come along? Will you trust for us to go on this journey together?" That's been really remarkable. I got to work a lot alongside amazing testing clinics, the amount of logistics work that went in. There was so many people working in that emergency coordination centre that were just day in, day out, just contributing to it. Likewise, the exposure to our health executive, is one way to get over nerves of presenting to a bunch of senior executives is to present on the pandemic or a novel idea and solution and how that's going to work and the risk-based approach you'd take with that as well.

Really looking back on it, each and every time, it was a welcoming space. It was a space where questions could fly and you could really have those challenging conversations. There'd be queries, could we do this? Could we run off and do that? It worked. I think we are that far away from it now that I almost, I look back with really rose-coloured glasses. I think it's a little bit of a strategy for self-preservation, but it worked so harmoniously and we talk about our health systems being complex, but they do work just almost without effort because that's due to the capability and the people that we work with. They make it look easy, even though it's not. I think just being involved and exposed to all of those leaders that were making decisions, putting things in place, pivoting, changing, because it changed without a moment's notice, but they made it look easy. They're also really authentic in that approach too, because when it was hard, it was hard.

Dorian Broomhall:

Thanks for sharing.

Laura Pyszkowski:

That's all right.

Dorian Broomhall:

There's just so much there that's certainly for me and many others, really, really interesting. For you to have not only a front row seat, but at times the steering wheel, whether you like it or not. It sounds like that's where you got to with it. Of course, our relationship with the memory might change over time and you might have that rose-coloured glasses, but that's probably okay, really. Much good did come out of it as you know, but you also say that innovation and all that different thinking that we don't always have the permission to do.

Laura Pyszkowski:

Absolutely.

Dorian Broomhall:

To also be able to carry that forward, and so I understand what then became the COVID at Home programme is now more further to being, is it the Health in the Home?

Laura Pyszkowski:

Care at Home.

Dorian Broomhall:

Care at Home, my apologies. That in itself, that innovation, that hallway conversation about this thing for the hotel quarantine that then became, oh, could we do this? Then to become part of BAU, I think that's really remarkable.

Laura Pyszkowski:

We don't always see that. Sometimes change in healthcare can be very long and tedious.

Dorian Broomhall:

Of course.

Laura Pyszkowski:

I think it's so much reward came out of being able to see some of those changes happen so quickly, and I think that's energising, so you know that, that capability is there and it's how do we take that forward. There'll be a proportion of us like myself, I'm quite happy in the chaos not knowing what the day is going to bring. That's not a bother to me, but there are some of our peers and colleagues that really, they want that level of structure and the certainty is important. It's just being able to recognise that those traits and capabilities within your team, and so understand it. Because even in that level of chaos that we had with the pandemic, there was still a range of things that we needed people that were just really system-process focus that needed to do the things, because without those, the rest of us that were working across this really chaotic uncertain space, that would've fallen over.

I think it's really puts into perspective what you need to have in a high performing team. Those real key attributes in that everybody makes a difference. I think for me, it's even if it only feels like those 1% changes, when they add up, they make a difference. Whilst it can be hard and it feels like you're doing a lot and only getting a millimetre further in front of that next foot, it's needed. That's the only way if we retain that attitude and that focus is that we're going to start to see the changes that we need within our health system moving forward.

Dorian Broomhall:

I think we talk about diversity from a lot of different perspectives, but I think it's important to remember the diversity of even how we like to work is so important as well. Because if we were all one way of what you just described there, the thing wouldn't work.

Laura Pyszkowski:

Absolutely.

Dorian Broomhall:

Not to say that we all can't make adjustments and adapt and work in a way that might be uncomfortable for a period of time, but we're probably going to have a certain level of preferences.

Laura Pyszkowski:

Absolutely. We need that diversity in ways that we approach things and we need to be challenging in a really healthy way as well. We've all had moments, and I certainly hand on heart know when I've been quite fixated on an idea. Sometimes I'm a, and it might annoy people, but I'm a big out-loud thinker and that's how I operate. Equally, I'll have members of my team that like to take in the information. They're very thoughtful, they want to consider it and come back, but I've got to respect that and sometimes I'll have my moment, they'll come back. Through those really trustful conversations, we will get to a great place and I want to be challenged and I want to do it in a way that's supportive and enabling and empowering of the people I work with as well.

There are lots of things that we do well and we will continue to do those well and we won't need to change those, but there are other elements of what we do on a day-to-day that we need to be considering in that improvement way of could this be done more efficiently? Is there a better benefit? Could we increase the value of it for our consumers? What does this look like if we stop this X and Y happened? Where's the input? Where's the impact? I think that diversity of thinking was really important during the pandemic and it's probably been the catalyst of what's landed me where I'm today, is that I bring a perspective that's shaped by the career that I've talked about with you now and that brings in another element to the tables that I sit at and where I influence and the impacts that I can have.

Dorian Broomhall:

Before I go to understanding a little bit more about your role right now, something that might be maybe mildly uncomfortable, but we often don't like to talk about recognition when it's us that's getting recognised. You were actually recognised for the work that you did throughout the pandemic with the Public Service Medal. What was that experience like?

Laura Pyszkowski:

Overwhelming, because it is hard to go. I've been recognised and acknowledged, and to go through the process of accepting that with a level of ease, particularly for someone like me, because I'm all about the team. Every cog in the system is working to its absolute best to achieve what we're trying to do. Through that process and just happen to correlate with doing the Tasmanian Leaders programme and really undertaking a period of self-discovery, because having done those roles that weren't, well, they weren't, the incident controller role wasn't a nursing role. I had to look at myself as my career and my profession and what it would been.

I'd gone through this period of self-discovery and further understanding me and where I want to be in terms of my future, that it almost took to that point of the announcement of the PSM for me to really go, it's okay for me to accept and acknowledge that I did do that. That was through, I was really fortunate that I've got some great mentors and peers that had said, "Laura, this is yours and you absolutely have permission to acknowledge what you did, and teams need leaders and people need to be led." It's humbling to recognise that the success of what I did was yes, down to the people, but I was the conductor and I brought those people together and I worked with those teams to ensure that they were at their best to achieve what we did.

It's a bit of a 360 journey and it was a bit of a long-winded answer. I was proud and I think I popped a post on LinkedIn a little bit later afterwards to just go, "I did that and I'm really proud and I'm really proud of the people I worked with." Just to acknowledge that. That might seem a little brash, but it was actually more of a cathartic thing for me to be able to go and own it in some ways. The process of the PSM and the awards and going to Government House is really lovely and a little bit surreal as well because you're sitting in a room with people that have done tremendous things and the imposter syndrome sneaks in, but you got to push that away and it's okay just to go, I did that and I'm proud.

Dorian Broomhall:

Thanks for sharing. As I said, people don't often like to talk about these sorts of things and we love to hear other people share their perspectives on it. Not because we want to judge them, but because you almost go, how would I go if something like that happened, if I did something like you've done then to be recognised for it? It feels quite uncomfortable, but for you to be quite honest about that and come to terms with that in a really positive way, I think is brilliant, so thank you.

Laura Pyszkowski:

It wasn't without sacrifice.

Dorian Broomhall:

Of course.

Laura Pyszkowski:

I had a great support team.

Dorian Broomhall:

Yeah, of course.

Laura Pyszkowski:

My family, my partner. A lot of people will know. I was, with that piece of work with COVID at Home, I was eight months pregnant when the borders opened in December, 2021. I had my own pandemic baby. As I always said to my colleagues at the time, I had a great out. The borders opened and I knew that I was going on maternity leave a couple of weeks later. There was a big commitment there for me to work such long hours and to put in the effort that was needed.

Dorian Broomhall:

Of course.

Laura Pyszkowski:

Again, I'll always remember it for that reason because I got to hand over the baton, went off and had a baby, and then be a bit of a spectator, and all the teams continued to work under the leadership of many others. That solely contributed to me getting that PSM as well, like the colleagues that I could close the door and debrief with. The people that were my voice of reason that allowed me the safe space to bounce ideas. All of those things, they all contributed to it.

Dorian Broomhall:

What a time of your life. Fast forward to now, and we're having this conversation in June, I think it is. Gosh, I still feel like the year has just started, but June, 2024. You find yourself working in the role of the director of the Office of the Secretary. Can you tell me a little bit about two things? One, what your expectation of the job was before you came into it, and two, what the job is actually like?

Laura Pyszkowski:

Again, another said yes, worked my way back from it, and why wouldn't I when someone says you've got this opportunity to work really closely with the secretary and health executive? In terms of expectations, they were massive because the incumbent before me was pretty remarkable and still is and has recently left the agency, but massive shoes to fill. My expectation was this is going to be a huge and big steep learning curve. What I did know was that I had the exposure of working with health exec behind me. I had worked with a number of the teams indirectly over my time, whether as an instant controller or just in other roles, and that it wasn't the first time in my career that I've jumped feet first into a role and had no expectations or idea of what it was going to be. I leverage on the fact that I've done this before. We're not in the midst of a global pandemic. This is going to be okay.

Reassured by the levels of support, particularly from Kath, the former secretary and for Lisa as well, alongside the rest of the health executives. It was a really welcomed opportunity. Jumping into the role, I had to quickly assimilate myself with a number of new teams. I had already some established relationships. Again, people, like that initial phase was connect with people, understand what they were doing, what their expectations were, particularly as well. Through that, we've had a couple of curveballs. I've done a few things that I would say are probably not quintessential office of the secretary director, including supporting the ED review and working with the team around that and another independent review that's running as well. My days varied, so the Office of the Secretary is comprised of a number of teams. We've got the legal services team, we're a corporate services group essentially.

We've got the statewide complaints management and oversight unit, which is a really new team. It's been probably in existence a bit over a year, but a great team with good leadership that's navigating a difficult space, but really trying to put in place a framework that supports our staff and consumers. We've got our governance team and ministerial support team. They are just keeping the wheels of the government and our interaction with the minister's office as well as constituents and a number of pieces of information across, but also, ensuring that we've got robust governance in place. They're really the cogs and wheels of the Office of the Secretary. We've got our comms team, which are just phenomenal. They just work nonstop and are constantly in that reactive space of media, but also, proactive and supporting a number of great campaigns that are going, so a really diverse team.

My job was really to come in and go, "How do we make this work together? How do I provide them with leadership that's meaningful and authentic?" This is in a space that they've probably been through a pandemic, the commission of inquiry and having leadership really fully present for them. It's just been a process of getting to know and looking at how we work as an organisation. For me, I see our teams as really fundamental in supporting the secretary and the associate secretary and really keeping the lines of communication connected. Of course, there's the bespoke legal services team and complaints like they're doing particular avenues of work, but really becoming fundamental to how our services are delivered from a departmental perspective. Is it everything I want? Yes, it is. It's different. No day is the same. The teams are great. I've got a different range of staff members that are reporting to me, providing them with leadership and guidances. It's a place that I find quite comfortable.

Is it where I thought I was going to be five years ago? No, not at all. I think what I bring to it is a different understanding of how our organisation works. I don't come with just a plain departmental focus. I come with an understanding of what's happening in our operational space. I come with a range of networks. I come with understanding there's a bit of an elephant in the room department, THS and our operational areas. That's for a range of reasons. I think what we need to recognise is we're all working for the same purpose. For me, that purpose, whether I was doing a particular role in the pandemic or leading this corporate services team, is around the experience of our people and our community. As long as we're aligned with that and we've got all these other great activities happening, whether it's One Health, our CARE chats, some great leadership programmes, innovative new programmes of work. As long as we can be aligned on that, I think that's really important. It's different, and I'm really lucky to work with a great group of people.

Dorian Broomhall:

With you, I think no matter what, important to remember that we're all working for health in Tasmania, whichever bit you might subscribe to. That's essentially, at the end of the day, what's most important. Laura, thanks so much for the conversation.

Laura Pyszkowski:

You're welcome. Thank you.

Dorian Broomhall:

Thanks to Laura Pyszkowski for speaking with us and talking about the roles that she's had to date. We wish her all the best in her new role and all things that she does moving forward. Thanks to you, of course, for listening. I hope you found something in our conversation that you can take away into your own work and life. Join me again in our next episode when I speak with Joe McDonald, the chief executive of Hospital South.