#safetysisters 2018

Well, didn’t 2018 end up being a crazy one? I cannot believe I am writing an end of year wrap up post but I feel I am still writing 2017 in dates. I wanted to share with you some of the successes and fun times we had this year.

In January we decided to branch into New Zealand with our Sydney #safetysister Victoria moving home to the land of the long white cloud. We are now in final stages of sponsors and getting events rolling for 2019 – it might seem slow, but this year went too fast (trust me)! Bring on events in 2019 for our Kiwi sisters!

It was March that officially kicked us off with Brisbane hosting the first event of the year in partnership with our generous and valued sponsors Minter Ellison. What a laugh we had. Anna Clarkson from Sentis had us all in giggles talking about the state of safety leadership and how we lead in our everyday lives (even in the bedroom)! We had Samantha and Deanna from Minter Ellison chat to us about all things safety legislation and how the changes impact us (from a realistic perspective). It was a great night and was great to see some new and familiar faces supporting our first event.

In late March, an article about Women in Safety and setting goals was posted in “The Leader” magazine (https://www.vpppa.org/). It was great global recognition for the group and collaboration with our overseas #safetysisters.

During May I was very excited to have two leaders join us to discuss due diligence, leadership and how we can influence management in the safety space. It was great to have Chandra Clements (Neuroscience genius, CEO and all round dynamo) and Jane Seawright (Chair of Netball Queensland, fellow cyclist and great legal professional) join us for this panel. I know I walked away with a lot more knowledge on engaging Executives.

For June kicked off our #smalltalkseries with some amazing leaders and movers and shakers in our great profession. I love people’s journey into safety and their ‘why’, so running these series gives us a way to share this with others. It also continues to create collaboration and bring our networks closer together. There is no need for distance or to feel isolated in the tech savvy world we live in today.

In August we got to hear from Carl Tinsley, a leadership coach and a behavioural safety guru. Carl chatted to us about being a ‘voice of influence’ and how using different language structures, body languages and tones can help us influence even the toughest of crowds. An important read if you haven’t had a chance (https://www.womeninsafety.net/single-post/2018/08/01/A-Voice-of-Influencefrom-Carl-Tinsley) .

In August it was also one of my personal favorites this year! We welcomed international guest and all round genuine safety leader Eldeen Pozniak. I went out on a limb and asked Eldeen if whilst she was in Australia, would she come and speak to our #safetysisters and she jumped at the chance. I was so honoured that she gave us her time, her knowledge and even her dance moves. Eldeen was a great leader for us all and a true example of being a transparent and genuine safety leader – no need for being fake as people will see straight through it! What a night to remember.

August 29th saw a huge professional accomplishment for me personally after being asked to speak at the 2018 National Safety Council – Safety Connect conference. I presented on why finding a tribe with Women in Safety has been such a huge success and why I continue to commit my own time and effort to growing the cause. I love our tribe, I love the space it gives us all to collaborate and connect across borders and industries – it is very rewarding!

September was personally the busiest month of my entire 21 years on this planet! I attended the Australian “Vision Zero” Launch with ISSA (https://visionzero.global/) which was a fantastic collaboration of safety professionals across multiple industries dedicated to changing the safety scape and committing to lowering workplace injuries through knowledge sharing and conversation.

A couple of days later I got married down in a little coastal town with some of my absolute nearest and dearest and it was – as expected – the best day of my life. With so much laughter, love and wine, I wouldn’t have changed a bit! We then headed straight to Japan for city lights, sake, more wine and fresh sushi. It was a whirlwind trip but so worth it – such a cultural shock!

In October was another huge accomplishment for Women in Safety and generally for our #safetysisters. We launched our first event in Melbourne with our passionate sponsors Minter Ellison (yes they really delivered this year in helping us connect with you all)! We had a great luncheon with three guest speakers. We chatted about the impact of occupational violence, bullying and harassment and how we stop psychological injuries occurring in the workplace. It was so well received we are already firing up for our next Melbourne event. We were so proud to be able to bring quality speakers, venues and topics to you all this year!

To round out our events, they didn’t stop there. We had our last event back in Brisbane during November with new, enthusiastic and super fun sponsors at U&U Recruitment. Wine, cheese platters and a real shift in our focus. This event meant a lot to me. We have so long focused on getting a lot of you in the room and delivering a speaker, but we found we limited the numbers at this Christmas catch up, and what we found was a far more robust, genuine and open conversation about the direction of Women in Safety, what you want from us and how we (as a collective) can change the future of our profession. We have a strong voice when we are a collective and are in a great position to influence industry leaders, organisations and other channels to change some of the areas we see need improving. Stay tuned for 2019 because we really have listened and want to bring together a collective voice to make our jobs (and next generations jobs) more engaging, listened to and influential.

Well I would say that was enough, and to be honest writing this blog has given me great joy – because I need to reflect more often. In my head we just pedaled this year – we didn’t move forward. But on paper and writing all this, it sets a very different picture. So as my early Christmas present, it was announced that I won a Diversity and Inclusion champion award from the Safety Institute of Australia. It was lovely to receive it as I do believe we can make a difference to diversity, inclusion and leadership in safety and we just need to work together as a group to achieve great things. (https://www.sia.org.au/news-and-publications/news/diversity-inclusion-champions-announced)

What can I say – it was busy, thrilling, professionally exciting and personally humbling. I have had a great 2018 and cannot wait to share with you all our plans for 2019. What will this space look like next year? Sit tight because it’s bound to be fun!

Have a very safe, happy and peaceful festive season. Look out for your loved ones, reach out to those less fortunate and remember tomorrow is a new day – embrace it!

Yours in safety, wellness and fun

Alanna