WLA program participant in focus

Elizabeth Bouhabib
Senior Project Officer, Ageing, Disability and Home Care,
Department of Family and Community Services

Elizabeth Bouhabib has brought integrity and resolve to all her work in the public sector over the last 28 years.

In recognition of her contribution to improving the skills development of support staff in the Sydney Office at the Australian Government Solicitor, she was awarded an Australia Day Achievement Award in 1996.

As an attendee of the 2011 NSW Women’s Leadership Symposium, she discusses her background, professional outlook and aspirations.

Current role
My current role is in the Workforce Planning team, which leads the implementation of priority workforce planning initiatives for current and future workforce needs to achieve strategic service delivery objectives.

I have carriage of projects and initiatives in relation to mature and youth workforces, attraction and retention strategies, equity and diversity and organisational change initiatives.

Career background
My career has spanned work in various Commonwealth and State public sector organisations during the last 28 years. I have undertaken roles in training and development, organisational development and human resources in the legal, social and human services sectors. This included management position roles.

After finishing a Bachelor of Economics degree (University of Sydney), my career path started typically in a front line service delivery entry level role in the former Department of Social Security, with progression to other roles in that Department and then into other public sector organisations.

Career highlights
A significant aspect of my career is its longevity. The varied and diverse roles I have undertaken provided me with continued richness of learning and working experiences. I have enjoyed being part of organisations with a strong ongoing focus on improving service access and quality living outcomes for a diverse client base.

I believe that a key aspect of my career longevity and duration of roles with any one employer was enabled by the fact that I could closely align myself with the purpose and key values of the organisation.

I have constantly asked myself how my career could have gone so fast only to realise that for the most part I flourished by constantly being busy, challenged and thrown into all sorts of opportunities. Where involvement utilised my skills and strengths, working hard has been effortless and time overall seemed not to be of any essence (except for daily deadlines of course).

Most of all, I felt that I belonged in each role and knew that was where I needed to be at that time. I could see that the learning and hard yards required in each role was a necessary progress step to refining strengths to be able to embrace new role opportunities or different assignments in existing roles.

A career high was when I was unexpectedly awarded an Australia Day Achievement Award in 1996 while I was employed at the Australian Government Solicitor in the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department.

This award recognised the contribution made to improving the skills development of support staff in the Sydney Office through the design, development, implementation and presentation of a comprehensive training program.

The program received high acclaim for the reason that the outcomes of the program significantly enhanced client service delivery and contributed to the achievement of the business goals of the office and key strategic outcomes for the organisation during a period of significant organisational change. The award recognised the impact and adoption of the programs on a national level. 

While I thought I was just doing my job, I was humbled and proud to know that my contribution was valued and that my achievements were recognised by others as making a difference. It taught me that being trusted to demonstrate leadership, to take initiative, to be innovative and to try new things does bring results.

However, with career highlights there are also career challenges.

Managing career challenges
The most significant was in 2003 when I accepted a voluntary redundancy following a restructure of the human resources function in the Australian Government Solicitor. I needed to deal with my strong emotions around loss of work identity and totally rethink the concept of lifelong career after a good run of 21 working years. I also had to accept that I could again have renewed commitment but in different ways and in different employment circumstances.   

I had to challenge thoughts that the experience did not need to redefine the person that I am or the personal or professional aspirations that I had. I had to assess what skills and contribution I could continue to make and what my future career goals would be. I also needed to deal with the hurdle of what it might mean to start again somewhere else where I could continue to give recognition to my strengths. 

I had a blank page before me and I could choose any career path or direction I wanted. I made a decision based on the faith I had in my strengths. I found the zeal for human resources and the excitement of a different work day every day too enticing to give up.

I was back at work in a human resources role after six months of undertaking short project roles with a couple of different employers. I have continued to work in human resources since 2003.

Career challenges for women
I believe a current challenge for women in the workplace today is how to maintain a vibrant career and set new or revised personal learning goals in situations where varied and challenging work roles or management opportunities may be limited.

Personal leadership
More recently I accepted a transfer to my current role as a further career development opportunity. This again required taking responsibility for my own career, stepping out of my comfort zone, taking a career risk and seeking out new learning experiences.

I continue to face challenges of working hard to maintain personal resilience and confidence to fit effectively into the new work team, undertake different projects, build new working relationships and conquer doubts about the use of my strengths in a new way.

Support along the way
My involvement in the Women & Leadership Australia programs has been a timely springboard. It has reminded me of the need to clarify and focus on my strengths and to articulate my successes in order to identify key leadership capabilities for current and future roles.

I feel encouraged to plan and set my career goals through the active strength and support I receive from the women I have met through the Women & Leadership Australia programs.
 
Role models
Early role models were my parents who, as immigrants to Australia in the 1950s, continually encouraged me to pursue my education, career and life goals and to explore my talents and make my own choices about the kind of woman and person I wanted to be.

I learnt early on about remaining true to myself and my family background and beliefs and making the most of and learning from all opportunities and difficult situations. However, I am still learning about the need to maintain a balance between work and life demands.

Members of my family and close circle of friends are a constant anchor and reminder of the personal values against which the rest of my life is built.

A conversation with a female manager back in the mid-1980s set me on my path towards a career in training and development, and changed the course of my life interests. Taking up this opportunity subsequently led me to further tertiary study in adult education and human resources, and influenced the types of roles I later accepted.

From that moment I discovered what it means to have a truly satisfying career path working in roles that draw on and develop my career strengths and incorporate my personal values.

I would like to think that each woman can present as a role model to other women to recognise, seek out and attain leadership capability. I am thrilled when other women are encouraged to pursue opportunities, when they are able to achieve an everyday or lifelong goal and when they speak up confidently about their values and beliefs. If I am able to be a support person, a sounding board, or to share experiences, then I am satisfied that I can give something back to others.

Inspiration
I find inspiration in the people I know or work with every day. All around me are people who manage work projects that deliver significant outcomes in the disability sector while either raising families, looking after elderly or sick parents, or undertaking study. I am inspired by their strength of commitment, optimism, humour, courage and determination to make all experiences count.

All through my career I have been fortunate to work with managers who by their everyday actions have added to my experience of what effective leadership is all about. I have learnt to value the importance of compassion, trust, integrity, treating people with dignity and respect, a commitment to providing opportunities for others and encouraging learning from experience.

Key reflections
Some key reflections gained from the Women & Leadership Australia program include:

• Not to lose faith in, or hide my ability. I need to back my ability and capacity.
• Recognising when it is appropriate to let something go, and when I can work to make a change so that the work environment is a place that other people want to work in.
• Taking time to rethink my current work to enable the active use of my key strengths.

Career philosophy
To have an enquiring mind and that to succeed is to take personal responsibility.

Personal motivator
Being aware of the impact of my actions with regard to the interests of others.

Life balance
I have a keen interest in the heritage aspects and history of inner Sydney suburbs. I enjoy the blessings, fun and enrichment of family and cultural gatherings. To relax I enjoy needlework, ballroom dancing, watching Masterchef and following the cricket. I love browsing in book shops in Bowral (my favourite place for a quick escape).

Where to from here
Thinking about and taking action to plan the second half of my life leading up to retirement and beyond.