Cornelia Olivier, Customer Relationship Director, has joined us for our next 60-second interview. Cornelia shares some leadership insights that have inspired her successful journey.
- How would you define what you do at Bidvest Noonan?
My job entails supporting our teams to live our vision and I do this through listening to our colleagues, listening to our customers, and then investigating how our organisation can add even more value and create better customer experiences.
- What has been your best day at Bidvest Noonan?
The day that our Carbon Reduction Plan was signed off was a particularly happy day for me. Our organisation stepped up to a challenge that many of our own people and all our customer teams feel passionate about.
- What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
I attended a leadership program once where I received the best advice: make decisions that you can live with, rather than basing decisions on what might be good for someone else. You can judge what you can live with, but knowing what is best for someone else is impossible!
Leaders are faced with so much complexity and our personal circumstances add to that complexity. When you make decisions based on your own conscience, it is clear what you are taking responsibility for and it simplifies things a little.
- How do you motivate yourself?
Work is a combination of mundane tasks and exciting ventures. I try to pay attention to both every day to keep my energy levels up! When I find my days becoming too mundane, I first try to remember the bigger objectives that the mundane activities are contributing to, and then if I’m still restless, I go seek out opportunities to work on more challenging projects. Fortunately, our organisation welcomes collaborating on interesting topics such as innovation, sustainability, and community, so there is plenty of opportunity to do something different.
- Who or what has inspired you the most?
Ordinary people that consistently show up are inspiring. The commitment and perseverance required to show up day in and day out are sometimes not noticed, but the contribution made is priceless.
- If you had a motto, what would it be?
From Dr Suess: ‘Try it and you might’
