Paulette Oldfield
City Transformation Program Leader, City of Logan
Fast Five is our quickfire interview series where we hit up some legendary movers, shakers and innovators with, you’ve guessed it, five big questions.
For classroom teachers, Fast Five is a great way to introduce your students to some awesome real-life changemakers and have them think about life as an entrepreneur or innovator.
In this week’s edition, we talk to Paulette Oldfield, City Transformation Program Leader at City of Logan in Queensland.
Q1: Give us three words that describe your life .
Full. Exciting. Opportunity.
Q2: Tell us a little about your current role. What does a day in the life of you look like?
My current role is City Transformation Program Leader for Logan City Council. I get to work with my amazing Logan community and help show them the fantastic innovation, emerging technology and people doing inspiring things in the city of Logan.
No day is the same. I have the best job and get to meet so many people on a daily basis that are passionate about introducing new innovation and technology into the city of Logan and the world.
Because I get to do this, I also get to connect people when I identify that they might get value from being connected to other like minded people or businesses. I love seeing what comes out of these connections.
Q3: Tell us about a massive flearning (failing + learning) moment for you.
I think it’s probably in my role as a mum to my two girls. You always want the best for your children and want to protect them from harm whether that is physical or emotional and help them to achieve their goals and to grow up happy.
I guess my biggest learning has been that I don’t have all the answers and that they need to forge their own paths and that I just need to be there to support them growing up and make their owns decisions about their future.
From a work perspective, never assume anything. Always try to understand the facts and listen to your customer and stakeholder about what they really want. Not what you think they might want.
Q4: What’s one thing you wished you’d learned at school? And, where could people can go to learn more about this?
That communication and relationships are key in any role you do.
I would encourage more micro-learning as the world is changing so rapidly and what you learn today, may not be relevant in the next 2-3 years, but teamwork, critical thinking, problem solving and communication are key in any role.
There’s so much support for young people now. From everywhere. Online, Meetup groups and programs. Don’t be afraid to get involved.
Q5: What’s one book, website or podcast that’s inspired you, and why?
So many things have inspired me, but one that sticks in my mind is ‘Who Moved my Cheese?’ By Dr Spencer Johnson which is a very easy read and talks about the importance of being ready for change.
Change is always going to happen, you can’t stop it. It’s how you deal with change and how to build your resilience to cope with that which is very important.
More about this week’s Fast Fiver, Paulette Oldfield
Paulette is an Experienced Executive and Change Manager, Agile subject matter expert who specialises in organisational transformation, innovation, entrepreneurship, agile coaching, people development and project management. Paulette has been involved in the delivery of many projects across both the private and public sector in a number of industries such as local government, state health, finance, transport and mining. She is an experienced facilitator and presenter and has also been involved in the implementation of organisation and people development initiatives within large organisations.
Paulette is one of over 50 entrepreneurs, changemakers and innovators who are supporting students in Future Anything schools through our Activator program. Read more and meet our 2022 Activators here.
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