First Foundation Inc.’s Post

What drivers can leaders use to ensure their female employees aren’t facing unconscious bias? Our CEO, Ainslie van Onselen discusses this and more in her recent podcast interview with Helen McCabe for the FW (Future Women) Leadership Series. To hear Ainslie reflect on her own growth as a leader, take a listen to the full episode here: https://caanz.com/jt3 

What mistakes could you easily avoid? Ainslie van Onselen is a lawyer, non-executive director, and the current CEO of Chartered Accountants ANZ. Before this, Ainslie held senior roles over six years at Westpac Group including Managing Director of RAMS, Chief of Staff to the CEO, and Global Director of Women’s Markets and Inclusion & Diversity. In this conversation with Helen McCabe, Ainslie discusses the most common leadership mistakes she's seen and made herself, the importance of understanding and leaning into each individual's leadership style, and what it's like having a high-profile (and sometimes controversial) partner. 

As Chartered Accountants, the world may be our oyster. Ainslie Van Onselen, the CEO of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand makes the observation that more often than not, those in financial roles move into CEO roles. However, as women the path to executive leadership is typically from marketing and human resources roles. In this podcast interview, Ainslie notes a rising influx of women into finance. She emphasises the abundant opportunities within the finance sector, making it an exciting place for women in the area of professional growth.   Keep listening - “Be the CEO of your career” for some great perspectives on leadership and navigating your career. https://lnkd.in/ggD-W-Ts #womeninfinance #leadershipjourney #financeopportunities #womeninleadership #director #nonexecutivedirector #boardmember #executiveleadership #executiveleadershipteam #leadership

Here's another example of a project we worked on for one of our amazing Ark Social clients, The Director's Circle. 🎥 We love getting to attend events with our clients and showcase them doing their thing 🙌 #ArkMedia #ArkVideo #SocialMedia #SocialMediaMarketing #SocialMediaVideos #DigitalMarketing #VideoProduction

Today is the LAST DAY to apply for Target Alpha's 2024-2025 National Executive team! ⏰ This is the ideal opportunity to teach others about financial literacy, while taking on a leadership role in your community! You will get to help host and be part of our nation-wide competitions, including the FPC, STC, and much more! 👀✨ More information regarding roles and responsibilities are listed in the informational package. Information Package: https://lnkd.in/g5vHY-83 Application Link: https://lnkd.in/g3dtRhmn #targetalphacanada #competition #stockpitchcompetition #executive #finance #financialliteracy #opportunity #competition #youth #financialanalysis #stocks #canada #ontario #britishcolumbia #alberta #leadership #learning #business #entrepreneurship

Being a mentor in a similar leadership development program was life-changing. Participants grew, found their voice, confidence, skills, and lessons to cary forward and pass down to their followers as they advanced into leadership roles. When you invest in talent… Great things happen! Why would you expect anything different from a cohort of professionals eager to grow and reach their potential who happen to be blind? #Leadership #Talent #ProfessionalDevelopment #Inclusion

Small CUs Leadership Dialogue: Secured Advantage FCU We all know small credit unions face many unique challenges, and I’m proud to be part of a growing group working to help more of our small credit unions grow and prosper.   I had an opportunity to lead an education/dialogue program with Secured Advantage FCU of Simpsonville, SC. Kudos to the Board of Directions, Senior Leadership Team, and the Supervisory Committee members for committing the time to further understand and discuss their unique challenges as they consider their best opportunities for next level success. With eighteen in attendance, our in-depth program with the credit unions’ leadership addressed key factors especially impacting small credit unions: Leadership; Operating Inefficiencies; Talent Challenges and Technology.   My great appreciation and thanks to the engaged small credit union leaders working hard to further their success as important parts of our credit union movement!!   #PeopleHelpingPeople #creditunions #smallcreditunions #leadershipdevelopment #carolinas #conference #creditunionleaders #CUsTogether #emergingleaders #cooperationamongcooperatives   Secured Advantage Federal Credit Union Carolinas Credit Union League Carolinas Credit Union Foundation  

🌟Unpacking My Day at HSBC's Birmingham Headquarters 🌟 What an immersive day at HSBC's Birmingham base! The setting itself was a catalyst for learning and growth, setting the stage for a day filled with learning. ✨ Discovering Personal Energies: Our session began with a captivating introspection, identifying our energies as cool blue, fiery red, sunshine yellow, or earth green. This added a unique layer to understanding teamwork and communication dynamics. ✨ Elevating Leadership: The session emphasized the significance of purpose-led leadership. A clear takeaway: leadership goes beyond mere guidance – it's about steering with a clear and unified purpose. ✨ Building Bonds: Witnessing diverse energies collaboratively shaping a unified vision was truly invigorating. Deep gratitude to EnactusUK, Amy Brereton, Charlie Lea, Mariana Da Silva, Stephen Brown, and Rachel Hart for organizing such a transformative experience. #LeadershipDevelopment #TeamDynamics #PurposeDrivenLeadership #EnactusExperience Enactus

As 2023 passed by, and I sit down to celebrate the success of my team, I gleam with joy on how well the team has done! The secret of success was that, the team focused on building our teammates, creating cohesiveness and celebrate diversity. We built our team by challenging its members individually and as a team. At first, we give them projects that they shine at and celebrate their success. Then move them to projects that would really 'challenge' them. My favorite paradigm in this is "the more you do, the better you get!" Creating cohesiveness is probably the most undermined paradigm in the world of competition. Remember, soccer team members do not compete with each other, they compete with the other team as ONE! Building cohesiveness has been the bedrock of success of our station, DTO1, and this transcends departments, support teams and senior regional leadership. Every member of your team is different! As we went through the year, we turned the org around, moving people and exposing them to different paths. However, as we prepared for the peak holiday shopping season, we placed each member back to their strongest position! The station had its best performance EVER in December! Understanding our team members, leveraging their diverse skill set and setting them up for success feeds the first two paradigms of building your team and creating cohesiveness. In this playing field of operations, I could not have asked for better teammates. So thank you Katie K, Varun Thakur, CCLP, Prashant Mathew, Peter Trinh, Tajdeep Singh, Ami patel, Murtaza Attari, Ashish Pandya, CHRP, Prosci®, STMP, CAPM, Parth, Kiran, Meet and Prabhjot Singh to name a few.