Our People
Jane Downing
Director of The Change Agency
Jane Downing holds a Masters Degree in Organisational Change as well as a Higher Degree in Counselling Psychology and a Degree in Education.
For over 20 years she has been the Director of The Change Agency Pty Ltd, a management consultancy specialising in culture change for organisations and personal and professional development for the individuals within them.
She also lectures at the Queensland University of Technology in the Faculty of Business and at the School of Public Health.
Her book “Finding Your Voice” published by Allen and Unwin, continues the pervading theme of her work which centres around leaders and managers assuming responsibility for engaging with people and opportunities and then operating in ways which respect differences and collaboratively solve problems.
Jane firmly believes that many of us are frustrated by the systems and structures that we work and live within and that renewal is critical for the individual as well as the organisational and community whole.
Her work has always emphasised personal growth as the way to professional excellence.
Suzanne Carstairs
Senior Consultant
Suzanne Carstairs has been a passionate educator for 18 years, teaching both adults and young people in a range of locations and contexts.
She has worked in a variety of leadership positions, leading professionals through long periods of continuous organizational change. She holds a Bachelor of Education and has more than 10 years experience in providing professional development and training to adults.
Suzanne has been a consultant and teacher with The Change Agency since 2003. She has worked with a range of organizations throughout this time, in Brisbane and throughout Queensland.
Suzanne believes individuals and organisations greatly benefit when they are supported in the ongoing development of exceptional interpersonal skills and involved in the continuous process of growing self awareness.
Suzanne’s clients have included:
- Department of Families
- Queensland Fire and Rescue – Rural Operations
- Queensland Fire and Rescue – Urban Operations
- Queensland Health – Finance Branch
- Queensland Health – Purchasing and Logistics
- Education Queensland – Sunshine Coast Region
Dr Jenny Brown
Consultant
Jenny Brown is an Associate Professor of Medicine and a Practicing Clinician with interest in both mainstream medicine and the effects of mind and spirit on health.
Throughout her career she has been a clinical teacher developing and teaching programmes for both undergraduates and physicians in training
She was Chief of Medical Staff at the Mater Health Services on an Executive managing 3,500 staff and providing half a million occasions of service per year.
She wrote a corporate plan for the Mater Health Services and undertook a major culture change strategy winning the Telstra Queensland Business Woman of the Year.
Her first love is clinical medicine but she sees great similarities between managing a patient and managing an organisation.
Aren’t All Trainers/Training Programs the Same?
On the surface many leadership and teamwork programs appear similar. That is because the topic areas appear superficially the same. Nothing could be further from the truth. Topics can be copied, it is the process design and skill of the teaching used that cannot.
For adult learners, change at work comes only as a consequence of sequentially mastering
- Managing yourself
- Managing others
- Managing the team
- Managing the organisation or community whole
Furthermore, for adults to use and apply the practitioner skills, they must be repeatedly assessing themselves in terms of
- What am I thinking about and remembering from this course?
- What am I applying and doing differently at home and at work?
- What results am I achieving for myself and others?
Good teachers/change agents insist on personal reflection followed by action. This is the opposite of “Training Courses” which focus on topics covered and presentation. Powerpoint slides, amusing trainers and group discussion does not result in personal or professional change. Training took place – learning did not.
