ILP Institute for Learning Practitioners

Learning Leader – Louise Phelan

This month we shine the light on…
LOUISE PHELAN, ILPF

Capability & Development Manager
QGC – a BG Group business

Brief Description of your role

I call myself an Organisational Development and Learning (OD&L) practitioner and have achieved significant deliverables in workplace learning, leadership/talent management, succession planning and cultural change initiatives across a broad range of industries and professions.

I have developed a strong, effective and passionate facilitation mode, with a demonstrable ability to engage, motivate and develop people at all levels, with my personal style based on a high level of comfort with experiential learning methodology and a clear application of pure facilitation techniques.

In my current role as Capability and Development Manager at QGC, I utilise the full range of my skills as I shape the leadership framework, establish the culture, develop a full curriculum of business aligned development offerings and oversee the International Graduate Program and the development side of the HR performance cycle. It’s a demanding and challenging job, which keeps me stimulated and engaged, each and every day!

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1.  Why did you become a learning and development professional?

I started my career as a secondary school teacher and cried every afternoon for 2x years! It was an experience that shaped my commitment to learning and development, as opposed to teaching! I found I had a natural gift for opening people to new ideas and directions and facilitating that experience with humour and resolve. (I also discovered the angst of youth held captive in a classroom experience they hated!) I realised I was on the right path, just in the wrong country, but it wasn’t all bad, as I did establish a drama curriculum in an all-boy’s catholic school and every now and then see a few of those students in Australian TV drama series!     

2. What do you enjoy most about your role?

I love people and I love to support people to reach their full potential. It really is as simple as that! The opportunity I have in this role is to create, from grass roots level, a lasting L&D legacy for the business and it’s not often in your career you are able to take a blank canvas and shape a long term outcome.

Professionally and personally, this is a dream come true and I love the challenge, the relentless pace, the frantic activity, the dramas and the highs….it’s a role you dream of your entire career and I am working seriously hard to shape it into a career highlight and professional legacy! 

3.  What do you find most challenging?

The biggest challenge in this role is the pace. It’s not often a start-up company has 1,800 staff in just 18 months and that, coupled with the global nature of the business, forces me to meet the needs of a huge range of stakeholders in an equally wide range of time zones. I keenly feel the responsibility of shaping a lasting, positive development framework and journey for my organisation, which is 100% business aligned and rooted firmly in the concept of 70/20/10. No pressure!  

4.  What do you do to be recognised as a valued business partner?

My personal approach to business partnering has not changed in a very long time and while the concept of the trusted advisor is not new, it does take guts, determination and above all, consistency, to realise. I believe business partnering is “the development of successful, long term, strategic relationships between customers and suppliers, based on achieving best practice and sustainable competitive advantage”(Lendrum, 1997) and achieving it requires a sophisticated consulting approach, professional credibility and well developed persuasive skills.

As an OD&L professional, I strive to deliver outcomes in a timely and cost effective manner, to provide learning and development opportunities to meet business objectives, develop strong and open relationships with key stakeholders and all the while maintain a consistently honest, open, reflective and flexible approach.  

5.  What is the best advice that you would give to a new Learning and Development practitioner?

My advice has not changed in a long time – first develop strong facilitation and consulting skill, as they are the foundation of your profession. Then, become a phenomenal business and life coach, strive to be consistent in your approach and take your time…it’s a long journey and deserves your full attention!  

6.  What’s the best advice that’s been given to you that has helped you in your career?

Strangely enough, the best advice I was ever given was : “fake it till you make it”. There are so many times in your career when you’re feeling unprepared or under skilled and it’s ever so simple to say “I can’t”. That’s exactly the moment you need to pull yourself up, slap yourself soundly and remember that “you can”! Of course, it takes guts and self confidence, but it’s a great lesson and has helped me secure that next role and that next promotion on many occasions.

The other piece of advice that has stayed with me is the one I pull out when I’m standing in front of an audience and self doubt rushes in….remember….you have prepared for this moment and the audience hasn’t. They don’t know where you’re going, so go out guns blazing, smile shining and give them a piece of you! You can!  

7.  What’s the best career related book that you’ve ever read?

“Fierce Conversations” by Susan Scott and if you have to ask why, you’ve never read it!  

8.  What’s the best training event that you’ve ever attended?

A MSCEIT accreditation workshop (Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test ) delivered by Dr Susan David, who is a business psychologist specialising in the application of scientific evidence-based methods to engagement, coaching, and high performance leadership.
She is a dynamo and the program shook me up (metaphorically), helping me to question myself and fashion a new approach to coaching and facilitating.

The other valuable learning event was an Ontological Coaching program I attended here in Brisbane at the Newfield Institute. It was an incredibly challenging program, which taught me loads about myself and supported me to develop yet another raft of coaching skills in three areas of language, emotions and body. This approach can generate profound learning, resulting in fundamental shifts, both in self-perception and perception of what is possible in personal and professional life. From an ontological perspective, deep and lasting change requires shifts in language, emotions and body and the technique challenged my self view and my facilitation techniques yet again! 

9.  Who do you think is a highly inspirational learning professional and have you ever met this person?

Anyone who truly facilitates learning is a hero in my mind. It’s not an easy skill, takes years to master, is not teaching or demonstrating or even consulting and is a gift that has to be learned, earned and shared. If you are pushing me to nominate an individual, then I’ll mention Penny Curnow, because Penny reaches her audiences through her honesty, her attention to their needs, her patience, positivity and humour and above all, her ability connect on a personal level and lose herself in someone else’s journey. 

10. What else would you like to share with our readers?

We work in a fabulous industry where we shape futures, build skills, promote growth and challenge all at the same time! Our gift is the ability to reach and engage with others and while we are caught up in the whirlwind that is our life, we need to remember to take a deep breath, relax and think about our own development. Cognitive personal growth is your friend and I recommend updating your skills regularly and forever!

 “The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavour to be what you desire to appear” Socrates