OTSPC Newsletter #5 - Teams, Strengths, Disruption and Annual Report Season

Hi everyone, 

Thanks for reading my newsletter. This month, I want to talk about teams, strengths and disruption. 

I’m not sure about yours, but our team can be divided down the middle - the creatives and the instruction followers, the introverts and the extroverts, and many other ways.  

What we all are is concluders and producers. We all enjoy getting a job done but honestly, some of us are better at following instructions, ticking off lists and communicating the details. Sound familiar? 

I have worked in many teams. Sometimes as the leader, sometimes as a follower and often as not - filling the role of disruptor. You see I don’t believe in doing things the same repeatedly just because they have been done that way for a long time. The thing about these teams though, is I have had very little control over the work allocation and how to manage the team's strengths and areas for growth.  

The reason I tell you this is .... I now have my own team. It's small, friendly and safe. There is a lot of work-life balance.  Since we all came together, we have made lots of changes in how we do things and who does what. It makes everyone feel like they are appreciated for what they are good at.  

Have you ever heard of the portfolio investment idea coined by Peter Lynch "water the flowers, cut the weeds"? Peter Lynch was talking about dumping unprofitable businesses from an investment portfolio but I think it also works well for identifying individual strengths in the team and using these to grow our capacity, get better what we do and focus individuals on certain work so that we enjoy what we are doing.  

So far it has been great - we have the right administrators in the right place – We have Kate who is a whiz at following instructions and doing work consistently at a high quality, taking care of our accounts, systems set up and routine tasks.  

Then we have Molly who is creative, great with words and pictures and good at figuring out how to deliver my ideas, taking care of our social media and written content for our website, blogs, emails and newsletters.  

We didn’t start that way - they both had the same job, and it was NOT working. When we split the administration work down the middle things started to really hum.  

They are supported and led by Trish who you would have heard about in my last newsletter - our go-to person who makes the whole thing work. She challenges them and helps them grow, all while keeping me in check. (Basically, to do that, she is a magician.) 

Then we have our writing team. Justine is brilliant with the detail in business administration and governance. She is a whiz at figuring out HR, finance, committees, researching opportunities and writing things down that are actionable and useable for small business and NGOs.  

Gaylene is our editor, writer and expert on the use of correct English and in-house corporate writing and corporate document guru. (Don't tell her I used that word - she doesn't like it.)  

Gaylene and Justine are each a great writer but work very differently from each other and from me. Gaylene sits on the creative side of the fence, where Justine is more factual, and process driven. They are both very considered writers and I learn from them both on every project we collaborate on. 

This month the OTSPC team undertook the 16 personalities quiz. We discovered some interesting things about ourselves and each other through this process. To take the quiz yourself and find out about your working style and how you work best in a team, click HERE. 

This month I want to challenge you to sit back and look at your team from a strength's perspective. Are you getting the best out of your people by watering the flowers and pruning the weeds? If not, what could you do differently?  

If you are thinking about maximising your team, you might like to read these two articles which I found quite interesting:  

• https://hbr.org/2015/06/developing-employees-who-think-for-themselves  

• https://hbr.org/2011/01/managing-employees-in-their-tw  

If you think we could help you and your team work better, please reach out for a cuppa. 

Ciao 

Conni 

• Topic of the Month: Annual Reporting

  Annual Reporting season is coming up, and we are so excited to share our expertise in the field. We are passionate about the importance of annual reports here at OTSPC and would love to share why we think they are so important. 

  Annual reports are not just a compliance issue. They present an invaluable opportunity for any business to look back on the year behind them and see what they achieved and what held them back. 

  To read more about why your organisation needs an annual report this year, visit our recent blog on our website, HERE. 

  We are already starting to schedule Annual Reports so if you want to work with a small, friendly and experienced team, be quick to get in touch.

• Tips and Tricks

  Whilst we have you thinking about Annual Reporting and reflecting on your achievements - have you considered the benefits of better leadership or governance, or of having other ways that your organisation is measured against a set of standards and continuous improvement?  

  Getting ISO (International Standards Organisation) certified brings a bunch of cool perks for organisations. It shows everyone that you're serious about quality, which can make customers trust you more and help you stand out from the competition. It also makes your operations smoother and more efficient, saving you time and money. Plus, it can open new business opportunities, especially in global markets where ISO certification is often a must-have. In short, ISO certification is like a badge of honor that says you're committed to being the best in the biz. 

  If you do decide to get certified, don't go interstate - here are some great local providers for ISO certification and other business services that I am happy to recommend to you:  

  Articulate Business Solutions - Stevie is a long term local and together with her partner John are a powerhouse in strategic and executive thinking as well as all the Human Resources, Industrial Relations, ISO, HACCP, investigations and incident management. I don’t have enough space to tell you about what they do.  

  Think Safe Solutions - Local and Aboriginal owned Think Safe Solutions and Christy are great one to have in your circle. Think Safe Solutions is your trusted Safety and Human Resources provider. We provide your business with a responsive and personalised service to help identify gaps and opportunities in your systems and processes. 

  Atlas Certification - Atlas don’t do the set up for ISO certification but they are a local operation that acts with integrity around the standards required for certification. They have a local presence but operation nationally in this space. Check them out for not only certification, but training. 

• Work From Home Workforce

  Having a completely virtual workforce has become increasingly regular in the years since the pandemic, and OTSPC is one of many businesses that decided to stick with the online/virtual workforce model. 

  Over our 2 years in business, we have become very familiar with the pros and cons of being solely online. Read more about that in our new blog here. 

  Have you considered employing someone virtually? If not, have a think about why you aren’t.  

  If you decide you are interested in this option, and it's an administrator or office manager you are looking for, perhaps check out the Virtual Assistant Lead Network It’s a great resource that even helps you work out what you need in a Virtual Assistant or Virtual Office Manager.

  Also, if you know someone thinking about becoming a Virtual Assistant or Virtual Office Manager in the NT, we would love to know of them so we can share the opportunities around. 

  To read our new blog on this topic, Click here.

• OTSPC's Favourite Newsletters

  We highly recommend subscribing to the Fair Work Ombudsman updates page, which provides invaluable insights on topics such as minimum wage changes, compliance updates, and other vital HR matters. Keeping up to date with these developments can help you navigate regulatory requirements and make informed decisions for your business. Additionally, should you require personalized advice or support, we have a network of experienced consultants we can refer you to for assistance with any HR or IR challenges you may face. 

  Another Newsletter we think is great for business owners to subscribe to in the NT Is the business.gov.au newsletter. This website aims to “collate information and resources from 3 levels of government into 1 website to reduce the number of websites you need to visit”. Their Newsletter provides updates on government information businesses might need to know. 

• NT Business Spotlight

  Territory Office Furniture Solutions is a business that we have recently had the opportunity to do some work for. They are an Indigenous-owned and operated furniture retailer based in Darwin and a leading provider of commercial and educational furniture in the Northern Territory.  

  We love some of the furniture they have in their showroom in Winnellie and can't recommend them highly enough for anyone looking for office furniture. 

  Visit their website here.

• Event Reflection: NT Woman of the Year Awards.  

  Conni had the privilege of attending this year's NT Woman of the Year awards earlier this month.  

  OTSPC want to extend our congratulations to the winners of all the fields, and to Rachel Thorne, who won the NT News Woman of the Year Award 2024. 

  Rachel has dedicated her life to educating and inspiring students throughout the Territory.  

  Originally moving from New Zealand to Maningrida to pursue a career in education, Rachel has had a great impact on Maningrida School by helping implement a new maths curriculum for primary students. 

  Rachel has since relocated to the Arnhem Land where she leads the Families as First Teachers (FaFT) program at Gunbalayna School. 

  We were particularly excited to see some of our network nominated for awards and to see that people in the often-unsung roles, such as geologists, educators and community volunteers, got recognition for their decades of hard work.  

  We all contribute to our communities in big and little ways, and it was wonderful to see so many NT women come together to celebrate each other.  

• Grants & Tender Opportunities 

  Here are some interesting opportunities for funding – even ones that cross over into our home lives:  

  National Justice Reinvestment Program- The Australian Government is inviting applications through an open non-competitive process to deliver justice reinvestment initiatives. 

  Justice Reinvestment in Central Australia- The Australian Government is inviting applications through an open non-competitive process to deliver justice reinvestment initiatives. 

  Home and Business Battery- If you're a Northern Territory (NT) homeowner, business or a not-for-profit organisation, you can apply for a grant through the Home and Business Battery Scheme to buy and install batteries and inverters. 

“We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve.”

— Bill Gates

If you have a few minutes to give our business a review on Google, please click here or to fill out our feedback form, click here.

That’s all for this edition. Thanks for taking the time to read it.  If there's anything you'd like to know more about, let's chat.