1 min read

Sarah Manley, Deputy Chief Executive at St John NZ

 

Sarah Manley was Not An MBA’s very first enrolment, hitting the ‘go’ button just minutes after we launched the public. She was ready to break out of the busy trap and shift into a more strategic leadership space. The difference was noticeable just a few weeks in, not just to Sarah. It was a conversation with her EA, who she’d worked with for over six years, which showed Sarah how quickly and dramatically she’d changed.

Break out of the busy trap

My EA - and we've been working together about six years - she turned around and said: ‘Sarah, first of all, the team are busy. But everything's going on just fine without you. And secondly: you’ve started managing your time better than you ever have. You've stopped saying yes to everything. You've stopped going and dropping into the detail. She said: ‘I can see it in your diary, and the way you’re thinking, and the way you're coming across. You’ve got more time now to think about the big things, and that's where you're putting your energy, and you should just keep pouring your energy into that space.”

Sarah was blown away.

“I found that really powerful, that she was noticing that in me.”

Hear Sarah talk about her changes here:

Where Sarah went next: from strength to strength

At the end of Not An MBA, Sarah reflected on her journey and wondered if she could keep it up.

“It's been an amazing course. It's been really transformational for me. Now the course is over, having had such an amazing experience with meeting other people and really pushing myself outside my comfort zone, I’m thinking: ‘Oh my goodness! How how do I do next week? What am I going to do now?!”

Luckily, the changes Sarah had implemented stood the test of time. Not only did she continue to excel in her role, building on her new strategic foundation, but she also moved into a Chief Executive role with Mitey: Sir John Kirwan Foundation just a year after she completed Not An MBA.

Hear Sarah provide her general reflections here: