by: Mine Racho
DVE recently hosted a webinar exploring effective leadership during major organisational change, featuring industry leaders Mary Louise “ML” Huppatz, CEO of ATEM, and Jodie Quilliam, Clinical Placement Unit Manager at UniSA. The session opened with an Acknowledgment of Country and a brief overview of DVE’s work supporting governance, compliance, organisational improvement and digital transformation across the higher education sector.
A central focus of the discussion was the creation of the new Adelaide University—one of the sector’s most significant change initiatives. Jodie shared her experience managing the integration of two placement teams with differing systems, workloads and structures. She highlighted the importance of empathy, early relationship-building, and prioritising student experience while navigating uncertainty and evolving timelines. ML complemented this with broader reflections on treating change leadership as a strategic capability, emphasising honesty, co-design, and pacing change according to organisational readiness.
Both speakers underscored that launching a new structure is only the beginning; meaningful change continues long after day one. They discussed the emotional side of transformation—grief, apprehension, and the need for psychological safety—acknowledging that effective teams grow stronger through open dialogue, trust and shared resilience. Workshops, reflective conversations, and opportunities to surface concerns were identified as crucial mechanisms for helping staff feel heard and supported.
The webinar also addressed how leaders can encourage upward communication during uncertain periods, and how they themselves can stay grounded while personally affected by change. Both panelists stressed the importance of aligning personal values with organisational direction, being transparent with teams, and recognising when advocacy is possible and when acceptance is necessary.
Leader wellbeing emerged as a key theme. ML and Jodie encouraged leaders to prioritise rest, set boundaries around digital communications, build strong peer support networks, and recognise their circle of influence. Protecting time to focus—while stepping back from constant noise—was shown to improve both personal resilience and team outcomes.
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