Paula Dunn

EDUCATE

PAULA DUNN - Interview by Jasmina Siderovski

NO LIMITS CONSULTING PTY LTD CEO, International Award-Winning Speaker, Teenage leadership Strategist and Cognitive Scientist

Be the Change that You Want to See in the World!

Paula Dunn is an International Award- Winning Speaker, Teenage Leadership Strategist and Cognitive Scientist. Over her 20 years within the Medical and Scientific industries, she has worked with leaders for some of the biggest brands in the world such as Eli Lilly, Cochlear and Johnson & Johnson just to name a few.

Paula’s best known for helping young girls create confidence to conquer life. We are here to serve girls who are in their senior years (9- 12) of High School, who are on a mission to make a difference in the world their way! We do this because we believe that cultivating a leadership mindset in teenage girls will set them up for success in everything they do – Professionally and Personally.

After her time in the corporate environment Paula recognised the key problems were bullying and corruption in the workplace as a result of insecurity, fear of failure and the uncertainty about the future. Women are still encountering many Biases (both explicit and implicit) within the workplace. This has led Paula to create The Limited-Edition Leadership Academy for girls that sits within her Consulting Practice.

Paula utilizes her 20 years of Scientific Research, People Leadership, Project Management, Entrepreneurship and Positive Psychology expertise and has created a program that mitigates the challenges women are facing in the workplace today.

This is done through her 5-step methodology the “5 C’s” which are: confidence. conscious inclusion, cultivation, congruence, and collaboration.

Her Limited Edition Leadership Programs, that range from short online e-courses to an 8-week facilitated program, promises to restore their confidence, instil courage and embrace uncertainty with optimism to succeed in their final High School Year and beyond school life. Making students agile and adaptable in their approach to the future of work.

When and why did you decide to become a cognitive scientist/leadership coach/ mentor?

I’ve always had a passion for Science and wanting to know the “Why of Things”. So, it made sense to me to move into Medical Science. After a while I became obsessed with understanding “Why I did the things I did”. Being born with a Bilateral Cleft lip and Palate and never quite fitting in at school. Being relentlessly bullied both physically and verbally really traumatised me and impacted my thoughts, feelings, and behaviour as I was growing up. I always compared myself with other girls at school and wondered why they were more liked and popular than I was, and why it was so hard for me to do anything. I would also compare how confident some of them were (or so they appeared on the outside) and could easily breeze through exams, public speaking, and high school musical performances etc. I noticed that there was a disconnect between who I was and who I wanted to be.

As time went on, I discovered my passion for leadership. Not only did I want to create better versions of myself but also in others. I am an accidental Entrepreneur. It was never my intention to ever start a business, I just wanted to make a difference in the world in my own way, through working as a leader in corporate.

Unfortunately, due to my Entrepreneurial Spirit within corporate and the innovation I brought to the companies in which I worked. This brought a lot of attention; I was once again subjected to bullying (covert and overt) in the workplace. But this time it wasn’t due to how I looked; it was due to my work performance.

As this was going on, I came to the realisation that I spent my whole life chasing the carrot at the end of the stick. I was tired, burned out, stressed out and when you reach the end of your rope you come to some really insightful realisations. I realised for the first time, it wasn’t my career that defined me, it was my values. I recall saying to myself if I were to die tomorrow would this be the life and legacy I would want to leave behind? My answer was NO!

I resigned from my Senior Manager Position within the Pharmaceutical industry in August 2016 and Founded No Limits Consulting. I’d never done anything impulsive in my life but knew in my heart that it was the right thing to do. The bullying was the catalyst that pushed me out of the industry to do what I was meant to do for the rest of my adult life.

I choose to work with high school girls because after suffering the bullying in corporate and whilst I was growing up at school, made me realise that if I hadn’t developed a leadership mindset I may not have uncovered and realigned my values and true calling. I want to help teens create a leadership mindset whilst their young and that their minds are flexible to learn new insights about themselves before, they become too ingrained. If only I had known of these leadership skills when I was 15 and not 40! How different life could have been, the choices I would have made, the people I would have allowed in my circle who didn’t over step my personal boundaries and the partners I had choose to date who treated me with the respect and dignity I deserved as a human being.

Can you walk us through your journey, mainly finding the motivation to up-skill? And commit to an art that requires patience, understanding, direction and guidance?

I’ve always had a passion for self-development. Like I said earlier, I was obsessed with always bettering myself, my internal motivation was to be treated “equal” to everyone else. I didn’t want to be tossed aside as someone who had limitations on their life because of how they looked. I also knew that I had internal beliefs about myself that limited my confidence, courage and certainty about myself. So, I predominantly wanted to work on that side of myself. All I knew was that I knew what I wanted to be, but I had to work on who I needed to be in order to have what I wanted to have in life. I looked at people who were ahead of me in their careers and success in life whom I wanted to emulate. Understanding their thoughts and feelings about themselves and how those impacted their decisions and behaviours in life that gave them the successes that I only dreamed of.

What are valuable lessons you have learned along the way in the industry?

I’m a huge people pleaser and like to be liked. If you’re thinking of becoming an entrepreneur, the number one rule is that these qualities can make or break your business and your mental health. You want to be liked by the right people, that is the people that believe in you and your product or service. These people are the ones you are going to help. Focus on them, everyone else around that is just white noise. My second piece of advice for those that love to seek out perfection, is to seek proliferation instead. Perfection can be a curse in business as by the time you’ve perfected something and sent it out to the market you may have missed your opportunity both financially or competitively.

Is there any advice you would like to offer anyone else who may be interested to pursue the same path?

My first advice is to have a passion/idea of what kind of legacy you want to leave so start with the end in mind. Then find the right people to help you achieve that dream. Friends and Family love, you but not many people decide to become entrepreneurs it’s not a “done thing” and so many people will be fearful for you and want to protect you from failing, so they will try and talk you down. Don’t do it alone especially if you’re in uncharted waters. Seek advice from those that are where you want to be. You will fail many times, and you will want to call it quits many times. Put strategies and obstacles in place so when you are at a point of quitting you can call upon those networks to help you overcome those hiccups, create solutions to the failures and move forward.

What is your five-year plan?

For me It’s Personal. I want the opportunity to influence and impact teens and young adults across the globe. The feedback I’ve received from Principals, Parents and Students from the work I’ve done to date has been positive and welcoming. They haven’t come across this type of work before at schools and welcome the fresh approach to helping teens develop a leadership mindset. It proves that my business can make a difference despite other companies in the market today working with teens.

I don’t want teens to go through what I went through to become successful there are better and more healthier alternatives. I want to help teens Improve their mental health, wellbeing whilst at the same time striving for success without compromising both.

I want to help teens reduce mental health issues, self-harm, suicide rates through creation of leadership skills. I want to help teens gain control of their thoughts, emotions and actions to create confidence to conquer life, their way!

I want to help improve the lives for Teens, their families and their communities. Increase employment and study rates across the Globe. Reduce unwanted teen pregnancy, domestic violence and victim mindset. Break the toxic cycles from past experiences and intergenerational anger.

Teens will grow up to be self-driven leaders within their communities. They will be role models as adults, partners and parents for future generations.

My Dream would be to roll out my leadership program as a cocurricular activity within each school across the globe and become the preferred provider of leadership education for teens. I would love to see this program developed into online learning platform and licensed out to schools to allow other students from regional areas and Internationally to access these courses.

Is there a challenge in your journey that stands out that may inspire others?

One thing in life that I’ve learned is that anything good doesn’t come easy. In fact, if it’s bloody hard then my recommendation is that you’re on the right track keep going.

What are your end goals? Where do you see yourself ten years from now?

My end goal is to ensure that every teenage girl and boy has the opportunity to develop a leadership mindset. I would love to also run leadership programs for low socio-economic students that want to aspire to great heights.

What I have to offer is of critical importance to a teenage girl’s development. From the feedback I’ve received from the girls who’ve attended my workshops and leadership development, they have yet to receive this type of leadership development at school, despite the number of companies out there providing “leadership development” workshops. There is a definitely a gap in the market despite Pastoral Care/Counsellors/Psychologists and other health care professionals that aim at the crisis management of teenage mental health.

As my background is in Medical Research, I would also like to run a research project looking at high achievers (year 12) in STEAM (Sciences, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) fields across Public and Private Schools and collate this information to better support my clients. This research will also be able to assist future students from year 10 to align and benchmark their attitudes/ motivations to study to the best in their fields. This research will require government funding and/or crowd sourcing to get off the ground.

Future programs will also look at implementing leadership programs specifically tailored for teenage boys.

Leadership Mindset impacts us across all aspects of our lives. It determines our thoughts, our feelings, our actions in life. The types of career path we take, the partner we choose, how it impacts our community and our future offspring. It will minimise bullying and corruption in the workplace, minimise domestic violence and help young girls recognise what is a loving relationship vs a toxic one. It all starts from within.

My business is aligned with the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Global Goals and my focus and motivation in everything I do within my business is based on: Gender Equality, Quality Education and Good Health & Wellbeing.

The work I’m doing is not about me, it’s not about prestige and glory, it’s about the influence and impact I’ll have to help others achieve big. These programs have been developed based on what I would have loved to have had at 15 years old. After experiencing as a woman in STEM the challenges we’ve faced, I would love to help girls mitigate those challenges from a younger age. When one girl achieves, we (as a community, a society and globally) achieve.

What is your favourite pastime when you aren’t working?

My favourite past time is going to the gym and boxing. I love meeting new people, socialising with friends and family, spending time with my husband and chillaxing at home with my fur babies (Ragdoll Cats) Jinxy and Coco Chanel. I love listening to music, shopping, and am a little obsessed with Tik Tok.

I’m looking for Schools across the globe who are looking to partner/collaborate with me to roll out some leadership programs at their school. Please connect and contact me to learn more.

I’m also looking for Industry Partners that share a common vision, mission and values to me that they would like to financially invest in my Company to help expedite this dream into a reality for all.

Achievements and Awards

Mar 2020 – Finalist – Illawarra Women in Business Awards – Business Woman of the Year

Mar 2020 – Finalist – Illawarra Women in Business Awards – Best Small Business

May 2019 – Finalist – Local Business Awards Inner West – No Limits Consulting Pty. Ltd.

11-16 April 2019 – Award Winner – Women Economic Forum – Delhi, India - Exceptional Women of Excellence for my leadership program for teenage girls.

June 2017 – Finalist – NSW Business Chamber Category – Start-up Super Star Award. Out of 2,500 applicants I was 1 in 4 chosen for my category.

Dec 2017 – Student of the Year (NSW) – The Life Coaching College.

Volunteer and Supporting other Organisations – Utilising my Experience & Expertise

Deadly Guardians – Jan 2020 – Supporter and utilise my brand and distribution to assist with raising profile of this initiative to assist indigenous teens with thriving throughout school life.

15 Jan 2020 – STEM Camp for Girls University of Wollongong – Workshop To prepare Girls for career in STEM.

Inspiring Rare Birds – Mentoring Program (Dec 2019 – present) –Corporate leadership Development.

Advisor/Mentor – Mentoring Program – UOW (August – October 2019) – Assisting students with their career development.

iAccelerate UOW - Mentor & Leadership Expert (Nov 2019 - present) for Startups, to assist with expanding employment opportunities across the Illawarra.

Vice President of CleftPALS NSW – Non- Executive Director Board Role (July 2019 - present) – My role is to support President on Strategic Direction on the NGO board, as well as coordinate the support for teens and parents of teens born with clefts.

Convenor – Young Leaders Interest Area (April-2017 – May 2020) The Association of Regulatory and Clinical Scientists to the Australian Pharmaceutical Industry Limited (ARCS Australia) – To provide leadership expertise and insights to new and emerging leaders within the pharmaceutical industry.

Convenor – Clinical Research Interest Area (May-2016 – Jun2017) (ARCS Australia) - To provide scientific expertise and insights to clinical and medical employees within the pharmaceutical industry, as well as source guest speakers on clinical topics.

Clinical Monitoring Advisory Panel (CMAP) (September 2016 – May 2020) (ARCS Australia) – To provide leadership and scientific expertise and insights as part of an advisory board.

Thank you, Paula for your tremendous dedication and passion for empowering young teenagers. As you once said yourself:

“One thing I love about people that have overcome hardships is how they rise above the adversity to help others. We can’t control what others have done to us or their beliefs and biases toward us, it’s what we ultimately believe about ourselves. Be the change that you want to see in the world.”

Website: www.nolimitsconsulting.com.auEmail: paula@nolimitsconsulting.com.au

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ pauladunn/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ channel/UCnxJOa8K7CsiWFxAFtWpWYg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ nolimitsconsulting1

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ no_limits_consulting/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/dunn76paulaTikTok: @pauladunn4

eYs Magazine, Winter 2020 | 23