HRNZ Member Profile: Sussan Ockwell

Sussan Ockwell – Director of Optimism, a learning and performance company that seeks to develop competence and confidence in the workplace – shares with us insights into her world.

1. What do you do in your current role to drive success?

As a company, Optimism is all about making it easy for people to be great at what they do. So whenever I’m talking to someone that’s my focus. First, I need to understand the situation and then determine what we can give them or develop for them, to make it easy for them to perform at a high level. Their success leads to their organisation’s success, and our success. Inside Optimism, I particularly love to develop systems (with methodologies and tools), so it’s easy for our people to be great at what they do.

2. What attracted you to pursue a career in HR?

A very long time ago, in my last actual job before Optimism, I was the gobetween between the ‘geeks’ and the end-users. I found it fun and easy to translate the technical, or make the complex simple. Moving on from there, I started my own company providing training and development services to large organisations.

3. What has been a career highlight, and why?

I’m living my two highlights right now!

One is having my current Board role as Learning Chair for the Entrepreneurs’ Organisation (EO) New Zealand. From the moment I joined EO New Zealand, I wanted this Board role. I love delighting my (discerning) fellow entrepreneurs by creating once-in-a-lifetime learning experiences. And, with that, I just got presented with the EO President’s Choice Award for 2020.

My other highlight is within our company. I am super proud of The Induction App™ that we recently developed to help companies set their new people up for success. It’s a culmination of all of our induction experience and our deep digital expertise. It’s very exciting, and I’m loving learning how to drive it as a global Software as a Service product.

4. Why are you an HRNZ Member?

Learning and performance is a subset of HR, and it’s essential for me to be across the broader HR context. HRNZ is a professionally run organisation where I can stay in touch with what’s happening, network with interesting people and attend high-quality events.

5. Tell us about a recent involvement with HRNZ?

We’ve just finished developing the Capability Self-Assessment Tool for HRNZ. It’s an excellent tool for HR professionals to be able to assess themselves against competencies and prioritise their own professional development. From a member perspective, I particularly enjoy the casual Café Connects, when I can get there.

6. What’s something that not many people know about you?

I left school at 16 (it was boring), started in business when I was 22, and did my degree and diploma entirely by correspondence. I didn’t have much of a social life for years!

7. If you could have dinner with three people living or dead, who would they be and why?

I’m fortunate that, in my role as Learning Chair for EO New Zealand, I get to personally meet so many of the people who I admire (for example, Peter Beck of Rocket Lab, Rod Drury founder of Xero, Vic Crone of Callaghan). However, three people I’d still like to have dinner with are Tony Robbins, because he is the full package and has developed the amazing ability to cut through to what’s really happening, and how to effect rapid change. John Key, because I respect him in many ways and haven’t had the opportunity to have a personal conversation with him yet. And for my third one, as a Christian, I’d want to have a private dinner with Jesus.

8. What’s your happy place?

Going off-grid and living the simple life, with only my husband Kirk and bichon-baby Momo, in a campervan or boat.