Chapter 5:
Claire is loosening her grip
When Claire entered Sally’s office on Thursday afternoon, Sally greeted her with her usual warm smile.
‘How are you?’ Sally asked, getting up and gesturing to the six-seat meeting table in front of her desk.
‘Good, thanks. Busy, but good,’ Claire said, hoping it sounded more convincing than it felt.
Once they sat down with copies of Claire’s self-assessment scores, Sally said, ‘So, why don’t you first take me through your scores and rationale.’
Claire explained she’d rated herself ‘High’ on all fifteen questions except two. ‘I gave myself a Medium for letting others solve problems they’re capable of solving, and another Medium for considering how my style impacts the team’s workload,’ Claire said. ‘I know I can be a bit persistent when a deadline is looming.’
Claire walked through her rationale for both Mediums. The first, she explained, was structural—Corporate Services had historically absorbed too much transactional work from clients instead of building their capability, and she was actively changing that. The additional positions Sally had secured before Claire took over had given her runway to lift the service model. She expected the score to improve over the next six to twelve months.
Sally nodded but kept her eyes on the scoring sheet, so Claire continued. For the second Medium, she acknowledged the reform period had added to her team’s workload. ‘But the additional effort will definitely be worth it once the improvements are implemented,’ she said, now feeling even more confident about her assessment.
‘I see. Thanks, Claire,’ Sally said, then sat back and looked at her. ‘As you know, I’ve always appreciated your commitment to excellence and dedication to the job. Your promotion was well-deserved.’
Claire nodded but kept her thoughts to herself. While she welcomed the praise, a small part of her wondered where Sally was heading with this.
‘My overall feedback would be to review your scores with your own behaviour in mind, regardless of your current role and what’s going on in the division. This part of the course is about your general mindset in the workplace, which can impact your life outside of the office.’ Sally leaned forward. ‘Frankly, I’ve become concerned about your wellbeing lately.’
‘Oh. Why?’ Claire asked, forcing a smile and fiddling with the wristband on her watch.
Sally paused before speaking again. ‘I’ve heard from someone on your floor that you’re regularly the first in and last out. I’ve also seen emails from you at all hours. And when I was reviewing a pack of governance papers recently, I was surprised by how many committees and working groups you’re on. I wonder if you really need to be involved in everything in such detail.’
Sally probed further, asking Claire about what might be causing the pressure. Was the team understaffed? Were Claire’s directors underperforming? Or was Claire taking on too much herself?
It was the first time Sally had questioned Claire’s approach so directly. Their usual meetings were a mix of updates, light mentoring and occasional directing. This felt different. It was less like a chat and more like a gentle reprimand—not at all how Claire had envisioned the meeting.
A lump formed in Claire’s throat. She only managed to say, ‘I’m just trying to get fully across things before handing them over.’
Sally softened but didn’t back down. ‘Your dedication is clear, but you risk burning out. I’ve led this team myself. I know there are capable directors who can step up if you give them the space.’
Claire nodded, still absorbing the feedback.
‘And selfishly, I want to make sure you have some capacity to spare,’ Sally said, a cheeky smile forming. ‘I was hoping you’d lead the working group on the Minister’s review of frontline services. Well, co-lead to be precise.’ She explained that the response would likely mean giving the regions more autonomy, to improve their response times, so Steve had nominated Rob.
‘Rob?!’ Claire blurted out. The shock had bypassed her filter entirely.
‘I know, I know…but you have to admit there’s no one else who understands the frontline better than Rob,’ Sally said. ‘And who better to keep him in check than you?’
‘I thought you wanted me to improve my wellbeing, Sally,’ Claire said, only half-joking, but flattered by Sally’s compliment nonetheless. Yes, Rob would definitely need reeling in and educating about how things should be done. The prospect was both irritating and exciting.
‘Don’t worry, Quinn will be there to support you. Steph asked her to co-lead and Quinn has already agreed,’ Sally responded.
Claire relaxed slightly. Quinn was steady and sensible. ‘Okay…well, that’s good. Quinn’s my course partner and we’re catching up tomorrow to go through our self-assessments, so I can chat to her then.’
‘Excellent. I’ll enter my comments straight after this and forward them to Quinn,’ Sally said. ‘You’re not far off with the scoring, but I think being proactive and seeing the bigger picture isn’t just about being prepared or thinking at the agency level; it’s also about building the leadership pipeline in your team and managing a sustainable workload. Which is also how you ensure you’re “focusing on what matters”—if you’ll excuse the use of course lingo,’ Sally added, laughing.
‘Test your scores with Quinn. She has a knack for cutting through complexity to find what’s key; tap into that talent to help you pick your own battles.’ Sally gave Claire one of her winning smiles. ‘And leave some room for the working group. The CEO needs a response plan for the Minister in six weeks.’ She paused. ‘No pressure…’
***
When Claire entered the café the next morning, Quinn was already seated. Claire smiled when she saw her; she loved how reliable Quinn was.
Ten minutes later, they were sipping their coffees with the scoring sheets between them. Claire suggested they look at Quinn’s first.
‘To be honest, I think you’ve been way too hard on yourself,’ Claire said, scanning Quinn’s scores. ‘Lows across the board? You’re one of the most thoughtful and methodical people I know.’
Quinn shrugged. ‘I gave myself a Low on actively considering how my work connects with others—in my case, that means thinking about what my audience needs. I bombed at that executive team presentation on Tuesday. I just prepared what made me feel safe, not what they needed.’
‘That’s only one presentation. It’s a data point, not a complete performance review,’ Claire said. ‘And Steph clearly agrees with me—her comments are basically “Quinn, back yourself”.’
Quinn smiled, visibly flattered. ‘That’s kind of you both to say.’
‘It’s not kind. It’s accurate.’ Claire leaned forward. ‘You’re a steady performer, you filter out the noise better than anyone I know. And yes, you’re still doing technical work, but that’s your job. The question is whether you can step up when the opportunity comes along.’ She paused. ‘Are you interested in a higher-level role?’
Quinn blushed. ‘Well…yes…I mean, I’ve been considering it. They’re creating a Senior Director Governance role in our division and it seems interesting.’ She looked into the distance. ‘But after Tuesday, I’m not sure I’m cut out for it. Maybe I should just stick to what I know.’
‘Oh, Quinn. You’re so hard on yourself,’ Claire said, then her eyes lit up. ‘You know what? I think you should go for it. Why don’t you do the rest of this course with that in mind? Challenge yourself. I’ll be in your corner. It can’t hurt to have a plan for what the role could focus on, ahead of the interview.’
‘Thanks, Claire. That’s generous.’ Quinn paused. ‘Okay…maybe. I’ll think about it. Now can we move the spotlight on to you?’
‘All right, all right. So bossy…’ Claire joked. ‘Well, you’ve seen Sally’s comments. I think I missed the mark on a few of these.’ She kept her eyes on the scoring sheet, with her palms cupped around the mug as she turned it absently.
Quinn studied her. ‘Claire, I think you deserve high scores across the board. You’re genuinely an inspiration to me.’
Claire blinked. She wasn’t sure what to do with that. She could handle compliments about her work, but she’d never been called ‘an inspiration’ before.
She took a sip of her coffee, then cleared her throat. ‘What do you mean?’
‘It’s great to see someone from our generation on the executive team—especially a fellow organised person. It gives me hope that not all leaders have to be…well, like Rob.’ They both laughed. ‘Sorry. That was mean. I think he’s great, especially how passionate he is about his work. But I could never be that Type A kind of leader.’
‘Hey! I’ve been called Type A,’ Claire teased.
‘Yeah, but you’re back office. You understand how things need to get done. And you actually read our compliance emails and respond on time. It’s refreshing.’
‘Okay, thanks. But enough flattery—give me the tough love. I can take it.’
‘Well, you’ve always been a high achiever, which is great, but based on Sally’s input you could share some of that talent with others,’ Quinn said cautiously. ‘Honestly, I don’t know how you manage to stay across all the things you need to do at your level and stay sane. Do you have enough support?’
‘It’s been super busy lately. Sometimes I feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything I need to do,’ Claire said, sitting back in the chair. ‘But, yes, Sally may have a point. I’ve been doing too much myself—I just want to set the division up for success in my first year as division head. Then I can hand things over and go into cruise control.’
‘Oh, Claire, I could never imagine you in cruise control!’ Quinn teased.
Claire laughed, then added in a more serious tone, ‘I’m really keen to create some spare capacity for that working group. It sounds like an interesting project, so I’ve been thinking about ways I could let my staff step up.’ She paused. ‘It’s not easy—I’m trying to lift the division’s performance and I know it’s creating more work for the team. I’m worried about adding even more to their plates. I don’t want to get them offside five minutes after stepping into the role.’
Quinn gave her a warm smile. ‘I think they would be more upset if you micromanaged them. Maybe you’ve been a senior director for too long and you’ve forgotten what it’s like to be a rising director. I really appreciate it when Steph empowers me to do things I’m excited about. Sometimes I make mistakes but she’s there to help me improve.’
Claire sat quietly, processing what Quinn had just said. ‘Yes, I see your point. But it’s hard to know which things to let go of, where to loosen my grip.’
‘Well, maybe that’s what the next module can help you map. I’m happy to test your thinking,’ Quinn offered.
‘Yeah, okay. I’ll give it a go. Thanks,’ Claire said, still sceptical. ‘Now, let’s work out a strategy for the first working group meeting. I don’t want Rob to derail things—I mean, he’ll definitely try, but if we structure things well, we might stand a chance. Maybe we can run it like a workshop.’
‘I love that idea,’ Quinn said. ‘That way, it’s not a talk fest and we can get some concrete output.’ She paused, then added, ‘Well, uh…maybe I could help keep things on track? Watch the time, make sure we don’t go down rabbit holes. I could use the practice managing a room.’
Claire hesitated. Her instinct was to control every element of the meeting herself, with Quinn simply taking notes. But Quinn’s reliability was a known quantity, and Claire would be right there if things went sideways. ‘Sure,’ Claire said. ‘Let’s design the agenda together. That way, we both know the structure.’
Over the next half hour, they mapped out a detailed agenda, with exact timing for each item, following the structure of the thirty recommendations from the review report. The plan was to work through all of the recommendations so the CEO had a solid response for the Minister.
Claire left the café confident they had something robust enough to corral Rob.