Andrew Smith
Chief Executive Officer
Education Services Australia

Andrew is a strategic transformation executive with extensive leadership experience in education and training. With a proven record of success in transforming organisations, Andrew has led complex organisations and effectively managed high profile internal and external stakeholder environments to produce mutually beneficial and enduring relationships. He was the CEO of the Australian Council for Private Education and training and CEO of Swinburne College prior to taking up his current role as Vice President (Engagement) at Swinburne.

Client Q & A

• Andrew, what were you experiencing in role at Swinburne that made you seek coaching?

  Our organisation made a strategic decision to build on the leadership capability of our executive team. Coaching was a key part of the development program and we each had an opportunity to choose a coach from a shortlist of candidates.

• And Repa was the right person on that shortlist?

  My choice to work with Repa was based on the breadth of her approach. The connection to values and leadership from the inside to the outside resonated with what I wanted to achieve from this opportunity.

• What were you hoping to take away from the coaching?

  My objectives were to become more conscious and deliberate in my leadership and to broaden my skills in developing others and more sophisticated forms of leadership that go beyond deployment of resources to achieve outcomes.

• To what extent was Repa able to help you with these objectives?

  Not only do I have a deeper understanding of my own leadership skills, I am also more mindful of those around me as a result of this experience. Outcomes of a 360 review after 12 months showed that my leadership development objectives had been achieved and that there had been a noticeable positive impact on how peers and my own team viewed me in my leadership role.

• That’s a wonderful result. Did you enjoy the work you did during your sessions?

  Yes, I did. I think this is particularly because of Repa’s coaching style, which was comfortable and relaxed yet always challenging.

  Deep questioning of my motivations and objectives and what lay behind them led to greater understanding of myself as a leader and this translated into more effective leadership and greater clarity about my own long term aspirations.

  Repa’s genuine interest in my leadership journey was evident and helped ensure our conversations were honest and authentic.

• Would you tell others about Repa?

  I would recommend Repa to anyone looking to build their leadership from the inside out. The process can be confronting and challenging at a personal level and Repa’s genuine interest in me as a person and as a leader was critical in helping me to work through these challenges.

  She really helped me to be clear about my objectives and returned to these on a regular basis to check that we were on track, this process gave me great confidence that we would achieve the desired outcomes.

  I would recommend Repa as a leadership coach to anyone who wants to develop a leadership style and skills that align with their own values but a word of warning – there are times when it feels like Repa knows me better than I know myself so be prepared to be challenged and confronted in pursuit of your goals.