High Performance, Human Leadership with Claire Greenwell

Imagine finding out you're having twins — no history of them in the family, completely out of the blue — and deciding, right there in the ultrasound room, that your family needs to move states. That's exactly what happened to Claire Greenwell, and it kicked off a stretch of her life that would completely reshape how she leads.

In this episode, Claire Greenwell joins me to talk honestly about work/life balance, burnout, and what parenthood has taught her about being a better leader. She shares the story of stepping into an acting branch manager role too soon after returning from parental leave, the burnout that followed, and the boundaries she had to set to come back from it. We also dig into how letting go of perfectionism — with her kids and with her team — made her a more trusting, more effective leader. 

This is a conversation for anyone who's wondered whether "having it all" is really the right question to be asking.

Claire shares how she:

- Treats flexibility as essential, not a nice-to-have — remote work and a nine-day fortnight aren't just what makes her job possible; they're what keeps her present as a leader and a parent.

- Learned boundaries the hard way — after burning out in an acting role, Claire had to call her manager and ask to step back, and rebuild her confidence from there.

- Redefined success around her team, not her own output — shifting the spotlight to her people's growth instead of her own visibility.

- Let go of perfectionism with her kids first — and found that trusting her own intuition transferred directly into trusting her judgement as a leader.

- Leans on outside perspective for people issues — a partner with an organisational psychology background helps her reframe problems objectively instead of reactively.

What would change for you — as a leader, or as a parent — if you let go of needing to have all the answers?

Claire Greenwell is a portfolio director at the National Disability Insurance Agency, leading a team of 16 people (including actuaries and non-actuaries) that specialise in providing critical analysis and advice on Scheme sustainability and reform outcomes to senior leadership, Board and government departments. Claire has worked at the NDIA for eight years and previously worked in life insurance pricing for six years. She holds a Master of Public Health specialising in research methods, as well as her actuarial fellowship. Claire is based in Brisbane where she has three young children, working part-time and primarily from home to balance her work and family commitments. 

Claire’s passion is building relationships and collaborating with cross-functional teams, such as frontline services, policy and other operational areas, to ensure that actuarial insights at the NDIA are meaningful and can be put into action. 

Connect with Claire on LinkedIn.
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Click here to learn more about the Guardian Actuarial Leadership Program.

Read Julia’s leadership development books written especially for actuaries:

• For new and aspiring managers: "Aspiring Actuarial Leaders: The Modern Manager’s Toolkit"
• For new and aspiring senior leaders: "Senior Leadership: An Essential Guide for Actuaries"

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