Leadership Series with Jackie Besley and Jo Syme

We are proud to present The Leadership Series for aspiring Fintona leaders in Years 9 to 12.

Our two presenters for this event will be Jackie Besley and Jo Syme, who are both alumni of Fintona. Jackie is Managing Partner at Devereaux Consulting and Chair of the Fintona Board of Management. Jo is a member of the band Big Scary and co-runs record label Pieater.

Both alumni are strong and passionate leaders from whom our aspiring student leaders can learn a great deal.

The Leadership Series is an integral part of the Senior School Leadership Program. Sessions feature leaders closely associated with Fintona who have made a difference across varied spectrums of society.

Speakers will share their personal leadership journey before receiving questions from the floor, allowing our students to focus in on personal perceptions, understanding and skills whilst supporting them in their leadership goal setting. This series is designed to enhance and grow our developing leaders and support their future applications for leadership positions at Fintona.

All students in Years 9 to 12 are invited to attend. Girls who are aspiring to formal leadership in Year 12 are especially encouraged to attend.

Registration is for Fintona students via Consent2Go

Jackie Besley

Managing Partner at Devereaux Consulting, Chair of the Fintona Board of Management

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Jo Syme

Co-owner of record label Pieater, Big Scary band member

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Jo Syme

Co-owner of record label Pieater, Big Scary band member

Why did you volunteer to present at The Leadership Series?
I know it’s great for students to hear first-hand from a broad range of people, on many different life and career paths. I’m looking forward to listening to the girls and hopefully sparking new ideas and lots of questions about the many things on offer after school years.

What is your current role and what happens in a typical day?
In music you have to do lots of things to earn income in diverse ways. I still play in my band, Big Scary (I’m the drummer, co-writer, sometimes singer) however we only tour when we have a new album to promote, and that can be once a year or once every 5 years.

Day to day I’m mostly busy with releasing other artists on our record label – in that role we manage relationships with the broader team (agents, publishers, distributors, designers, manufacturers etc), we set up releases, and we promote releases, we manufacture merchandise. I’m on my laptop a lot, but also work from home and have a pretty relaxed schedule.
I also do some bookkeeping for my team – that means doing various financial reports, getting them ready for quarterly ATO compliance, and preparing their financial info for tax returns (that bit is done by an actual accountant). And finally, from time to time I moonlight as a wedding DJ.

What is the best leadership advice you have been given?
I can’t recall a specific quote on leadership, but I think it’s really important to lead by example, in terms of a positive attitude and strong (but balanced) work ethic. It’s also important to be aware that your way of doing things isn’t the best for everyone, so listening and learning from your team creates a better end result.

What were the most important skills you developed when you were younger that now support you as a leader?
Being unafraid to ask questions, even in public. If you don’t ask, you won’t know, and then you can’t give answers to others when they’re seeking guidance from you.