Lessons in leadership, mentors and mistakes

An image of UQ students Finn Thompson (left) and Renato Saeger Magalnaes (right) studying in the Advanced Engineering Building

UQ graduate and award-winning journalist and author Madonna King shares key insights from her discussions with 2020 Alumni Award recipients.


Humility, the ability to listen to others and connect with people, and a commitment to lifelong learning – they’re the attributes UQ’s top alumni say build strong leadership skills, and success.

Lawrence Au, who has been at the forefront of Asia’s financial industry for more than 35 years, says he’s also learnt from his own mistakes.

“I had a sales manager work for me. And she was a wonderful lady – full of energy, full of drive,’’ he says. He mentored her, only for her to resign nine months later.

“I was completely shocked. Later, I learned she found that I was too overwhelming as a manager, as a leader, and she felt she had lost confidence.’’

A headshot image of Vice-Chancellor's Alumni Excellence Award recipient, Lawrence Au

Vice-Chancellor's Alumni Excellence Award recipient, Lawrence Au (Master of Business Administration, 1982)

Vice-Chancellor's Alumni Excellence Award recipient, Lawrence Au (Master of Business Administration, 1982)

Mr Au (Master of Business Administration, 1982) this year joins the ranks of the Vice-Chancellor’s Alumni Excellence Award recipients. Did that resignation of a key staff member prompt him to change his style?

“Definitely,’’ he says. “It’s not about telling people what to do. It’s about listening. And then see how you can connect all the people around you so that you can – together as a team – pursue the goals and the mission of the company.’’

Like many of his peers, Mr Au says knowing your shortcomings is as important as learning your strengths. Mistakes were inevitable; it was the lessons they taught that was crucial.

Leadership is learned, according to International Alumnus of the Year Award recipient Fauna Ibramogy (Master of Agribusiness, 2013) [pictured]. “If you are willing to listen,’’ she says, “you will be able to have people around you who can contribute their ideas.’’

And it is important too, to trust your instinct. “Stay focused, work hard, put in the necessary effort and the results will come."

Vice-Chancellor’s Alumni Excellence Award recipient Paul Compton (Bachelor Economics, 1986; Bachelor of Commerce, 1984) says mentors play a key role in building leaders.

Mr Compton, who lives in New York and is president of Barclays Bank Plc, tells those early in their careers they should “collect as many of them as you can’’.

He says he’d benefited from nurturing the relationship he shared with mentors. Often mentors could become ‘sponsors’ who were willing to "go and bat for you around opportunities".

“I think building mentors who ultimately become sponsors is a really important part of building a career,’’ Mr Compton says.

“You think of different people for different topics and different issues. Mentors have a very real place in building careers.’’

And it doesn’t matter how senior you become; mentors continue to play a role.

That view is supported by Tamara Richardson (Bachelor of Science, 2018), who has been awarded a Distinguished Young Alumni Award for her work as director and founder of Pace 48, a multinational youth-led platform that promotes access to cultural education across dozens of countries.

Richardson says she’s chosen different mentors in the public, political and private space because each was able to offer strategic advice relevant to the sphere in which they worked.

An image of UQ International Alumnus of the Year award recipient Fauna Ibramogy (Master of Agribusiness, 2013) sitting at her desk and working on her computer.

Leadership is learned, according to International Alumnus of the Year award recipient Fauna Ibramogy (Master of Agribusiness, 2013) [pictured]. “If you are willing to listen,’’ she says, “you will be able to have people around you who can contribute their ideas.’’

And it is important too, to trust your instinct. “Stay focused, work hard, put in the necessary effort and the results will come.’

Vice-Chancellor’s Alumni Excellence Award recipient, Paul Compton (Bachelor Economics, 1986; Bachelor of Commerce, 1984) says mentors play a key role in building leaders. Mr Compton, who lives in New York and is president of Barclays Bank Plc, tells those early in their careers they should “collect as many of them as you can’’. He says he’d benefitted from nurturing the relationship he shared with mentors. Often mentors could become ‘sponsors’, who were willing to "go and bat for you around opportunities".

“I think building mentors who ultimately become sponsors is a really important part of building a career,’’ Mr Compton says.

“You think of different people for different topics and different issues. Mentors have a very real place in building careers.’’ And it doesn’t matter how senior you become; mentors continued to play a role.

That view is supported by Tamara Richardson (Bachelor of Science, 2018), who has been awarded a Distinguished Young Alumni Award for her work as director and founder of Pace 48, a multinational youth-led platform that promotes access to cultural education across dozens of countries. Richardson says she’s chosen different mentors in the public, political and private space because each was able to offer strategic advice relevant to the sphere in which they worked.

An image of UQ International Alumnus of the Year award recipient Fauna Ibramogy (Master of Agribusiness, 2013) sitting at her desk and working on her computer.

Dr Michael Bonning (Master of Public Health, 2017) says it is also wise to change mentors over time.

“I really like seeing and learning from role models, because there's an explicit curriculum at medical school,’’ says Dr Bonning, who has extensive experience in health policy, non-profit and advising corporations.

“We know to learn our anatomy and understand physiology and practise clinical skills, but it's all of the small inherent gestures to patients…it's the things we do to put people at ease…it's the opportunities you take to connect with people that I often think have a bigger impact on people's long term health.’’ 

Dr Bonning, who this year joins the ranks of UQ’s Distinguished Young Alumni, says leaders should also talk more about the mistakes they make, along the way, as a lesson to others in chasing success. He says sometimes medicos made the mistake of not genuinely understanding what it was like "to be in the patient’s shoes’’.

We’ve also got to reach out to those who follow us. That’s the message offered by Indigenous Community Impact Award recipient, Cameron Costello (Bachelor of Laws, Honours, 2005). A Quandamooka man who is currently the CEO of the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC), Costello says a wave of First Nations people was primed to take a strong leadership role in Australia.

An image of Indigenous Community Impact Award recipient, Cameron Costello sitting on rocks beside the ocean.

Indigenous Community Impact Award recipient, Cameron Costello (Bachelor of Laws, Honours, 2005)

Indigenous Community Impact Award recipient, Cameron Costello (Bachelor of Laws, Honours, 2005)

“I'm so optimistic that – particularly the younger generation – are embracing what First Nations people have to offer,’’ he says. He gives the example of recent bushfires where various authorities sought out advice on how traditional knowledge could be used.

“There's a growing awareness and collaboration and willingness across all areas of government to work with First Nations people to allow them to use their knowledge."

Deborah Riley (Bachelor of Design Studies, 1993) [pictured], a production designer and art director who has picked up four Emmy awards as well as a Vice-Chancellor's Alumni Excellence Award, mirrors those views: that leadership comes from learning, and sometimes that means making mistakes too.

Riley, whose portfolio includes sets like Game of Thrones, Moulin Rouge! and The Matrix, cites two university staff whose early advice has stuck with her as she’s climbed the career ladder. One of them, she says, tutored her in design, and told her one of her architectural plans “looked like I’d dropped a pizza on it’’.

“And he was right,’’ Riley says.

“It's that kind of criticism that I think you need when you're starting out. Not everyone's like your Mum and is going to be incredibly supportive of what you're doing. You've got to learn how to take criticism; you've got to learn how to move on, you know.’’


These are short excerpts from Madonna King's interviews with each of our 17 Alumni Award recipients. Read the inspiring stories in full and subscribe to our podcast series to listen to the discussions with each awardee.

An image of UQ Vice-Chancellor's Alumni Excellence Award recipient, Deborah Riley sitting on a dark couch in a darkened room.