Meet MBA Alumnus, Melissa Mullen

Pictured: Melissa with her colleague, Alex Jensen on a site visit to South Maitland Rail in New South Wales.

MBA Alumnus, Melissa Mullen is a Senior Advisor of Safety Systems and Training at Australia’s largest rail freight operator, Aurizon. We, the MBA Team sat down with Melissa to gain an insight into her dynamic role and how she has harnessed the skills she has acquired through her MBA studies.

What does a “typical” day look like for you?

In my role, a typical day can be dynamic and multifaceted, and each day can bring its own unique set of challenges. A typical day often starts with meeting stakeholders and SMEs (Small and medium-sized enterprises) where we collaborate on a range of diverse topics such as safety data findings, procedural submissions, and change requests. Researching for Safety Management System related content and benchmarking activities are also key parts of my day. But it's the unpredictable nature of the job that really keeps me on my toes. My role calls for me to be dynamic, with the ability to swiftly adapt to new information. This aspect of my work demands agility and a proactive approach to ensure we are always ahead of the curve in identifying and implementing best practices and improvement opportunities.

In your opinion, what skills and attributes should an effective Project Manager have?

The ability to listen is critical to the success of a Project Manager. By this I mean silencing or questioning those preconceived assumptions, and fully engaging with what is being said. I consider this skill crucial and continually strive to enhance my own ability as it forms the foundation for clear and unbiased understanding.

Networking is another essential skill for success in Project Management. By networking, I don’t mean expanding your contact list. I mean growing meaningful relationships with people.

Listening and networking skills are interconnected. Effective networking relies on your ability to listen to, and understand others, and that fosters stronger and more effective communication channels - together they create a synergy essential for effective project management.

How do you keep your team motivated and engaged?

For me it is important to celebrate the wins. Even if they are small. It’s important to give everyone positive feedback, and to remember how far you’ve come, and to appreciate all the work that has gone into each step. Positive feedback and celebrating the successes creates a collaborative environment, and it lets all the team members know their work is important, individually, and to the team’s collective success.

Can you tell us about one of the most impactful projects you worked on?

While the term "impactful" can be subjective, for me, it's about projects that create positive change regardless of their scale.

I've been involved with major projects that improved transportation for thousands of commuters in major cities, which were significant in their reach and effect.  Conversely, I've been involved in smaller projects that, while less visible, carried with them immense financial implications and opportunities to save clients significant costs.

However, if I consider impact in terms of personal significance and contribution to a greater purpose, one project comes to mind – which was a traineeship and upskilling project for underprivileged youths, and long term unemployed. We had great success with the 95% successfully completing the traineeship, and over 80% of the long term unemployed getting working positions within 3 weeks of finishing the program. This project deeply resonated with me and reinforced my commitment to using my skills and abilities to make impactful changes on people.

I am proud of my work on both large and smaller scale projects, but I'm always looking for opportunities to engage with projects that not only achieve tangible outcomes, but also align closely with my personal values.

Can you describe a time when you used your knowledge/skills acquired through the MBA to successfully manage a project?

I think it might be easier to try and describe a time that I didn’t use the skills acquired through the MBA to assist! The MBA taught me to identify my strengths so I could really emphasise those in times when the project called upon them. It taught me how to better utilise critical thinking, it taught me the beauty of searching for the external viewpoints, the benefits of diversity, what cross-pollination brings and innovative thinking. This is where you find your lightbulb moments.

How do you give back to your local community?

This might be a response better suited to the ‘impactful project’ question, or even describing a time when I used my MBA skills. I had an idea bubbling away in the back of my head for a few years! I was able to bring it to the forefront and develop it for the Innovation for Impact assessment. It was an idea for better utilising unused plots of land to increase local biodiversity, to provide safe haven for local native species, and in doing so add beauty and greenery to the local area, with the added bonus of sequestering carbon dioxide through increased tree growth.

By a strange twist of fate, shortly after working on this assessment piece the local council issued letters to everyone on my street informing us, we owned and therefore had the responsibility of an easement at the back of our properties. This was news to most of us, and happened to be just the kick that I needed to start initiating a community effort to clean up and regenerate a parcel of land that is currently overgrown with introduced weed species. The project is in its infancy, but it is very exciting to have the opportunity to bring what was once a bubbling ‘what if’ into something that will see both community and environment positive impacts.

What are some of the MBA events you've attended that you've found most valuable? And why?

I have enjoyed every MBA event that I have attended. They provide a valuable opportunity to network and talk with likeminded people from different industries and careers paths. I’ve never left one without creating a wonderful connection with someone. If I had to choose one, the standout event for me was the Brand Me event in June this year. It was such an engaging, positive and uplifting evening that helped me focus on how to better develop my authentic brand, staying true to me.

And last but certainly not least, which UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) are you most passionate about and why?

I would say I am most passionate about SDGs 5, 13 and 15. These are personal to me. SDG Gender Equality - being female and having worked in male dominated industries most of my working career I have experienced many inequalities relating to pay, work roles and expectations etc. As a mother of a 4-year-old daughter, my hope is that she experiences less of this when she enters the work force.

I am also passionate about SDGs 13 (Climate Action) and 15 (Life on Land). I feel these are interlinked, and again I would say my passion comes back to my 4-year-old daughter, and what will be the state of the planet that I leave for her and the generations to follow. As creative developer of my local prospective community permaproject and as an avid gardener, life on land and the protection of biodiversity and microclimates are dear to me.

If you have a question for Melissa, we encourage you to connect on LinkedIn.