5 Minutes With Beyond Blue Chair Linda Dessau
From her days as a gifted young lawyer to eight years as governor of Victoria, the chair of Beyond Blue learnt that while the road ahead may look clear, it can take unexpected and deeply challenging turns.
The first time I really felt out of my depth was when I started at law school. I found the structure of legal thinking so foreign. It got easier with time, experience and hard work. I’ve felt some element of that every time I started something new – whether it was as a 20-year-old lawyer or, many decades later, as the governor of Victoria – having to find my feet and navigate and negotiate a completely different role for which I’d had no specific training or instruction. But I think that’s healthy. New roles should stretch you. My husband [former County Court judge Anthony Howard] often reminds me, “brick by brick”, meaning “Don’t get overwhelmed, take it a step at a time.”
I got my first wake-up call when I lost my mother at 17 years of age. I’d had a charmed childhood, happy at school and happy and secure at home. Losing my mother was hard. That early, very unwanted lesson in resilience and self-reliance has stood me in good stead ever since.
My first lesson in truly good leadership came from a former boss, Ian Dunn, when I was a young solicitor at the law firm Wisewoulds. He was generous with his time, clear in his instructions, constructive with his criticism and firm, fair and kind in his dealings with me and the other staff. He went on to lead the Law Institute of Victoria.
The first time I had to stand up for what I believed in was at the first meeting of the first board I was appointed to. After announcing that all future meetings would be held from 6pm to 8pm, the chair sought views about the best day to meet and others responded. Then it came to me, the newest and youngest member and the only woman. I took a deep breath and said that no day from 6pm to 8pm suited me – it was peak period with little kids. There was silence and I thought my board career was over. Then everyone who followed me agreed that 6pm to 8pm was not a convenient time. I saw how groupthink worked, how to speak up and how important it is to hear different voices in decision-making.
Defining moment
“Volunteering at a community legal centre one evening, a distressed man, newly arrived in Australia with limited English, was overwhelmed trying to complete a rental application. I was struck by the privilege of my education that enabled me to complete it for him. It resonated with me as my father was a migrant who had worked hard to give his children an education. He instilled in us the responsibility to give back to this country, which had granted him – and so many others – safe haven and opportunity.”
