Time to Smell the Roses

Since leaving Telstra, Balfour has been on an interesting personal and professional journey, reconnecting with family and friends, and for the first time in many years actively planning what she wants to do next in her career rather than following a lead when opportunity knocked.

During the first fortnight after leaving Telstra she fielded 400 phone calls from university chums, people she'd worked with at DMR Group 20 years ago and a big London job offer. The flurry of interest buoyed Balfour's wellbeing and sense of self-worth. "I was on a big emotional wave and you do crash down," Balfour acknowledges. But she had already recognized that rather than race after the next big gig she needed to take some time out to regroup her energies and thoughts.

And to work in her son's school tuckshop.

Although she describes herself as diligent about ensuring she maintained her work-life balance even when in high profile jobs, Balfour says she was surprised at the effect on the family when she did step down, saying it quickly became a lot more relaxed. "I was probably a bit shocked at the degree to which I'd regimented myself. It's only quite recently I've learned to sleep past 6am," she admits.

After a couple of months off and a family holiday in New Zealand, Balfour was ready again to hang out the shingle. She contacted a handful of head-hunters at the top end of town whom she had got to know during her time at Telstra and Qantas. Initially they all wanted to put her forward for directorships. "I'm 49 though," she says, adding that going on boards was something she'd prefer to consider in her mid 50s, although she is already on the board of the National Breast Cancer Foundation and the Council of Chief Executive Women.

Out of the blue she received a call from George Savvides, the managing director of Medibank Private, asking her to consult directly to him on how the health insurer should take its IT into the future. She has been working there two days a week, admitting that, "frankly, if I'm there more than that I drive them nuts". Although it's a very different role from those she had at Telstra or Qantas, she has found that the technology and change management challenges are remarkably similar, and has found the Medibank role rewarding.

She has consulted directly to the CEO on IT and organizational issues, reshaped the CIO role, helped recruit the new CIO, Terry Snyders, redesigned the IT department and overseen the rationalization of telecommunications suppliers. With the new CIO in place, she's keen to push back a little from the role but maintain links with the company and hopes to attend monthly steering group meetings to continue to contribute to the company.

She acknowledges that she's had to adjust her approach when working in smaller companies in a consulting role. "I've yet to find a problem I haven't found before. At this stage in my career I can say that I've solved these problems in three different ways and pick the best solution.

"The hard thing is that because of the deep experience it puts you in a slightly different position. I have to consciously remind myself to take people on the journey with me. I can make these big jumps but have to mentor people through the process."

Like Balfour, Hemant Kogekar has left two high-profile CIO roles - one when he was CIO of Franklins supermarkets and a second when he was CIO at Suncorp. He's still looking for his next position but believes it is not wise simply to race into the first role that comes along. Kogekar says it is important to take some time to figure out what you want to do. "What are your skills? What are you enjoying? It's like leaving any job," he says. "You have the opportunity to look at what you want to do next. Some people may want to start a business, to consult, to travel."