Leading change at the highest level

Leading some of the sector’s most recognisable charities demonstrated to Dawn O’Neil AM that collaboration is critical to solving complex social problems. She is this week’s Changemaker.

There’s no doubt that Dawn O’Neil AM is seen as a stalwart of the mental health sector. With two decades in the field, O’Neil has been CEO of both Lifeline and Beyond Blue, deputy chair of the Mental Health Council of Australia and led the development of the first strategic plan for the National Mental Health Commission, among a range of other reforms.

She also supported systems change across the sector in her work as chair of homelessness social enterprise STREAT and director of not for profit Collaboration for Impact.

It was in recognition of these efforts that O’Neil was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for services to the community and mental health, and received Suicide Prevention Australia’s Outstanding Contribution Award.

Now, O’Neil is turning her attention to the environment as CEO of eWater Systems, a B Corp founded by her partner that aims to replace toxic cleaning chemicals with safe electrolysed water.

“The opportunity to be CEO of eWater Systems has given me a chance to immerse myself in sustainability work again. With the only ingredients being salt and water, it’s the most sustainable hygiene system in Australia – a true disrupter – and I believe, the future of cleaning,” said O’Neil.

In this week’s Changemaker, O’Neil explains why collaboration is critical, how the social sector can fix its governance issue, and what she did to save Lifeline from going under.

What drives your work?

I have always been motivated by trying to solve problems and make life fairer, better or safer in some way. 

This has led me to becoming involved in many social justice issues such as suicide prevention, or campaigning to destigmatise mental health and improve services, and now to working towards a solution to eliminate harmful and wasteful cleaning chemicals from our world. 

What does a typical day look like for you?

Growing up on the mid-north coast of NSW, my family largely lived off our small hobby farm where we grew our own vegetables, milked “Daisy” for our dairy needs, had chooks, fruit trees, and fished regularly. This early experience taught me to respect the land, and to live simply and not waste.

We were also close to the beautiful beaches of Forster where both my parents taught swimming in the ocean baths. This is where I developed my love for ocean swimming and what drew me and my life partner, the founder of eWater Systems Phil Gregory, to live on the Victorian Surf Coast, which is south of Geelong.

Living on the Surf Coast means I can start my day being active by walking on the cliffs or beach, or swimming with a local group. I also like to fit in yoga a couple of times a week and spend time in my home gym. 

Then I head to my beautiful studio in our backyard where I am surrounded by trees and our flourishing garden to work at the desk. 

You have more than 20 years’ experience working in the social sector. Looking back, what do you wish you had told yourself when you first entered this space?

The social sector is so vital to the fabric and strength of our society, and those that work in it fight daily to be heard and to have the resources they need to do good work. 

Like many people, I didn’t realise it would be as hard a fight to do good as it was. I wish I had learned earlier to work more collaboratively with others, be more skilled at influencing, and have more realistic expectations about what one person alone can achieve versus garnering the support of many. 

What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned working in the for-purpose space?

The biggest lesson I have learned is that to solve big problems requires collaboration and determined effort over a long period of time. There are no quick fixes or simple solutions to complex problems. 

This is why after leaving Beyond Blue, I worked with friends to develop a new organisation and network of practitioners skilled in collaborative practice and focused on long term change.

This has given me a good perspective for the work with eWater Systems which is as much about behaviour and attitudinal change, as it is about commercialising water electrolysers.

What is a key problem leaders need to address about the social sector now, and in the future?

There are more resources going into the sector than ever – but these are more dispersed through more and more organisations. I believe sector leaders need to find ways to pool those resources, work more effectively together, be better at collaborating and be realistic about what reach and impact a single organisation can have when working on complex social issues.

The other key issue is governance. I have seen over and over how the current board structure fails for social sector organisations and leaders. I believe it needs a type of ‘Royal Commission’ high level review to work out how to govern the social sector more effectively in a way that supports leaders and enables them to both perform and meet compliance obligations.

Can you identify a challenge you have faced over your career and how you overcame it? 

There have been many big challenges – some that threatened the existence of the whole organisation I was leading, such as the time when Telstra wanted to end the Lifeline sponsorship, which in those days effectively paid the phone bill and enabled Lifeline to do its work. 

Overcoming this was a very long struggle that resulted in the Prime Minister at the time, John Howard, standing up in parliament and saying “Telstra I think you should reconsider”, which reinstated the sponsorship and kept Lifeline afloat.

Part of the challenge that had to be overcome was to financially underpin the organisation so it wasn’t dependent on a single source of support and was more sustainable in the long term. 

I am very pleased to say that by the time I left Lifeline it had multi-source reliable income streams, and this has been built on over the past 10 years. Lifeline is now a highly robust and vital part of the service sector of Australia.

How do you unwind after work?

[My partner and I] are pretty disciplined about finishing work on time. Generally, I’ll wander through the garden for a little while, tend to our vegetable patch and hopefully pick something to be a part of dinner. I love to cook so this is my big ‘unwind’ moment. 

Being creative with food to make something delicious and wholesome for us both to eat brings me enormous pleasure and takes me out of my busy brain. Then we relax on the couch and catch up on the day together, maybe read a bit and then after eating, settle into an episode of the latest series on TV.

What do you want your legacy to look like?

I am just hopeful that I can look back on my life and feel like I did my best to be a part of change that benefited people and our planet. 

Right now, I am passionate about disrupting chemical use in Australia and seeing electrolysed water become the new normal.