* You were awarded the LTT Senior Executive Scholarship for 2022, how has your experience been so far?

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Leading a team of young, purpose-driven individuals has been extremely rewarding, but also incredibly challenging at critical moments along the business building journey. The monthly sessions with my Senior Executive group have brought a great deal of pragmatic perspectives which have empowered me to make hard decisions with integrity, transparency and empathy.

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* What’s the best element of your role at Generation Entrepreneur?

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Not only does my role grant me the honest privilege of empowering a generation of young people to find solutions to problems they care about deeply, but it also enables me to mentor, shape and empower a team of selfless youth to be the leaders and changemakers I believe our world so desperately needs.

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* Now some Yin with that Yang – what’s the hardest element of your role?

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Each member of the core team at Generation Entrepreneur is at a juncture within their lives where exploration of various career pathways is strongly encouraged and supported. This makes onboarding, nurturing and retention of talent some of the most challenging elements of the role, and one which I think deeply about on a daily basis.

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* How do you continue to grow and develop as a leader?

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By being in the trenches with my entire team, not just my direct reports. By committing myself to fostering an organisational culture where everyone is comfortable providing feedback to leaders. And by adhering to the values of being open-minded, vulnerable and curious.

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* What’s the best advice you’ve ever received and why?

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Be tough-minded on standards, but tender-hearted in approach. We can have the best metrics and processes in place, but without a team, there can be no execution at scale.

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* My ideal holiday or way to unwind is…..? 

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I would absolutely love to spend time at a mindfulness/meditation retreat, especially one that is outdoors and within Mother Nature.

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* Time for the shameless plug – why should an organisation engage with Generation Entrepreneur?

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Generation Entrepreneur is on a mission to equip high school students around Australia, and eventually around the world, with enterprise skills necessary to thrive in the 21st century workplace. We do this by engaging high school students (years 7-12) in business building/entrepreneurial workshops, incubators and accelerators. Through this immersive, hands-on experience, we endeavour to equip students with cognitive and metacognitive, personal and social, as well as transitional work capabilities which will be recognised and highly valued whether they choose to enter the workforce or create their very own business. If you, as an individual, would like to support our youth and our future, I would love you to join our growing network of mentors. And if your organisation would like to engage with Generation Entrepreneur, I would certainly cherish an opportunity to discuss potential avenues of sponsorships and partnerships to ensure that Generation Entrepreneur continues to deliver impact at scale as a non-for-profit.

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Thanks Esmond, we love having you in our community! Esmond can be contacted at esmond.ye@generationentrepreneur.com.au and you can check out their work at https://generationentrepreneur.com.au/

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