Managing Director of SEEK, Kendra Banks, on how her leadership team make their most important decisions

My guest today is Kendra Banks, the Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand at SEEK. If you live in Australia, you have probably used SEEK at some point in your career, and for overseas listeners, SEEK is Australia’s number one employment marketplace.

Kendra has had an amazing career and has worked in senior marketing roles at Coles where she was General Manager, Customer Insight & Coles Brand and also in London at Tesco. Kendra holds a Masters in European Politics at the College of Europe, where she was a Fulbright scholarship recipient. Prior to this, Kendra completed a Bachelor of Economics and Mathematics at Yale University.

We cover:
  • What it was like moving from working from home once a month to every single day
  • How Seek has changed the timing and length of regular meetings in the virtual world
  • Tools that Kendra uses to see how her messages are landing in all-staff meetings
  • On having retrospectives to optimise meetings
  • Balancing virtual schooling three kids with trying to work
  • Managing staff who are trying to juggle homeschooling with work
  • Providing unlimited carer’s leave
  • The importance of coming back to purpose to drive motivation
  • How Kendra manages her own stress
  • How Kendra has deliberately chosen to take the riskier path for her career
  • Strategies Kendra uses to make good decisions
  • How Kendra’s leadership team approach decision-making
  • The best and worst career advice Kendra has received
  • Kendra’s peer support group and the role they play in her life

Connect with Kendra at kbanks@seek.com.au and on Linkedin.