With International Women’s Day taking place this month, we caught up with Jenni Walke, founder of People Improvement company Elephant in the Room Consulting. Jenni’s organisation helps professionals across the globe to “untangle the mess of business,” enabling them to understand their purpose and realise their ambitions.

Jenni’s career has spanned public service in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), global event planning and now, business ownership and consulting. Here, we get the lowdown on Jenni’s remarkable journey, what makes her tick as a woman in leadership, and her advice to the next generation of businesswomen on how to reach their goals and find fulfilment.

Jenni’s Path

One of the first words Jenni uses to describe her 25+ year career is “eclectic”. And whilst that is undoubtedly evident from her professional chronology, what you also find are a collection of experiences that have worked together to make her and her business into what they are today.

After leaving the Air Force, Jenni had several roles that honed her aptitude for setting out complex processes and delivering projects to completion. A self-confessed ‘Process Bunny’, Jenni was at the organisational helm of several global events, including the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and the 2009 Sydney World Masters.

Following her time in large-scale event and project management, Jenni reconnected with her passion for Leadership Development and People. She spent the next 12–13 years in this field, helping global businesses to devise leadership, recruitment and onboarding programmes. To the casual observer, Jenni appeared to have everything she wanted: a career that combined her passion for Leadership Development with her aptitude for process – but something was missing.

After a period reflecting that “the job didn’t love me back”, Jenni realised that helping organisations to get the best out of their people often amounted to maximising their output, rather than providing a more holistic service that improved the mindset and overall fulfilment experienced by the employee. This disconnect is where Elephant in the Room was born.  

Putting Vision into Practice

Though the company offers many services, the crux of what Elephant in the Room does is “to help people create and fulfil their dreams”. This, discovered during a relatively unfulfilling period in her career, is Jenni’s “genius’” (or purpose) and she sees it as her privilege to utilise this to improve as many lives as she can.

The idea for Elephant in the Room Consulting was born out of a connection Jenni made in Barcelona with a hugely talented mother and business owner, who had a multitude of ideas but lacked clear focus in which ones she should bring to life. The relationship between these two women centred on empowerment and clarity. As Jenni sought to channel her first client’s various passions into viable business ideas, it provided her with the mental space to bring other areas of her own life into harmony. This holistic style gives Elephant in the Room its distinctive character and is what really motivates Jenni to get out of bed in the morning.

Advice for Female Leaders of the Future

When Elephant in the Room was founded more than two and a half years ago, Jenni had zero experience in starting a small business. What she did have, however, was confidence: confidence in the validity of her business concept and, more importantly, confidence in herself that she could bring it to fruition – something she knows many women struggle with.

“Indigenous women and women in business often feel they don’t have enough experience because they don’t have something someone told them they should have,” Jenni explains. Her response to these concerns is simple: “Don’t let the how stop you.”

Throughout her journey, Jenni points to a range of mentors who have provided advice and served as sounding boards for her plans as they developed. Her message for women who are unhappy in their careers but are hesitant to make a change is to believe in themselves completely, and that if they can get just one other person to believe in their ideas, “then there will be a thousand more”. 

Finally

We’d like to say a huge thanks to Jenni for taking the time out of her busy schedule to speak with the First People Recruitment Solutions team and share the fruits of her professional experiences.  

First People Recruitment Solutions is a leading Indigenous recruitment agency committed to supporting and developing careers across Australia. Get in touch to take your next step.