Gail Kelly Quotations

In this digital age, there is no place to hide behind public relations people. This digital age requires leaders to be visible and authentic and to be able to communicate the decisions they've made and why they've made them, to be able to acknowledge when they've made a mistake and to move forward, to engage in the debate.

I grew up in a very strong, nuclear family. My father was a sportsman. He represented South Africa in a couple of sports, so he was a very positive person and someone who encouraged you to be your best and give your best with everything that you do.

You can choose not to sit on the fence. You can choose not to criticise. You must stand as guard at the door of your own mind and choose to be positive.

When I got to be a CEO, I said: 'Right. I'm now going to tackle gender inequality head-on. I'm going to make a difference and lead by example and actively put in place policies and practices to support women.'

I'm a very consistent leader, and people won't find me different day to day. You won't have to have the sort of conversation that says, 'How is she today? Is this a good day to have this conversation?' You won't find that situation with me. I treat people with respect.

Nelson Mandela was an outstanding leader and a mentor for me. I was in South Africa at the time he was released. I was in South Africa when he was inaugurated as the first president.

Living in South Africa has had a very profound impact on my career.

Whatever you are doing, give it all of your attention. Prioritise what you're going to do carefully, and then be in the moment.

I have a very genuine care for individuals; I have a very genuine sense of the power of individuals to make a difference, a very genuine belief that people matter, a very genuine belief of wanting the very best for individuals.

I'm a big believer you should design work around a vast majority of people who want to do the right thing rather than around the tiny minority who might take advantage.

One of the joys of being at St. George is you were operating under the radar screen a lot of the time, and you could actually get on with things a lot more quickly and easily.

I have certainly been very front footed about increasing our gender representation at Westpac.

I don’t waste time. I move. I finish things. I don’t try and do things to the nth degree. I know what’s important and what’s not. I’ve really learned that. That’s a judgement I’ve learned, what really matters.

If you believe in practising generosity of spirit, at heart you believe in the power of an individual to make a difference and at heart you treat individuals with deep respect and want to see others flourish.

If I'm watching my son play soccer, that's what I'm doing. If I'm going to a school concert, that's what I'm doing. I turn the phone off. I actively tune into whatever I'm doing. I walk every evening with one of my sons and for that half an hour, 45 minutes, that's what I'm doing.

Often really what you need is someone who will believe in you, who will encourage you to believe in yourself.

You should choose organisations that are going to be flexible and supportive and recognise people are going through different stages in their careers and actually need different sorts of support.

We’ve all seen the same situation happen to two people. One looks for the lesson, sets their shoulders back and presses on while the other asks ‘why does it always happen to me?’ You can choose not to sit on the fence. You can choose not to criticise. You must stand as guard at the door of your own mind and choose to be positive.

You must stand as guard at the door of your own mind and choose to be positive.