Secretary of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and Investment NSW CEO Amy Brown spoke earlier this year about how her Christian faith guides her in the workplace.
Brown has found herself in the public spotlight as the final decision-maker in appointing former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro, who has since withdrawn from the position.
Addressing the Christian publication Eternity News back in February, Brown told the publication said she believes God’s plans are perfect and he has put her where she needs to be.
“I need to sit back, pray and pray and pray, pray, give it to God. And if he wants an outcome, that is what the outcome will be. And the outcome might be something terrible, that I lose my job or don’t get the opportunity, but he’ll be glorified through that.
“So it’s just that absolute trust that it’s not about me and it’s not about me seizing these ambitions for myself. I don’t need to seize anything. I just need to let God do the work,” Brown said.
The secretary stated she views the workplace as linked to her ‘personal purpose’, which she draws from her relationship with God, saying her management style is based on Jesus.
“I’ve done a lot of reflecting because I spend a lot of time at work – always have – and we have Jesus’s life-shaping spirit in us all of the time, so workplaces are our spiritual places. There’s no ‘spiritual things’ category being church and reading the Bible, versus when I’m in a secular workplace. Every place is somewhere where God is using us to achieve his eternal purposes.
The secretary added: “Similar to the 90s saying, ‘What would Jesus do?’ I’m a bit more nuanced than that. ‘What would Jesus do if he were me in these life circumstances, in this job, with this issue before me and serving the people that I lead?’”
Brown added she felt God was ‘very instrumental’ in getting her into a leadership position.
In an interview uploaded to YouTube in March 2020, when asked about how mental health and leadership work together, Brown added one area she finds support in is her faith.
“I go to Church, I’m a Christian. Whatever that might be for you – people meditate or do other things, that’s something for me,” Brown said.
The CEO also added she finds support through her family and friends.
