Intellectual curiosity and flexibility: Q&A with Cristina Cifuentes

Becoming a Commissioner at the ACCC has been a once in a life time opportunity. The work we do in protecting competition and consumer interests touches just about everyone in Australia in some way. It's intellectually challenging and, as a work environment, it's terrifically collegiate. I get to work with an incredibly talented and committed group of people. It's inspiring and humbling.

I chair the ACCC's Communications Committee. Before joining the ACCC, the extent of my telecommunications knowledge was using my mobile phone and connecting to the internet. I've since developed a pretty strong understanding of the technologies that sit behind telecommunications and the way in which services are delivered and regulated. I'm pleased to have been part of the team that has driven public policy and competition in such a critical area.

Taking the ACCC position was my first move back into full time work after having my children. For most of my 30 year career I've worked on a part time basis. My ideal world is where I can combine challenging work with other interests, like playing the piano, studying and regularly escaping to the outback.

"I get to work with an incredibly talented and committed group of people. It's inspiring and humbling."

It's been a mixture of both. I have never been driven by wanting to achieve any particular status in my chosen fields, so moving up the ladder was never a strategy of mine. Rather, my prime motivators in choosing jobs have been a commitment to social and economic equity, intellectual curiosity and a desire for flexibility. My career path has reflected this. The challenge of working in public policy is understanding the drivers for policy, exploring the options and settling on the one that delivers the most social and economic benefits. Moving into financial markets satisfied a desire to understand finance and investments and then I used that knowledge and expertise within the superannuation industry to help people, particularly women, who often find their choices are limited because of financial dependency.

The biggest factor has been a historical and cultural view of the role of women and deeply embedded resistance to change. This is now changing but programs that develop and prepare women at all stages, so that there is a strong cohort going through the executive to board career pipeline, are still inadequate. Women are, and should be, considered equally capable as men in terms of being developed as future leaders. This has to happen from their very first job, not 15 to 20 years into their work life when companies start to cast around looking for potential female directors. So whilst the commitment to getting more women on boards may be there, organisations need to do a lot more in terms of developing the talent and capabilities of their female staff from the very beginning. They also need to provide opportunities for them to continue to work meaningfully if they decide to take up family obligations.

"I have never been driven by wanting to achieve any particular status in my chosen fields, so moving up the ladder was never a strategy of mine. Rather, my prime motivators in choosing jobs have been a commitment to social and economic equity, intellectual curiosity and a desire for flexibility."

Mentoring is not about the career success of the mentor nor is it about the career aspirations of mentees. For mentors, it's about offering encouragement and support. It's about sharing your experiences of success and failure, and the lessons you've drawn from these that may help your mentee achieve their goals. For mentees, it's about being open to opportunities, suggestions and candid constructive feedback. A good mentoring relationship brings mutual benefits by connecting the experienced with the upcoming. It's motivating and inspiring for both. It's about personal growth and fulfilment for both mentor and mentee.

I haven't so much had mentors as much as champions. That is, people who have believed in me and put me forward for opportunities which have come to shape my life. Some of those champions are my former colleagues from Treasury, Michael Lambert and Eric Groom, and in the superannuation industry, Tom Parry. It's not ironic that they have all been men - it goes to my point about the lack of women in senior positions.

Life probably won't turn out the way you expect it to. So, be flexible in your thinking and actions. Take opportunities even if they don't fit your immediate plans. Don't let linearity in life, or your career, be your constraining factor. And above all, don't worry about making mistakes - we all make them - just don't keep making the same ones.

I was born in Spain but grew up in Sydney. I was very fortunate that my parents, despite coming from a very traditional European background, had a very strong belief in providing their daughters with the same education opportunities as their sons. We were all encouraged to be professionals and to give back to the community. My father was an enormously intellectual man. When we were very young, he encouraged us to be intellectually curious. His idea of an excursion was to take us to the public library where we would spend hours reading. He was a great one for debating the economics and politics of what was going on in the world. My mother has always been my primary role model. From the beginning she emphasised a trinity of important characteristics - a commitment to social and economic equity, personal and professional integrity, and personal and financial independence.

I think it's a myth that you can have everything at once. Having a challenging and satisfying career, being a fabulous parent and partner, and having time for yourself are all possible but perhaps not to the extent you'd like. or not all at the same time. I don't get much free time and what time I do get is spent with my family, in the garden or being in the bush. The key for me has been good planning and optimising situations, like reading papers whilst waiting for the kids to finish music lessons or cross country racing. It's also been a matter of prioritising. Sadly, playing piano has fallen by the wayside as has reading for pleasure instead of reading for work.

Editors note: Following the publication of this interview, Cristina Cifuentes was re-appointed to a further five-year term as a commissioner of the ACCC.