“I have been very lucky to have achieved significant personal goals whilst simultaneously forging a successful career. I’ve started a family, bought and renovated a house and continued running marathons. Having a healthy work-life balance is integral to a fulfilling career, and only possible with a supportive workplace and a strong organisational culture.”
Ben Lingard is the General Manager of Outcomes Connect Australia. Ben has always been passionate about utilising his management and allied health skills to help others. Through his own career journey, he has acquired valuable experience and industry knowledge. Equally important to his success are his intrinsic soft skills of good communication, strong leadership and analytical abilities.
My career journey with MedHealth
Ben completed a Double Degree in business and exercise science at Deakin University and was initially interested in being an Exercise Scientist. He then went on to complete a Master of Exercise Physiology Degree, which helped him with his first job as a Research Assistant with Deakin University. Ben was instrumental in a university research project during this time, designing and measuring the impact of an exercise program for patients with end-stage kidney disease.
“I helped develop an “exercise on dialysis” program that allowed people to exercise while they were having treatment. It was one of the most rewarding projects I ever worked on. These people have very low life expectancy, but their quality of life improved drastically. I loved making a difference to them and acquiring the skills and knowledge along the way. I feel I left a legacy for others, and I hope research continues to play a part in improving their health outcomes,” says Ben.
In 2014, Ben worked for a period as an Exercise Physiologist in community health, before joining IPAR in 2015. IPAR was recommended to Ben by a friend, and he decided to take up the opportunity to work in a growing and developing industry, learn more about occupational rehabilitation and build on his business-related management skills.
Ben performed in a variety of roles during his time with IPAR, including as a Consultant, Team Leader, and Rehabilitation Services Manager.
In 2019, a role became available for a Business Manager in Victoria with WorkFocus Australia, and Ben once again jumped at the chance to apply his knowledge and experience and to learn new skills. The role soon expanded to include Tasmania, the ACT and Queensland, with Ben becoming an Area Manager for the business.
In early 2023, he accepted a role as MedHealth National Operations Manager for New Markets and Acquisitions in the NDIS Services division. 2024 provides more opportunity for Ben as he prepares to embrace a new position as General Manager of Outcomes Connect Australia.
Ben remains committed to continue building upon the business management skills he honed throughout his tenure with WorkFocus Australia and MedHealth.
My challenges
My role with WorkFocus Australia became increasingly challenging during the pandemic. Inspiring and leading a group of people in unprecedented times was difficult. How could you make decisions and answer questions that nobody really knew the answers to? There were concerns about working arrangements and job security that needed to be addressed.
It became paramount that managers supported employees more than ever through this time. The silver lining is that we all came out the other side and we have learned from the experience. We have developed greater trust in people, who now have more flexibility and a better work-life blend; but who are also more productive. This flexibility works for the business as much as it works for our team members. It’s been a real game changer at MedHealth.
My motivation
I can summarise my motivation in just one sentence. It’s making a contribution to help improve the quality of life for people.
Every day, I feel like I am adding to something valuable that is bigger than me. Whether its delivering exercise programs at the end of a hospital bed, occupational rehabilitation, disability services or one of MedHealth’s many other services, making sure the business is effective and runs efficiently, in turn, helps improve the quality of life for someone in the community. It’s that type of motivation that also drives our team members, many of whom I have mentored and have seen step into leadership positions. It’s very rewarding.
My career highlight
My career highlight has been the past nine years here at MedHealth. I have been very lucky to have achieved significant personal goals whilst simultaneously forging a successful career. I’ve started a family, bought and renovated a house and continued marathon running (a product of gyms shutting in 2020). Having a healthy work-life balance is integral to a fulfilling career, and only possible with a supportive workplace and a strong organisational culture.
