Hi. I’m Mark McPherson.
I live in Sydney and I’m happy to travel to other cities, states and countries for work – and of course, for holidays and fun.
I love being in the outdoors, spending time with my wonderful partner Linda and taking my neighbours’ dogs for walks. I love being with friends and having a good laugh. I have a strong sense of social justice and a keen interest in the natural world – I’m particularly interested in reptiles and amphibians. And oh yes, I love red wine.
But that’s enough of the personal stuff. What you’re probably more interested in what’s equipped me to be able to help you get the best possible behaviour, communication and performance from people – at work, home and play. So here goes.
Heaps of experience.
I have formal qualifications in science, education, health and psychology – BSc, GradDipEd, GradDipEdStud(Health), DipHyp, MEd and GradDipPsych. And I have over 40 years experience – some details are on the second half of the page.
- I’ve been a Rescue Officer volunteer and trainer with the NSW State Emergency Services, a Tourist Guide at Jenolan Caves, NSW, a Taxi Driver and a counsellor at the Crisis Centre , Wayside Chapel, Sydney.
- I was a full-time employee for 26 years starting as a Teacher way back in 1977. I left in 1983 and went on to be: a Lecturer in health education and behaviour management; an Educator with the Family Planning Association; a Senior Education Officer in the ‘drug and alcohol’ field, in infection control and then in health promotion; a Manager in the Health sector (in HIV/AIDS, HCV, sexual health & continuing education) and Team Leader (as a non-sworn officer) in The Drug Programs Coordination Unit in NSW Police.
- I’ve been a consultant researcher, evaluator and instructional designer.
For the last 11 years I’ve concentrated on helping CEOs, Managers, Business Owners, Consultants and their Staff get the best behaviour, communication and performance from people – whether it be at work, at home, at a community club, or even when they’re just out and about.
The benefit for you is, I’ve:
- Worked with lots of different people from lots of different organisations. And was a team member, team leader, manager, and manager of managers.
- Managed all sorts of teams of different sizes – sometimes with team members being in different cities.
- Written and delivered a lot of presentations on all sorts of different topics to all sorts of different audiences – from delivering research results at a World Tobacco & Health Conference in Perth to delivering a paper at the World Harm minimisation Conference in Belfast.
- Designed and delivered a lot of workshops – from managing alcohol consumption (for QANTAS apprentices) to controlling infection in hospitals (for nurses and allied health professionals) to how to manage alcohol-related crime (an accredited 7 full-day residential program for serving Police Officers at The NSW State Police College).
- Coached a lot of people – on everything from how to build a great team to managing difficult people to how to develop great people skills.
- Developed innovated advanced behaviour-rehearsal techniques to replace old-fashioned traditional role-plays many of us are familiar with.
And I enjoy keeping up with research about human behaviour especially the best ways of helping people learn skills so they use them in the ‘real word’ – when they’re ‘back on the job’ and facing new situations.
I’ve done what I talk, train, coach and write about.
I’ve been around and I’ve done the hard yards. I have a long history of helping managers, business owners and employees, at all levels of all organisations, develop the best people skills, interpersonal communication skills and influencing skills they can possibly have. And helping them develop tailor-made and personalised strategies, and the skills and confidence to deliver them in the real world where it counts.
I’ve helped staff go from okay to great. I helped them perform at their very best, and communicate and interact with each other in the best way possible. It’s what I call embracing Best Practice Behaviour. I know what it’s like to have the tough conversations you need to have. I know what it’s like to stand up to bad behaviour and deal with difficult people. And I know what it’s like to be given a team that isn’t performing well and slowly but surely, turn things around.
If you’d like to have a chat or send me a message, it’s easy. Just follow this link.
Some details about Mark’s career path
First, while completing a BSc and then a GradDipEd, I worked as a …
- Rescue Officer volunteer and instructor with the NSW State Emergency Services.
- Tourist Guide at Jenolan Caves, NSW.
- Taxi Driver.
- Crisis Centre volunteer at the Wayside Chapel, Sydney.
(My first job was as a Telegram Boy while I was still at school – way back in the 1960’s. There’ll be people reading this who have no idea what a Telegram Boy is or rather, was. Oh well. It’s a discussion for another time.)
Second, I was a full-time employee for 26 years.
- High School Teacher – Science and what was then called Personal Development. And I was I pretty keen on sport. Very, very keen.
- Lecturer in Health Education and Behaviour Management – Sydney University.
- Health Education Officer – Family Planning Association.
- Senior Education Officer – NSW TAFE Drug & Alcohol Education Unit.
- Senior Education Officer – NSW Board of Studies.
- Senior Health Promotion Officer – NSW Health, Central Sydney Area Health Service, RPA Hospital.
- Services Coordinator – Sexual Health, HIV/AIDS, HepC, Community programs – NSW Health.
- Manager, Professional Development – Centre for Education and Information on Drugs & Alcohol.
- Manager – Drug Programs Coordination Unit, NSW Police.
- Principal Policy Officer – Office of the Deputy Commissioners, NSW Police.
I completed a …
a Graduate Diploma in Health Education; a Diploma of Hypnotherapy; a Master of Education; sixteen undergraduate subjects in Psychology including 4 majors; and a Graduate Diploma in Psychology.
I also co-authored several research reports and research papers.
Third, I was a consultant Researcher, Instructional Designer, …
I left the security of a permanent job and worked as:
- Evaluator & Researcher. I was engaged, for example, by The City of Sydney City, NSW Health, and the University of NSW (where I was employed as a Research Officer). I authored and co-authored several reports and research papers.
- Speaker & Presenter. I delivered presentations and workshops across Australia for events such as: The Information Expo at Coffs Harbour; Primary Principals Conference; Australian Funeral Directors Association; and education events for Certified Practicing Accountants (CPA) Aust.
- Educator & Trainer. I conducted workshops for organisations such as: Western Sydney Community Forum; Go Grains Health and Nutrition Ltd; Australian Department of Finance & Administration; Melbourne Body Corporate Management; Association of Child Welfare Agencies; NSW Housing; Ryde City Council; Tamworth City Council; and Kiama City Council.
- Instructional Designer. For example, I designed and produced a detailed curriculum for the Burnet Institute of Medical Research & AusAID (working in Vietnam, China, and Myanmar) and for The Australian Hotels Association.
Plus: For many years I ran 6 or so courses a year for staff of the ‘NSW Housing Department’ on How to Deal with Difficult People. Not being happy with the impractical and unrealistic advice given in many programs and books, I devised my own strategies – one that were practical down-to-earth and worked.
Fourth, for over ten years I’ve been a speaker, trainer, coach and author, helping …
CEOs, managers, business owners, consultants and their staff get the best possible behaviour, communication and performance from: customers & clients; colleagues; people they manage; and family & friends. And with what to do if they don’t.