Todd Greenberg

Pro Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, presiding Dean, University Secretary, all members of the University Executive and the Academic Board, staff, family, friends and, of course, most importantly, the graduates. It is indeed a great pleasure and honour to join you here today to provide this occasional address on what is a very grand occasion in your lives as you come together today at a day I’m sure will resonate with you and provide memories for a lifetime.

Can I also start by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation and pay my respects to all elders past and present.

Across communities far and wide today and every day is indeed an opportunity to learn – an opportunity for each of us to benefit from that learning but also to deliver that learning to others. Learning has, indeed, many different facets, many different applications that the award of a university degree is really just the beginning.

I gave careful consideration to what I would say to you today to attempt to do justice to the complete honour and privilege that it is to stand before you. I considered words of wisdom, I considered words of reflection, I considered words of motivation. All seemed to be lost in translation, because ultimately, watching you graduate today is defined in your actions and it’s those actions that will define each of you in the years ahead.

As you sit here today in front of family and friends, take time to reflect on where you’ve come from, take time to reflect on the effort and the sacrifice that’s taken to get you here today and take time to reflect that this is genuinely a very special achievement. And during that reflection, I urge you to look at those people who’ve been your support network – your parents, your partners, your siblings, your educators and, in some cases, extended family members.

It’s often said that good fruit rarely falls far from the tree; understand that this applies today as your parents and your partners watch over you, admiring both your achievement and your talent. It’s important we demonstrate our respect for those who have made sacrifices to get us to this point in our lives in order for you to graduate. That respect may not have always been visible throughout your journey, but remember, in golf, just as in life, it’s the follow through that makes the difference.

Some years ago, my young son attended preschool – or kindergarten – for the very first time. It’s a scenario that plays out for many families across our country every year – an all-too-familiar one, I’m sure, for some of the parents here today, many who will be asking how quickly that time has flown.

My son’s name is Cooper – beautiful blonde hair, courtesy of his mum; dark olive skin. After his initial weeks of preschool settling in, my wife and I continued to hear stories of new friends, new lessons and new adventures. We heard the usual stories of music and games and paintings and the excitement of him meeting new friends. One particular friend received a constant mention – a new friend named Jimmy. Jimmy became his best friend. They ate lunch together, they played on the swings together and he told me they even had rest time next to each other.

It was great to see our son making new friends and we were intrigued with little Jimmy. ‘What’s Jimmy like?’ we asked. ‘Where does he live?’ As anyone who has young boys will tell you, the detail rarely flows from your inquisitive questions. The responses were simple but relatively informative. ‘He’s exactly like me, Dad. He looks like me, he loves playing on the swings like me and he loves watching the footy like me.’

After a couple of months, we were invited to our first parent-teaching evening at the preschool. It’s an opportunity for kids and their classrooms, for us to see the other teachers and meet the other parents. After some initial introductions, we noticed our son Cooper was outside in the play area with another boy. They were sitting on the side of the equipment talking like a couple of old men. When I approached, my son introduced me to his friend: ‘Hey Dad, this is Jimmy.’ The infamous Jimmy we’d heard so much about.

As I took a closer look, I was a bit confused. From the descriptions, I’d expected a blonde-haired by wearing an NRL jersey. Instead, little Jimmy had dark, straight hair; he was Chinese and spoke very little English. We later learned that Jimmy was new to this country and that Jimmy’s parents were originally from China, had moved here only weeks before the preschool intake. Jimmy’s mum spoke very little English and Jimmy himself had very little English.

Later that night when I asked Cooper why he didn’t mention that Jimmy was Chinese, his response was staggering: ‘Sorry Dad! Didn’t even realise. I suppose I didn’t notice. He’s just a nice boy and I like playing with him.’ Somewhere, on some level, there’s a very simple message within this story – a uniquely Australian message, a message of acceptance, a message of cultural diversity, a message of understanding, a message of tolerance; above all else, a message of inclusiveness. It’s a message that doesn’t require a university degree to understand: the beauty is in the simplicity.

As leaders, we all have a duty to our communities and ultimately to each other. That duty is simple: Be kind, be generous, and when the going gets tough and in times of adversity we can turn to each other for support and for assistance. Always remember when faced with the choice of being right or being kind, choose kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind always. We don’t always need an intelligent mind that speaks; sometimes just a patient heart that listens.

I have indeed been very fortunate to enjoy some amazing opportunities both personally and professionally, and I have a lot to be thankful for. My own university education is a very big part of the  reason why. The pillars of history and education and opportunity are trademarks of university life that account for the very values well beyond the term of any lecture or tutorial you will sit through.

Remember, in most cases, talents are – to some extent – a gift, whereas good character, by contrast, is not given to us. We have to build it piece by piece – by choice, by thought, by courage and by determination. Ultimately, the highest reward for your toil is not what you get for it; it’s what you become from it.

In my day-to-day career of working in professional sport, it’s very easy to be defined only by a team’s win or loss or what’s debated in the media or the number of likes on any social media account. The role provides a very public performance review that takes place every weekend. But I’ll continue to say that our collective success must be defined more than simply what we see on the field. What legacy are we looking to leave? We are simply custodians of a proud and historic game and ensuring that we must leave it in better shape than we first found it.

We must have a deeper purpose and resist the temptation of comparison, because by any metric, whether it’s personal or professional, comparison is the thief of joy. In the modern era, we heard the word culture; it’s mentioned in so many sporting and business analogies. It’s become a term I doubt very many people truly understand. It’s hard to define because you can’t see it, it’s hard to define because you can’t touch it, it’s hard to define because you can’t hear it, and ultimately, it can’t be valued on the balance sheet.

But to build any high-performing team and a successful organisation, you must strive to be your best self, to ultimately instil a strong and resolute culture. It’s the most important thing any leader can do, because ultimately culture drives behaviour, behaviour drives habit and habit creates results. And ultimately, your collective mindset in an organisation expects great things to happen, even during challenging times. You expect people to be their best and you make it a priority to coach them to be their best. Most of all, you create an environment that allows them to be their very best and it means you don’t just bring out the very best people; you bring out what is in those great people. Some of this sounds like common sense; most of the good ones usually are.

If organisations expect their people to be the best, we must invest time and energy in them to help them. If we want those results, we must be willing to do whatever it takes. At the National Rugby League, we’re investing in this on a daily basis, developing our own internal brand of accountability and respect for others, continually recognising the past whilst focusing on the future.

In closing, can I thank you for the opportunity to provide this occasional address? It has indeed been a great honour to be with you today, and thank you for affording me this privilege. To the graduates, you are about to embark on indeed a great journey. Whilst today may feel like the end of a significant chapter, let me assure you it is just the beginning of what promises to be an exciting period in your life.

Only you can determine the words for the next chapter; the outcomes and impacts you will make on others are now clearly within your own control. You have a brilliant platform to make a genuine difference to your lives and, importantly, the lives of others. Life will never reward you for what you know, only for what you do. Stay true to your values, follow your passion, believe in your own ability and dream that everything – and anything – is possible.

Thank you.