Meet the Speakers: Dr. Ellen Joan Ford

Dr Ellen Joan Ford | Author of #WorkSchoolHours; Military Veteran, TEDx Speaker

Session: Day 2 | Plenary: Putting people at the heart of purpose

Could you tell us what the word “Purpose” means to you?

I think it’s my guiding force in life: Why do I get up every morning? Why do I do whatever I do? There has to be a meaning behind it. For me, the purpose of life is love and connection. Whatever you do in life, you want to know that it matters.

What gave you the idea to create the concept of your book, #WorkSchoolHours? How did you link it to the way leaders run their organizations, and how could purpose be brought into that?

It all started because I was pissed off—seriously pissed off. Amazing parents, mostly mums, began sharing their stories with me. They were being forced out of the workforce because it was just too hard to juggle it all. Some were working full-time and hated missing out on their kids’ lives. Others were working part-time and calling themselves "lucky" to get a pay cut for doing the same amount of work in fewer hours.

What excites me now is that what began with “this is so hard for parents” has evolved into something bigger. Businesses don’t typically give a damn about that on their own—there needs to be a compelling purpose for them, too. That’s where I got excited. I thought, “Oh my gosh, this is a total win-win.”

All my leadership experience in the military and corporate world showed me that this isn’t just a nice idea—it makes good business sense. The purpose of implementing these principles is that companies actually make more money. And the purpose for people? They get to do the important things. Since becoming a parent, my purpose includes my children—but I still want to be a kick-ass contributor to the workforce.

Let’s dive deeper into this idea: that it makes business sense to support working parents. How does this approach help businesses save money? What’s the business case?

There are a few key points. First, staff attrition is a massive financial cost that businesses often overlook. The time and resources it takes to hire and train someone new, plus the corporate knowledge that walks out the door when someone leaves—that all adds up. So, if we’ve got incredible people who go on parental leave, which 80% of humans will do at some point, how do we make sure we retain them? They’re still brilliant. They just need to do things a bit differently.

Second, there's the issue of disengaged employees—people who stay but are unhappy due to a lack of flexibility. I can’t tell you how many parents sit at their desks feeling terrible because their kid has swimming sports that day and they’re missing it. They’re physically at work but mentally checked out. If we just let them duck out for a couple of hours to be present for those moments, they'd return more focused and effective.

Also, when we shift the focus from hours to outputs, productivity actually goes up. Getting clear on what outcomes matter means we stop wasting time on “busy work” that doesn’t add value. That’s where purpose comes in again: when we clarify the purpose of each task, we can decide if it’s even worth doing. It’s one of the best ways to increase efficiency—by aligning every action with a meaningful outcome.

When you became a mum, how did you navigate the shift in how you worked? How did you start implementing these changes for yourself?

It turns out I had an incredibly rare situation—I didn’t realise how lucky I was until I heard other people’s stories. When I returned to work after seven months of parental leave with my first child, Toby, my boss was in another city. He just said, “I trust you, Ellen.”

I told him, “I’d love to have Fridays off with Toby. I don’t want to get paid for only four days—I’ll still do all my work, just on a slightly different schedule.” And he said, “I trust you. Just get your work done in a way that works for you."

It was amazing. I didn’t work on Fridays and had that day with Toby. The other four days, I soon realized I didn’t need to stay until five every day. I got my work done, picked Toby up earlier, and if needed, worked in the evenings. I stopped watching the clock and focused on outcomes. That’s when it clicked for me: it’s not about hours—it’s about results. And it worked. I loved it.

It was only during my second parental leave, when the company was going through a major restructure, that I realized how fragile that setup was. I’d get a new boss, and suddenly this life that worked so well might vanish. I thought, “Damn, this thing that’s working for me might disappear.” And that’s when I knew: everyone should have this kind of flexibility.

You’ll be a Keynote Speaker at Sustainable Brands Aotearoa - The Value of Purpose conference in Rotorua! Can you give a little teaser of what you'll be sharing with our audience?

I’ll be sharing some fun, real-life stories. I hope people enjoy the experience and walk away with their minds a little more open. I want to offer new ways of thinking about how we structure work. And importantly, they’ll leave with practical examples—not just abstract ideas. I’ll be showing how these principles can be applied in the real world to benefit both the business and its people.

At The Value of Purpose, instead of a traditional boozy conference dinner, we’re immersing ourselves in nature. From geysers by night to the Redwoods Treewalk and Wairekei Hot Springs—there’s so much to experience in Rotorua. What are you most excited about?

First of all—awesome! If you’re going to be away from your family to attend a conference, why not make the most of it and do something you can’t do anywhere else? This is going to be a truly special experience!

I honestly want to do all of them—they all look amazing! But I’m especially excited about the Redwoods Treewalk. One big reason is that I’ll get to take Monty with me. It’ll be something fun that we can experience together, and I know he’ll love it too.