Manual of Me

My positionality

I'm Kate Williams, a facilitator, researcher and advisor with over 16 years of experience in community-centred change. I am a cis-gendered woman of Hungarian/Yugoslavian (Croatian) and Welsh/Scottish ancestry. I use she/her pronouns.

I was born on Tandanya, the traditional and unceded lands of Kaurna people, also known as Adelaide, South Australia, and now live on Kenbi, Larrakia (Gulumerridjin) Country at Wagait Beach, Northern Territory.

I acknowledge and pay my respect to the Traditional Custodians of the lands, skies and waters across the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Countries now also recognised as Australia.

What I do and how I work

I help create the conditions for people and organisations to work together effectively and develop their own solutions. I design processes that enable meaningful collaboration and long-term change.

There are several principles that guide how I work :

  • Building genuine relationships: I focus on developing trust with the people and communities I work with. I believe lasting change happens through ongoing relationships, not quick fixes.

  • Creating space and breathing room: I maintain room for focused thinking, creativity and play. This extends to keeping my life uncluttered, which allows flexibility in my choices and contributions.

  • Embracing different perspectives: I celebrate the power of difference and recognise that diverse ways of thinking and working strengthen what we can achieve together.

  • Deep listening and dialogue: I care about how we gather. I believe in creating spaces for genuine listening and dialogue - sometimes inclusive, sometimes purposefully focused.

  • Staying curious and learning: I approach my work and life with wonder, valuing curiosity and continuous learning. I'm energised by new ideas, practices, and perspectives.

  • Understanding systems and connections: I believe in thinking deeply about why we work together and what we could accomplish by doing things differently. I am interested in how systems live within us and show up in our daily behaviours.

  • Rest and reflection: I value slow productivity and believe that rest is constructive. I know impactful work takes time and requires periods of reflection.

  • Just, fair and kind: These principles guide my interactions and the work I choose to take on.

My approach is not about solving or saving, but about listening with curiosity, creating environments for honest conversations, and bringing a sense of play to serious matters.

For me, it's often in the unknowing, unfolding spaces where the most interesting and transformative ideas thrive

My working preferences

My approach to work is intentional and shaped by my experiences and neurodiversity:

  • Working by invitation: I prefer to engage in projects through existing relationships or by invitation so we start with a foundation of trust. alignment and shared values.

  • Long-term partnerships: I favour ongoing engagements over short-term contracts. This allows me to understand the nuances of your context, build trust, and contribute more effectively over time.

  • Focused project load: I work on a small number of significant projects simultaneously. This means I can be more available to each partner and maintain high-quality work.

  • Neurodiversity-informed approach: As someone with Autism and ADHD (AuDHD), I work best when I can focus deeply on a few projects at a time. This allows me to recognise patterns and bring new perspective.

  • Focus on Australia: While I'm open to remote and international work, my primary focus is within Australia. This reflects my commitment to addressing the legacy of settler-colonialism and contributing to better outcomes for all Australians.

Who I work with

I'm selective about partnerships, preferring to collaborate with people and organisations who value deep, meaningful engagement and are ready to challenge conventional approaches.

My ideal collaborators:

  • Care about purpose and process as well as outcomes

  • Are open to self-reflection and reconsidering their current practices

  • Understand that issues are connected to broader systems

  • Want inclusive decision-making that considers everyone affected

  • Create healthy work environments that balance structure with flexibility

  • Approach serious work with emotional intelligence, kindness, and humour

Given my focus on long-term engagement and my part-time consulting schedule, I'm often booked several months in advance. I appreciate patience in scheduling and will be transparent about my availability.

What I need to know from potential work partners

Before we commit to partnering, I like to have a conversation about how we might work together. Some questions we might explore are:

Context and purpose

  • What's your story, and what brings you to this work?

  • What change are you trying to create, and why does it matter?

  • What's the relevant history and context I should understand?

  • What work has already been done, and what have you learned?

  • What background information would help me understand your situation?

Roles and relationships

  • What's your role and decision-making authority?

  • Who are the key stakeholders and decision-makers?

  • What relationship dynamics should I be aware of?

  • Who else needs to be involved and why?

  • What important conversations aren't happening yet?

Outcomes and success

  • What specific outcomes are you hoping to achieve?

  • What does success look like to different people involved?

  • How will you measure progress and impact?

  • How can we build ongoing capability through this work?

  • What would make this investment worthwhile for you?

Readiness and constraints

  • What support exists for this work within your organisation or community?

  • How ready are people for the changes you're proposing?

  • What concerns, constraints, or sensitivities should we consider?

  • What resources are available?

  • What timeline factors should we plan around?

Our working relationship

  • What specific capabilities do you need from me?

  • What challenges are you hoping I can help address?

  • What's your preferred way of working and communicating?

  • How would you like to handle feedback and course corrections?

I typically suggest one or two initial conversations to explore these areas together. Based on our discussions, I'll provide a detailed quote for our potential work.

Availability and communication

Meetings: I am generally available to meet on Thursdays and Fridays. I require a minimum of 24 hours advance notice to schedule meetings. My availability (ACST) is:

  • Thursday: 11am - 4:30pm

  • Friday: 11am - 4:30pm

Phone/Text: For brief messages, please text me. For urgent requests or longer conversations, phone calls are welcome. If our call might exceed 10 minutes, let's schedule it in advance.

Collaborative platforms: For team and multi-stakeholder work, I prefer Slack. I also use WhatsApp for group messaging in some contexts. I monitor these platforms during working hours.

Email: I encourage email for most communications and generally respond within 2-3 working days. I follow the principles of The Email Charter, which means:

  • I send and respond to emails when it suits me, and encourage others to do the same

  • I don't expect immediate responses

  • I'm comfortable with brief, to-the-point messages

Professional Insurance

I maintain comprehensive insurance coverage, including public liability insurance of $10 million AUD and professional indemnity insurance of $20 million AUD. Both policies are valid until July 2025.

Rates and engagement

I believe in the value of social change work and price my services to reflect this. 

My hourly rate ranges from AU$110 to AU$250 (plus GST), depending on the nature of the work. I have a minimum engagement of AU$1,000 (plus GST and expenses), and I'm happy to provide customised cost estimates for specific projects.

Payments are accepted in AUD via BPAY, bank transfer, or credit card. As an ABN holder, I pay tax in Australia on all income received. I use HNRY for quoting, invoicing, expense tracking, and tax payments. HNRY also facilitates automatic income reallocation, which allows me to reinvest and resdistribute income.

A note on pricing: I am a self-funded PhD student and I work independently, which means I don't have a regular salary or leave allowances. My rates allow me to meet my financial commitments without needing to constantly seek new business, ensuring I can fully dedicate myself to our work.

Money philosophy and practices

I believe our financial choices reflect our values, and am committed to profit for purpose, building wealth sensibly, and redistributing income. My income is reinvested:

  • 20% in Verve Super

  • 8% in high-growth exchange-traded funds (ETHI and HACK) through Pearler

  • 2% in First Nations Futures, an organisation advancing First Nations-led economic justice in Australia, redistributing all funds to community-driven initiatives

Credit

Emma Blomkamp and Lina Patel's 'Manual of Me' offered a blueprint for this section, inspiring both its structure and approach.

This was written with reference to:

  • Conversations and discussion notes with trusted peers, including Bianca Anderson, May Miller-Dawkins, Emma Blomkamp and Lina Patel

  • Peter Block's Flawless Consulting, recommended by colleague Lisa Ryan

  • Transcripts capturing streams of thought recorded on SuperWhisper.

  • Analysis of discussion notes and transcripts by AI — Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet

A note about this website

I've built this website using Squarespace, sourced graphics from CanvaPro, and reviewed the colour palette using GitHub Accessible Color Palette Builder. Where noted, I've used AI tools—specifically Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet and SuperWhisper.