Netball New Zealand boss Jennie Wyllie believes she's still the right person to lead her organisation amid the fallout from the decision to stand down Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua – a saga she doesn't want to "drag on".
In her first interview since that shock announcement two weeks ago, Wyllie told 1News she acknowledged the "passionate views" currently out there around Netball NZ and the Silver Ferns but her focus is on the "bigger picture".
"We need to have strong leadership, we need to be able to unite as a board and a collective of netball in its entirety and I feel that I've got the skills to be able to do that and lead us through," Wyllie said.
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"My job is to lead this business through these rocky moments and that's where we've found ourselves."
After taking over as Netball NZ chief executive nine years ago – having previously been head of finance for six years – Wyllie's leadership has been questioned in recent months.
Netball NZ chief executive Jennie Wyllie said she has the skills to lead through controversy and hopes the saga won’t "drag on". (Source: 1News)
There was the prolonged limbo players endured over the future of the ANZ Premiership due to delays in securing a new broadcast deal and now it's her decision to take previously-planned annual leave on the same day Netball NZ announced Dame Noeline's stand-down, leaving board chairman Matt Whineray to front initial questions.
"What we were really clear on is Netball New Zealand will always front," she said. "And we did that capably and we had a plan for how we were going to always be available to address the concerns.
"We understand it's important to be present so Matt has now gone on leave and I have returned early and we will continue to be able to address these issues and work through the resolution of it."
When pressed on whether she thought it was a good idea to still leave the same day of the announcement, Wyllie backed herself.
"We wanted to make sure that we fronted as an organisation, as a united front and I think that we did that."
Telling Dame Noeline was 'incredibly difficult'
With Wyllie now back in the office, the immediate focus is on resolving Dame Noeline's situation – a move Wyllie confirmed spawned from concerns raised by players in June.
And while "progress" was made "on a number of fronts", Netball NZ felt no other choice was available on the eve of their Taini Jamison Trophy series with South Africa, leading to a tough conversation between Wyllie and the coach.
"It was incredibly difficult," Wyllie recalled.
"Any big decisions like that you've got to think about the human side of it and we certainly didn't want to be in that position and make that decision."
Senior Silver Ferns player Karin Burger told 1News last week the disruption for the team, who have still performed well with two dominant wins so far against South Africa under interim coach Yvette McCausland-Durie, was "sad and frustrating" – emotions echoed by Wyllie.
"We never wanted to be in a situation where we found ourselves playing this out in the media eye," Wyllie said. "We're in a goldfish bowl.
"But the fact is we were at a point where we needed to make leadership decisions around what was the best thing for this environment and it's really unfortunate that we find ourselves here but we are seeking a really quick resolution."
When asked about when that resolution would be found, especially with McCausland-Durie confirming to 1News she would step away again at the conclusion of the current series, Wyllie couldn't give an exact date.
"We're really mindful giving certainty to everyone is critical and so those goal posts or the timeframes are certainly topical and top of mind but we still have to make sure that we run a process that works throughout the organisation for everyone," she said.
Watch 1News at 6pm tonight for more of Kate Wells' interview with Netball NZ CEO Jennie Wyllie.
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