​The Leadership Illawarra Program graduates were sparkling in red as we congratulated them on their graduation from the two-year program at The Illawarra Connection December 2022 dinner.

Their achievement, and 10 Years of the Leadership Illawarra Program was celebrated in style with LIP Alumni, Program Partners and mentors in attendance.

Congratulations to the class of 2021-2022, we wish you well in your continuing leadership journey!

​Images by Brad Chilby

On Thursday 24 November, the LIP were honoured to visit Government House for morning tea with His Excellency, General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) and Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley.

His Excellency delivered an address to the LIP, remarking on our shared connection with the Illawarra region. He gave personal leadership insights, gained through his 42 year military career and as the Governor-General of the Commonwealth and Governor of NSW. The group were encouraged to give all they can as leaders for their organisations, their communities and Australia.

Nathan McBriarty and Robyn Dawson gave a vote of thanks on behalf of the LIP and then we enjoyed morning tea and inspiring conversations with Their Excellencies.

The LIP were honoured to attend a site visit on Ngunnawal Country, at the Parliament of Australia in Canberra on 23 and 24 November. Our visit was supported by the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services the Hon Stephen Jones MP and Ms Alison Byrnes MP, members for Whitlam and Cunningham who met with the group and generously shared leadership advice, candidly answered questions and explained their role in the parliament.

The group also had the opportunity to meet with the Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories the Hon Kristy McBain MP, the Minister for Early Childhood Education and Youth the Hon Dr Anne Aly MP, Senator Jacqui Lambie, Former Senator Chris Ketter and Mrs Fiona Phillips MP, Member for Gilmore.

A visit to Question Time enhanced the groups' understanding of the parliamentary process, culture and environment even further. The group were grateful for the openness with which each leader shared their personal story, the passion behind their commitment, their challenges and their reasons for being involved in parliament. There was much wisdom shared, with each LIP member taking away new lessons and inspiration for their continued leadership journey.

Among the rich discussions we received heartfelt leadership advice, shared to encourage the LIP to make and drive change including:

“Learn to say no, so that you can do the things that matter really well”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself, always get back up, and don’t change who you are”
“Take seriously the role of forging the path for other women. It’s incumbent on all of us to continue forging the path and continue breaking down doors, gates, whatever it may be”
“Critical mass is important, men have to have a role too [in progressing equality at work]”
“Postcode doesn’t limit your opportunity”
“Don’t try to hide if you stick out for being different, don’t see it as a limiting factor, it’s an opportunity”
“Be the one to ask why, you have a voice, don’t be afraid to use it”
 
The group also had the opportunity to visit with His Excellency, General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) and Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley at Government House. Read more here.

On 15 November the LIP attended a site visit at IRT’s Henry Brooks Estate and Jasmine Grove in Kanahooka. The visit was hosted by Ross Gallagher, Executive General Manager – Home Care and Retirement Living, Liam Allen, Development Manager, Kathy Loesar and Jess Hotchkis, from Sales and Marketing and LIP participants Rob Bruce and Amanda Nedeski.

The group went on a guided tour in small groups and learned more about the aging in place principles of design used throughout the site and within each villa. Features include colour coded wayfinding signage, communal spaces to encourage socialising and building designs featuring emergency systems, wide entrances, enhanced lighting and no steps. Back at the residents' Club House, Rob Bruce explained these principles in more detail and highlighted the award winning Jasmine Grove, a pioneering housing typology for women aged 55+ that is designed to address the housing affordability, social isolation and economic disadvantage faced by women in this age group.
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Amanda Nedeski then led a leadership chat with Ross Gallagher where he shared some leadership insights from his career in retail and corporate banking, venture capital and entrepreneurial businesses, CEO and Board Member roles and his current role with IRT. Ross completed an MBA and Master of Commerce/Applied Finance in his 30s, he had not previously studied an undergraduate degree and found this was the step needed to take his career to the next level.
 
Leadership during the pandemic was the most challenging leadership piece he has faced, following on from bushfires, then floods, then covid it was extremely difficult to keep up with the public health orders, frequent outbreaks and keeping staff connected and motivated. Weekly and quarterly catch ups with staff were maintained to stay up to date and keep the team together.
 
Ross maintains work-life balance with good routines and regular exercise. He also takes advantage of the flexible working arrangements introduced during the pandemic to maintain balance. To his younger self, Ross would give the advice – don’t get caught by ‘imposter syndrome’, learn from your mistakes and don’t be afraid to make them, don’t be afraid to fail, and to be brave and make the hard decisions with staff sooner - not later.
 
In terms of setting direction Ross always comes back to the organisation’s Mission, Vision and Values. Set these and make them work for you, always come back to them to guide your decisions. Finally, Ross encouraged the group to keep curious, trust their gut and have an open mind, you don’t know where you will end up…
 
Lisa Malone delivered a vote of thanks on behalf of the LIP, thanking Rob, Amanda and the IRT team for hosting our visit, expanding our knowledge of IRT’s important role and impact in the Illawarra and thanked Ross for sharing with the group his ever-evolving career journey, advice and leadership insights. 

On 23 August the LIP attended a site visit at RMB Lawyers, one of the largest regional based law firms in NSW. The visit was hosted by Managing Partner, Craig Osborne and lawyers Bradley Peterson, Ben Kuzman and Jade Cross. 

Craig delivered a high-speed presentation on Governance, where he explained what RMB Lawyers do to achieve continued success, sharing some methods and strategies that are relevant for all industries.

What did we learn about Governance?

• Governance is about being held to account, ethics, risk management, compliance and administration.
• Look at the industry you are in, measure everything but start at the top.
• State your organisation’s values and live by them, let these guide all decision making.
• The legal sector is one of the most competitive sectors in Australia. RMB Lawyers uses solid Governance principles, applied consistently, to ensure success. Their approach is applicable to other industries.
• How do organisations know what to Govern? Set strategies first and then create the Governance around that. Governance is about making sure people follow strategies and the business is getting the right results.
• Meet regularly to review the data measures you have set up, make sure the business is on the right track and not ‘going down the wrong path’. If not on track, take swift action.
• Include peer review and self-governance strategies.
• Use tools like a work allocation matrix to measure and monitor workload, assess utilisation, efficiency, avoid burn out and signal when more resources are needed.
• Measure customer advocacy (net promoter score) to learn and action feedback.
• Find and use best practice systems to be efficient and do more with less.
• Use a balanced business performance scorecard including financial, customer, internal perspective, learning and growth measures.
• Use an authority matrix so staff have certainty about their role and others’ roles.
• Use a service enquiries and complaints management system.
• Use continuous learning and feedback, mentoring and performance reviews.
  
  

Juanita Sieler delivered the vote of thanks on behalf of the group, thanking Craig for covering the topic so thoroughly, it was 'Governance on steroids', and sharing his passion for the success of the Illawarra's leaders and regional businesses with the group.

​The third UOW Master Class for 2021-22 was held on Saturday 23 July, presented by Associate Professor Belinda Gibbons on Community and Engagement. We took advantage of UOW’s new hybrid teaching facilities, enabling participants to join the session on-campus or online. To frame our group discussions, we reviewed the World Economic Forum’s Top 10 Global Risks by Severity for the next 10 years. It’s an alarming list, with climate action failure the number one issue, followed by extreme weather, biodiversity loss and social cohesion erosion.  In the 0-2 year timeframe, these issues will prevail and are joined by infectious diseases and mental health deterioration, two issues of current significance for our region.

In groups, we identified what each of our organisations are doing or plan to do in the community and engagement space to combat these issues, then shared ideas and practices with the whole group. Participants said it was a great opportunity to learn how other organisations are implementing community engagement strategies and noted the importance of ongoing engagement in place of project-based or one-off actions. The importance of individuals, company shareholders and other stakeholders driving agendas in addition to the business was also highlighted.

There is a wide range of approaches to community engagement adopted by the LIP members’ organisations. From the regular provision of community grants, to targeted mental health initiatives, to creating systems and processes to listen at the front line to both staff and community members. As a group we acknowledged that what is not said, or data that is not captured via the loudest voices is still important to explore, examine and measure. 

The LIP were encouraged to audit their existing community engagement ‘toolbox’ and add to it by exploring the following resources that can support their organisations’ decision making and measure the impact of initiatives:
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IRIS + 
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
LBG Framework
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This thought provoking session inspired hope and motivated LIP members to turn their new learnings into action at work and in their communities.