What’s on the agenda for leadership program?

WITH expressions of interest for the Committee of Ballarat’s annual Community Leadership Program closed, the successful applicants can look forward to an exciting curriculum this year.

Available for up to 20 emerging leaders from all sectors, the program seeks to support people to transform their leadership capabilities and adopt a broader perspective of the world around them.

Due to COVID restrictions, last year’s schedule was delivered and structured differently, which program lead Ellen Jackson said

posed a variety of challenges for both organisers and participants.

“As the program has been traditionally conducted on-site with face-to-face sessions and program days and study tours, that had to be moved to a largely online format,” she said.

“All of our participants reported that they were still able to form strong relationships with each other, which is the goal and some reported that they were to actually know each other on a deeper, more personal level because of the heightened emotions of COVID.

“There were some expectations that we just couldn’t meet like the opportunity to travel to Canberra, for the most part people felt like they were still able to gain great exposure to the issues, challenges and opportunities that our region presents.”

The 10-month leadership experience seeks to guide participants to develop a strategic understanding of the challenges facing the region, gain access to local leaders, become mentored through personal partnership with a community leader and contribute to a leadership project.

For the successful applicants, Ms Jackson said as the program grows, there are opportunities developing to involve participants with the region’s stakeholders to deliver community-based projects.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to go out on site and even visit places like Hopkins Prison and the Golden Plains Shire,” she said. “It would be great so that people can experience, view and hear from these different initiatives taking place.

“We will be harnessing the power of online as well, a lot of the support and leadership skills stuff we will look at being able to deliver them online and allows some flexibility for our participants.

“We’re going to have a greater workplace integration as part of the program this year as well so they can take what they learn in the program back to what they’re doing in their own organisations.”