Enhancing people skills is at the forefront of a Leadership Excellence Program being rolled out by Campbelltown City Council in Sydney’s south west.
The program, targeting Council’s senior management group, commenced in February this year in direct response to key developmental needs identified by Council.
Council’s leadership framework identified effective leadership as an ability to influence, inspire, guide and engage with team members and other colleagues, including the skills to:
- excel at role modeling the organisation’s values and leadership behaviours in their work, every day
- be self-aware, with a good appreciation of what makes them tick, their motivations and knowledge of what frustrates them
- consider their own personal impact on others, and manage their behaviours accordingly
- be able to both predict and ‘read’ others and respond suitably to achieve outcomes that best meet organisational needs
- demonstrate flexibility and a can-do attitude in dealing with any difficulties that arise in a working relationship.
Program participants received feedback in the 360-degree emotional intelligence sphere, and were given an opportunity for reflection and practical skill development as a result.
Participants were also provided with tips and useful tools for enhancing their leadership impact with management, peers and other key stakeholders.
As a consequence of enhanced people skills, participants were able to deliver improved customer service and better outcomes across the organisation and within the community.
The program is currently in the group coaching phase, where participants meet and support each other while working on two key themes: ‘Adaptive Leadership’ and ‘Inspirational Leadership’.
These groups have now embarked on ideas to further enhance and improve the leadership experience of Campbelltown City Council’s Management Team.
“It is these valuable opportunities for personal and professional growth that are set to widely benefit our organisation as a whole, and result in better outcomes for our customers and the wider community,” said Campbelltown City Council’s Director Business Services, Michael Sewell.
“Employee engagement is directly related to performance, and we want to create a model that fosters strong leaders as this ultimately builds a strong organisation.”
A review of the program will be conducted later this year.
