Leading Well – Life lessons and how we measure success.  

As a leader, how do you measure success? Success is something you need to define yourself. It can change any given day as to the mood and mindset you are in.  

To be a successful leader, we need to take control of our mindset by cultivating good mental resilience through self-care. 

The happiness pie was something we learnt on our Leading Well program day, from our guest speaker Dr. Jodie Fleming, psychologist and author.  

The happiness pie suggests there are three factors that determine our level of happiness: 50% is genetics, 40% is the choices that we make and only 10% is our life circumstances.  

What happens in our lives only makes up a small part of our happiness. It is the choices, the mindset and how we choose to react to the situation that will determine the outcome.  

“Prevention is better than a cure, self-care matters”, is another saying that Jodie reinforced.  

Jodie encouraged us all to take 10 minutes of our day to meditate and reminded us to be more present and to make better choices that are in line with our mind, body and soul.  

We meditated with Jodie for 10 minutes and were surprised at how fast the time went. Meditation produces a deep state of relaxation, can eliminate stress and help with sleep.  

Taking time to implement self-care strategies will help us all to lead well.  

I would like to thank our speakers from the Leading Well program day Dr Jodie Fleming, psychologist and author, and Kate Ferris, Advisor, Human Research Ethics, Deakin University.  

Michaela Meade, 2023 Program Participant  

A Day on Country: The Power of Storytelling

Forty thousand years ago, the creator being Budj Bim erupted, spewing his teeth and blood across the lands of the Gunditjmara people. Western scientists suspect that this story may be the oldest ever told. At Tae Rak (Lake Condah), visitors walk through deep time, becoming part of an intertwining story of landscape and lives.

The power of stories and their constant re-telling was a central theme of the LGSC Day on Country. Both of our guides – proud Gunditjmara men Braydon Saunders, Budj Bim Tour Guide, Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Corporation and Troy Lovett, LGSC 2020 Alumni – emphasised the power and the centrality of storytelling to leadership. Through the retelling of the stories of the Gunditjmara people and over forty thousand years of continued occupation of these lands, we place ourselves in that history, and bear the responsibility for understanding it.

Learning the deep history and proud present of the Gunditjmara fighting spirit is critical to understanding our region. As well as the Budj Bim creation story, Braydon told participants of the more recent history of the Gunditjmara people, of the Eumeralla Wars and the violence of colonisation – resisted, always, by First Peoples. The consequences of that history live very much in the present of the Great South Coast. Through the power of their stories, both Braydon and Troy demonstrated how the telling of those stories shapes understanding of the present, and how we might walk forward, together.

Through commemorating the past and present of the Gunditjmara fighting spirit, we might embark on that journey. The Heywood Indigenous War Memorial water tower – a 30-meter-high mural commemorating the participation of First Nations peoples in the First and Second World Wars – is a poignant example of leadership through storytelling, and of the impact of Leadership Great South Coast on our region and its communities. After a long campaign for recognition, the Memorial is testament to the power of patient but determined leadership.

After Budj Bim erupted, as Braydon told participants, the Gunditjmara people waited fifteen thousand years to return to their lands. They waited decades for recognition of their participation in two world wars. With the Gunditjmara fighting spirit, they are still waiting for us. As leaders, it is our responsibility to understand and to tell and retell these stories, and to create more space for the Gunditjmara peoples to tell their stories on their terms.

Thank you to both Braydon Saunders and Troy Lovett for sharing their stories with us – stories that are now part of our lives, too.

Emma Shortis, 2023 Program Participant.

Privilege and Power – What is your Superpower of Privilege? 

Everyone deserves to feel accepted and included within the community. A strong community is one that encourages, welcomes and embraces one another. It is about empowering people by respecting and appreciating individual differences.

The Building Inclusive Communities Program Day was an informative, yet challenging session which explored diversity and inclusion and how they can be embraced within society, the workplace and in the community.

Diversity and inclusion are complementary terms that depend on each other. Diversity is the characteristics, experiences, and other distinctions that make one person different from another. Whilst inclusion means creating an environment where people, regardless of surface or hidden level differences, feel welcome, supported and valued.

Teresa Lombardo, Diversity and Inclusion Consultant explored the concept of privilege and power with us, how it is used and how it is invisible to those who have it. This in many cases triggered feelings of emotion and guilt.

We took time to think and reflect on our own social identities and where we hold privilege and how privilege can be leveraged for positive change. As leaders how do we shift the conversation around privilege to make it productive and inclusive, allowing us to use our privilege as a superpower to make a difference?

Embracing diversity and inclusion requires more than including it as an item on the meeting agenda. The steps to integrate diversity and inclusion and achieve real results takes awareness, acceptance, strategy and continued action.

Some may think, I am only one person, who is going to listen to me and what can I do. So let’s flip the conversation – as leaders in the community, use your voice and make a difference, use your superpower of privilege to drive change.

Creating inclusion for all has the power to strengthen lives, change lives and sometimes even save lives.

A special thank you to our passionate presenters, for sharing their knowledge and experiences:

• • Bridie West, NDIS Services Manager, Southern Stay
  • Teresa Lombardo, Diversity and Inclusion Consultant
  • Lyn Eales, Manager School and Community Team, SAFE in the South West, LGBTIQA+, Support and Connection, Brophy Family and Youth Services
  • Joel Willoughby, Alcohol and Other Drug Clinician, Western Region Alcohol and Drug Service Inc.
  • Jennifer Thomas, LGSC 2022 Alumni, Strategic Liaison, Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation
  • Maree Wyse, Executive Manager, Tasty Plate

Jane Hinds, 2023 LGSC Program Participant

Data – it’s your past, present and future

Data is something we all use, and we collect, but it probably isn’t something that you think about often, or that gets you excited. However data underpins decisions that shape our community, and even our lives, in every possible way. From our shopping habits, to where we live, to what services our community needs, data collected and data modelling will determine future direction.

Speaker Simon Kuestenmacher, Co-Founder and Director of Research at The Demographics Group had us getting excited about data, and what the future may hold with some very interesting statistics. We learned ‘the aging of the Australian population has just begun’ and with that, what the future may look like, and what services will be pushed beyond their limits such as healthcare. The data tells us in 2023 there are over 550,000 people in Australia aged over 85. There will be an additional 15,000 people added to this pool this year and this number will increase dramatically as our baby boomers continue to age. Of those 50% will require assistance of some sort. Using this data, we can see the healthcare sector will require more services, funding and employees to help fill the need that this aging society will require. We have seen the healthcare and social assistance workforce has grown from 8% to 15% in the past 20 years, and we know that will only need to increase in order to look after our aging population.

Knowing this information should assist governments and councils in their planning processes and budget allocations, giving more money to attract and retain staff in the aged care sector. This will greatly benefit our local communities.

By collecting and analysing data, businesses, councils and governments can make more informed decisions and plan for a better, more connected future for their communities.

Many thanks to our speakers Simon Kuestenmacher, Lisa McLeod, Co-Founder Populus Data and Claire Dagley, 2022 Alumni.

Alexandra Stoupas – 2023 Program Participant