The Leadership Illawarra program is a two-year experiential learning program for the region’s emerging leaders. Sydney Business School have partnered with RDA Illawarra, the Illawarra Connection and JCI Illawarra to provide a program that will produce inspired and well-connected visionaries who will lead our region into the future.
Illawarra Leadership Program
Designed for emerging leaders
The two-year program provides business leaders as mentors, includes one-day master classes, adaptive leadership coaching in leading teams, emotional intelligence, individual coaching, as well as site visits to organisations such as Bluescope and Parliament of Australia & NSW. Participants can gain credit points towards a degree program at the Sydney Business School, simply by being a part of the program and completing an optional assessment task.
The leadership Illawarra program is an experiential leadership program it's been around now for nine years it's in its ninth year of operation and it's a partnership between regional development Australia or draw in the Illawarra the university of Wollongong Sydney business school and the Illawarra connection and what it is a cohort or a group of next generation or young leaders from our community go on over a two-year journey there's several elements to the program one of those is where we work with the Sydney business school and master classes are delivered and those master classes won two of them are eligible for credit points under a postgraduate program notionally the man and those people that go through and accept and say they wish to do that program often are on a pathway to do postgraduate studies or an MBA and that's why there's a good fit if they wish to explore advancing their education further another benefit out of the program is that they get to learn more about different organizations so not only from other participants in the program but we take them on site visits the third thing really is that they get mentors and as a part of that they get to be you know matched with a more senior leader in the region who helps them on their leadership journey and their leadership growth the fourth is they get to learn more about themselves so to be a good leader you actually need to be quite in touch with yourself as an individual know and understand how a leader impacts and influences their team how to motivate their team and a lot of that is like doing self-exploration type of work so we engage a consultant to work with them on and that in a safe space so there's a few different areas that the university provides master classes in typically on a Saturday they'll do a workshop so there's a number of parts to the engagement with the university of Wollongong Sydney business school that gives them a taste for a number of different academic streams that they could do or engage further with in the university of the university it's great for us uh with the leadership bill of program working with the university of Wollongong Sydney business school they're good people to work with they're really invested in this program and they're very good supporters of uh you know giving both a scholarship and also of their time willingly to support these next generation leaders that are going through the leadership builder program when you're thinking about leadership leaders are responsible for successfully achieving strategic objectives of the organizations they work with and to do that they need to work with a range of individuals who come with their own experiences skills beliefs values and obviously their own personal expectations about what they want out of their careers and so the value from the leadership Illawarra program helps leaders understand how they can approach that because it's not a one-size-fits-all solution and so through a variety of online programs on-site visits with actual businesses across the Illawarra as well as networking and some of these master classes where we get to drill right into deep in industry understandings really helps us unpick what you need to be as a successful leader and for me the value on the leadership of the world program is not just that what you need to do to be a successful leader but they provide you the tools the tips and the techniques to help you be a successful leader I have opted to participate in the leadership program through draw labara as the program is really a bridge between the current position that I’m in and where I will be in the next two years the leadership Illawarra program provides us not only with the tools the techniques and the opportunities for discussion around becoming better rounded leaders but also the opportunity to network and together step outside our organisations and discuss the best way for us to contribute back to the aloha region as a whole you
Program overview
Sydney Business School put together a suite of Masterclasses that address issues specific to the Illawarra region:
- Governance and Ethics*
- Leadership*
- Community and Engagement
* This masterclass has an optional assessment task/project on which two subject credits can be awarded towards a degree program at UOW Sydney Business School.
Key topics within the Governance and Ethics masterclass include:
- Corporate Governance
- Obligations under Corporations Law and other regulatory systems
- Business Ethics and Integrity
- Local Government and Public Office
- Government Affairs
At the completion of this masterclass, it is expected that participants would be able to identify
- Key concepts associated with corporate governance and public policy, particularly as the latter relates to the regulation of business activities
- Different approaches to corporate governance that have shaped governance debates in Australia and internationally
- The role of government recommended by these approaches
- Key stakeholders in the governance debate, and explain how and why they seek to shape that debate and its outcomes
- The role or impact that ethics have on corporate governance
- How the policy and regulatory environment affects the effectiveness of corporate governance
Key topics within the Leadership masterclass include:
- Managing and Leading People
- Organisational Culture
- Emotional Intelligence
- Business Coaching
At the completion of the theme it is expected that participants would have gained an understanding of:
- Experience with politicians and political protocols in business
- Different perspectives and practices used to manage people in organisations
- How external factors and business criteria influence strategic decisions relating to the way organisations manage their people
- Strategic policy options available to managers in terms of structure, motivation, leadership and the culture of the organisation
- Ethical issues involved in managing people and the value and challenge of managing diversity
- Coaching and mentoring in leadership
Key topics within the Community and Engagement/Social Responsibility masterclass include:
- What is CSR and the different terms that are used globally in industry
- Mental models and responsible decision-making dimensions
- Realistic perspectives on community and environmental responsibilities
- The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) Principles and their impact on corporations
- The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) and their impact on decision-making
At the completion of this theme participants would be expected to have gained an understanding of:
- Our region’s community and environmental needs
- Personal and Corporate social responsibility
- A leader’s role in business as it pertains to responsible decision-making
- The region’s cultural diversity
- The region’s business community engagement and social responsibility programs
- Global programs such as the UNGC and the SDG
Over the two-year program the cohort has the opportunity to take part in 12 site visits with prominent Illawarra businesses such as IMB Bank, ISLHD, Warrigal and Bluescope.
These visits are typically conducted with leaders from the organisation and include a debrief Q&A session.
Eleanor Hayman at Great Managers have put together a program of Leadership education - at-home learning followed by hands-on workshops - that covers the following subjects:
- Personal Leadership Skills (self-awareness, self-management)
- Team Leadership Skills (critical conversations, setting clear expectations)
- Business Leadership (developing, motivating and engaging employees)
Other workshops undertaken by leading facilitators from the region include:
Coaching for Managers
- Examining the power difference between manager and employee
- Two key coaching skills: listening and questioning, allowing time for people to practice their skill
Networking for Success
- Why you should network?
- How to prepare for networking events?
- If body language is important to networking?
- What you should expect from networking – what are the outcomes?
In association with JCI Illawarra, mentors from regional businesses at the highest level, across a range of industries. Program participants are paired with a mentor at networking events where each mentor has a short one-on-one with each participant. This process is repeated with a different pairing in the second year of the program.
Social events are scattered throughout the program ranging from morning coffee to catch up and socialise, to ‘speaker’ events and after-work networking drinks.
Expressions of interest from potential applicants for the next Leadership Illawarra Program are OPEN NOW.
Expressions of Interest (EOI) in the program are open at any time. Please provide your EOI by completing the scholarship/application form available on the Leadership Illawarra Program site.
The Illawarra Connection Scholarship
Gain an Illawarra Connection Scholarship with Sydney Business School and get a tuition fee reduction for any of our Graduate Certificate degrees.
How to apply Download Scholarship PDF