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Stepping up as a community leader

Reflections of myleadership journey as a Northen Mallee Leaders participant and the work of a Duty Team member.

Well, here we are almost into June. How fast has this year is going. I’m nearly half way through the Northern Mallee Leaders (NML) program and my leadership journey, and already I feel like I have learnt so much. I’ve been given amazing opportunities and met people I can now call friends.

The program days have been travelling along well. We’d heard from a range of speakers and learnt a mountain of information. Our May program day was rapidly approaching with a theme of Regional Economy and Tourism. The only difference to this day was that I was part of the Duty Team.

The role of the duty team is to ensure the program day runs smoothly. Speakers had to be confirmed, details needed to be sent out to the group, a group reflection had to be run… the list goes on!

I’d met with my wonderful team mates Danny and Sharon. We’d allocated who was doing what and everything was organised. I found myself questioning “how hard could this be?”. I mean, I’ve been a Scout leader for over 7 years; I’d had experience with running programs. How wrong I was.

The program day itself was excellent. It was jam-packed with a host of speakers who shared their own stories and helpful tips to incorporate in to our own leadership styles. From a multi-million dollar company to a chair of a board to the ex-mayor of Wentworth – each speaker brought different experiences and valuable tips on leadership.

While speaking in front of a group and introducing the presenters isn’t in my comfort zone, the hardest thing of the day was keeping everyone on time. Each presenter had their own fascinating story to tell, and participants had their own questions to add. You just want to keep listening to everything, which of course can’t be done if you want the day to finish before midnight! The fact that everyone does keep asking so many questions shows that participants are actively listening and getting valuable information from presenters.

The experience of being in the Duty Team was eye opening. It’s easy to observe everyone’s leadership qualities, but it can be a little confronting to step up and show your own style. It is one of the reasons why I am doing this program though –to define my own leadership style.

I see many different leadership styles. Whether it’s at work, in scouting or during NML program days, it’s interesting to see how everyone develops their own style. I’ve been thinking about what kind of leader I want to be. I want to motivate others around me to be the best they can; not necessarily the front of a movement, but just able to influence change. With the help of this program, I think I’ll be able to refine my own leadership skills to do this.

Clicke here for more information about the Northern Mallee Leaders Program.

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Kat Baddeley

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