Everyday Emerging Leaders Program
Last year CareSouth launched its inaugural Emerging Leaders program to identify and develop future leadership talent. The 12-month work-based learning program supported seven staff from across the organisation considering a career in management and leadership.
Those who took part in the year-long learning and development journey were:
- Tayla Arneman from Berkeley’s Human Resources team
- Codie Harrington from Deniliquin’s Foster Care team
- Stefanie King, Executive Assistant to the CEO
- Lisa Chorlton, Nowra’s Drop-In Support Program Team Leader
- Kate Van Seumeren from Berkeley’s Out-of-Home Care team
- Jennifer Toms from the Shoalhaven Youth Support Service team
- Kristine Williams from the Nowra Disabilities team
The group worked together to develop an employment strategy to provide job opportunities to vulnerable people in a bid to develop meaningful occupational skills and support independence. At the end of the 12-month program, staff received a Certificate IV in Leadership Management, provided employment for one person and developed meaningful occupational training for four others.
“One of the most important things we learned from this was that the process of applying for and being inducted into employment contributes to occupational skills and independence,” said Tayla.
The program helped the group to better develop their skill set, set concrete, achievable goals, improve their confidence and capabilities in their roles and increase their knowledge of CareSouth, outside of their individual programs.
The knowledge they gained included insights into their personality type and subsequent communication style, how to prioritise, transformational leadership skills and recognising that conflict is an opportunity for communication and growth. The group also learned how to effectively support team members through periods of change and how to motivate peers.
“I developed more confidence and self-awareness, in terms of understanding how I like to be communicated with, how I can come across to others, being aware of my faults and working to improve them,” said Tayla. “I became more confident in my ability to achieve goals and in being able to put my hand up for new opportunities even if they are challenging and scary.”
The group was also asked to set five win-win goals as part of their course work.
“By creating these goals I was able to see myself as an integral part of the HR team because I was able to set goals that helped the team. It also gave me an opportunity to research new areas that I was interested in and get motivated to pursue them,” said Tayla.
Lisa Chorlton, Team Leader of Nowra’s Drop-In Support Program, said taking part in Emerging Leaders helped her set goals and contribute to achieving CareSouth’s key success factors.
“It was a great opportunity to work and learn with such a friendly and dedicated group of people,” said Lisa.
Kristine Williams, an integral member of Nowra’s Disability Support team, almost didn’t apply to join the Emerging Leaders program, but the experience has been career-changing. It has improved her confidence in her ability to work across programs and helped her gain a better understanding of the work CareSouth does as a whole.
“The biggest challenge for me was applying initially when Emerging Leaders first started,” said Kristine. “Since then I have been faced with many more challenges and I have overcome them all. I have worked through a secondment in policy, something I would not have applied for prior to Emerging Leaders. But the knowledge and confidence I gained through completing this course has me actively looking for new challenges and goals to meet.”
The mutually beneficial program gave staff the opportunity to enhance their leadership skills while helping CareSouth to identify and develop potential talent across the organisation, thereby engaging and retaining highly skilled employees.
“A key goal within CareSouth is to build leadership skills at all levels of the organisation,” said CEO Deb Tozer. “The Emerging Leaders program has certainly progressed this goal and generated great interest and enthusiasm for the continuation of the program and future involvement of staff.
“I am incredibly proud of the individual and collective achievements of Jen, Lisa, Tayla, Codie, Stefanie, Kate, and Kristine, and early observations suggest the program had a profound impact on their performance.”
Where are they now?
- Tayla has received a promotion within CareSouth’s Human Resources Department
- Codie is on maternity leave
- Stefanie has implemented a range of efficiencies for the CEO and is a key member of CareSouth’s tendering process
- Lisa has been a key driver in supporting the roll-out of NDIS at CareSouth
- Kate is on a 12-month secondment to the Department of Family and Community Services
- Jennifer was appointed as a part-time Safeguarding Officer to establish CareSouth’s Safeguarding Children Policy, while remaining an integral part of the SYSS team
- Kristine has been instrumental in supporting clients who are navigating the new NDIS scheme.