MEDIA BRIEFING
Sydney Leadership 2011 – Challenge yourself. Change your world.
Social Leadership Australia (SLA) – Real leadership. Real progress.

A not-for-profit leadership development consultancy established by Australia’s first charity, The Benevolent
Society in 1999 to develop leaders across all sectors with the skills, motivation and connections to create lasting,
positive social change for all Australians.

The only leadership development consultancy in Australia to employ the Adaptive Leadership model developed
by Professor Ron Heifetz and his colleagues at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government at the core of all its
programs (see ‘Adaptive Leadership’). SLA has been working almost exclusively with this model since 2002.

SLA takes the Adaptive Leadership model to a new level by focusing it on making progress for all society and
teaching its program in the ‘real world’, not in a classroom. Participants are taken into remote Indigenous and
rural communities, prisons, detention centres, housing commission estate, aged care facilities, schools and other
minority communities to develop their leadership skills in complex and challenging environments.

SLA started with the Sydney Leadership program (for 30 people) in 1999. It now creates and delivers a range of
open and customised leadership development programs for individuals and organisations from all sectors
(including the new sister program to Sydney Leadership, Queensland Leadership, which commenced its second
year this month).

Recent and current clients include:
o Australian Institute of Police Management (delivering leadership programs for Assistant Commissioner
from across the country)
o National Australia Bank (close to 500 senior leaders at NAB have done an SLA delivered program in the
last three and half years)
o The NSW Departments of Health, Community Services and Corrective Services
o The Australian Human Rights Commission
o The Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG)

SLA also runs ‘issues-based’ programs such as the two-year Headland program for emerging Indigenous leaders
(made possible with philanthropic support) and, in a partnership with Desert Knowledge Australia, the intercultural Alice Springs Desert Leadership program. A gender and leadership program is also in development.

In 2009 alone, over 500 leaders from Government bodies, Top 500 companies and NGOs participated in an SLA
program, with programs taught in NSW, QLD, VIC and NT.

SLA program directors are all highly credentialed, skilled and experienced facilitators. Key staff in Sydney:
o Robbie Macpherson, Head
o Liz Skelton, Senior Manager, Programs
o Geoff Aigner, Senior Manager, Development
o Terri Soller, Sydney Leadership Program Manager
The Benevolent Society
Established in New South Wales in 1813 and recently branching into Queensland, The Benevolent Society is Australia’s
first charity. It has a strong track record as an innovator and social pioneer and its purpose is to create caring and
inclusive communities and a just society.
Sydney Leadership

Social Leadership Australia’s flagship leadership development program, established in 1999 by The Benevolent
Society as part of a vision to create new leadership to make progress on Australia’s toughest issues.

The vision for the program is to build a network of leaders (and emerging leaders) with the skills, wisdom and
bravery they need to activate deep change in themselves, in their organisations and in the world.

There are now nearly 400 Sydney Leadership Alumni.

Each year Sydney Leadership brings together a cohort of up to 30 people from across the business, government
and not-for-profit sectors to work together to learn what it means to exercise real leadership – leadership that
can breakthrough and deliver real progress on seemingly intransigent problems.

Working cross-sectorally is key to the program – because no single sector can take full responsibility for the
change we want to see in the world.

The program is targeted at both existing senior leaders and emerging leadership talent.

Entry is by application and selection is competitive, based on a challenging interview.

Sydney Leadership is an award-winning program that offers a world-class leadership skills development
experience using (a) the Adaptive Leadership model developed by Ron Heifetz and his colleagues at Harvard (see
‘Adaptive Leadership’) and (b) robust community engagement.

Graduates do not receive a Degree or Diploma. Sydney Leadership is not an off-the-shelf ‘course’ in which there
are any ‘correct answers’. It is an intensive, experiential learning program that develops personal awareness, high
level, practical leadership skills and solid cross-sector networks.

Sydney Leadership brings people face to face with a range of social issues, offering a true 360° view of the world
that challenges prejudices and delivers insights into the true complexity of entrenched social issues – and the
difficulty of achieving real leadership to solve tough problems.
Duration
:
One year (starts March 2011, graduation November 2011)
Information sessions
:
7.30am Tuesday 28th September (CBD)
6.30pm Monday 18th October (Paddington)
Applications close
:
12 November 2010
Number of places
:
Up to 30 - spread across corporate, government and community sectors
Selection process
:
Competitive, two staged process:
(i) application including statements of support
(ii) challenging interview.
Program costs
:
$16,900 + GST (including $900 personal contribution)
Some scholarships available for not-for-profit sector participants.
Fee is all-inclusive and covers all accommodation, travel, meals and materials for the
year.
Sydney Leadership is run on a not-for-profit basis and the fee represents cost-recovery.
Scholarships
:
Some scholarships available for not-for-profit sector participants.
Sponsors
:
TBC (2010 sponsors include Johnson & Johnson Medical, City of Sydney
NSW Department of Community Services, AMP Foundation, NAB, Vivente Australia,
Sydney Leadership Alumni and Allen Harroothunian.)
What happens on Sydney Leadership

The program includes a mix of:
o retreats
o ‘program days’ (including site visits and discussions)
o ‘hands-on’ work in groups (working with selected issues)
o study tours (looking at ‘whole of community’ issues)
o workshops
o guest speakers discuss their leadership challenges
o readings
o directed self-reflection
o one-on-one coaching throughout the year.

No objective ‘case-studies’ of leadership challenges – group itself is used as a ‘case-in-point’.

Program exposes people to a range of key social issues in areas such as Indigenous inequality, education, cultural
diversity, the environment, poverty, mental health, homelessness, youth-at-risk and migrants and refugees.

Each program is different and elements are customised as the year goes on in response to the group’s learning
and issues.
Evidence of the benefits and impact

A prize-winning, tried-and-true program currently in its 12th year (2011 will be the 13th year of the program).

Very strong, positive feedback attests to the quality and impact of Sydney Leadership (see ‘Testimonials’).

Participants report significant improvements in their leadership skills, motivation and drive, relationship-building
and partnering skills.

A major benefit is the connection with a valuable new network of like-minded, skilled and resourceful individuals
– both amongst each year’s group, and across the entire Social Leadership Australia alumni (now numbering
nearly 400).

Over 94% of graduates report significant changes they have made on a personal, organisational and a community
level as a direct result of their involvement in the program.

Large ‘story bank’ of anecdotal evidence telling of the power of Sydney Leadership to create lasting positive
impacts, personally, professionally and in the community (see ‘Alumni’).

Many Alumni have gone on to develop new initiatives both in a volunteer capacity and/or within their workplaces
as a result of their learning in the Sydney Leadership program.
Who is this for?

Sydney Leadership is ideally suited to senior decision makers such as CEOs and senior managers, but it is also
targeted at emerging leaders with the talent and determination to make a difference either in their organisation
or in the community.

This is very much a program for people working in business and government and is ideal for anyone who is:

o
leading change – particularly change requiring cultural shifts or changes to values and behavioural norms
o
managing projects with diverse stakeholders or partners / cross-organisational projects
o
working in areas with social or environmental impacts – when the biggest issues they face are ‘beyond
their four walls.’
Selection criteria include: vision, intellectual rigor, strong personal values, a sphere of influence and a
commitment to give something back to the community.
A powerful alternative to tertiary education for people in leadership roles

Sydney Leadership delivers a sophisticated set of leadership skills to help drive change and uncover new solutions
to complex challenging problems wherever they occur.

The program offers much deeper learning that a theoretical course taught in a classroom. (See ‘Testimonials’)

Because of its focus on the complexity of social problems and its experiential approach to learning, Sydney
Leadership offers powerful learning outcomes that are sustainable and applicable to any leader managing change,
complexity, corporate social responsibility, community engagement, projects with diverse stakeholders and/or
social and/or environmental impacts.

The program has a strong focus on the ‘why’ of leadership, as well as on the ‘how’, and fosters leaders with a
strong sense of purpose and connection with their values; leaders with high self-awareness and well developed
interpersonal skills – in other words, the ability to inspire, teach and mobilise others – and the resilience to
survive the rigors of leading change (which nearly always involves pain/loss and resistance.)
Adaptive Leadership

Adaptive leadership is a radical new approach to leadership developed by Ronald Heifetz and his colleagues at
Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. First reported in a landmark article, ‘The Work of Leadership’ in the
Harvard Business Review in 1997, Adaptive Leadership subverts the dominant leadership paradigm.
From the introduction to the 2001 re-print of ‘The Work of Leadership’:
“Sometimes an article comes along and turns the conventional thinking on a subject not upside down but
inside out…. Not only do the authors introduce the breakthrough concept of adaptive change – the sort of
change that occurs when people and organizations are forced to adjust to a radically altered environment –
they challenge the traditional understanding of the leader-follower relationship.
“Leaders are shepherds, goes the conventional thinking, protecting their flock from harsh surroundings. Not
so, say the authors. Leaders who truly care for their followers expose them to the painful reality of their
condition and demand that they fashion a response.”

Adaptive leadership takes a sophisticated view that overcomes many of the contradictions or failures of the more
traditional, ‘heroic’ leader paradigm. It frames leadership as an activity rather than as a position. It emphasises
progress over power, presence over charisma, group learning over ready answers. The work of leadership shifts
from being about pushing through a particular agenda to engaging and mobilising a group to face their reality,
even when this may be complex, uncertain, overwhelming, or unpalatable.

An Adaptive Leadership approach has the potential to deliver meaningful change on entrenched, difficult
problems, for which there is no existing or predictable solution.

Social Leadership Australia’s use of adaptive leadership, together with its focus on creating positive change for all
of society, is behind its tagline, ‘Real leadership. Real progress.’
Sydney Leadership Alumni
The Sydney Leadership Alumni include representatives from a diversity of organisations from Top 200 Companies to
small community-based not-for-profits and a range of Local, State and Federal Government Departments (see over).
Alumni stories
Sydney Leadership Alumni go on to make change in the personal, community and organisational lives in diverse ways.
Some have initiated new projects with social and environmental impacts, some have simply worked to make
progressive change within their organisations. For example:
 Charles Prouse, CEO of the National Aboriginal Sporting Change Academy, (2009 graduate), who was in the news
last week for his work bringing Aboriginal children from desert communities to the city to expand their thinking
about the possibilities for their future.
 Alice Cahill, Manager of Business Partnerships for the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and
Water, who developed an entire CSR program for Zurich Financial Services following her graduation from Sydney
Leadership in 2003.
 Clark Thompson, Regional Executive, ANZ Commercial & Agribusiness Central Queensland, who attributes his
career progress since his graduation in 2007 to an evolved leadership style that places increased value on
partnerships and collaboration for success and long-term sustainability.
 John Corrigan, Founder & Principal, Group 8 Education, who made a ten year commitment to the transformation
of Australia’s education system during Sydney Leadership in 2001, and has since worked with 130+ schools in
Australia and the UK to develop a new approach to learning based on the latest neuroscience research.
 Cary Badcoe, CEO, Australian Business & Community Network, who established a long-running, impactful
business mentoring program for underprivileged schools as a result of connections made through Sydney
Leadership in 2004.
 Associate Professor Sarah Maddison, Research Director of the Indigenous Policy & Dialogue Research Centre at
UNSW, (2009 graduate), author of Black Politics and Silencing Dissent, who is writing a new book about the
challenge of reconciliation using Social Leadership Australia’s adaptive leadership framework.
 Tim Hardy, Head of Philanthropy, NAB Private Banking, who has used his Sydney Leadership learning (in 2000) to
guide his work as an advisor on impactful investing in charitable causes and foundations.
 Lisa Ryan, Manager of the Harm Minimisation Unit, NSW Health, who was inspired by Sydney Leadership to
commission an Indigenous theatre company to tour Aboriginal communities to raise awareness of Hepatitis C – an
innovative initiative that created greater impact on access to testing and treatment than any other project in the
previous decade.
 Gavin Fox-Smith, General Manager of Ethicon (Johnson & Johnson), who credits Sydney Leadership with
developing his skills in dealing with personal and organisational change – skills that were then recognised by
employer sending him to head up a subsidiary company (Ethicon) to drive culture change and turn the business
around.
 Merle Conyer, Training Officer at Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors
(STARTTS), who was so impacted by her time at Sydney Leadership that she moved from her job as the
Knowledge Director in a national law firm and to a role in the not-for-profit sector managing health and
settlement services for refugees.
 Lee Downes, Acting Assistant Commissioner, Security and Investigations, NSW Corrective Services, who, after
doing Sydney Leadership, designed and drove the development of an innovative new women’s prison complex
that fosters independence and self-responsibility in the inmates to enable them to return to the community. She
also established a program at Emu Plains prison that allows inmates’ children to live with them.
 Dom Grenot, Public Housing Liaison Officer at the City of Sydney, who undertook work at the inner-city
Northcott housing estate (dubbed Housing Estate Hell by the media!) and with a group of Sydney Leadership
alumni established a thriving community centre, transforming living conditions for the 1000 residents at the
estate.
Available for interview
Other Alumni available to talk to the media include:
 David Walsh, State Director (NSW), Department of Immigration & Citizenship (2002 graduate)
 Simon Sheik, National Director, GetUp! Action for Australia (2009 graduate)
 Sam Weiss, Chair, Altium Ltd; Deputy Chair, GLG Corp Ltd; Non-Executive Director OrotonGroup Ltd, Brevill Group
Ltd, IPGA Limited, Open Universities Australia and the Sydney Festival (2002 graduate)
 Doug Taylor, CEO, United Way Sydney (2004 graduate)
 Sharon Ryan, Organisational Change & Communications Lead, BHP Billiton, Energy Coal (2009 graduate)
 Christopher Zinn, Director of Campaigns, Choice (2009 graduate)
 Merle Conyer, Training Officer, NSW Service for the Treatment & Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors
(STARTTS) and former Knowledge Director at Blake, Dawson Waldron (2002 graduate)
 Deborah Burt, Director of People, Parsons Brinckerhoff (2007 graduate)
 Lee Downes, Acting Assistant Commissioner, Security Investigations, Corrections NSW (2007 graduate)
 Jono McCauley, Director, Creative Strategy, Eleven Communications (2007 graduate)
 Gavin Fox-Smith, General Manager, Ethicon (Johnson & Johnson Medical) (2007 graduate)
Social Leadership Australia
Key SLA staff involved in delivering programs, including Sydney Leadership, are:
 Robbie Macpherson, Head of Social Leadership Australia
 Liz Skelton, Senior Manager, Programs
 Geoff Aigner, Senior Manager, Development
More information / Media Contact
Rachael Vincent, Communications Manager, Social Leadership Australia
The Benevolent Society, 188 Oxford Street, Paddington
Phone: (02) 9339 9318
Mobile: 0413 99 3316
Email: rachaelv@bensoc.org.au
Website: http://www.benevolent.org.au/leadership
Testimonials from graduates of Social Leadership Australia programs

“This was undoubtedly one of the greatest experiences of my life – challenging, inspiring, thought- provoking and
enjoyable. Unlike many MBAs or other programs, this program really ‘stays’ with you. It’s truly in a class of its
own.”
—Karen Heck, MBA, BComm, Executive Director, The Heck Group (Qld). Sydney Leadership 2004

“The most rewarding thing for me about Sydney leadership was having twenty years experience in change
completely blown away. The program really pushed me to the edge of my competence and challenged me to
listen and learn in completely unexpected ways. If you are serious about leadership and community then Sydney
Leadership is a ‘must do’ in your lifetime.”
—Sharon Ryan, Organisational Change and Communications Lead, BHP Billiton, Energy Coal. Sydney Leadership
2009.

“This was without a doubt the best post-graduate program that I’ve ever attended. I got enormous value out of
my MBA but this was much deeper learning.”
—Rod Douglas, MBA, CEO SuccesSystems; National Vice-President, Greening Australia. Queensland Leadership
2009-2010.

“Extraordinary … the most challenging and most valuable development experience I’ve had in my career, because
it was so based in experience.”
—Simon Terry, General Manager, NAB. Accelerate 2007.

“Sydney Leadership has the potential to be one of the most stimulating, enjoyable, challenging and significant
years of your life. The concept of bringing together a group of people with diverse backgrounds but a common
interest in contemporary social issues, in an environment where they can learn, explore and become actively and
constructively involved was both obvious and unique – as many brilliant ideas are…Without doubt the year rates
as one of the great experiences of my life. Eleven years later I am in regular contact with many of the people I
met that year. Several of us have been and still are involved in pro bono ventures together.”
—Roger West, Director, Westwood Spice (and former Commissioner for Community Services) Sydney Leadership
1999

“Signing up for Sydney Leadership has proven to be one of the best decisions of my life. For years I had thought
and spoken about getting involved with the community sector but I had never acted. Sydney Leadership has
given me the skills, confidence and network to move forward. Hardly a day goes by where I don’t apply Sydney
Leadership thinking to my professional and personal life.”
—Jono McCauley, Director, Creative Strategy, Eleven Communications. Sydney Leadership 2007

“I totally underestimated the positive impact that Sydney leadership was to have in shaping my future, both
personally and professionally. Aside from opening new doors and connecting me with some wonderful people, it
caused me to reflect on how I could lead and drive constructive change in areas close to my heart in all aspects of
my life. Sydney Leadership is not for the fainthearted – but it is well worth the ride.”
—Simon Wright, Director, Simply Sustainable. Sydney Leadership 2003.

“The first step in creating positive social change is to have a desire to make a difference in the world. The second
step is to know how to convert that desire into real vision and action … to find the courage and resolve needed to
be a true leader. Sydney Leadership reveals the power of collaboration, partnership, trust, integrity, authenticity
and a strong set of values when exercising leadership.”
—Vanessa Lesnie, Director Strategic Projects, Australian Human Rights Commission. Sydney Leadership 2007.

See further testimonials in Sydney Leadership publications online
Sample of organisations who have participated in Sydney & Queensland Leadership
AAMI
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Aboriginal Health & Medical
Research Council of NSW
ACON
Aged Care Queensland
AGL
NSW Ambulance Service
Amnesty International
AMP
Anglicare
ANZ
ANZ/Esanda
Asthma Foundation
Asylum Seekers Centre of NSW
NSW Attorney General's Dept
Australia Council for the Arts
Australia Post
Australian Arabic Communities
Council
Australian Army
Australian Red Cross
Australian Youth Climate Coalition
Australians for Native Title and
Reconciliation
AXA
Balmain High School
BHP
Big hART
Blake Dawson Waldron
Blue Care
Brain Injury Association Queensland
Brisbane Housing Company
Camp Quality
Cancer Council NSW
CatholicCare
Centrelink
Choice
City of Sydney City Council
Committee for the Economic
Development of Australia
Commonwealth Bank
Conservation Volunteers Australia
CSIRO
Cumberland Health and Research
Centre
David Jones
Dept of Family & Community Services
Dept of Immigration and Citizenship
Deutsche Bank
Endeavour Foundation
EnergyAustralia
Ethnic Communities Council of NSW
Fox Studios Australia
Gadens Lawyers
GetUp! Action for Australia
Greening Australia (QLD)
Griffin Theatre Company
Habitat for Humanity Australia
Hepatitis C Council of NSW
Historic Houses Trust Foundation
Home Care Services of NSW
Human Rights & Equal Opportunity
Commission
IAG
Indigenous Community Volunteers
Inspire Foundation
IAG
Integral Energy
Islamic Council of NSW
Jewish Community Services
John Fairfax Publications
Johnson & Johnson Medical
Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation
Kingfisher Adult Learning
KMart
Kogarah Municipal Council
KPMG
Lee Hecht Harrison
Leichhardt Council
Logan Women’s Health & Wellbeing
Macquarie University
Merrill Lynch HSBC
Micah Projects
Mineral Policy Institute
Mission Australia
Multicultural Disability Advocacy
Association
Multilink Community Services
Museums & Galleries NSW
Music Council of Australia
Music NSW
Muslim Women’s Association
NAPCAN
NAB
National Children's & Youth Law
Centre
National Family Daycare Council of
Australia
MLC
NCOSS
Northern Sydney Area Health Service
NRMA
NSW Assoc for Adolescent Health
NSW Brain Injury Association
NSW Departments of
 Ageing, Disability & Home Care
 Community Services
 Corrective Services
 Defence
 Education & Training
 Education, Employment &
Workplace Relations
 Health
 Housing
 Juvenile Justice
 Urban Affairs & Planning
NSW Law Reform Commission
NSW Legal Services Commissioner
NSW Native Title Services
NTSCORP Limited
Office of the NSW Premier
Outward Bound Australia
Parramatta City Council
Pfizer Australia
Philips Fox
Police Service (NSW)
Police Service (QLD)
QANTAS
QLD Dept of Employment &
Economic Development
Queensland Alliance
Queensland Health
Roads & Traffic Authority of NSW
Royal North Shore Hospital
Saatchi & Saatchi
Shine Lawyers
Sisters of Charity Outreach
Social Ventures Australia
South Sydney Youth Services
Spinal Cord Injuries Australia
St Vincent de Paul Society
State Library of NSW
Stockland Corporation
Suncorp
Superannuation Administration
Authority NSW
Sutherland Shire Council
Sydney Water
TAFE NSW
Telstra
Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation
The Advocacy & Support Centre
The Smith Family
The Spastic Centre
Toyota Financial Services
Tranby Aboriginal College
United Way Sydney
University of New South Wales
University of Sydney
University of Technology Sydney
University of Western Sydney
Urban Art Projects
Wesley College
Westpac
WWF Australia
Youth & Family Services
YWCA of Sydney
Zurich Financial Services