Leadership Foundations Workshop
The Leadership Foundations workshop has been developed as a practical learning opportunity for people in leadership or managerial roles.
Next Workshop: Thu, 20th March 2025 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM AEDT
Location: The Exchange Orana, Dubbo
About this Workshop
Have you recently appointed a new manager who has leadership potential, but needs to develop their skills?
Whilst some people have natural leadership qualities, no-one has the essential leadership skills needed to effectively lead a team.
Without a clear understanding about how to lead, managers can accidently become micromanagers. Understanding the difference between leadership and management is essential for up and coming leaders to be avoid the trap of becoming a micromanager and wanting to step away from the overwhelm of being a manager.
It is increasingly difficult to find the right leaders that have a balance of the right personality and the essential skills. But what you may be overlooking is how essential it is to offer leadership training that teaches those skills and supports integration into daily leadership practices.
The Problem
Leaders spend most of their time focused on the people in your business. With so many moving parts knowing what and how to effectively manage people is essential to any leader. But the skill set needed does not come with the title. These skills need to be learned in the right environment, taught by the right people and then practiced by the leader.
You may have experienced leaders in your business who can act as mentors. But this will only take your up and coming leaders so far. Mentors are great for sharing what they did, how they did it and what the outcomes was for them. But this can be a limiting learning opportunity. Every leader has their own unique way of leading. So, unless you want to create a company of cookie cutter leaders all making the same mistakes, this isn’t a sustainable learning and development strategy.
Learning leadership skills on the run in the workplace is great in theory. But the reality is there are always competing demands that get in the way of having those important leadership development conversations.
The Solution
The Leadership Foundations Workshop is your gateway to learning the essential knowledge and skills you need to lead effectively. This learning opportunity bridges the gap between leadership theory and real-life practice.
When leaders start with strong foundations, their impact is seen beyond their team.
With the right tools, leaders can make a big impact from the early stages of their career.
The Leadership Foundations workshop has been developed as a practical learning opportunity for people in leadership or managerial roles.
Participants learn critical leadership skills that form the essential foundations of being an impactful leader. The workshop is a one-day program designed to provide these tools for early career leaders:
build essential leadership skills that prevent costly management mistakes
tools for effective team leadership, goal setting and decision making
confidence to handle challenges and inspire team members
opportunities to network with peers and mentors, building a strong foundation for career growth
Leadership Foundations 2025 will be facilitated at The Exchange Orana in Dubbo.
Thursday, 20th March 2025 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM AEDT
Registrations close Thursday, 13th March 2025
Workshop Content
This workshop is specifically designed for people who are new to leadership or managerial roles and need to learn practical and actionable skills to implement in their workplace.
The workshop is limited to 20 participants so I can provide everyone with an opportunity to share their challenges and learn the essential skills to fill the current gaps in their leadership skills. I adapt the one day program to make sure everyone gets exactly what they need. Participants walk out of the workshop with a complete leadership playbook to guide their next steps.
This workshop has been delivered annually over the past 3 year to participants from a diverse range of organisations and levels of experience. Sectors like:
government (human services),
early childhood education
retail
real estate
animal health
insurance
financial services and
agribusiness.
Workshop Content
Participants walk away with armed with actionable ideas and steps to advance their leadership capacity.
Topics covered include:
Identifying Core Values and how these relate to your organisation’s values
Defining Your Leadership Style to avoid becoming a micromanager
Examining Your Work Habits to be more productive
Developing Your Communication Style
Mastering Developmental Feedback
Encouraging Effective Team Collaboration
In the words of a participant:
“I appreciated the format delivered in a relaxed vibe where we had animated discussions and sharing of valuable insights with other attendees.
Belinda’s perspective (from her Social Work background) brought this content to life for me, as previously all my professional development has been from business theory perspective.
I still regularly ruminate on my own core values identified in this workshop (9 months later) and how this shapes my personal and professional life. The collaborative approach to leadership development was practical and relationship based, offering tools to improve:
Communication at an individual and team level
Understanding of group dynamics and development
Undertaking brave conversations with a tried and tested framework
I have found working with Belinda to be insightful and extremely helpful. I can whole heartly recommend her Leadership workshops to anyone looking to elevate their leadership journey, whether they’re new to the role or seasoned leader.”
Leadership workshop participant 2024, Strategic Leader in Financial Services industry.
A Learning Opportunity for your Leadership Team
Leadership teams can achieve significant impact when they perform as a collective. And learning together is an excellent strategy to get the ultimate bang for your buck.
If you are looking for a practical and action focused professional development opportunity for your leadership team in 2025, get in contact for more details about the group bonus offer.
This workshop will not only fast-track your leaders as individuals - it will also help your leadership team to think collaboratively about the opportunities for action after the workshop.
Spaces are limited, so get in contact to secure a place for your leadership team at the 2025 workshop in Dubbo.
Workshop Outcomes
Participants will benefit from learning:
Develop Self-Awareness:
Gain a grounded understanding of their leadership identity, defining their current style and the style they are working towards developing.
Identify Leadership Strengths:
Recognise and leverage existing leadership strengths as a foundation for growth and new skill development.
Understand the Impact of Values Alignment:
Uncover core values and explore how they align with the organisation's purpose, vision and values to set the foundation for authentic leadership.
Create Effective Communication Strategies:
Enhance the participant’s ability to influence and inspire others towards a shared goal.
Move a Team from Storming to Performing:
Acquire skills to bring out the best in teams, fostering a culture of collaboration and achievement.
Master the Art of Developmental Feedback:
Learn the crucial skill of providing feedback to drive personal and professional growth within your team.
Create a Professional Development Plan:
Create a personalised plan for continued learning and development of leadership skills based on their unique needs.
Meet Your Facilitator
Dr Belinda Mawhinney
I work with leaders at all stages of their career - from the very start of their journey to working with leaders with decades of experience.
I created Leadership Foundations to teach early career leaders the essentials skills and knowledge they need in their toolbelt to be a successful leader.
I draw on my experiences of being a Social Worker, manager, strategic leader, and researcher (that’s the Dr bit) and roll this up into my consultancy practice. This means I have an extensive range of skills and knowledge based on a combination of experience and formal qualifications.
The workshop has been designed by me and is only ever delivered by me. I adapt each workshop to meet the unique needs of each group of participants to ensure they get everything they need.
After the workshop, participants are able to engage my services to work 1:1, with their leadership team or to work with their whole organisations to improve leadership capabilities and workplace culture.