Our work with Youth Leaders

Lyn Russell, Robert Styles, Tracy Johnson and Kalinda Russell have all been involved with FaCSIA’s Indigenous Community Leadership Program throughout 2007.  In providing a professional leadership coaching service, we have offered ongoing and regular support to nearly 100 participants and support officers within FaCSIA.

Coaching support has been provided over the phone, via email and face-to-face.

Our involvement in this ICLP program has enabled us to work collaboratively with facilitators and program coordinators to ensure that leaders maximise their participation in the leadership program by:

• Encouraging personal and professional growth;
• Enhancing communication and interpersonal skills;
• Supporting greater emotional intelligence;
• Empowering leadership development in all areas.

Lyn Russell, a director of THD, has worked with youth and adults in Uganda, Rwanda and South Africa for the past six years as the facilitator of an ongoing leadership and development program. Lyn has worked closely with individuals, small groups and large organisations as a mentor, coach and facilitator.

Her involvement in Africa has empowered many young leaders to make radical changes in their personal and professional lives so that they can make a positive impact in their communities.  As a result of their participation in the leadership and development program facilitated by Lyn, some of the outcomes  youth have achieved have been:

• To begin their own businesses;
• To take on community leadership roles;
• To complete university degrees;
• To pursue further avenues of personal and professional development;
• To collaborate and network with other young community leaders, nationally and internationally.

Robert Styles has worked for many years within the context of the Australian Qualification Framework with a variety of education institutions, government departments, peak cultural institutions and private sector service providers. In collaboration with stakeholders, Robert has facilitated innovative responses to the development needs of the organisation, and the people who come together that make up the organisation.

His work has led to significant changes at the organisational level in the form of revised in-house education and core business strategies. Actual business initiatives have been actively supported by meaningful and relevant people development at all levels in the organisation. There has been a strong focus on developing communities of shared leadership by providing appropriate facilitation, training, education, and review processes targeting workplace project/business cases and personal development requirements.

Some of the institutions Robert has worked with include ANU, CIT, AIATSIS, NLA, AWM, NFSA, NGA, NMA, ACT Education Dept, and BCS. The ACT Government and the National Flexible Learning Framework have acknowledged the value of this innovative approach. Some of the changes observed include:

• Organisation policy and procedure revised to provide for the changing learning needs of staff and new recruits
• Qualifications up to diploma level and new apprenticeships in the areas of project management, leadership, community service, and publishing gained by participants
• Learning and development needs and outcomes focused on actual business cases and identified personal development needs
• Collaborative approaches and responses across institutions to business and people development needs is leading to the beginnings of across institution career latticing opportunities
• Real and meaningful personal development and education pathways developed.

Peter Lightbody was the director of an international youth group of more than 250 young people between 2004 and 2006. In this capacity, Peter facilitated the preparation and running of more than 15 large conferences for youth between 2004 and 2006. Each conference had more than 100 participants and involved a four day program of leadership development, community service and personal development. The aim was to have the youth take the lead in the organisation and running of the conference. Peter’s role was to act as the facilitator and mentor.

A project team comprised of about 20 youth and adults was assembled. A kick-off meeting was held to clarify objectives, roles & responsibilities and reporting structures. Over the next 3-4 months, regular status meetings were held with the team and also with the steering committee. The organisers were given regular opportunities to raise issues and concerns. Some were of a practical nature and others of a more emotional nature, such as stress, not believing they were capable, etc.

In parallel with this, Peter coached and mentored the organisers in leadership and project facilitation skills. He used Steven Covey’s principle centred leadership as the main model for leadership development.

The activities were widely recognised as being incredibly successful and well organised. The leadership capability of the youth organisers was uplifted substantially.

THD have assembled an experienced and diverse team that is committed and passionate, and this is backed up by a professional mindset and a set of processes that ensure quality.

Our approach

There is a knack to maximising the participation of all of the individuals in a team, particularly when that team is in the forming stages. In our experience, effective project facilitation is comprised of the following elements:

• Clarifying structure: making sure everyone is clear of the objectives and their roles & responsibilities.
• Clarifying process: setting up proper lines of communication between the different stakeholders and with the client, and making the ground rules for communication clear.
• Attending to the participant’s state of mind: being mindful of what is going on for the participants and providing the appropriate support.
• Being respectful: always respecting people’s contribution and being open to the different ways in which people like to work, especially the differences between cultures.

Our experience

• THD has been facilitating teams towards getting better outcomes for more than 30 years.
• All team members have substantial experience in facilitating programs for youth.
• All of the team are experienced in coaching and use this actively in supporting participants in achieving their development goals.
• We are aware of the different ways of thinking and interacting between people from a variety of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. The team has worked all over Australia (including with Indigenous Australians), Africa, Fiji, South East and East Asia and many other countries.
• Due to the management consulting experience in the team, we are able to bring the best processes and approaches in the industry to our project facilitation.

Our approach

In order to lead programs effectively for our clients, we have found that it is vitally important to agree on a project approach with the key stakeholders at the beginning of an assignment. The approach unpacks all of the detail required to allow us to work with our clients and with other facilitators. Once the program has been divided into logical phases, it is then possible to set out the outcomes, key tasks and key dates for each phase and also to identify which work will be performed by each of the relevant parties. We find this level of clarity provides a structure that makes collaboration much easier.

In addition, we appoint a member of our team to be the project co-ordinator to ensure smooth running of the program. They are responsible for day-to-day administration of the program, which includes regularly checking in with all the relevant parties, tracking and reporting the status of the program, and answering daily communication.

Finally, we have set up internal quality control mechanisms to ensure the effectiveness of the project is regularly reviewed and that any necessary adjustments are made.

Our experience

• THD has been the lead facilitator in a whole range of development programs over the past 30 years.
• Recently, members of THD led the facilitation of a program in the one of the divisions in the Department of Environment and Water Resources. We led the facilitation of a number of workshops, regularly reported progress and advised the executive on how to develop a culture of shared leadership. This program was so successful that we were invited to run a similar program with another division in the department, which is currently underway.
• All of the team have deep experience in working collaboratively with a broad range of stakeholders and in the disciplines of managing a program.

Our approach

A big part of any facilitator’s role is knowing how to create an atmosphere in which participants are able to contribute their best. In our experience, the best facilitators are those who maintain the structure of the conversation and then allow the participants to contribute the content. Structure is like oxygen: you don’t notice it when its there, but you sure notice it when its gone. Structure includes setting up an outcome and agenda for the meeting, clarifying roles & responsibilities, and reporting back at the end of the meeting.

The other essential starting point for maximising participation is building individual relationships with the participants and we do this by being genuinely interested in the people that we work with. With this personal foundation, it is much easier to encourage people to be involved in all aspects of the program.

We always prepare thoroughly for our assignments and this includes making ourselves completely familiar with the strategic priorities, programs, culture and language of our clients.

Our experience

• Four members of the team have been working with FaCSIA on the Indigenous Community Leadership Program over the past year and through have developed an understanding of FaCSIA’s priorities and way of working.
• All of the team have consulted with a broad range of organisations and are to rapidly familiarise themselves with the strategic priorities, programs and culture of our clients.
• Recently, members of THD led the facilitation of a program in the one of the divisions in the Department of Environment and Water Resources. We led the facilitation of a number of workshops, regularly reported progress and advised the executive on how to develop a culture of shared leadership. This program was so successful that we were invited to run a similar program with another division in the department, which is currently underway.

Our approach

We recognise that Australian youth in today’s society require a strong system of support in order to maximise their opportunities and potential, and this needs to reflect their changing needs and experiences.  In working with young people we:

• Build lasting relationships based on mutual trust and respect
• Maintain regular contact and ensure needs are being met
• Highlight networks of support available from different stakeholders
• Empower participants to take initiative and have self-responsibility
• Recognise and nurture individual skills and strengths

Our experience

• For more than 30 years, THD have been providing development services to countless young Australians from various cultural, linguistic and socio-economic backgrounds.
• We are currently providing coaching to a number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people from remote, rural and urban centres around Australia who are participating in FaCSIA’s Indigenous Community Leadership Program.  Through this process we have gained valuable insights into the needs, concerns and interests of young Australians.
• All members of the team have been active in working with youth, both professionally and providing our services pro bono. The development of young people is something that all of the team are passionately committed to. 

Please contact us if you would like to learn more >>