Tailored First Nations community leadership program

Seeing the future leaders of Cherbourg emerge with self-assurance from a specially designed leadership program catering to each of their needs, has been the highlight of Amanda Woodward’s career.

The Project Manager of the Red Earth Community Foundation had long dreamed of a creating a bespoke program that encouraged people to take on the leadership roles that the First Nations community needed – and that she knew they were capable of.

Thanks to a $51,388 grant from the Queensland government and FRRR, Red Earth was able to undertake a complex, eight-month co-design consultation to tailor the program to the needs of leaders of all ages and engage First Nations designers and facilitators.

“One of the barriers to participating in leadership in Cherbourg community is around overcoming shame and building personal confidence. That’s why it was such a bespoke program – to address that local context.

“We did extensive in-community engagement with Elders, with Council, with community leaders, with community organisations and really listened to what they brought forward, as this is what our emerging leaders need, this is what’s going to help our emerging leaders in their personal lives, in their workplaces and in community.

“The themes of sense of self, communication and confidence, what is leadership and the practice of it, very much responded to what we heard in community,” she said. “The run sheet, the methods, everything that was taught and discussed through that leadership program, was responsive to those themes that came out of consultation.”

Eight emerging leaders took part in in the sessions at the nearby Bunya Mountains, a culturally significant site, as well as a historic meeting place. Accommodation was on-site and transport was arranged, removing several barriers to participation.

Amanda is already noticing clear impacts in the few short months since the training took place.

“Networking, collaboration and increased confidence in emerging leaders that participated are definitely short-term outcomes that I can see immediately,” she said.

“As the alumni group expands and that ripple effect shows up in workplaces, and in community, as leaders feel confident to step up, step forward and particularly the fantastic conflict resolution skills – because that shows up on a family level as well as a community level. The participants spoke about that as well, that the skills that they learned are relevant across many aspects of their lives.

“There’s appetite for a cohort of community volunteers around disaster preparedness, an all-hazards approach. And drought feeds into that as well.

“Having leaders within those communication channels activated helps when it comes to getting information into community about drought, flood preparedness, disaster preparedness – it’s another channel of information.”

Amanda can see the benefits rolling out for many years to come, as the leadership program continues.

“That kind of long-term impact is exponential. Who knows where that could go? Because it’s activating leaders for Cherbourg from within Cherbourg to solve community challenges and take hold and activate community opportunities rather than things being delivered to Cherbourg or for Cherbourg from external sources, which is what has happened historically.  As opposed to the long-term benefit of leadership being activated from within community by mob for mob, as our facilitators would say. That is the benefit that I can’t wait to see unfold.”