Armidale Regional Council (ARC) has been recognised with a NSW Local Government Excellence Award nomination for its Women in Leadership Program.
Council’s general manager James Roncon established the program after he commenced in 2021 and soon realised that there was a lack of female representation in leadership positions across all levels of the organisation.
“Developing opportunities for women to grow personally and professionally was a key objective of the change journey and culture development that the organisation had to undertake in 2021,” said Mr Roncon.
“Over the last couple of years we have put a lot of effort into providing a culture that fosters the growth of women and values their unique insights into leadership and management. Often women already possess many of the skills and attributes of a humanistic and encouraging values based leadership style so it makes good business sense that they should hold positions of influence.”
ARC has partnered with the Dattner Group whose flagship leadership courses and women’s programs are assisting women in council at all levels of leadership, on a transformational journey that links women’s ambition with their deepest sense of purpose and core values.
The goals around the program are to ensure gender parity within its leadership group and have women stepping up and driving change within the organisation and not only be seen, but more importantly heard and valued for their contribution. The impact of this program is not only on current participants, building confidence and leadership capability, but it will develop strong role models and mentors for the next generation of women who join Council.
“We are already starting to see women in the organisation that have been through the program stepping up and backing themselves to take on leadership positions,” said Mr Roncon.
“In the past women in the organisation have felt that they can’t influence a decision or contribute to creating a better workplace. Since we commenced our Restore and Thrive change journey and have an alumni of women who have completed the Women in Leadership Program I am starting to witness more and more women in the organisation sharing their unique insights and backing their own abilities to deliver some great initiatives for the community and the organisation.”