Lysander is a renowned leadership consultancy with more than two decades of expertise. Wherever you are along your leadership journey, these courses will equip participants to lead with confidence, develop effective leadership styles and inspire their teams.

The programs include:

Emerging Leader – This dynamic and multifaceted leadership development program empowers aspiring leaders to achieve excellence.

Transformational Leader – This two-part course immerses leaders in personal reflections about their leadership style and develops transformational and inspirational managers.

Insight: Why should leaders develop their own skills and style?

Below, Lysander CEO Kerrie Adaway discusses the challenges leaders face, the importance of overcoming these, and how doing so can foster personal and team success:

• Stepping into a leadership role demands a diverse set of skills and responsibilities, some of which can pose substantial challenges for new leaders.

Promotion to leadership often stems from excelling in an individual role, whether due to outstanding performance, expertise or other factors. This transition can be significant, especially when individuals are elevated to roles where they lead teams that were once their peers.

Leaders bear the responsibility of fostering a positive and productive work environment. Effective communication skills empower leaders to articulate their vision, expectations and goals clearly, nurturing understanding and alignment among team members. Additionally, they enable leaders to actively listen, encouraging open dialogue and ensuring that everyone’s perspectives are not only heard but also valued.

Many leaders often shy away from crucial conversations due to a lack of confidence or fear of potential repercussions. Nurturing leaders’ development in this aspect ensures they confront important matters instead of avoiding them.

As leaders discover their confident and authentic selves while fostering an environment of wellbeing, collaboration, innovation and a shared sense of purpose, the individuals and teams under their guidance are more likely to thrive.

• In many instances, individuals tend to occupy roles without a clear understanding of how their contributions impact the team or the larger organisation.

People often fulfill their duties without bringing their best selves to the job, committing only to the bare minimum requirements. To engender commitment and passion in our people, it is imperative to provide them with clarity of direction and purpose.

To develop the ability to offer this clarity, leaders must first gain a clear understanding themselves. Leaders must cultivate awareness and confidence in their leadership role, understanding how they are perceived, maintaining openness to challenges, and encouraging meaningful dialogues on important matters. When leaders embark on this journey personally, they become well-equipped to guide others on a similar path, and that is when the magic starts to happen.

• It can be quite challenging trying to gain an accurate understanding of how we are perceived as leaders.

The inherent power in our position can elicit different responses from people. One common reaction involves using power to get things done, often accompanied by a degree of self-delusion. While actions like this may yield results, there is often a hidden cost, with fear and disengagement surfacing. On the other extreme, leaders may grapple with imposter syndrome, leading to paralysing self-doubt and a withdrawn leadership style. However, there are exceptional leaders who strike a balance in the middle, displaying self-awareness, authenticity and are highly effective.

Regardless of where a leader falls on this spectrum, gaining visibility into how one is perceived as a leader is invaluable and can be a game-changer. Feedback ascertained can help build confidence and counter any imposter syndrome, or it can help leaders see where they need to shift or adjust themselves to find a powerful way of relating and adapting as needed to the different people they lead and range of circumstances in which they lead.

Training: Emerging and Transformational Leaders

Make 2024 the year you unleash your leadership potential with our programs for Emerging and Transformational leaders. Emerging Leaders is tailored for current, emerging or potential leaders, while Transformational Leader is recommended for experienced leaders along with those who lead teams of leaders.

Emerging Leader: In-person between 5 March 2024 and 18 April 2024.

This program is designed specifically for up-and-coming leaders and concentrates on honing vital leadership skills, such as fostering a positive team environment to build high-performing teams, managing and resolving conflicts and leading with psychological safety. By completing the program, graduates will be equipped to lead with confidence, engender strong collaboration and build strong social awareness and influencing skills.

Transformational Leader: Part One in-person 29 April 2024 and Part Two in-person between 4 June 2024 and 14 August 2024.

Part One develops transformational leadership capability and immerses leaders into powerful and personal reflections about their leadership style, including an evidence-based diagnostic tool, one-on-one debriefs and coaching, workshops and dynamic digital knowledge-building activities.

Part Two will build skills to enable leaders to provide clarity, direction and confident communication within their teams for greater success, while also cultivating an inclusive workplace culture through coaching techniques.

Case study: Constructing Resilience

Lysander recently undertook a pilot mentoring program in the construction industry exploring mentorship and improved mental health outcomes.

The Constructing Resilience pilot mentoring program aimed to address industry-specific challenges, including concerning statistics related to mental health. It was crafted to better prepare emerging leaders to navigate challenges, fostering a stronger foundation in emotional intelligence. This equipped them to manage responses, handle stress effectively and cultivate overall resilience.

The results showed a significant impact, notably reducing the stress gap from 64 per cent to 22 per cent by building resilience. Mentees exhibited a 34 per cent increase in listening skills, a 25 per cent improvement in building trust and a 29 per cent increase in goal identification. This has had a recognised ripple effect as these leaders advance in the industry, becoming advocates for change.

While initially tailored for the construction sector, these growth pathways are essential for leaders aiming to be highly effective in guiding high-performing teams and transformations. Leaders possessing emotional intelligence and resilience, adept at effective communication, maintaining perspective during change, and calmly inspiring performance, are consistently sought after and respected by their teams.

How the Victorian Chamber can help

The Victorian Chamber is committed to upskilling individuals and business and can provide customised and onsite training tailored to your needs. More information on our leadership training with Lysander can be found on our Future leaders page. For other short courses, nationally recognised diplomas and certificates, briefings and webinars, visit the Victorian Chamber’s training page.