hobsons bay city council

REACH leadership program
CoorDINATORS

OrganisationAL Profile

Hobsons Bay City Council is a progressive local government organisation in Melbourne’s inner west, serving diverse communities across suburbs including Williamstown, Altona, Newport, and Laverton. The Council provides a broad range of services and infrastructure to support community wellbeing, sustainable growth, and economic development.

With a strong focus on inclusion, innovation, and environmental leadership, Hobsons Bay is committed to delivering on its strategic vision through collaborative governance and community engagement. The organisation strives to build a connected, resilient, and forward-thinking city that reflects the values and aspirations of its people.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Hobsons Bay City Council engaged the Australian Leadership Academy (ALA) to co-create and deliver a tailored, longitudinal leadership program for Coordinator level leaders across the organisation.

Known as the Coordinators REACH Leadership Program, the initiative was designed to strengthen leadership capability, build collaboration across the broader leadership cohort, and support Coordinators to navigate complex, adaptive challenges within a local government environment.

To date, ALA has delivered three REACH programs to 48 Coordinators. The program combined individual executive coaching with an ICF-accredited ALA coach and multiple face-to-face workshops, covering core leadership domains including Leading Self, Leading High-Performing Teams, Leading with High-Performance Conversations, and Leading Change.

Through applied learning, coaching, and peer engagement, Coordinators strengthened their leadership confidence and effectiveness, deepened trust and connection across the leadership group, and developed practical strategies to lead with clarity, accountability, and consistency.

The program also supported Coordinators to align their leadership approach with organisational values, navigate performance and change conversations with greater confidence, and exercise influence across teams and service areas contributing to a more cohesive, capable, and resilient leadership culture.

REACH Leadership Program
Graduation Ceremony

 coordinators REACH LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
Program Feedback

To date, ALA has delivered three Coordinators REACH Leadership Programs.
Quantitative data has been provided by a total of 48 Coordinators and is presented below.

ALA’s leadership program was
motivational and challenging?

96% strongly Agree

ALA’s approach supported the
needs of HBCC Coordinators?

97% strongly Agree

The HBCC Coordinators actively
participated in the program?

95% strongly Agree

ALA’s leadership facilitator was
credible and effective?

99% strongly Agree

“brilliant,
highly appreciate
the program”

James Patrick
Coordinator, Economic Development

“i love this course”

Gillian McCarrey
Coordinator, Events, Venues & Visitor Services

“the material is deliveRED in a way that really sticks, and yoU CAN visualise IT in practice”

Caroline James
Coordinator, Advocacy and Communications

Program outcomes:

To what extent would you recommend the Australian Leadership Academy?

96% STRONGLY AGREE

  • Strengthened Coordinator Leadership Capability
    Coordinators enhanced their confidence and effectiveness as people leaders, deepening self-awareness, judgement, and leadership presence within a complex local government environment.

  • High-Performance Leadership Conversations
    The program embedded high-performance conversations as a shared leadership practice, enabling Coordinators to address performance, expectations, and accountability with greater clarity, consistency, and confidence.

  • Leading Change with Confidence and Clarity
    Coordinators strengthened their capability to lead change, applying adaptive leadership approaches to navigate uncertainty, engage their teams, and sustain momentum during organisational and service-level change.

  • Empowering Leadership Practice
    Participants adopted a coaching led leadership style, balancing accessibility with accountability and enabling team members to take greater ownership, initiative, and responsibility.

  • Stronger Collaboration and Organisational Alignment
    Through shared learning and peer connection, Coordinators built stronger cross-organisational relationships, improved collaboration, and aligned leadership practice with organisational values and priorities.

“thank you…
the lessons have been so impactful,
the way you teach, listen and
be present is INSPIRING“

Beth Treiguts
Coordinator, Service Activation

 

“brilliant!
so enjoyable,
I wouLd love MY TEAM TO unDertake a similar program.”

Tania Blackwell
Coordinator, Arts Culture & Heritage Coordinator


“amazing! thank you so very much.
i would recommend
to external
leaders i know.”

Catherine Primus
Coordinator, People & Culture

 Australian leadership academy clients