wellways
people leader and aspiring leader
leadership program
OrganisationAL Profile
Wellways Australia is a leading not-for-profit organisation supporting people experiencing mental health challenges, disability, and those requiring community care. Operating across eastern Australia, Wellways provides services under the NDIS, mental health recovery programs, carer support, and suicide prevention initiatives.
With a strong focus on inclusion and lived experience, Wellways empowers individuals and families to live meaningful lives and participate fully in their communities. The organisation also advocates for systemic change to promote mental health awareness, social justice, and better access to support services.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Wellways engaged the Australian Leadership Academy (ALA) to design and deliver a tailored leadership program for People Leaders and Aspiring Leaders across the Gippsland and Housing Services portfolios. The bespoke program was developed following the success of the longitudinal Leadership Masterclass delivered to the Gippsland and Housing Services Senior Management Team.
The program aimed to build future-focused leadership capability, foster a high-performing team culture, and strengthen collective leadership effectiveness across the region.
Key areas of focus included personal responsibility, high-performance conversations, and practical leadership application. People Leaders and Aspiring Leaders developed skills in peer coaching, asking powerful questions, and deep listening, enabling them to influence others more effectively and lead with greater confidence and clarity.
The program also supported the development of a more unified leadership cohort through a shared vision and an emphasis on trust, healthy conflict, commitment, accountability, and collective results. As a result, leaders strengthened connection and alignment across teams, building momentum toward shared goals and reinforcing Wellways’ values and purpose-driven leadership.
People Leader and Aspiring Leader
Leadership Program
people leader and aspiring leader
program Feedback
ALA’s leadership program was
motivational and challenging?
96% strongly Agree
ALA’s approach supported
the needs of the leaders?
96% strongly Agree
The Wellways leaders actively
participated in the program?
98% strongly Agree
ALA’s leadership facilitator
was credible and effective?
100% strongly Agree
“the program was engaging
and welcoming,
Thank you!”
Grace Hill
Senior Family Peer Worker
“just really
amazing,
very helpful
and insightful”
Crystal Peter
Intake Service Navigator
Program outcomes:
To what extent would you recommend the Australian Leadership Academy?
93% highly recommend
Personal Responsibility & Accountability
People Leaders and Aspiring Leaders deepened their understanding of personal responsibility and accountability in leadership. The program strengthened leaders’ ability to take ownership of impact, model values-aligned behaviour, and lead with clarity, consistency, and integrity in complex environments.Adaptive Leadership Capability
The cohort explored the core principles of Adaptive Leadership, including navigating disequilibrium, identifying work avoidance, and responding constructively to loss and complexity. ALA’s agenda-setting methodology enabled leaders to surface their most pressing adaptive challenges and take practical, meaningful action.High-Performance Conversations
People Leaders and Aspiring Leaders strengthened their capability to engage in high-performance conversations and peer coaching. The program focused on using powerful questions, deep listening, and reflective dialogue to surface insight, support accountability, and enable learning and growth.High-Performing Team Culture
The cohort reinforced the conditions required for a high-performing team culture. Key areas of focus included trust, personal responsibility, healthy conflict, commitment to shared goals, and collective results. The program supported stronger alignment, cohesion, and sustained leadership effectiveness across the team.
“Practical tools,
real application, the HIGH-PERFORMACE CONVERSATION framework has strengthened
my leadership practice”
Ashton Foster
Mental Health & Wellbeing Practitioner
“strengthened my leadership
by empowering
team members to
take ownership and stay
focused on what matters”
Michael Needham
Acting Senior Wellbeing Worker
“The high-Performance conversations approach to leadership has strengthened
my supervision practice, and
helped me develop capability
within the teams I lead”
Christopher Turner
Program Practice Coordinator
