Fleurieu Future Leaders: Five years on

Five Years of Fleurieu Future Leaders

Story by Zoë Kassiotis. Photography by Jason Porter.

Above: 2017 Fleurieu Future Leader participant Matt Newlands with Charles Manning – with their Thursday morning walking group.

Late last year, the completion presentations of the 2021 Fleurieu Future Leaders Program (FFLP) marked two major milestones for the program: five years and one hundred alumni. Since its inception in 2017, co-creators and behavioural scientists Charles and Janice Manning have invested their time, energy and wealth of knowledge to empower these one hundred people to help activate a vision for the region’s future.

Ron Logan, Chair of Fleurieu Community Enterprises (the umbrella company for the Fleurieu Community Bendigo Banks) has been wholeheartedly involved in the program from the beginning. He’s become somewhat of a FFLP mascot, keenly sitting in on most sessions. Ron sees Charles and Janice as heroes for delivering the program to the Fleurieu. ‘Five years later it remains the most important single sponsorship our local bank supports each year,’ he says. As we approach the sixth year of FFLP, we revisit a cross-section of past participants to hear about their experiences following the program: what’s changed for them, where they’re going and what it all means for them personally and for the community.

Mental health advocate and consultant Matt Newlands first met Charles at a fitness bootcamp and then at a local men’s group. The former police officer was navigating his own mental health journey and exploring his intention to support others with their challenges when he applied for the first FFLP. ‘I knew I would benefit from developing my leadership knowledge and skills, as well as building my network in the community,’ Matt says. He sees his everexpanding FFLP community network as a forest. The comparison is apt – where trees use their underground networks to share resources and send distress signals, the FFLP alumni have found their aboveground connections to be just as responsive and supportive.

The face that manages and coordinates the rainbow of stalls we know and love as the Willunga Farmers Market, is market manager Jenni Mitton. ‘I thought the program would be the perfect way to enhance my relationship with the community. I wanted connections across the Fleurieu that are deeper than just business colleagues,

Above left: 2018 Fleurieu Future Leaders participant Jenni Mitton. Above right: 2019 Fleurieu Future Leaders participant Nick Hayles.

where we have a greater understanding for each other’s passions and purpose,’ she says.

Nicholas Hayles shares Jenni’s community spirit. He’s one of those juggling-four-balls type wizards, balancing leadership roles as Deputy Mayor of the City of Victor Harbor, co-owner of Planted Coffee House as well as his day job on the wellbeing team at Port Elliot Primary School. Nicholas saw the program as an opportunity to meet local people who are doing amazing things: ‘I found a new tribe of people with whom I shared experience, knowledge and a new network that could improve the way I work and expand the way I think.’

When another Victor Harbor local, Megan Whibley, participated in 2020 she thought it would push her to venture off the rails (in the best way) and explore new directions in a nurturing environment. ‘It was such a safe space that encouraged all of us to be involved,’ she says. ‘This feeling became very apparent really quickly in the sense of camaraderie and teamwork.’ Megan now brings these learnings to her team as General Manager of the Victor Harbor Tramway.

2021 participant Milli Livingston also warmed to her group’s close dynamic. ‘The further we got into the program the easier it became to open up and share,’ says the young lawyer who’s based in Goolwa and works at Southern Coast Legal. She felt like she was missing out on connecting with local professionals as most lawyers of her generation gravitate towards multi-storey office buildings. The program has given Milli both a personal and professional perspective. ‘The program taught me that working in the legal profession doesn’t mean that I need to conform with the idea of the traditional lawyer. As well as being professional, one of the most important things is to make sure that you are personable and can really connect with your clients. The program has highlighted to me just how important that is,’ Milli explains.

The program encourages participants to note the importance of living in an area of discomfort. In other words: get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Charles firmly believes that leadership development is ultimately a process of self development, which Nicholas settled into with deep appreciation. ‘It is in this uncomfortable space that we grow even though success isn’t guaranteed,’ he says.

‘I thought that the program was strictly about succeeding in a commercial sense and not about you personally, but I was definitely wrong there,’ Milli says. ‘My biggest light bulb moment was realising >

Above Left: 2020 Fleurieu Future Leaders participant Megan Whibley. Above right: 2021 Fleurieu Future Leaders participant Milli Livingston.

that to be a better partner, family member, lawyer and employee, I need to focus on myself personally.’ Matt experienced similar revelations with his group and was challenged right from the first day. ‘I learnt more about myself with inner reflection exercises that encouraged us to observe our behaviours,’ he recalls. In terms of actually participating in the group projects, Nicholas surprised himself by stepping out of his comfort zone. ‘There are always activities or experiences that present you with the challenge of whether you will make it through it or not, and it’s this intentional confrontation of our own abilities which makes this program a great tool for shaping leaders,’ he says.

All the leaders recalled leaving the program on an invincible high, feeling confident, empowered and equipped with skills to go back into the workplace and community as compassionate, thoughtful and team-oriented leaders. As with any intensive regime, the new muscles need to be exercised regularly to sustain the benefits. This starts within the program itself, with each cohort forming four to five groups, called syndicates, and working collaboratively on a community outreach project. It’s a chance to put into practice the skills and insights they’re gathering, while also creating an immediate community impact. Post program, Milli’s syndicate has remained close. Her group cocreated Network Fleurieu, which connects like-minded professionals and entrepreneurs via an online platform and will begin to hold networking events across the Fleurieu in the coming months. Meanwhile, Nicholas has been collaborating with young professionals on the south coast to strengthen the relationships between people in their twenties through to forties in order to attract more of that vibrant demographic to the area.

The thread that ties each of the one hundred alumni together is their passion for connection, growth and betterment of the Fleurieu. This was top of mind for Jenni when she applied to the program three years ago. ‘I’d been hearing chatter in the community about the projects and bonding taking place and that created a sense of excitement in me,’ she explains.

The Future Leaders’ forest will continue to grow and expand in 2022 and beyond, with Ron Logan proudly reporting that the number of applicants continues to rise each year. Charles, Janice and the FFLP committee of alumni welcome anyone with a deep connection to the region, and a passion for making a difference to themselves, their colleagues, family, employees and the community to apply.