Speak Out Feb 2020 DIGITAL EDITION. pdf

Branch News

Victoria

VIC 2583 members as at January 2020

FROM LEFT: Maddie Gwynne, Laura MacDonald and Lucy Fitzsimons.

Victorians taking the lead

The Graduation Ceremony for the 2019 Health Sector Leadership Program was held on Tuesday 26 November, 2019. Hosted in the heritage-listed Old Treasury Building in Melbourne, the night was a celebration of the achievements of the 2019 graduates. Four members of Speech Pathology Australia completed the program last year; Lucy Fitzsimons, Maddie Gwynne, Laura MacDonald and Nadia Marussinszky. The Health Sector Leadership Program is an annual four-month program, hosted by Leadership Victoria, consisting of four face-to face sessions presented by leaders in health fields and beyond. Program participants are provided external readings and group networking opportunities. As part of the program, participants also receive insights from senior leaders who share their experiences, using real-life examples. There are applied learning activities such as the Harvard peer consultation process to enable participants to apply their learning to real leadership dilemmas in their work setting. The program utilises the Strength Deployment Inventory profiling tool to help participants understand their own leadership and communication style, as well as how to leverage

their strengths when relating to others. There are also group discussions and exploration of case studies. There are pre-reading materials including thought leadership articles and media links on each topic, and a strong peer support and networking focus complemented by an opt-in mentoring component in which participants are matched with experienced mentors from other sectors. The program was attended by professionals from a range of health fields, including dentistry, chiropractics, dietetics, osteopathy, optometry, pharmacy, physiotherapy and speech pathology. The speech pathology participants of the 2019 program found it invaluable. The program built their skills in a range of leadership areas including ethical leadership, managing change (influence and resilience), and communication. The program was generously sponsored by The Australian Dental Association and Guild Insurance, who continue to work with Speech Pathology Australia to provide both professional indemnity and public liability insurance for members at a discounted rate.

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February 2020 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

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