The Mayoral Leadership Program is designed to equip mayors and deputy mayors to lead their council, as well as to satisfy the legislative requirements to undertake induction training within one month of election to the role.

The VLGA Mayoral Leadership Program will best prepare Mayors and Deputy Mayors to lead effecively throughout their term, looking at the role and relationships as well as the leadership skills required to ensure good governance.

We have secured an impressive list of experienced trainers and facilitators to deliver this program which has been designed to meet the mandatory mayor and deputy mayor training requirements.

Facilitators include:    

Doug Weller: Media training specialist and journalist, Doug Weller combines his practical and driven approach with extensive media insight to help effectively manage this fast moving, unpredictable and powerful medium that can easily ruin an individual or organisation’s reputation. Doug provides strategies and advice to empower people to successfully control their message and display calm, confident leadership when dealing with the media and delivering presentations.

Tony Raunic: Tony is one of Victoria’s leading local government and public law legal advisors and leads Hunt & Hunt’s Melbourne office as Managing Principal. Tony advises for more than 40 municipalities in Victoria, providing advice on commercial, property and governance matters.  He brings the benefit of his own experience as an elected councillor having served two terms on the Shire of Nillumbik as Mayor and Councillor. He has also served on not-for-profit boards in the financial services and health sectors.

Melissa Scadden: Managing Partner of Justita Lawyers, Melissa advises employers on the full gamut of employment law matters. She has a particular interest in assisting clients to take a proactive approach to building workplaces where people can thrive, rather than just mitigating risks when problems arise. Melissa has experience working with large private sector clients across various industries including education, local and state government, statutory authorities, healthcare, professional services and labour hire. She has a keen interest in alternative dispute resolution, is a trained mediator and regularly conducts workplace training.

Rhys Thomas: With a career spanning 30 years in local government, Rhys is recognised as a leading thinker and problem solver in local government circles. He is often called upon to provide advice and to act as a sounding board for governance practitioners across the sector, and enjoys sharing and applying what he has learned to support councils and elected representatives - councillors - to deliver positive outcomes for their local communities through high performance leadership and effective governance. Rhys is a trusted voice on all things governance, whether it is technical interpretation of rules, policy and legislation or the strategic long-term direction of the sector itself.
 

The full day program will discuss: 

Roles and Responsibilities

Participants will come away with a comprehensive understanding of the specific roles and responsibilities of the mayor and deputy mayor, and how they differ from the role of a councillor. This will include:

• Understanding the powers and duties associated with the positions
• Working as a leadership team with elected councillors
• The support available to the mayor and deputy mayor

Leadership

Participants will learn about the knowledge and skills relevant to the mayor’s role as the leader of the elected councillors and will build leadership skills for guiding councillors and fostering collaboration. This will include:

• Building and maintaining relationships between councillors
• Leading the councillor group and resolving conflicts
• The role of the mayor in the Model Councillor Code of Conduct
• Supporting individual councillors, especially first-term members, through coaching, mentoring, and feedback

Participants will also learn about the important working relationship between the mayor and the chief executive officer and the respective roles. This will include:

• Importance of establishing a good working relationship
• Communication and role clarity between the Mayor and CEO
• Leading the CEO's performance review process

Engagement and Advocacy

Participants will learn about their role as the principal spokesperson for the council and the leader of civic and ceremonial duties and will develop skills to act as the council's spokesperson and leader. This will include:

• Communication and public speaking
• Speaking to the media
• Effective advocacy
• Performing civic and ceremonial duties

Chairing Meetings

Participants will learn about their role as the chair of council meetings, including preparing for the meeting, managing and chairing the meeting itself and the application of common governance rules. This will include:

• Assisting the CEO in agenda development
• Preparing for meetings by understanding key issues
• Role of the Chairperson in facilitating debate and managing time
• Applying the Council's Governance Rules during meetings