We caught up with one of this year's Emerging Leaders Program participants, Shraddha Dhungel, Infrastructure Engineer, Mount Barker District Council to find out how she enjoyed the program. 

What made you sign up for the Emerging Leaders Program?

Having started this graduate job less than two years ago, I am very early on in my career and am still shaping myself professionally and my leadership style. Although I have a while to go before I take on a leadership position, I believe it’s never too early to learn good leadership habits. I wanted to dig deeper within myself and learn what it takes to be a good leader – hence I signed up for the program.  

A recent module focused on 'Sustainability’ – what were some of your takeaways from this module?

It was a great module, the presentation from City of Mitcham regarding their power grid was a very interesting topic and definitely something that all of the councils should be thinking moving forward. It wasn’t just the actual initiative itself – it was all the back end thinking, planning and convincing council to go with the idea that was really impressive. 

What was your biggest take away from the program?

The biggest takeaway for me was the different TMS profiles for people in a workplace - how to relate/work with them best and also understanding how this relates to other people’s perception of me. This program really helped me get out of my comfort zone, and made me more mindful about of the different collaboration techniques required when working with different people to get the best possible outcome. 

What advice would you give to someone considering doing the Emerging Leaders Program?

Be open to different ways of thinking and doing things, and definitely get out of your comfort zone and do things the way you normally wouldn’t do it.