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A WORD FROM THE CEO

WOW! What an amazing year 2024 has been!

As we power towards the end of 2024, the team and I have been reflecting on another huge year for
LG Professionals SA. 2024 has seen 95% of South Australian councils participate in our activities, and 72 councils and subsidiaries continuing to invest in their staff through an organisation membership subscription.

Some of our highlights for 2024 include:

December 2024
Edition 159

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM LG PROFESSIONALS SA

The LG Professionals SA team would like to take this opportunity to wish you a safe and happy holiday season. We look forward to continuing to deliver quality professional development, capacity building and opportunities for connection for our Members in 2025.

Our office will be closed from 5:00PM Friday 20 December 2024 and will reopen 9:00AM Monday 6 January 2025.

Online registrations will still be available during this time.

WATCH OUR HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR HERE!

LG PROFESSIONALS SA 2025 ANNUAL STATE CONFERENCE:
GROWTH UNLEASHED
Friday 21 March 2025

Join us at the LG Professionals SA 205 Annual State Conference!

The conference will begin with insights on enhancing work-life balance and performance through effective transitions between tasks and interactions. You will learn how to create supportive work environments that minimise stress and foster resilience, ensuring that individuals can thrive during periods of change.

With interactive sessions and networking opportunities, the LG Professionals SA Annual State Conference promises to be an enriching experience. Join us as we harness actionable strategies to unleash our potential, and collaborate to create a brighter future for our communities!

REGISTER YOUR TEAM FOR THE 2025 SA LOCAL GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT CHALLENGE

Teams are challenged to respond to a series of tasks in a unique, fast-paced, "pressure cooker" environment. Some tasks may require written responses (such as a Council report or recommendation document), whilst others may be more interactive and take the form of role plays or presentations – but the mix will be a surprise for the day! 

Key Dates

Early Bird Registrations Close 
Monday 27 January 2025
Registrations Close
Monday 17 February 2025
Challenge Day
Wednesday 9 April 2025

Venue

We are bringing the Local Government Management Challenge to a new venue in 2025! Challenge Day will take place on Wednesday 9 April 2025 at the Adelaide Showground on Goodwood Road, Wayville SA 5034.

LEVEL UP YOUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The new year is right around the corner, and undertaking a short course could represent the perfect way to amplify and enhance your professional journey in 2025.

Just one day of learning and education can teach you invaluable skills that you’ll be able to utilise throughout your career.

LG Professionals SA offer a range of short courses that have been curated to equip the sector’s staff with the skills that are essential to deliver on efficiency, performance and continuous improvement.

We've just released an exciting range of short courses scheduled for the first half of 2025, to be hosted at LG House, 148 Frome Street, Adelaide - take a look below. 

Have questions? Please contact Eve Jackson, Training Support Officer at eve@lgprofessionalssa.org.au for more information on any of our short courses or how we can bring them in-house to your council or subsidiary. 

SPEAKING WITH INFLUENCE, NEGOTIATING WITH EASE
* NEW COURSE *
Monday 24 February 2025

This short course encourages you to gain an insight into your current negotiation preferences and to develop the micro-skills necessary to navigate through the range of negotiations you face in the workplace. It will provide you with tips and tricks to enhance your current communication, negotiation and influencing styles - giving you an edge in the workplace.

POWERFUL BUSINESS WRITING
Friday 28 February 2025

Even if your role doesn’t require a lot of writing, how you come across is crucial to your credibility. The ability to write clearly, precisely, powerfully and persuasively is a key skill that enables you to summarise and present ideas, build relationships and gain commitment to action. It can also demonstrate your knowledge, confidence and professionalism.

INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Tuesday 18 March 2025

This short course is designed to cover the basic principles of managing projects to help you plan, control and organise activities to ensure that you are delivering successful projects every time. It is best suited for staff who may be new to managing projects or have not previously undertaken any formal project management training.

MANAGING YOUR TIME, ENERGY & PRIORITIES 
Tuesday 29 April 2025

This course will provide you with the knowledge and skills to improve your time management approach to your daily and weekly workload - work smarter, not harder! You’ll dive into issues that are preventing you from reaching optimum effectiveness and develop a range of techniques and strategies to better manage your time and get more out of your day.

ADVANCED PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Tuesday 6 May 2025

Beyond providing you with essential knowledge and skills to plan, manage and execute projects on time and on budget, this course takes a deeper dive into project management theory and looks at both operational and strategic elements of project management.

Please save the date for the following LG Professionals SA events for 2025. If you are planning a local government event, we invite you to contact us to avoid date clashes. 

Friday 9 May 2025 - LG Professionals SA 24^th Annual Leadership Excellence Awards Gala Dinner

Friday 25 July 2025 - LG Professionals SA Community Development Network Conference

Thursday 18 September 2025 - LG Professionals SA Rural Management Challenge

Friday 7 November 2025 - LG Professionals SA Women's Network Conference 

Thursday 13 November 2025 - LG Professionals SA Annual General Meeting

Friday 14 November 2025 - LG Professionals SA Economic Development Conference

LG PROFESSIONALS SA 24TH ANNUAL LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Nominations close Wednesday 5 February 2025

Nominations are starting to come in for the LG Professionals SA 24^th Annual Leadership Excellence Awards, and we are looking forward to seeing yours as we count down until the nomination deadline. If you are thinking of nominating your project or initiative, don't leave it to the last minute! Nominations close 5:00PM Wednesday 5 February 2025.

Have you or your colleagues demonstrated excellence within local government?

Our awards program includes 11 categories and is designed to recognise outstanding achievement and innovation within local government.

Council and Subsidiary Members are encouraged to prepare their nominations in the following categories:

• Emerging Leader of the Year
• Excellence in People and Culture
• Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion
• Excellence in Community Partnerships and Collaboration
• Excellence in Cross Council Collaboration
• Excellence in Local Economic Development
• Excellence in Customer Service or Experience
• Excellence in Community Services and Development
• Excellence in Environmental Leadership and Sustainability
• Excellence in Emergency Management / Disaster Recovery
• Excellence in Infrastructure Delivery 

Read our nominations brochure with category information, eligibility and guidelines.

We would love to see all Council and Subsidiary Members represented in the nomination process, so that we can celebrate the outcomes of your initiatives. No matter how small you might think your project is - we want to hear about it!

City of West Torrens won the 2024 Excellence in Customer Service or Experience Award with their Payble: Easing Rate Payment Hardship Project. We spoke with Lisa Gilmartin, Manager Financial Services, to find out more.

Congratulations! You and your team won the Excellence in Customer Service or Experience Award at the
LG Professionals SA 23^rd Annual Leadership Excellence Awards earlier this year. What does winning this award mean to you, your council, and your community?

This award is a great recognition of our council's ability to respond positively to the needs of our community in a compassionate and mutually beneficial way. We joined local government to help our community, and for me, it was rewarding to offer something so innovative, compassionate, and flexible to suit their needs.

Our Council was the first in South Australia to introduce Payble, and it has been a pleasure to offer such a simple, adaptable, and modern first-to-market product, that has been so well received by our community, especially when financial assistance is appreciated.

The community's response has been overwhelmingly positive, with tens of thousands of transactions made using this platform. The feedback has been enormously favourable, with our community welcoming the ability to manage their rates payments with flexibility, dignity, and convenience, especially as the cost-of-living pressures rise.

What advice would you give someone considering nominating for an award in the future?

Don't hesitate. We often think that projects need to be enormous undertakings to be worthy of awards, especially when compared to the impressive work done by other councils. However, it's important to have confidence in the value and impact of what you have offered your community.

Are you interested in nominating for an Award? Nominations for the 24^th Annual Leadership Excellence Awards are now open. Nominate today!

City of West Torrens Financial Services team (Pictured L-R): Liz Bailey, Lisa Gilmartin, Leta Northcott, Kim Lennard, Paul Della.

We caught up with one of this year's Emerging Leaders Program participants, David Sboro, Team Leader Environmental Health, City of Marion, to find out how he enjoyed the program.

What made you sign up for the Emerging Leaders Program?

I wanted to stretch myself as a leader, which coincided with starting a new role in leadership. This was perfect timing as I was going to learn whilst on the job! The content for the program looked to specifically build skills within the local government industry. Once I started speaking with previous ELP graduates, it became clear how beneficial the program was going to be for leaders in our sector.

The last cohort-led module focused on sustainability – as an Environmental Health Officer, what were some of your takeaways from this module? 

Circular economies and how little things matter. We all have a role to play, whether it be advocating for regulations or adopting models, It all adds up. I also enjoyed being part of the group that delivered this module. We secured three great speakers presenting a range of topics, including financial sustainability relating to funding models as well as opportunities for innovative, sustainable, and climate-resilient developments.

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

Do it! If you are wanting to build leadership capability, extend your local government knowledge and think more broadly, then this is the program for you. The program has a great mix of theory and practical components which made it easy to apply back at the workplace. Building my local government network was an added benefit, as I’ve been able to connect with counterparts across local government to share resources and ideas for common topics.

David Sboro
Team Leader Environmental Health
City of Marion

WORKFORCE AND GENDER EQUALITY IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROJECT

The Workforce and Gender Equality Project is nearing completion with the final report due to be submitted to the LGA Research and Development Scheme in February 2025.

WOMEN OF COLOUR REPORT RELEASED

This month we are highlighting a recently published research report from Women of Colour Australia. This report is not specific to local government and combines qualitative and quantitative data to apply an intersectional lens to the experiences of women of colour in Australian workplaces.

Many approaches to Gender Equality, including our project, focus primarily on gender. There is a need for an improved approach to collecting data to ensure that all sectors of our workforce are valued and not further marginalised. This report is thought-provoking and well worth a read to inspire change.

You can read the report here: Women of Colour in Australian Workplaces: longitudinal research report published October 2024.

WORKPLACE GENDER EQUALITY AGENCY SCORECARD RELEASED

Also, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has just released its 2023-2024 Scorecard. The scorecard is released annually and provides an update on the state of workplace gender equality in Australia. Local government workforce data is not reported to WGEA, but the scorecard is a good indicator of trends and the increase in positive actions being taken by employing organisations.

You can read the scorecard here: Australia's Gender Equality Scorecard published November 2024.

This project has been supported by the Local Government Research and Development Scheme administered by LGA South Australia.

EXECUTIVE LEADERS PROGRAM - DEADLINE EXTENDED

Program commences Wednesday 29 January 2025

The Executive Leaders Program is suited for those in senior leadership roles looking to expand their leadership impact. It spans 3 months and is spread over 2 intensive 3-day blocks, plus several short live virtual classroom sessions, equating to just 6 days out of the office.

The program has been developed to:

• Enhance complex and adaptive thinking capabilities of senior leaders and executives in the local government sector to best navigate the future
• Increase capabilities to generate solutions to complex problems in an agile way
• Challenge assumptions and perspectives
• Build the mental and emotional resilience necessary to manage complexity and ambiguity
• Cultivate the skills to navigate volatile environments with confidence and clarity.

If you'd like to watch a recording of the Information Session, have questions or would like to chat through what participation might look like for you, please contact Rhiannon Clarke, Chief Executive Officer on 0448 490 027 or rhiannon@lgprofessionalssa.org.au.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PROGRAM - ONLY TWO PLACES REMAINING!
Program commences Thursday 6 February 2025

Developed in partnership with the University of South Australia and local government experts, the Strategic Management Program has been designed to build high-level leadership and management skills within a local government context. Participants will develop technical skills to manage business functions, enhancing innovation, strategic thinking, business acumen and operational excellence.

The program has been developed to:

• Explore challenges facing senior managers in a local government context
• Broaden leadership skillsets
• Assist managers in seeing the ‘bigger picture’
• Enhance business acumen skills to drive efficiencies and effectiveness
• Develop the essential technical skills required to manage core business functions
• Develop enhanced analytical and problem-solving capabilities
• Stimulate robust discussions and build networks for sharing and collaboration across the local government sector.

If you'd like to watch a recording of the Information Session, please email Eve Jackson, Training Support Officer on eve@lgprofessionalssa.org.au.

EMERGING LEADERS PROGRAM
Registrations open Wednesday 15 January 2025
Program commences May 2025

Our extremely popular Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) is heading into its 20th year. Each year a cohort of 28 emerging leaders across the sector undertake a 7-month experiential learning program, consisting of 8 modules plus a group project. 

The ELP aims to provide participants with the following:

• A greater level of comprehension and understanding of local government
  
• Increased understanding of leadership concepts and practices and how to integrate the learnings into the workplace
  
• Increased confidence
  
• Enhanced self-awareness
  
• An appreciation of and an ability to work with different personality types
  
• The opportunity to challenge their assumptions.

This experiential leadership learning program is suitable for emerging leaders Coordinators, Team Leaders, and people with high potential.

This program sells out quickly every year! We encourage you to express your interest in this program to your People and Culture team as soon as possible to assist in securing your place in the program once registrations open in January. 

If you'd like to watch a recording of the Information Session, please email Eve Jackson, Training Support Officer on eve@lgprofessionalssa.org.au. 

WOMEN'S CAREER CATALYST PROGRAM
Program commences Thursday 20 February 2025
Registrations close Friday 31 January 2025

Unlock your potential and transform your leadership journey with the
LG Professionals SA Career Catalyst Program - where female leaders build lasting legacies without sacrificing their values or wellbeing.

Designed to be highly interactive with an emphasis on peer learning, the Women's Career Catalyst Program is made up of a virtual orientation session, a two-day in-person workshop and three virtual implementation sessions, which provide ongoing accountability, the opportunity to troubleshoot, experiment, celebrate successes and share insights and support with co-participants.

WOMEN'S CAREER NAVIGATOR PROGRAM
Program commences Wednesday 19 March 2025
Registrations close Friday 31 January 2025

The LG Professionals SA Career Navigator Program supports women to develop a strong, authentic professional identity and approach their career and work with positivity and proactivity.

The program equips participants with the knowledge, skills and confidence to:

• Build their professional presence and profile
• Maintain their cool in stressful and challenging situations
• Understand and navigate organisational politics and team dynamics with integrity
• Apply a Growth Mindset to personal and professional challenges to build resilience and wellbeing
• Set and pursue personal and professional goals.

Designed to be highly interactive, with an emphasis on peer learning, the Career Navigator Program will equip you with skills and tools to dial down your inner critic, build your career courage and take charge of your life and career.

This program is suitable for aspiring leaders, women with high potential, women who may not wish to move into more senior roles, but who want to build their professional profile and cultivate greater influence and impact in the workplace.

YOUR NEEDS, YOUR MEMBERSHIP

2. GROW YOUR NETWORKS

Our Networks help you create lasting connections with peers who share a common idea or experience. Information, support, awareness and defining the future of your area starts here.

Learn more about what your LG Professionals SA Membership offers you. 

NEW MEMBERS

Welcome to our 33 new members! Click here to see the list.

We look forward to providing support and professional development and networking
opportunities through every stage of your local government career.

This month we spoke with Bree Moore, Horticulturalist, City of Charles Sturt, about her career journey so far, her biggest takeaways from the 2024
LG Professionals SA Women's Network Conference, and her favourite native plant in the City of Charles Sturt.

How long have you been in local government and what is your role?

I have been in local government for close to a year and a half now and work as a Horticulturist for the City of Charles Sturt. In my role, I maintain parks and garden spaces for the local community and find it super rewarding. Read more...

Bree Moore

Horticulturalist
City of Charles Sturt

REFLECTIONS FROM THE LG PROFESSIONALS SA BUSINESS PERFORMANCE AND IMPROVEMENT NETWORK FORUM
By Michael Mallamo, Network Chair of the Business Performance and Improvement Network and Coordinator, Strategic Planning at City of Adelaide

The last Forum for 2024 was held for the Business Performance and Improvement Network at the City of Adelaide on 28 November. More than 50 online and in-person attendees came together to holistically consider reporting and community engagement through “360 Degree Feedback – connecting community engagement, performance and innovation”.

The afternoon session was split into three main components:

Innovation Bites – where we heard from the City of Unley, City of Holdfast Bay, Mount Barker District Council and the City of West Torrens. The insights shared from the councils showed the breadth of work being done in this space – from customer-focused and end-user ‘in mind’ performance dashboards, to in-house built AI chat engines that support staff efficiency and manage risk, to market and customer research that is supporting informed decision making.

Community Engagement 2.0 – key speakers Andrew from the MySite Group and Simone from the City of Adelaide, presented on trends and big ideas for community engagement. They provided thought-provoking ideas, such as citizen empowerment, low barrier engagement, Artificial Intelligence and what challenges we face with ‘big data’. Attendees walked away with a challenge to work together to share our knowledge and how we can leverage data, AI and our grass-roots connections to build informed decisions and trust and true community-led engagement.

World Café – the Forum ended with an interactive ‘round-table’ discussion, providing attendees an opportunity to consider challenges and aspirations around reporting, innovation, engagement and AI. What was great to see at these discussions, is the similarity from each table on their ideas – showing that the challenges we face and the ideas we have to solve these are shared across our sector.

From this Forum we’ve learned that there is a strong willingness in our sector to share ideas and solutions and work together to better our organisations and communities.

LG PROFESSIONALS SA SPONSORSHIP AND CORPORATE PARTNERSHIP

Do you work for or know an organisation who would be interested in gaining exposure to local government professionals through sponsorship with LG Professionals SA? 

As a not-for-profit association, LG Professionals SA rely on the support of sponsors to be able to continue to deliver the range of high quality events and professional development programs that we are known for.

Partnering with sponsors also creates opportunities for our members to learn, build
relationships and receive best value.

ABOUT LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROFESSIONALS AUSTRALIA, SA

LG Professionals SA is a not-for-profit member based association representing professionals working in local government in South Australia. 

We have the ability to link and connect people from different councils who may not otherwise form relationships or share. 

Our high quality professional development programs and networking events are uniquely local government – reflective of the culture of the sector and sensitive to the needs of its
professionals. 

The content of our events and programs are informed by our members and people who
genuinely care about the sector. 

We provide a safe and supportive environment in which to grow and learn while creating
opportunities to make time away from the office to work on the business or on self. 

We award and acknowledge achievements of excellence.

LG Professionals SA | 148 Frome Street, Adelaide SA 5000 | Phone: 08 8224 2080
www.lgprofessionalssa.org.au

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