2010 Sydney Leadership Program

Social Leadership Australia will launch its 2010 Sydney Leadership Program at a free information evening in Sydney on Tuesday 8 September, 2009.

Now in its 11th year, ‘The Sydney Leadership Program’ was established in 1999 by The Benevolent Society to develop leaders to drive social change. The Sydney Leadership Program is a ten month social leadership program for senior decision-makers who want to lead change in their own communities, organisations and spheres of influence. Participants learn what it means to exercise leadership.

The award-winning program is unique in Australia and is delivered in a highly experiential learning style and draws extensively on the adaptive leadership model developed at Harvard. In contrast to traditional models, adaptive leadership views leadership as an activity rather than a position. Sydney Leadership turns the conventional notion of the ‘charismatic leader’ on its head and introduces new thinking about what it means to exercise true leadership in complex and challenging situations on a personal, organisational and societal level.

Each year The Sydney Leadership Program offers a transformational learning experience for 30 talented individuals from the corporate, not-for-profit and government sectors.

Participants explore the complexities of a range of social challenges and examine their own purpose and values. They also learn how to:

• take effective, sustained action;
• survive the pressures of leadership; and
• understand and work effectively with group dynamics.

Graduates become part of a network and continue to share ideas and to work together to create real social impact. Speakers include a range of program graduates and directors.

The Sydney Leadership Program has a track record for creating and delivering innovative leadership development and anyone interested in the program is welcome to attend the free information evening on 8 September.

When: Tuesday 8th September, 6.30pm – 8.00pm (refreshments served from 6.00pm)
Where: St James Hall, Level 1, 169 Phillip Street, Sydney
RSVP: 02 9339 8000.

For more information visit the website http://www.bensoc.org.au/director/whatwedo/socialleadershipaustralia.cfm

Teen Fiction: Surf Sisters by Laurine Croasdale

Reading Surf Sisters sent me back to my teenage life, a time when wet hair, zinc cream and the warm smell of wax was de rigueur in our coastal town. It also sent me back to the sisterhood of teen friendship – the strong connection forged between friends, the occasional hiccups and of course, the ever present focus on boys.

Marlee, Tilly, Pink and Fran are consummate coastal girls with a keen love of the surf. Pink (real name Jasmine) comes from a wealthy surf-label family and has dreams of creating her own surfwear line. Marlee and Tilly are surfers with supreme potential, and Fran’s talent is in filming all the heart-pumping action.

When Pink’s father, Mitch, announces the inaugural Island Breeze Freeze-Out comp for female surfers, Marlee is stunned to receive a wildcard invitation to participate. The only trouble is, the comp will be held at Shipwreck, a legendary break in Western Australia. Being an east coast girl, and coming from little money, Marlee has no idea how to raise enough money to get to the coast.

Pink, along with Fran and Tilly (who will also compete), decide to come to their friend’s aid by hosting a massive beach party, which raises enough funds to get Marlee to the west coast.

With her transportation troubles over, Marlee has fresh troubles to worry about. Not only has she pushed away boyfriend Kyle in an attempt to focus on her training, but when she arrives in WA, she also pushes away her friends – believing that she needs to be alone to really concentrate on the challenge before her. Read more

Cookbook Review: Little Vietnam by Nhut Huynh

I can still remember the moment I slid my teeth into my very first Vietnamese rice paper roll.

I can feel the soft, dry, sticky exterior on my lips and tongue. I can feel the slight give of the sheet as my teeth enter the interior of the roll, and the tang of the fragrant dipping sauce on the tip and sides of my tongue.

I can feel the crunch sensation of the Vietnamese mint, the vermicelli, and the al dente vegetables inside. And I can sense the burst of flavour and freshness as it zips up my nose and does crazy things to my brain.

There is nothing – nothing on earth – like a Vietnamese rice paper roll. But, of course, that is not the only dish from Vietnam that will curl your toes and send your eyeballs skyward.

When traveling through Vietnam with our children, many years after I declared Vietnamese my favourite cuisine (followed very closely by Japanese), I was very fortunate to have an experience that remains one of the most precious of my life. It was the experience of cooking real Vietnamese food with my eight-year-old daughter at a cooking school near the central coast town of Hoi An. Read more

Playtime: Activities for Little Children that can Make a Big Difference

Most of us know someone that is ‘great with kids’. With a magnetic force akin to the Pied Piper, they can be spotted a mile away – an expressive look on their face, animated gestures flailing, and a hovering horde of little people at their feet, hanging on their every word. Not all of us will fall into this category, adoring of our children though we may be.

Author and ex-teacher Elspeth Richards does fall into this category and she’s sharing her secret. Elspeth and her daughter, Fiona Richards, have translated her natural flair for fun into a practical how-to-play guide for parents of children aged one to five. Playtime is the mother and daughter duo’s book debut, the result of a few years spent researching and sharing ideas about play via email, skype, and across continents. Read more

Everyday Ways Parents can Develop their Children’s Literacy and Numeracy

National Literacy and Numeracy Week (NLNW) will be held from 31 August to 6 September 2009 across Australia. The theme for the Week in 2009 is Getting the Basics Right.

The aim of NLNW is to promote the importance of literacy and numeracy as fundamental life skills. The week gives schools the opportunity to get involved in a range of activities and to recognise locally the achievements of students and the work of teachers, parents and members of the community who support young people to develop stronger literacy and numeracy skills. For more information visit the website www.literacyandnumeracy.gov.au

Parents can also support NLNW by becoming more involved in their children’s literacy and numeracy development so they can help contribute to their children’s educational achievements.

“The everyday interactions and involvement of parents in their children’s lives can make a vital contribution to children’s learning and educational achievement,” says Australian Scholarship Group’s Community Adviser, Ms Michelle Hunder.

“Sometimes parents forget what a powerful resource and environment the family is for children and it’s up to them to assist with the development of their children’s learning. Teachers, early childhood centres, and schools can’t be held fully responsible for children’s learning, they need family support to help children achieve their best,” said Ms Hunder.

The Australian Scholarship Group (ASG) has released a tip sheet showing parents how easy it is to support their children’s literacy and numeracy in effective everyday ways that don’t interfere with their busy schedules. ASG encourages parents to turn everyday activities into teaching opportunities to help enhance a child’s knowledge and comprehension. Read more

Art Competition for Breast Cancer Survivors

The Westmead Breast Cancer Institute has launched a new national art competition, the Mural of Survivorship, at the inaugural Ray of Hope fundraising dinner.

The competition, open to all those affected by breast cancer and their family and friends, has been created to celebrate ‘survivorship’ – the term used to describe the time from diagnosis of breast cancer.

The Westmead Breast Cancer Institute is a leader in the provision of cancer care in Australia with multidisciplinary research, clinical care, breast cancer screening, early detection, diagnosis, treatment and follow up. The Ray of Hope is the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute’s fundraising campaign which aims to support women with breast cancer today and every day, providing much needed funds for ongoing patient initiatives. The Mural of Survivorship is an example of one of the many patient programs implemented by the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute to provide support for women and their families.

Director of the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute, Professor John Boyages said the Mural of Survivorship competition has been developed to provide women with breast cancer, and their loved ones a creative and healing platform to share their pain, laughter and experiences.

“Better screening and advances in treatment mean that many more women are surviving breast cancer. This art competition celebrates this achievement and acknowledges that all breast cancer patients are survivors,” Professor Boyages said.

A website has been created for the competition at www.muralofsurvivorship.com.au and all forms of art will be accepted including photography, drawing, painting and sculpture. Read more

Education for Women in Franchising

Women in Franchising (WIF), an initiative of the Franchise Council of Australia, and Westpac have partnered together to provide more education on business matters for women in the franchising industry.

WIF Committee Chair Kate Johnson said the FCA’s research findings were the main reason behind WIF’s decision to form the partnership.

“Through research the FCA has found that people in franchising, and especially women in the industry, are looking for more business advice and education opportunities,” she said.

The FCA’s most recent survey was administered to 2,995 current individual members of the FCA and of those that responded 42.2 per cent wanted franchising advice, 33.8 per cent wanted webinars, 54.7 per cent wanted an online library and 50.3 per cent wanted more networking events as value-added benefits. Respondents also indicated the education courses and seminar topics of most interest to them were Strategic Management (60.8 per cent), Leadership (53.4 per cent), Financial Management (50.7 per cent) and Marketing (49.3 per cent). Read more

Six Figures Expands Offering to Deliver Executives More

Six Figures, the Executive Job site for $100K+ jobs and talent jobs across all industries and professions, has launched a new website design and expanded the offering to include Executive Jobs, News and Services.

Due to growing demand by high salary earners for more specific career and industry related content, Six Figures is meeting demand by catering for additional aspects of a professional’s career, with career development, directorships, education and industry news forming a part of its extended offering.

Since launching in March 2008, Six Figures, Australia’s only stand alone executive job site, has grown to over 25,000 members ($100K+ job seekers) and over 300 advertisers spanning government, education, corporate and recruitment firms. With a focus on quality, service and building relationships the site is continuing to grow and deliver success to both members and our advertisers in sourcing top passive talent via their job ads. Read more

This Week’s Top Jobs No 67

Each week we publish the latest six figure jobs available in Australia and the UK for executives and senior professionals across all industries. To view these and more positions vacant, register FREE with www.sixfigures.com.au today!

Hudson – National Transformer Service Manager, $170K+ (Sydney NSW)
* A world leader in power and automation technologies
* A national role
* A package of $170,000 on offer

Hudson – Market Risk Manager, $130K+ (Sydney NSW)
* Major Commercial Bank
* Dynamic, entrepreneurial environment
* Exciting career prospects

Hudson – Operations Manager – Substation Automation Systems, $200K+ (Parramatta NSW)
* Over 100 years of combined experience in power transmission and distribution
* A regional role reporting to the MD
* Circa $200,000+ package

Hudson – Senior Distribution Manager – Supply Chain, $130K+ (Sydney NSW)
* Global organisation
* Leading Consumer organisation
* Substantial six figure package

Quadrant Recruitment – Operations Manager – Electrical, $150K+ (Silverwater NSW)
Operations Manager with major electrical contracting experience wanted by this rapidly expanding company to lead and guide the NSW team

Test Manager, $140K+ (Sydney NSW)
Test Manager Enterprise Web applications. Mixture of .NET and Java technologies. Hands on plus strategic focus. True career opportunity with a strategic focus.

Building Services Manager/Commissioning Manager, $150K+ (Perth WA)
* Perth based role
* $100m project
* 1st tier Contractor, Building Services Manager/Commissioning Manager

Project Engineer – WA, $120K+ (Perth WA)
* Excellent remuneration package
* Work for friendly and supportive organisation
* Gain valuable industry knowledge
* This is a rare opportunity to be involved in the civil infrastructure operations.

To view all $100K+ jobs and contracts, go to Six Figures Jobs.

Australian Women Under Pressure to be the Perfect Mother

More than one in five Australian mothers feel intense pressure to ‘have it all’ – balancing career, baby, partner and social life within the first 12 months of their child’s life, according to a recent survey by The Baby Show*.

The Baby Show Mother Load Barometer has found Australian mothers feel overwhelmed by social expectations and information; often leading to ‘mother’s guilt’.

The Barometer found mums feel the most pressure to achieve developmental milestones in baby’s life (31%), Read more

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