Council team takes on management challenge

Published on 15 July 2020

Five Gannawarra Shire Council team members have represented the municipality in a renowned Australasian competition.

Team Leader Parks and Gardens, Blake Anderson; Manager Community Engagement, Paul Fernee; Team Leader Rural Roads, Jon Haw; Civil Projects Officer, Leigh Hollingworth and Executive Assistant to the CEO, Melissa Scott have spent the past few months preparing for participation in the Australasian Management Challenge, which culminated in a day-long remote event on 14 July.

“The Australasian Management Challenge is a development program that provides real life problem solving experiences and produces outcomes that translate into relevant, tangible and enduring benefits for people, teams and organisations,” Council Chief Executive Officer, Tom O’Reilly said.

“This is the first time that Council has taken part in the challenge, which has been at the forefront of professional development in local government in Australia and New Zealand for more than 25 years. Typically more than 100 councils from across Australia and New Zealand compete annually in this elite competition.”

Mentored by Council’s Director of Community Wellbeing, Stacy Williams, the team – known as Warra Wharfies – spent the weeks leading up to the event getting to know each other's strengths and weaknesses, which assisted in developing strategies. Participants also needed to complete a Pre-Challenge Task that is counted towards the team's final assessment.

“The event on 14 July saw teams challenged to respond to a series of tasks in a unique one-day, fast paced, ‘pressure cooker’ environment,” Mr O’Reilly said.

“Some tasks required written responses, such as a council report or recommendation document, whilst other elements took on the form of role plays or presentations.

“Council congratulates this team for taking up the challenge of participating this year and looks forward to putting another team forward to represent the Gannawarra at this annual event.”

 ABOVE: Blake Anderson (left), Leigh Hollingworth, Jon Haw, Melissa Scott and Paul Fernee represented Gannawarra Shire Council in the Australasian Management Challenge, which culminated in a day-long remote event on 14 July.