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EMERGENT Leadership Program

The Aquatics and Recreation Victoria Leadership Program EMERGENT is a dynamic professional development program for aquatics and leisure professionals to grow as industry leaders.

ARV Platinum Sponsor, Perfect Gym, has generously supported EMERGENT in 2024.

Vision

The vision for the ARV Leadership Program is to develop leaders from across the sector who have the passion and drive to contribute to the growth, success and excellence of the sector across Victoria.

GOALS

The goals of the ARV Leadership Program are to:

Develop collective leadership within the sector.
Build the future of the Aquatics and Recreation industry.
Provide a practical learning and development opportunity for industry leaders.
Provide candidates with the tools and frameworks they need to be more impactful and influential leaders.
Enhance personal and team effectiveness.
Connect current and emerging leaders with industry mentors with proven leadership experience and impact within the sector to encourage knowledge sharing and foster succession planning.
Enhance networking opportunities across the sector.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

to provide engaging and practical learning and development opportunities relevant to leadership and management, and relevant to the Aquatic and Recreation sector
to introduce participants to various frameworks and tools to support participants to be confident and effective leaders
to integrate learnings from the associated ARV Master Classes and the industry mentoring elements of the program
to foster constructive networking opportunities within the participants group and within the broader sector.

The EMERGENT approach and materials will support participants to explore and reflect on key leadership and management concepts, and to develop competencies relevant for emerging leaders working within the Victorian aquatics and leisure sector.

Program Content

The EMERGENT program is for aspiring and current leaders who seek an innovative approach to leadership development to drive innovation and growth in their careers.

Course content is categorised under three main pillars:

Maximising your Strength	Authentic Leadership	Leading Others
Self-awareness Purpose, Strengths and Values based leadership Networking and relationship building Gratitude and reflection	What is leadership? Leadership and Management Frameworks Your story Organisational Roles, Culture and Systems Leading Change Accountability and Authority Teamwork and Internal Collaboration	Mechanisms and dynamics of leadership Understanding environments Personal boards 100 day plans Building effective teams

2024 Program Guide

Mentoring - A key component of the EMERGENT Program

Mentors

Most successful people can point to one or more people that have been particularly important to their growth and development during their career.

These people are mentors. Mentors help to solve problems, provide insight, teach a new skill, guide and support. Mentors also benefit from the mentoring relationship.

Apart of the EMERGENT program is connecting candidates with inspirational industry mentors who can assist candidates with their growth and learnings. As a mentor, you will have the opportunity to share your wisdom and experiences, evolve your thinking, develop a new relationship, and deepen your skills as a mentor and coach.

Potential candidates are required, as part of their program application, to nominate a suitable mentor from within their organisation. The nominated mentor will be considered to mentor an EMERGENT candidate from another organisation.

Nominated mentors may be endorsed by senior management and may not have a direct working relationship with the potential candidate. Mentors will only be required to provide one hour per month of their time to the program. Please see the Mentor Information Guide for further information on Mentor requirements.

"Being a mentor for the 2022 Emergent Program provided me with an opportunity to listen, learn, support and engage. Getting to know my mentee and supporting them through the program was thoroughly rewarding. I had the opportunity to develop my skills further and be challenged outside of my regular work environment, and as a bonus I met some terrific people within the industry!"

Lucia Brennan

Manager, Community Infrastructure Projects | Sport and Recreation Victoria, Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions

Mentor Guide

Mentor Application

"As a mentor in the 2022 program I personally got a lot out of my participation. It felt good to give a little back to the industry which has nurtured and supported me, and provided me with so many opportunities. The ARV mentor program was a truly ‘global’ industry initiative bringing together management groups and local government in an open learning forum. I met with my mentee every month where we would spend time digging deep into real life; fantastic conversations that stripped away conventional tiers to get the heart of issues and challenges. I really got a lot out of this reflective practice – dare I say, as much as my mentee. I would highly recommend this opportunity to all in the industry."

Amanda Locke

Manager, Leisure and Recreation Services, City of Greater Geelong

Program Details - Key dates, cost, inclusions

EMERGENT is being run in partnership with Jim Plunkett.

The EMERGENT program is an investment into the future leaders in the Aquatic and Recreation Industry.

Investment: the cost of the program will be $1,500 for ARV members and $1,900 for non-members. GST inclusive.

Participants will be required to attend EMERGENT courses both in person and online.

The course program is outlined below and provides a variety of program activities. Masterclasses and workshops will be conducted face-to-face. Group coaching sessions will be conducted online. Mentoring sessions can take place online if the mentor chooses to do so.

Key Dates:

Applications open	25 March, 2024
Applications close	23 April, 2024
Successful applicants notified	Week of 29th April, 2024
Mentor briefing - online meeting
Industry mentors and participants connected
Workshop 1	16 May, 2024
Small Group Coaching - Leadership Behaviour Profile debrief	Late May, 2024
ARV Masterclass 1 - Working Together for a Better Industry	11 June, 2024
Small Group Coaching with leadership facilitator	Late June, 2024
Workshop 2	16 July, 2024
ARV Masterclass 2 - Strategy for Excellence	13 August, 2024
Small Group Coaching with leadership facilitator	Late August, 2024
Workshop 3	12 September, 2024
ARV Masterclass 3 - Future Shaping	24 October, 2024
Workshop 4 - Program Graduation and Celebratory Lunch	22 November, 2024

Program Inclusions

Your Leadership Behaviour Profile
Leadership Profile debrief
3 x In-person workshops
Graduation event
3 x In-person ARV Masterclasses
2 x 1-hr small group coaching sessions (online)
Limited to 25 participants
Program materials
An allocated ARV-member mentor with proven industry experience and sector impact for the duration of the program, matched with your leadership motivational profile attributes.

Participant Prerequisites

Prerequisites

Candidates must:

Have a minimum of 12 months experience in the sector in a leadership role.
Attend and actively participate in all workshops and masterclasses to graduate.
Commit to proactively managing their relationship with their mentor for the duration of the program. Candidates are to meet at least monthly with their mentor.

Application to Participate

Application

Applications are required to be endorsed by the applicants' organisation, the EMERGENT program is designed to benefit both the candidate's future and the organisation the candidate is employed by. The skills that will be developed by the candidate through the EMERGENT program will be able to contribute to the organisation's role in continuing to better the industry.

The EMERGENT application requires the applying candidates details, an endorsement from the candidates manager and details of the organisations nominated mentor.

EMERGENT is exclusively limited to 25 future industry leaders, candidates will be chosen based off their application, through the application we are wanting to learn about candidates experience within the industry as a leader so far and how the candidate believes the program will benefit them and their future in the industry.

Participant Application Form - Applications Close: 23 April 2024