After the success of its inaugural Leadership Academy event – “Performance by Design” by Rohan Taylor (head coach of the Australian Dolphins swimming team) earlier this year, A.G. Coombs’ was proud to host the second in its series of Leadership Academy events at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 14 May.

Titled “Innovation Culture”, the second Leadership Academy event brought together more than 60 A.G. Coombs team members from across the Group of Companies, combining a presentation with active involvement and hands-on exercises to give participants the opportunity to learn, contribute and experiment in an informative, insightful and enjoyable environment.

Culture and diversity at the core of innovation

Focusing on developing and leveraging a culture of innovation across the organisation, the event was facilitated by innovation practitioners
Jason Clarke and Lisa Smith from Minds at Work. After an initial introduction by A. G. Coombs Group Managing Director, Russell Telford, who emphasised the three A.G. Coombs pillars of leadership – role model behaviour; peer influence; and creating the environment for others to thrive and achieve their personal best – Jason and Lisa led the group through an entertaining exploration of the history of industry disruption, why making things better by making them different is the key to innovation and the importance of culture to success.

Applying new leadership skills and knowledge across the business

The practical and fun workshop that followed garnered exceptional feedback from attendees. They appreciated the opportunity to not only participate, but also to be able to take the knowledge they received and share it with their teams to change the way they develop, evaluate and action new ideas to accelerate and enhance the value of innovation in the workplace.

“The important thing I will take back to my team today is the clear recognition that everybody is different and good at different things – from idea to development through to evaluation and action – it’s about creating a structure where everyone can contribute,” commented Bryon Price, A.G. Coombs Strategic Development Director.

“Some of the tools that Jason and Lisa shared with us were really practical steps in how we can set up a meeting, who to invite and how we structure it, and it is something I will apply,” said Serge Kraskov, A.G. Coombs Sales & Estimating Manager (Major Projects).

“Make things better by making things different’ is a concept that really stuck with me. We don’t have to come up with the biggest or the best ideas because there’s lots of good things we can just make better with the ideas we already have,” mentioned Julie Brookhouse, A.G. Coombs Contract Administration Team Leader.

“From a leadership point of view, it provided a great framework for us to harness our team members to create new ideas in a safe environment and cultivate innovation and ideas,” concluded Terri Hosking, Integrated Technical Management Special Projects.

The Leadership Academy strives to continually develop A.G. Coombs’ people both personally and professionally – providing them with access to a series of special events and other unique resources that will expand their knowledge and help them make a meaningful contribution to the organisation’s high- performance culture.