New here? Welcome.
This blog unpacks the inner workings of local democracy in the Kiama local government area. I am not a councillor or council staffer. I am a long-time community member, former civics writer for the local newspaper, and someone who has spent decades in leadership, founding a national charity, completing world-class leadership programs, and training hundreds of emerging changemakers.
What that experience gave me was not just confidence in my own skill set. It taught me something far more valuable. Great leadership is knowing what you bring to the table and then surrounding yourself with people who fill the gaps. It is building a team of “we” people, not “I” people. People who understand that progress is collaborative, that community outcomes are shared, and that leadership is not about being the smartest person in the room, but about listening to the smartest people in the room.
That is the standard we should expect from anyone who puts their hand up to lead.
This blog exists to ask hard questions, share hard truths, and shine a light where it is most needed.
Why I wouldn’t hire myself as CEO and why that matters
For 20 years, I led a charity that offered leadership training to hundreds of emerging voices across rural and regional Australia. I have completed extraordinary programs from the Melbourne Business School to global executive intensives and yet I still would not hire myself as the CEO of a major organisation.
Why? Because those courses taught me something uncomfortable and essential. Great leadership is not about confidence. It is about having the capacity to recognise the people who can deliver the outcomes our community deserves, and, most importantly, to identify the “I” people. The ones who have not done the work and do not understand what shared leadership truly means.
This matters because communities pay the price when leadership becomes about ego.
“I” people focus on self-preservation, not solutions. They stall progress, weaken trust, and erode the culture of shared responsibility. Real leadership ensures the right people are empowered, the community’s needs are prioritised, and decisions are guided by collaboration rather than personal ambition.
What I find deeply troubling is this. In all my observations of Kiama Municipal Council, I am not seeing anyone who has put themselves forward for any form of recognised leadership training. Not one. And we are expected to trust them to lead a one hundred million dollar organisation.
That is not brave. That is not capable. That is reckless.
So what should we look for in a 21st century leader, especially one applying to run a council?
Here is the skill set I believe should be non-negotiable.
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Emotional intelligence and self-awareness
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Systems thinking
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Stakeholder engagement
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Adaptive leadership
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Transparency and accountability
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Public value mindset
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Commitment to lifelong learning
Let us stop accepting untrained leadership as good enough.
If you were hiring a surgeon, you would check their qualifications. If you were hiring a pilot, you would want to know they had done the flight hours. But with leadership, qualifications alone are not enough. The real test is capacity, the ability to bring people together, set a clear direction, and deliver outcomes with integrity.
Why should the CEO of a local government, responsible for planning, services, staff culture, finances, and infrastructure, be held to a lower standard? Communities need leaders who can demonstrate both the knowledge and the skill to lead, not simply hold a credential or a title. Anything less puts the community at risk.
It is time we asked for more. And it starts by asking one simple question.
Is the leadership we have what our community needs and deserves?
#LeadershipMatters #PublicLeadership #LocalGovernment #KiamaCouncil #CivicAccountability #CommunityFirst #EthicalLeadership