It’s important we don’t forget the world of academia when we talk about leadership. How the workforce and the CEOs of tomorrow are educated is fundamental to our own prosperity and the ultimate prosperity of the nation, so it was great to talk to an eminent leader in the education field.
Belinda McLennan is the chair of the VET Development Centre: a publicly-funded adult education body in Victoria. Starting out as a teacher, she worked her way up into a number of leadership roles, including CEO at Tasmanian Polytechnic, Deputy Director TAFE at Victoria University and COO of AMES Australia.
Belinda’s curiosity about how leaders developed within these organisations inspired her to study for a doctorate. It was very interesting to pick her brains about the theory behind leadership in education, and then how this kind of learning can be applied in the workplace. The latter part of this equation is often overlooked across all walks of life… Do you really give yourself enough time to debrief and reflect after a learning moment? Belinda certainly knows how.
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Episode Highlights:
- How executive leadership works in the education sector
- How Belinda helps run an organisation that is publicly funded but has to operate as a commercial venture
- The importance of adult education
- How to gain leadership skills via work-based learning
- The difference between leadership theory and practice
- How to make the most of learning
- The importance of a period of reflection after a meeting or learning moment
- How Belinda adjusted from an operational role during the day and a governance role on a board in the evening
- How a CEO needs to change their mindset to become a good chair
- The challenge of adapting learning in a digital age where people prefer to upskill in short bursts
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