The Centre for Leadership Excellence is a centre for learning, creativity and personal and professional development to promote excellence in leadership, learning and life. Established as a Centre in 2008, it represents the culmination of over 30 years evolution as a provider of professional leadership, management, strategic facilitation, learning and development services to complex organisations. We have extensive experience in the design, development and delivery of training in all forms. The Centre brings together the skills of several people who have provided leadership, management, business and education consultancy services and capacity building training programs to a wide range of government departments, universities and private sector enterprises. Our consultants have been working together for over a decade and have established sound relationships with clients and with each other.
The Centre operates as a collaborative alliance of industry specialists in training and development throughout Australia who share a methodology for situated learning and development, ethical practice and personal and professional excellence. This means that we focus on what people need to know and be able to do in-situ, most often in their workplace with their real issues as the subject of learning. We then draw in relevant types of learning as appropriate. This creates a powerful, integrated approach to development that complements off-site workshops and seminars and ensures the application of skills transfer into the workplace. From a situated development perspective, our involvement with an organisation occurs at multiple levels from multiple angles. Each connection can range from Section and Branch involvement to full Divisions and whole organisations to individuals, and when combined becomes extremely useful to the client.
We offer a holistic solution to the many issues and challenges facing people in all dimensions of life, be it workplace related or in the personal realm. We place a high priority on relationship management with our clients and getting to ‘know their business’ is critical for providing customised development relevant to their particular situation. We work in partnership with our clients to integrate learning and professional excellence into the workplace, and leadership excellence into their personal lives. We take pride in the skills transfer that eventuates from working with Centre consultants. We do this through working alongside staff in-situ, through coaching and through mentoring. Several of our partnerships have resulted in Australia Day Awards for the projects we have worked on together. Our coaching experience is extensive and we continue to coach at the middle management and executive levels of the Australian Public Service and with business owners of private enterprises.
Our mission is to influence aspiring leaders to provide a compelling vision for their organisation through effective stewardship, amplified consciousness and self knowledge. In a workplace shaped by values-centred leadership, the goals and values of the people who work there directly influence the organisation’s goals and values, with the ultimate purpose of meaningful alignment. This is critical to the motivation and retention of the workforce.
Our vision is to model excellence in leadership, learning and life. This is the expectation of Centre consultants as well as the outcome for our clients. Our consultants take their own learning seriously and continually seek to keep abreast of their specialist fields. This includes self-funded investment in post-graduate courses and ongoing professional development. Our consultants regularly participate in meetings and peer reviews and quarterly professional development days where consultants are scheduled to take the team through their particular specialist field and tools. This also forms part of our induction process for selected consultants who meet our high standards. Skills are maintained through practice, team teaching and professional association membership.
Our consultants include:
- Deborah Nanschild – Managing Director, Brisbane-based
- Eric Leape – Principal Consultant, Canberra-based
- Joanne Blackburn – Senior Consultant, Canberra-based
- Joan Russell – Senior Consultant, Adelaide-based
- Catherine Ordway – Senior Consultant, Canberra-based
- Karen Goldspink – Senior Consultant, Melbourne-based
- Andrea Notarpietro – Consultant, Sydney-based
