Emerging Leaders Program Cohort go Behind the Scenes of KINNECT

The 2024 Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) cohort have reached the halfway point of KINNECT’s in-house learning and development course, and many have found that taking a deeper look at running a national occupational health and workplace rehabilitation business is an enlightening experience.  Here we talk to some of the participants about what they’ve learnt so far and how that knowledge is already influencing their work.

Firstly, what is the ELP?
The program, developed by Kevin Conlon, KINNECT’s Founder and Chairman, is designed to nurture talent within the organisation and encourage KINNECTers, regardless of their position to demonstrate exceptional leadership. It allows participants to learn about the inner workings of the business – a perspective they aren’t usually exposed to.

It is delivered via two, one-hour sessions each month: one session is dedicated to reviewing the results of, and proposed actions, for KINNECT’s monthly culture survey, while the second involves a book review and discussion of actions based on what they’ve learnt. Each month focuses on a different business theme such as recruitment, productivity, teamwork and culture.

The group keep each other accountable for how they progress with their intentions and the program begins and ends with a face-to-face training day.

Janna Riordan – Lead Consultant, Cairns

What are the biggest lessons you’ve learnt so far?

I’ve really enjoyed learning the ins and outs of running a successful business. I was pleasantly surprised with the books. I’m in a non-leadership role now, and a lot of the books are focussed on the business side of things, like ‘Who’ which is about interviewing, but I found them interesting and insightful.

How has the ELP influenced your day-to-day work so far?
I liked the book ‘Deep Work’ – there were strategies and ideas that are really practical. When I’m doing the annual self-evaluations as I’m doing now, knowing how to shut down and minimise distractions is helping me maintain focus on the evaluations and meet the quick turnaround times to get them done.

The book on attraction delved into a business’s ability to succeed based on their capacity to solve problems. I feel like my role doing self-evaluations and uncovering the trends we’ve seen over the years is relevant to providing the feedback we need to solve problems.

How has your perspective on your role, your team, or working at KINNECT changed?

I’m definitely more enlightened. There is so much interesting content that you otherwise wouldn’t be exposed to. I always like to understand the reason why things happen so it’s interesting to see why there’s a focus on things like dashboards and scorecards, and why they’re important to get right to run a successful business.

This is also the first year they’ve offered mentors. It’s been a great way to take learning from the books and meetings and make them relevant to my role. They’ve put a lot of thought into the mentor/mentee pairings, too.

The program was something I was wanting and needing in my career but couldn’t get it through other professional development channels or through my professional body. I’m really grateful for the exposure and learning opportunities it provides me to build my leadership capabilities.

Jody Levine – Executive Assistant, Gold Coast

What are the biggest lessons you’ve learnt so far?

The most important lessons so far have been around focus and accountability. Firstly, the book ‘Deep Work’ is about scheduling time for deep, focussed work so it has your undivided attention to get better results. It has opened my eyes to the fact that maintaining focus and avoiding multitasking are my keys to success.

Secondly, I’ve gained a greater awareness of how important accountability and discipline are both at work and in my personal life. I’ve always considered myself to have these qualities, but I want to level up.

How has the ELP influenced your day-to-day role so far?

I’m trusting myself and my judgement of my work more. I’m confident that I know what I’m doing, and I don’t need as much reassurance from managers. I know I’ve got this, and I can make the right decision.

I’m also learning not to be so hard on myself and to appreciate that I have a full workload – I can only achieve a certain amount in the time I have.

How has your perspective on your role, your team, and working at KINNECT changed?
I have a greater appreciation for what our company does. Participating in the program makes you realise that a lot of thought has gone into it. It’s rare for a company and its leadership to be this invested in their employee’s development and I appreciate being part of it.

What are you looking forward to learning in the second half of the program?
I’m particularly interested in learning about culture and how we can influence it and improve it even further at KINNECT.

Michael Vainer – Team Manager, Melbourne

What are the biggest lessons you’ve learnt so far?

Firstly, it’s reinforced to me that having measurables is what gets things done and accountability keeps everyone honest. Secondly, the book ‘Who’ gave us a very practical recipe for hiring and retaining the right people. And lastly, it’s been understanding that ensuring our employees are aware of the financial outcomes of their activities is important if we want a culture of accountability.

How has the ELP influenced your day-to-day role so far?

The ELP has shaped my day-to-day interactions with my direct reports. I incorporate the learnings from the books that we’ve reviewed so far, as well as from the great interactions and knowledge sharing opportunities with all the ELP participants.

How has your perspective on your role, your team, and working at KINNECT changed?

As a team leader, the ELP has given me a broader perspective of my leadership responsibility within KINNECT.

What are you looking forward to learning in the second half of the program?

I’m excited to find out how I can be most effective in a leadership role so we get great performance when it comes to KINNECT’s ‘Why’ (to help people) and enable sustainable growth with a culture of A Players.

We’ll check in with our ELP participants and the leaders who run the program at the end of the year after their final face-to-face workshop at the end of November.

If you’d like to join an organisation who puts their people first with innovative professional development programs, visit our careers site.