Leaders from 11 Geelong manufacturers helped solve each other’s challenges and defined future opportunities as part of the GMC’s new CEO Connect program delivered over the past 12 months.
“Bouncing ideas and issues off other leaders was a huge advantage”, one participant said.
Another commented: “Life can fairly lonely in an executive role and this group gave me a chance to discuss some of the challenges and find solutions.”
The group met on eight occasions to thrash out their thinking and to build expertise on a broad range of topics including Culture, Leadership, The Evolving Manufacturing Environment, Working With Boards, Strategic Influence and The Circular Economy. Participants plan to continue discussions informally and, in time, hope to connect with alumni of subsequent programs.
CEO Connect 2021
The 2021 CEO Connect program included participating executives from AKD Softwoods, Boundary Bend, Dow Chemical, Farm Foods, Form Flow, Incitec Pivot and RPC Technologies. Meetings were generally half a day in duration.
GMC’s CEO Connect created a forum for the sharing of insights, experiences and opinions in a non-competitive and highly confidential atmosphere of trust, support and impartiality.
The broad objectives of the program were:
- To bring together leading senior executives to promote personal and business growth, maximize collective opportunities and grow networks and connections.
- To help senior executives expand their horizons and achieve success in all aspects of their lives.
- To help close the isolation gap that often accompanies senior executive roles.
Highly experienced key note speakers – including Brian Cooke, Geelong Football Club’s CEO and Professor Matthew Barnett Director IFM – Deakin University – were invited to provide new insights and help stimulate discussions. The forum also met to workshop member-specific challenges and opportunities in a facilitated, interactive workshop setting. Participants gained insights into developing a performance-based culture, breaking out of old paradigms and silos, increasing employee focus on value drivers and creating EAs/EBAs that deliver sustainable business benefits.
An anonymous survey was conducted at the end of the program to capture feedback on:
- Outcomes – the extent to which the program met the three program objectives articulated by participants in the opening meeting (personal development/new knowledge, form valued relationships and connections, create the energy/inspiration to implement learnings).
- Process – the effectiveness and efficiency of the group process.
- Facilitation – the role of the facilitator.
- Team Members – the stimulation, contribution and openness of the team.
Each question scored an average score of 75% positive or more
What participants said about CEO Connect 2021
“I have found the CEO Connect Workshops very useful, big advantage having other leaders to bounce ideas and issues off.”
“It has been a rewarding experience for me to be part of CEO connect. Thanks David for the excellent facilitating.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed the program, found there were significant differences in the scale and scope of participants and their contributions.”
“Life can fairly lonely in an executive role and this group gave me a chance to discuss some of the challenges and find solutions.”