By Lyndon Galea, 2019 Williamson Leadership Program Alumnus
This year I have been incredibly fortunate to be a part of the Williamson Leadership Program. I say ‘fortunate’ because I have been unsuccessful on two previous occasions applying for the program. And I was only able to cover the program fee thanks to Westpac’s Social Change Fellowship.
For these reasons amongst others, I knew not to take the privilege of being in the 2019 cohort for granted.
The year has been one filled with exceptional peers, presenters and perspectives. The course content and the conversations that have stemmed from it have made for an expansive development experience. One that I’m certain will reverberate in the years to come for all of us who have taken part.
‘Leading with Purpose’ has been a consistent theme throughout. I’ve been asked to share on this topic, and why and how I lead.
Until Williamson commenced, I’d not considered these questions deeply, but I knew if I could learn to become a stronger leader I could better influence the positive outcomes and causes I’m passionate about – in my case, Eat Up, and our aspiration to provide free lunches to disadvantaged Australian school children who would otherwise go without.
With a cause such as feeding hungry kids, it is very easy to find and steadily refer to purpose. It is an issue that stirs me just as it does others to want to help. Leading Eat Up has not so much been me inspiring or instilling this purpose in others, but helping to provide an outlet where we can work together to collectively contribute – in our case making and delivering as many sandwiches as possible. It is a very powerful why!
How? How do I lead – well, this is a work in progress and one that I’m very much learning on the job. But for the most part it involves getting out of the way. Again, I’m lucky to lead an organisation where the outcomes drive people’s effort and involvement. Volunteers, supporters, and our staff are all immensely passionate about seeing that kids don’t miss out on food. They’re even more passionate about seeing that kids don’t go without in their local community. This is how we’ve grown. They love their hometowns just as I do Shepparton – my home, and where Eat Up started after I read an article in our local newspaper about kids who were often sent to school without lunch and would go hungry.
Leading Eat Up’s growth has been primarily putting in place the infrastructure in between people’s goodwill to lend a hand, and those who could use a hand. Eat Up, and I think my role, is acting as a conduit between these two demands. I’m constantly inspired and motivated by that connection and the outcomes that come with it.
Leadership doesn’t have to be complex, it can be, but it needn’t be. Keeping things simple is a strength. That lesson has been made clear throughout WCLP this year, and I hope it will also show in Eat Up’s albeit bittersweet growth to reach and feed more hungry kids in the future. Our goal is to help kids nationally. Williamson has helped that goal come closer into view.
