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A customized ten-month pilot program designed to foster the growth of South Pacific Division (SPD) leaders to fulfill the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s mission has been commended by participants.
Delivered by the SPD Leadership Academy, the program involved two groups of twelve leaders, the first comprising senior leaders across the SPD, and the second made up of emerging leaders or those with up to five years of experience. Participants were strategically selected by their organization, with representation from all SPD institutions and the four union territories.
“In this rapidly changing world, we need leaders who are godly and courageous with future-thinking mindsets, equipped with the skills to execute our strategies rapidly,” said Dean Banks, SPD Leadership Strategy leader, who managed the program. “We need to move from a process-driven focus to an agile, performance-oriented focus. With the program’s success, we now aim to duplicate it over the next four years, allowing 120 leaders to experience this model of leadership development.”
Program components included psychometric assessment, monthly executive coaching by coaching psychologists, an allocated mentor, customized workshops, reflective journaling, and a five-week online course through the prestigious INSEAD business school.
Professor Kevin Petrie, Avondale University vice-chancellor, commended the program, saying it had both challenged and grown him as a leader.
“It has brought me face to face with both my strengths and my weaknesses, but importantly provided the support to move forward and to grow,” Petrie said. “Each component has provided something unique, from the coaching, the mentoring, to the valuable training sessions. It is not a passive program. It requires active engagement and, in return, provides genuine growth.”
Similar sentiments were shared by Pastor Luke Nathan, president of the Western Highlands Mission in Papua New Guinea. “This leadership program is a hands-on paradigm shift to train leaders to lead organizations in these disruptive times,” Pastor Nathan said. “It’s great to see what the SPD is doing for our leaders, and I am really pleased to be part of the team learning.”
For Sarah Jane Riley, South New Zealand Conference pastor and discipleship director, the program not only helped grow her skills in leadership but also her own awareness of her leadership. She found the regular coaching sessions particularly valuable. “It’s stretched me and kept me on track with leadership goals as well as application of new learnings,” she said. “I honestly have enjoyed so many aspects and highly recommend the program for others. It is long overdue in our church, and I am so thankful for the opportunities I have been given!”
This year’s program will start in early February and includes an additional day-long Harvard University leadership simulation activity to assess team dynamics.
This article was originally published on the website of Adventist Record