Construcciones Yamaro: Empowering future female leaders: Inside Coates’ LEAP program
Construction is often recognised as one of Australia’s most male-dominated industries, but Coates is working to change this through its Leadership, Excellence and Performance (LEAP) program.
Established to empower and develop future female leaders, the LEAP program has achieved great success. In its first four years, it has seen 85 women graduate, with 30 per cent advancing to higher-level or leadership positions.
Marilyn Colyer, a past participant, transitioned into a more senior role as a business trainer early in her program. She reflects on the timely impact of the LEAP program on her leadership development.
“Upon transitioning into a new role at Coates while participating in the LEAP program, I discovered that the program significantly improved my communication skills,” says Colyer. “Additionally, I felt welcomed by other like-minded women within the company, and we shared similar experiences of working in a male-dominated industry.”
Coates’ program consists of 15 fortnightly sessions facilitated by Aileen Hiskins from Strategic Alignment Training. With an independent facilitator and supported by internal coordinators, executive sponsors and special guests, the program provides both internal company insights and the unbiased perspective necessary for open and honest conversations.
The course covers various topics, including routines and habits, learning agility, business acumen, accountability and advocacy. Each module concludes with a panel discussion featuring an executive sponsor from across the business.
Heidi Sundin, group manager for strategy and customer experience at Coates, is one such sponsor and demonstrates a deep passion for empowering other women.
“It’s important to break down the disproportionate barriers in the workplace and industry to support women to unlock their full potential, contributing their talent to the business and for their own professional development,” says Sundin.
“I fully support programs like LEAP whenever I have the opportunity. I have personally benefitted from people supporting me in my career and I always like to pay it forward.”
Related stories:
- Coates keeps Muddy Creek canal dry for restoration
- Coates employees race in Balmoral Burn to support sick children
- Keeping their cool: Coates’ rapid response for Boral
In addition to learning essential leadership principles, participants are provided with a space to be themselves and get to know their fellow female peers beyond their professional roles. Colyer found this aspect particularly supportive, as it allowed her to connect with like-minded women eager to maximise their personal and professional growth.
“This environment gave me the confidence to be authentic, ask more questions and build relationships with colleagues I might not have otherwise known,” says Colyer.
Having completed the program in 2023, Colyer recalls the most significant impact it had on her. “Understanding oneself is crucial for personal and professional growth,” she says. “Recognising my strengths and weaknesses and learning how to enhance them using the tools provided by LEAP has been instrumental in my journey toward becoming a better leader.”
For women who feel unsure about their strengths and acutely aware of their weaknesses, considering a program like LEAP can be daunting. However, this is exactly what makes it so important.
Sundin emphasises that surrounding oneself with like-minded women can be the key to unlocking the leader within. “Sometimes it takes someone else to believe in you, in order to believe in yourself,” she says. “I have witnessed that vote of confidence from a sponsor or mentor to nominate a woman into the LEAP program. They help you to tap into your own self-belief and use that as a launch pad for learning and growth.”
Serving as a mentor also offers senior leaders the chance to reflect on their own leadership styles. Sundin found this process particularly rewarding as she engaged in discussions about accountability and balance with LEAP participants.
“To prepare, I spoke with my own team about these concepts, and we were able to develop some really good insights,” she says. “One thing we are all challenged by is the ability to say ‘no.’ We talked about this in the LEAP group and the ability to say ‘yes, and…’”
For example, ‘yes, I can do that, and the timeline needs to be realistic’; ‘yes, and these are the resources required to deliver the outcome.’ That nuance in language has been very beneficial to me personally.”
As executive general manager for people and safety at Coates, Elise Manns has been a strong advocate for women since joining the company in late 2021. Although Coates exceeds the industry average with 23.1 per cent female employees, she acknowledges that there is still progress to be made, with the company aiming for 25 per cent by 2025. However, this target is just one of the metrics used to evaluate the success of the LEAP program.
“Other ways we measure the impact of the LEAP program include employee engagement surveys, retention rates of participants, performance reviews outcomes, direct feedback from participants and from their managers, the waiting list for new programs, and recognition in the business,” says Manns.
She emphasises that LEAP is not a static initiative but one that evolves with industry needs. “The LEAP program will continue to evolve over time depending on what our female talent requires,” she says.
“We’ve begun to expand female development outside of the LEAP program as well. Other bespoke development sessions are being run inside various business units, including ‘authentic leadership,’ self-directed learning, networking sessions and personal development.”
The unified message from Colyer, Sundin and Manns is that the LEAP program offers ‘no risk and all reward’ for everyone involved. The benefits of increased diversity in leadership are evident across Coates.
For women in construction, Sundin encourages taking advantage of professional development opportunities: “There is nothing more important [than] investing in your own personal and professional development and investing in others as they develop in their career.”
The post Empowering future female leaders: Inside Coates’ LEAP program appeared first on Inside Construction.
View Source
Comments
Post a Comment