Council nabs silver in Australasian management challenge

A team of Western Bay of Plenty District Council’s emerging leaders have placed second in the New Zealand leg of JLT Australasian Management Challenge.

Western Bay’s team, ‘Fresh Take’, featuring Roxanne Booysen, Katy McGinity, Calum McLean, Sarah Bedford, Megan Wakefield and Tom Rutherford faced off against other Aotearoa councils in the simulation-based team building, learning, and networking programme.

The annual competition, run by Taituarā, see teams representing different departments of councils come together to act as a fictional council management team. They are tasked with issues involving community engagement, risk analysis, presentation, conflict resolution, report writing and teamwork.

Each team is marked on its performance over several challenges designed to simulate real council and community issues.

Megan and Katy co-captained the team, and say the best part about participating was the collaboration and playing to each other's strengths.

“We also had a big focus on communication from early on. It wasn’t always easy, with remote working, COVID-19 isolation, illness and the inevitable technical difficulties.“

“But we had fun too. Having a good sense of humour about the things that didn’t go well was just as important as celebrating the positives. We’re glad our persistence paid off!”

Council Senior Policy Analyst Matthew Leighton and Kaupapa Māori Specialist Corey Stevens mentored the group after previously taking part, and say the team expertly handled the move to an online environment.

“Despite the added curveball, the team managed the challenge, embraced this way of working, and was still able to deliver a high-quality output,” says Matthew.

“Getting ready for the event can be time consuming, but I’m really proud of how the team came together and developed and honed their skills,” adds Corey.

Council CEO John Holyoake says the award is a testament to the high calibre of staff who work for Western Bay of Plenty District Council.

“The management challenge uses real local government themes and puts teams to work in a fast-paced environment. It’s exciting to see our team, who have real potential as leaders, recognised for their mahi.”