Leading Champions Masterclass

The WA workforce is experiencing a boom on an industrial scale. Increasingly, the State’s combination of agriculture, minerals and resources, ecotourism and small business is key to Australia’s long term economic, social and environmental prosperity. The Leading Champions masterclass series is designed to equip new, emerging or aspiring frontline managers and workplace leaders with critical capability to drive safe and productive workplaces. The masterclasses focus on equipping participants with a widely applicable problem-solving framework that can be quickly deployed to drive better outcomes.

Course overview

The Leading Champions masterclass is designed for professionals from a wide range of industries and backgrounds. Through interactive peer-to-peer activities and discussions, you will build practical leadership skills and strengthen your management impact. Participants will explore real-world management challenges and share insights across sectors.

This highly practical program introduces alternative management theories and gives you the chance to test them in a collaborative setting. Together with your peers, you’ll strengthen your personal leadership style and build skills in:

• Decision-making
• Conflict resolution
• Communication strategies
• Setting and measuring KPIs
• Stakeholder mapping and engagement

These tools will help you lead more effectively, improve team outcomes, and create long-term value for your organisation.

What to Expect

This masterclass is delivered in two focused two-day workshops:

Workshop 1: Understand the why and how of managing people and processes to create value.

Workshop 2: Build the technical skills needed to drive evidence-based, real-world management solutions.

The format also supports a lasting community of practice, where participants can continue learning from each other throughout and beyond the program.

Why this course is for you

In today’s workforce, many skilled team members are quickly promoted into leadership roles without formal training in how to lead. This course is designed for those rising leaders—technically strong, but looking to build confidence and capability in managing others.

• You’ll gain practical tools and insights to:
• Lead performance conversations
• Set and deliver team goals
• Resolve conflict and boost motivation
• Manage time and lead through change

If your organisation is navigating these challenges, Leading Champions will give your emerging leaders the skills they need to succeed—and the confidence to lead with purpose.

Course details

Currently taking Expressions of interest

Delivery Options: Face-to-face  

Cost: $3,250.00

Discounts available for ECU Staff, students, alumni, and previous Executive Education participants. For enquiries: ExecEducation@ecu.edu.au

For those with academic aspirations, these masterclasses have been developed to contribute towards credit in an introductory unit of the ECU Graduate Certificate of Business or Master of Business Administration. Please contact the team for further information.

About the facilitators

Professor Ben Farr-Wharton is the Associate Dean of Business Administration and a Professor of Workforce Strategy. Ben’s research specialises in employee wellbeing and compassion. For the last decade, he has worked with a broad array of organisations across the globe, to enhance workplace productivity through wellbeing, inclusion, and psychosocial safety initiatives.

Dr Fleur Sharafizad is a Lecturer in Business Administration at the School of Business and Law. Fleur has a broad range of research interests that include gender and careers, well-being at work in the context of first responders, and research methodologies. In addition, recognising the broader application of the concept of work, Fleur has a keen interest in contributing to research (and pragmatic change) to the working conditions of individuals undertaking the less visible and recognised work on which our society depends, such as informal personal carers. On the whole, Fleur is interested in projects that can pragmatically impact policy and organisational processes to support individual well-being.

Dr Aglae Hernandez-Grande is a Lecturer in Business Administration at the School of Business and Law. With a PhD in Management from the University of Technology Sydney, Aglae also holds a Master of Business Administration and has garnered valuable experience as an Operations Manager in both Spain and Australia. Her research centres on employee wellbeing and organisational resources, employing advanced quantitative methodologies. She is particularly interested in exploring how organisations can enhance support for their employees’ mental and physical health, with a specific focus on public sector organisations.

Nickey Ludkins is the Manager of Executive Education at the School of Business and Law and Faculty Advisor for Enactus ECU. Nickey is deeply committed to sustainability, environmental stewardship, and social equity. With a Master of Science in Development Studies from the London School of Economics, Nickey brings extensive experience from roles in accreditation, program coordination, and executive education. Her passion lies in empowering individuals to achieve optimal outcomes for themselves, their organisations, and society at large.