The Taronga Conservation Society is known for its iconic zoos in harbourside Sydney and beautiful mid-west NSW, where visitors can see animals roam in natural habitats. But, as an organisation, it’s much more complex.
As well as being a major tourist attraction, it has a substantial conservation, education and research program and is also a busy conference and accommodation business.
As a world-leading modern conservation zoo organisation, it recognises the various challenges and opportunities ahead and is committed to playing a leading role to ‘secure a shared future for wildlife and people’.
To help expand its capacity to deliver Taronga’s strategy, they partnered with PLUS UTS Business Futures on an upskilling program for high-potential leaders from across all areas of the Taronga ecosystem.
Co-designed with Taronga, the program focused on:
- Developing leaders' self-awareness and resilience so they can better lead and connect with others.
- Supporting leaders in bringing their teams together, embracing diverse perspectives and building positive team cultures.
- Expanding leaders' capability to work with diverse stakeholders and span across organisational boundaries.
- Preparing leaders to identify strategic challenges and opportunities, and lead improvement initiatives to support Taronga's strategy and vision for the future.
- Developing leaders' skills for impactful communication.
The program focused on the design of tangible tools and techniques, which supported participants in applying new mindsets and behaviours in their daily practice, achieving an immediate impact on their teams.
“As I’ve seen team members go through the course, I've watched their confidence and skills develop alongside their willingness to tackle problems and ability to ask questions outside of their usual area,”
“It’s been so rewarding to see the growth, as the participants have unlocked their potential,” said Nick Boyle, Executive Director, Taronga Zoo Sydney at the Taronga Conservation Society Australia.
The co-design process played an important role in ensuring the Taronga Future Leaders Program addressed the specific needs of the learners and was aligned with Taronga's objectives and priorities.
"What really impressed me about the UTS team and their delivery is that they came in and really understood both our business and our unique needs," said Cameron Kerr, CEO of the Taronga Conservation Society Australia.
“That means the delivery, language, methodologies, and examples used were relevant for our team. The participants’ understanding of how to apply the tools they've learned has been really effective,”
“Taronga is currently on a growth trajectory and as we enter new markets, having our middle management group develop the right skill sets to think about complex problems is the most powerful reason for me wanting to do this program with UTS.”
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| PLUS UTS Business Futures partners with organisations to jointly create innovative, tailored learning experiences to uplift employee skills and capability. Learn more about our courses and co-designed learning, or chat with us about your learning priorities. |
