This conversation is part of a series exploring the impact of the Changemaker Workshops delivered across more than 30 regions by the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, thanks to the Future Drought Fund. These workshops are part of the Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative.

In this episode of Rural Leadership Unearthed, we explore resistance to change: what might lie at the heart of that resistance; and how to become free of the fears that can hold us back. Lynn Whyatt is an American-born community leader based in Geraldton in WA. In this conversation she generously shares her first-hand experience of meeting resistance to change and the strategies she drew on to try to bring others along with her.

As you’ll hear, Lynn’s story reflects the realities faced by many change makers, in that the resistance persisted, and it was she who had to regroup and redirect her energies and aims. Her experience on a Changemaker program proved an invaluable lens through which to reflect on her experience grappling with this resistance. It also offered her strategies to rebuild her sense of purpose and embrace a different way of making a positive impact, with confidence and resilience. Lynn works with small businesses, community organisations, and not-for-profits through her consultancy Three Point Turn. Currently, she is collaborating on a fulfilling project with a fellow local leader to expand the impact of a wellbeing program for teenage boys.

This episode is the seventh of an 8-part series within the Rural Leadership Unearthed podcast where we delve into stories from people passionate about transforming their communities. This is a practical resource designed to provide insight into what it takes to drive positive change in rural, regional and remote Australia.

Some highlights:

• Lynn shares just what resistance to change can look and feel like
• She unpacks where resistance can come from, and her own process coming to terms with it
• How the Changemaker workshop’s ‘change and transition’ model helped her apply a new lens to understand resistance
• Why ‘going with the willing’ is a mantra that serves her well
• Reflecting vulnerably on the impact resistance to change has on confidence and self-perceptions
• How this experience has sparked a reframing of her understanding of where and how she can contribute as a leader in her community

Our host:

Claire Delahunty, is a writer and journalist who has worked with the ARLF for more than ten years, interviewing leaders having a positive impact on rural and regional Australia.

Resources:

ARLF podcast blog

ARLF website

Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative

Transformative Growth Institute

Three Point Turn

This conversation is part of a series exploring the impact of the Changemaker Workshops delivered across more than 30 regions by the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, thanks to the Future Drought Fund. These workshops are part of the Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative.

In this episode of Rural Leadership Unearthed, we explore how a seemingly insurmountable challenge can be reframed as an opportunity for transformation. We’re joined by Tammy Price as she shares moments in which perceived problems have revealed their potential. Tammy is the president of the Bruny Island Community Association, and she’s no stranger to the unique and sometimes curly challenges that come with life on an Island. We chat about her direct experience reframing a challenge as an opportunity for transformation. In this case, it’s the metaphorical bridge she and fellow community leaders have provided between the needs of those who live in and travel to and from Bruny Island, with the constraints and priorities of the commercial ferry service provider. Tammy reflects on the actions needed to drive progress, and the leadership insights gained along the way.

Tammy is an advocate for the big impact that small contributions from many can have. She knows that change in her community is a matter of her and others like her stepping forward and doing their part to grow collective trust and bring everyone along to build a better future for the community that they all have a stake in.

This episode is the sixth of an 8-part series within the Rural Leadership Unearthed podcast where we delve into stories from people passionate about transforming their communities. This is a practical resource designed to provide insight into what it takes to drive positive change in rural, regional and remote Australia.

Some highlights:

• Tammy shares the interconnectedness of the factors that impact the prosperity and functionality of life on Bruny Island
• How her embedded mindset of never accepting a ‘no’ helps her to see the potential in a problem
• Why every ‘failure’ is simply a learning opportunity
• Close community ties and trust are the keys to strong communication
• A round table with the transport minister has provided a chance for broad community representatives to be heard

Our host:

Claire Delahunty, is a writer and journalist who has worked with the ARLF for more than ten years, interviewing leaders having a positive impact on rural and regional Australia.

Resources:

ARLF podcast blog

ARLF website

Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative

Bruny Island Community Association

This conversation is part of a series exploring the impact of the Changemaker Workshops delivered across more than 30 regions by the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, thanks to the Future Drought Fund. These workshops are part of the Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative.

In this episode of Rural Leadership Unearthed, we explore value of curiosity, embracing networks, and fostering connections as a means of creating personal and community transformation. In this chat with Alice Springs business owner, Max Fonte, we uncover strategies for fostering strong, effective partnerships that drive meaningful change and create a ripple effect.

Max Fonte had no background in business, yet he’s found himself running two of them very successfully from the heart of Central Australia. Since arriving in 2013 from Argentina as an adventurous backpacker, Max has followed his natural instinct to embrace challenges and possibilities, and now finds himself at the helm of two cafés. But they are more than just retail ventures. Thanks to a network of friendships and partnerships fusing migrant culture, First Nations knowledge and community wisdom, Max has built the trust and openness needed to bring people together. He credits his experience on a two-day Changemaker workshop with helping him to see the power of all those connections. And to understand that he had all the ingredients needed to foster community bonds; entice newcomers to put down roots and improve retention throughout the Alice Springs workforce – right at his fingertips.

This episode is the fifth of an 8-part series within the Rural Leadership Unearthed podcast where we delve into stories from people passionate about transforming their communities. This is a practical resource designed to provide insight into what it takes to drive positive change in rural, regional and remote Australia.

Some highlights:

• How Max challenged his ideas of a business’s boundaries and a vehicle to affect change

• Not having done something before is never a reason not to do it now

• Max shares powerful insights into belonging

• The potency of cross-cultural collaboration

• Understand the myriad ways a thriving business can positively impact retention for small town populations

Our host:

Claire Delahunty, is a writer and journalist who has worked with the ARLF for more than ten years, interviewing leaders having a positive impact on rural and regional Australia.

Resources:

ARLF podcast blog

ARLF website

Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative

Yayes Café