Last Thursday evening, the Drinks Association wrapped up its eighth annual Inclusive Leadership Program facilitated by Serendis. The six-month program was brought to a close with a finale event held at Lion’s Sydney office.
Jane Hill, Lion’s People & Culture Director and Chair of the Drinks Association’s HRD Forum was the first to address the event attendees.
Hill shared that the Inclusive Leadership Program included 46 participants made up of 23 mentor-mentee pairs this year. She said it was remarkable that over the past eight years, a total of 433 people have completed the program and that she was incredibly proud to see the drinks industry continue to invest in its future leaders.
“To the mentees, thank you for giving up your time and congratulations on being potentially a leader for the first time. Moving from being a team member to a leader is a big leap in your career. This program does take up a lot of time, and we're proud of that because you need to invest in your development and capability. It's really exciting that you've given up your time to be part of this,” said Hill.
She added: “Of course, the program wouldn't be the same without the mentors, and very often, we hear that the mentors get out of this program at least as much if not more than the mentees. So it's a wonderful reciprocal relationship and one that we're looking forward to continuing in the future.”
Before handing over the mic to Serendis Program Director Julie Thompson, Hill said, “My ask of you all is to remember to pay it forward. There's a lot of learnings that you've got from this program. Make sure that you talk to your leader, your peers, your team members, and your friends at work, and share with them what you've learned so that we can continue to advance the drinks industry.”
In her address to the attendees, Thompson said, “This is actually my favourite part of the program. I love to see the progress and the connections that you've all made over the last six months. Tonight is a celebration of the journey that you've all been through. We've had workshops, MentorKey activity, one-on-one meetings, 360-degree feedback, so we've been very busy.”
“Tonight is about you, and we hope you're sitting there feeling proud of what you've achieved,” she added.
Thompson went on to introduce a panel of mentees from this year’s cohort who discussed their experience on the Inclusive Leadership Program and their key takeaways from their time spent with mentors over the past six months.
Mentee, Dakila Falcon, National Field Sales Manager at CCEP, led the engaging and insightful panel discussion among three other mentees in his cohort: Emily Page, National Account Manager - Endeavour Group at Lion; Dawn Psereckis, Spirits Specialist at Moët Hennessy; and Melissa Watson, Customer Service and Logistics Manager at Campari.
At the end of the session, Dakila Falcon asked the panellists to share the most impactful resource shared as part of the Inclusive Leadership Program.
Emily Page talked about the personal brand MentorKey resources. She said, “It's just such a powerful realisation that some of the most important decisions about you and your career happen when you're not in the room. So what can you actively do to drive that conversation in your favour and how do you want to show up for your business and your industry and yourself?”
Dawn Psereckis said the goal-setting framework was important to her. “I think this is the first time in my entire life that I have a clear goal as to what I want to do over the next couple of years, and that's thanks to this program,” she said.
Melissa Watson said she found value in the signature strengths workshop. “I found it really interesting because it helped me uncover my key strengths and realise I could be proud of them.”
Daki Falcon concluded the panel session by saying, “So there we have it. On behalf of the 2024 cohort, I'd like to thank the industry as a whole, the companies that have been represented, all the mentors and mentees, and Julie and the team at Serendis.”
“I'm optimistic that this group of leaders will continue the inclusive leadership journey moving forward into the future,” he added.