The Start Strong Leadership Program
Built for the step into leadership
When people are promoted from being a subject matter expert into a leadership role, they're often not shown the basics of leading a team or a direct report. It's an entirely different skill set. The Start Strong Leadership Program is designed specifically with this audience in mind, to help new leaders start strong in their first leadership role.
The program focuses on the practical fundamentals of leading one person, or a team. It genuinely builds confidence and ensures those new to leadership get the basics right, with an individual follow-up session post-training with the facilitator.
Key topics
Ten practical modules covering the foundations of leading people well.
The Invisible Shift into Leadership
Moving from individual contributor to performance leader. Your role has changed, what do you do now?
Building Trust Early
Trust is the foundation of performance. Trust-building behaviours, psychological safety, presence and listening.
Performance Basics
Establishing the basics: weekly meeting structures, KPIs for individuals and team, and daily management habits to keep you and your team on track.
Communication Fundamentals
Being clear in your communication: clear expectations, 1:1 feedback, work in progress meeting structures and follow-through.
Leading Team Energy
The role energy plays in driving team morale and individual performance. Where energy leaks, and where it builds.
Accountability & Standards
Great teams are anchored in role clarity and consistency. Driving standards aligned with team and organisational purpose and intent.
Coaching & Developing People
Coaching fundamentals: delegation, coaching versus fixing, and impactful development conversations.
Culture in the Every Day
Culture is built in everyday moments. The small moments that shape culture, inclusion and healthy team habits.
The Human Behind the Position Title
The importance of knowing your people and what matters to them.
Leading with Intention
Space to understand what type of leader you want to become.
Strong leadership is rarely built in the big moments. It's built in the everyday fundamentals that are repeated consistently.
Start strong in your first leadership role
Talk to us about running The Start Strong Leadership Program for your emerging leaders.
ADVISOR
DONNA PRICE
PRINCIPAL, PERFORMANCE (LEADERSHIP & CULTURE)Donna believes that environment shapes everything — and that leadership and culture aren't separate from performance. They are performance.
With a background shaped by high-performance sporting environments, including time at the Melbourne Cricket Club, Melbourne Park/Australian Open, Victoria Racing Club and more recently, Carlton Football Club, Donna has developed a deep expertise in building the conditions for real, sustained high performance. She knows what it takes to show up consistently, bring energy and create cultures where people care deeply about the standards they set and about each other. She has won multiple awards for her work, both domestically and internationally, for her leadership in driving high performance environments and teams.
Now at Apogee Sports, Donna leads our PERFORMANCE arm, working with organisations and leaders to unlock potential, shape culture and create the conditions where people and teams can perform at their best.