Meet Nicole Edwards

Nicole Edwards said…

Coming into the program I was a little uncertain about how I would apply it to my role and how in depth it would be.

I really found the insight into myself as a leader and where to apply it and how to improve my skills, really amazing. There was a lot more self-insight than I anticipated, that I found extremely valuable. It wasn’t just a dot point list on leadership and how to do things. Through the program, I learnt it is ok to be the sort of leader that aligns with my own integrity and values and apply the tools to suit and fit my leadership style. It’s not a one-size fits all approach, it’s about fine tuning oneself to be a different leader for what the business and team need and want.

I learnt how to identify my strengths and navigate my own weaknesses as a leader. I’ve thought in the past I need to pretend they’re not there and hide them, however it’s great to recognise, work with and around these weaknesses. I can now combine my love for my people and care about my team, without being taken advantage of and know it’s ok to be firmer. I became a lot more confident in myself through the program. I have fine-tuned my skill sets. I had gotten very caught up in the really reactive nature of my role, and over the months learnt to step back and delegate a little more by planning my own month and activity for the team. Learning how to get people to follow a plan and have the confidence to hold them to account has also been an important learning. My biggest key takeaway is that I can’t create more hours in the day, it is all about how I manage my time, through managing my team more effectively. It wasn’t easy, because I’m a doer.

I’m now in a new role and navigating a new position in a new tourism build and start up with many challenges recruiting, learning new software, writing SOPs and training staff for the launch soon. If I didn’t have the ability to understand people as well as I do now, I’d be in a very different position. All the key elements from the program have put me in a great situation now in a start-up, launching this exciting brand new tourism experience. My confidence, the way I present myself and manage has changed a lot. The intention of the tourism leadership development program is so unique and so incredibly well done. I’m so fortunate to have got so much out of it.