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What happens during the Vincent Fairfax Fellowship?

by John van Geldermalsen

Between twelve and fifteen young people, selected on the basis of their potential for ethical leadership and a commitment to growing their contribution to the quality of our society in Australia, come together each year to make up the latest Vincent Fairfax Fellowship group.

Each Fellow begins their journey the moment they open their application package and respond to a series of reflective questions. Those who make it through the short-listing and interview process eventually find themselves in the Northern Territory at the beginning of January for a six-day trek in Nitmiluk National Park, through which flows the magnificent Katherine Gorge. Some time between their selection and arrival in Darwin they receive this letter:

Dear Fellows,

Your Vincent Fairfax Fellowship journey will shortly begin in earnest. Over the coming weeks you will be receiving handbooks giving information about each element of the program. The program is designed to give you the opportunity to experience various aspects of life in Australia, some space to reflect upon what you have seen, heard, felt and touched and through that to consider more closely how you will behave as a leader for the good of those you influence.

You will experience the vastness of the land, its powerful beauty and loneliness, its heat and humidity. You will hear from those whose connections to the land are at a deep spiritual level. You may wonder whether the concept of owning such land makes sense.

You will experience the harshness of life at the mine, you will hear from those who believe that mining is the basis of Australia's wealth and continuing prosperity and you will see the powerful impact that the mine has on the land. You will consider whether it is good to gouge the land out in the name of that prosperity, and you will speak with people, white and black, for whom it is their life.

You will hear from people who are making Australia's policy in all sorts of dimensions and see that they are just people like you, doing what they think is right based on their idea of what Australia is, or should be. You will have the chance to challenge them about their ideas, and have your ideas challenged too.

You will meet with members of Sir Vincent's family and perhaps understand why they are prepared to invest their money in you - and in the future of their country through you.

At the end of all this you will see Australia in new ways, both because you will understand so much more of its complexity and also because you will have changed the way you think about all sorts of things as a result of your experiences.

It will also be exhilarating!

Let's start the journey with the Katherine Gorge Trek ...

In the company of an outdoor education support team, Fellows generally encounter no other people during their time in the Gorge. Many external issues arise regarding use and preservation of land and the role of spirituality in the land, but the primary issues are those to do with self and group management amongst the Fellows themselves. Different leadership styles are tried out and the differing expectations and abilities are negotiated in a variety of ways.

The diversity of this and subsequent activities allows the Fellows to consider all kinds of ethical issues. For example, a two-day cross-cultural program in Darwin provides an opportunity to gain insight into Indigenous culture and the very different value systems that operate within that.

From Darwin, the Fellows disperse, in groups of three, for ten days as guests of some of Australia's biggest mining companies in remote locations. Here the number of stakeholders increases enormously: companies and their staffs and shareholders; families of workers, either living in remote locations or separated for days at a time in fly-in, fly-out operations; traditional owners, now with a voice, but for many years sidelined; government officers seeking to provide services where the cost is many times more than in towns and cities; local people seeking employment and training opportunities, and more.

Fellows regroup in Canberra where they participate in a series of 'chatham house rule' (1) discussions with senior officials, judges and politicians. Presenters speak frankly of their roles in running the nation, the ethical and leadership issues they face, and how they respond to these. A variety of leadership models is observed and Fellows debate amongst themselves how they might respond if they had those responsibilities. Tensions between a pragmatic and idealistic approach to the use of power become clearly visible.

At the same time, Fellows begin planning for their Learning Contract, a self-managed program of personal or professional development and community service that each will accomplish over the next eighteen months. In addition, each Fellow, with our assistance, identifies and establishes a relationship with a mentor for the term of the program.

At the end of a full month of stimulation and challenge, Fellows return home and begin the process of integrating what they have seen and learnt into their everyday lives.

Six months later, a program of more intensive examination of leadership models, ethical decision-making models and the personal values underlying individual decision-making is engaged in during a July retreat. Issues of family, community and citizenship are examined - how far does our responsibility extend and to whom should we hold ourselves accountable? During this time Fellows also begin planning for their individual Asia projects.

In January of their second year, each Fellow travels alone to a location in Asia to examine an ethical issue of importance to them. As Fellows expand the range of viewpoints throughout the Fellowship, from those examined with their group in the Katherine Gorge to now a whole population in a country that is not their own, they come to recognise that while the value of an ethical approach to decision-making remains, the complexity increases significantly.

The temptation to seek a simple approach is strong, particularly when the complexity is overwhelming and solutions seem fanciful. While this can be highlighted because of the foreign-ness of the situation, similar circumstances arise routinely for leaders in our society, who are often expected to know what the future will hold. Learning to live with the uncertainty is a strong part of this program aspect.

After three weeks of individual study in Asia, the Fellows regroup for the annual Ethics in Leadership conference, held most recently in Malaysia. Each year the conference brings together a group of young regional leaders with the current Fellowship group for a unique exchange of ideas in the company of experienced senior leaders drawn from a broad cross section of business, professional and community groups from around the South East Asian region and Australia.

Graduation is an annual event produced by the graduating group themselves. Following this, the Fellows participate in an Integrity Workshop - a final structured time of drawing lessons from the program and making personal commitments about the quality of leadership that can be expected to flow from this point.

Three streams run through all program activity:

1. The discrete experiences themselves and the broader understanding to be gained from them:

Fellows are introduced to an array of people and places that significantly increase their knowledge of our country, how it works and its relationship with the region in which we are located. They discuss significant leadership and ethical issues with those who face them routinely as part of their work and life, discovering first-hand the effect of those decisions. They spend time considering what they might do if faced with similar issues, as they surely will be as their responsibilities increase.

2. Discussion and reflection on the effect of decisions and actions:

Fellows are encouraged to develop reflection as a habit, a leadership practice. Each experience provides opportunities to see the impact of decisions made on the lives of those involved and to recognise that there are always more people affected than we at first imagine or see. In particular, Fellows consider how the decisions and actions (or non-actions) they take during their experiences impact on those they come in contact with, and how the actions of others affect them. In so doing, a much clearer insight is developed that can be taken back to individual work and life situations.

3. Discovery and critical appraisal of the values and principles underpinning decisions:

By understanding why we decide the way we do, it is possible to consider different and more constructive ways of making decisions.

I have attempted to describe something of the complex nature of this unique program in words. Without the contribution of numerous people, from traditional owners and mining company staff to public servants, the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation and many, many others, the program could not operate in the way it does. Yet, however described and however rich in possibility, the program itself cannot be seen as more than an open opportunity.

What makes the Vincent Fairfax Fellowship effective as a leadership development program is the commitment and determination that individual Fellows bring with them. It is their intention to improve their own leadership capability, and to make a positive contribution from their particular place in society, that enables this program to be effective. And it is the continuing contribution of each Fellow, long after they finish the program, that makes it worthwhile.

Learn more about the Vincent Fairfax Fellowship ethics in leadership program.

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