Studer Group Australasia

01/09/2026

A leadership program can create insight.
It can challenge thinking, introduce practical tools and generate some very good conversations.
But none of those things, on their own, change an organisation.
The harder part begins afterwards.

It is what happens when leaders return to full calendars, competing priorities, difficult conversations and the everyday pressure of running a health service.

Do they use what they learnt?
Do they change a behaviour?
Do they have the conversation they had been avoiding?
Do they follow through on the commitment they made?
Do other people notice something different?

Building leadership capability requires more than attendance at a program. It requires practical application, reinforcement and accountability over time.

The real measure of leadership development is not what happens in the room. It is what changes outside it.

31/08/2026

Leadership development asks something different of people when the conversation moves from theory to themselves.

One of the moments that stood out during the StriVe Leadership Day at St Vincent’s Lismore was watching leaders articulate what they wanted to achieve, what they needed from others and, importantly, what they were prepared to commit to themselves.
Then they stood in front of their peers and shared those commitments.
For some, that came easily. For others, it required a degree of vulnerability.
That matters.

Leadership is not demonstrated by knowing the right framework or being able to describe what good leadership looks like.
The real test is being prepared to be clear about what you will do differently, allowing others to hear that commitment and then following through.

We finished the day with each leader identifying a leadership behaviour they will work to change before the end of the year.
And that is where the real work begins.

Because the next part cannot happen in a workshop.
It happens in the conversations they have, the decisions they make and what they choose to do differently when they return to work.

Thank you to the leaders from across St Vincent’s Lismore for their openness, energy and willingness to lean into the conversations throughout the day.

And a big thank you to our Studer Group coaches, Michele Dobe and Jaime Thomson, for facilitating the day and creating the space for those conversations to happen.

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26/08/2026

Healthcare leaders spend a significant amount of time in meetings.
The problem is not always the number of meetings.
It is what happens inside them.

Working with a partner site recently, we spent time looking at what makes meetings effective. One of the strongest reflections from leaders was how easily calendars become filled with back-to-back meetings that involve plenty of discussion but do not always result in a clear decision, action or outcome.

A good meeting needs more than an agenda.
People should understand why they are there, what needs to be decided or progressed, who is responsible for what happens next and when the group needs to come back to it.

Otherwise, the meeting finishes and the work simply follows everyone out the door.

Meetings are one of the everyday places where leadership, accountability and ex*****on become visible.

The measure of a meeting is not how much was discussed. It is what moved forward because the meeting occurred.

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20/08/2026

Last week Ian MacDonald and Kylie Vos commenced the Advanced Leadership Program with senior leaders at South West Healthcare.

Delivered across six interactive days over three months, the programme creates space for leaders to step outside the immediate demands of their roles and work through some of the real leadership and organisational challenges they are managing.

The focus is not simply on learning new concepts.
It is about practical application. Exploring how leaders create clarity, make decisions, strengthen accountability, work across organisational boundaries and translate priorities into action.

The first sessions generated plenty of discussion, challenge and shared experience across the group, with leaders actively applying the thinking to their own roles and areas of responsibility.
That application between sessions is an important part of sustained leadership development.

We look forward to continuing the work with the group over the coming months.

12/08/2026

People don’t judge their healthcare experience only by what happened. They remember how it felt.

The Beryl Institute’s consumer research consistently points to the same things people value: listen to me, communicate in a way I understand, and treat me with dignity and respect.

In Australia, this is also reflected in the NSQHS Partnering with Consumers Standard, which reinforces the importance of involving people in their care and communicating clearly.

From a Studer perspective, this is why what we say and how we say it matter equally.

Three practical ways to strengthen the how:

1. Standardise the interaction, not the person.
Use AIDET® to create consistency in connection and communication while keeping the interaction personal.

2. Make listening visible.
Before jumping to the solution, pause and reflect back what you’ve heard. Even a simple, “Let me check I’ve understood…” can reduce anxiety and signal respect.

3. Lead with non-verbal compassion.
Tone, pace, eye contact, posture and calm presence are all part of the experience. In pressured environments, small behaviours can carry significant weight.

Clinical care matters enormously. But so does the experience we create while delivering it.

What’s one communication behaviour you’ve seen make an immediate difference for a patient, family member or colleague?

28/07/2026

Visibility is not about being everywhere.
Healthcare leaders are often told they need to be more visible.

That advice is sound, but it can also be misunderstood.
Visibility is not about walking around for the sake of being seen. It is not about appearing briefly in a unit, saying hello, and moving on before anyone has the chance to raise what really matters.

True visibility has purpose.
It helps leaders understand the reality of the work.
It gives staff a chance to raise concerns early.
It creates opportunities for recognition.
It helps leaders see whether priorities are clear.
It builds trust over time through consistency.

In a busy healthcare environment, staff quickly learn the difference between symbolic visibility and genuine presence.

Symbolic visibility feels like a leader passing through.
Genuine presence feels like a leader paying attention.

A leader does not need to have every solution in the moment. But when staff see that their leader is approachable, curious and willing to act on what they hear, trust grows.
The question is not just, “Are leaders visible?”
The better question is:
“When leaders are visible, does it make the work clearer, safer or better for the people delivering care?”

19/07/2026

We’re seeing more leaders step into senior roles with energy, curiosity and a genuine desire to do well.

That’s exactly what you want.
What matters next is how we help them succeed.

Too often, onboarding is left to chance. A bit of informal guidance, a few conversations and plenty of learning on the go. Helpful, but inconsistent.

Good onboarding isn’t accidental. It’s structured, intentional and connected to how the organisation actually works.
New leaders need to quickly understand not only what to do, but why it matters. How leader rounding, traffic light reporting and monthly accountability meetings connect to the operational plan and, ultimately, to better outcomes.

The organisations that do this well keep it simple and consistent:
• Clear expectations for the first 90 days
• Practical training in core ways of working
• Regular check-ins with their manager or executive sponsor
• Peer mentoring and shadowing opportunities
• Real examples, not just theory

And they’re clear about one thing.
These aren’t simply administrative tasks.
They’re the mechanisms that align teams, surface risks early, recognise great work and keep the service moving forward.

When onboarding is done well, it removes guesswork, builds confidence faster and sets leaders, and their teams, up for success from the start.

14/07/2026

14/07/2026

It starts this week: Elevating the Patient Experience

Would you trust your loved ones to the care of your health service?
It’s a question that sits at the heart of safe, high-quality care.

Patient experience is shaped by every interaction, every process, every environment, and every moment where patients and carers feel informed, heard and supported.

This Thursday, our Elevating the Patient Experience virtual workshop will support healthcare leaders to explore practical strategies to:

• Build trust with patients and carers
• Strengthen consistency in the patient experience
• Create a better environment to provide and receive care
• Enhance the quality and safety of patient care
• Reduce complaints by addressing experience gaps earlier

🗓️ Thursday 16 July 2026
⏰ 10:00am – 12:00pm AEST
📍 Online via Teams
🎓 Earn up to 2 CPD points

Final chance to register before the workshop begins this week.

👉 Register here: www.studergroup.com.au/events

13/07/2026

When staff raise an issue, ask a question or share an idea, they do not always expect an immediate solution.
But they do need to know what happened next.

A quick update, even when the answer is “we are still working through it,” shows people that their contribution was heard and taken seriously.

Closing the loop is a small leadership habit that builds trust, strengthens engagement and makes it more likely that people will keep speaking up.