DeakinCo.

Meet the people behind DeakinCo. Every program, partnership, and learning experience starts with a team committed to helping people build real-world skills that matter. First up in our series, we’re delighted to introduce Angela Girton, CEO and Director of Executive Education at DeakinCo. Angela leads a team that helps organisations strengthen workforce capability through tailored learning solutions, strategic pathways, and collaborative partnerships. Drawing on both Deakin University's academic expertise and industry-informed practice, the team supports organisations to build capability that aligns with their business objectives. With a career built at the intersection of learning, leadership, and organisational development, Angela brings a combination of strategic vision and genuine passion for the work. #DeakinCo #LearningAndDevelopment #CapabilityDevelopment #Leadership

We're proud to have wrapped up the inaugural cohort of Management Fundamentals with the Department of Education Victoria. Over seven weeks, 21 participants completed a learning journey designed to strengthen management capability and build a common language for leading teams across the department. The program blended four immersive workshops, peer momentum circles, and a real-world Adaptive Leadership Challenge, grounded in human-centred design, adult learning principles, and 70:20:10. Participants explored: - Self-awareness and emotional intelligence (including personalised Hogan psychometric reports) - Team performance frameworks and adaptive capacity - Communication, difficult conversations and the SCARF model - Change management, strategic thinking and innovation tools. Seeing them finish and present their Adaptive Leadership Challenges was a genuine highlight. Cohort 2 kicks off on 27 July, and we can't wait. Huge thank you to the DeakinCo. team and the wider Department of Education team for your partnership in bringing this to life. #DeakinCo.#ManagementDevelopment #LeadershipLearning #LearningAndDevelopment Nini S. Sian Holm Shahira P., Angela Girton Melinda Kavanagh

We’re proud to welcome the 2026 cohort of the Barwon Health - Transforming Clinical Leadership (TCL) program, bringing together 17 emerging healthcare leaders from nursing and public health. Designed in partnership with DeakinCo., the program has been refreshed to reflect changes to legislation, innovation and leadership challenges, while continuing to build capability across frontline excellence, change leadership, communication and collaboration, and diversity, inclusion and ethical decision-making. The program commenced with a focus on cultural awareness, beginning with “Seeing the Unseen: An Introduction to Unconscious Bias and Privilege and its Impact on First Nations Peoples and Communities”, delivered by Marsha Uppill. Participants then took part in an immersive on-country experience, deepening their understanding of the enduring connections of the Wadawurrung People to waterways, plains and sea. Through workshops, social learning opportunities, guest speakers and ongoing learning activities, participants will strengthen their leadership practice, learn from one another, and build the skills needed to create positive impact across our health service and communities. We look forward to delivering the leadership journey of this year's cohort. #DeakinCo. #TransformingClinicalLeadership #ClinicalLeadership #HealthcareLeadership Angela Girton Shahira P. Gabrielle Peacock Emily McNally Linda Black Dr Desley Lodwick GAICD

We’re excited to be partnering with Hockey Australia to deliver the “Fundamentals for High Performers” program, running from May through September across Deakin Downtown and online. This cohort brings together 22 emerging people leaders from across Hockey Australia’s corporate office, many are early in their careers, working in a fast-moving environment. This program is intentionally designed to strengthen connection, capability and retention by helping people feel valued, invested in, and equipped to grow. A key focus is also breaking down silos and building stronger cross-team collaboration, supporting participants to shift from “how my team works” to “how we work together”. Across the program, participants will: 🔺 Take part in workshops, focused on self-awareness, leadership capability, communication, collaboration and coaching skills. 🔺 Strengthen their ability to have impactful conversations and apply real-time feedback and courageous conversation techniques. 🔺 Work on a mini values-based challenge aligned to Hockey Australia’s values. 🔺 Engage in coaching sessions to support progress and embed learning into practice. 🔺 Present outcomes of their challenge to the Executive Leadership Team at an Action and Impact workshop. 🔺 Explore the opportunity to achieve Deakin Professional Practice Credentials (optional), recognising applied learning and capability growth. At its core, this program is about turning learning into action, supporting leaders to build stronger relationships, elevate performance, and embed values into everyday leadership practice. A big thank you to the Hockey Australia team and our program partners for their collaboration in bringing this initiative to life, including Nini S. Shahira P., Angela Girton and Gavin Freeman. We look forward to seeing the impact this cohort creates across the organisation. #DeakinCo. #HockeyAustralia #Leadership #HighPerformance

📍 We’re thrilled to share that the ANZ ABN Leadership Excellence Program, co-designed and delivered by DeakinCo. in partnership with ANZ, was named runner up in the "Best Leadership Development Program" category at the 2026 AITD Excellence Awards. Designed to strengthen ANZ’s future leadership pipeline, the program supported high potential Branch Managers to expand their strategic thinking, enterprise influence, and leadership capability through an immersive and highly practical learning journey. This recognition reflects the power of collaborative leadership development and the impact of learning experiences grounded in real organisational challenges and future focused capability building. Thank you to the team at ANZ and our own team at DeakinCo. for bringing this successful program to life, and to the AITD for this recognition. #DeakinCo. #LeadershipDevelopment #LeadershipCapability Australian Institute of Training & Development - AITD Shahira P. Sian Holm Angus Hamilton

Well done to DeakinCo.’s Shahira P. and Barwon Health’s Gabrielle Peacock, on a strong fireside chat at the L&D Leadership Summit in Melbourne on Transforming Clinical Leadership: Valuable insights for any sector facing complexity and the need to build leadership capability.👏 A big thank you to Gab for sharing her journey, first as a participant of the program and now as a custodian of it, and for her authentic insights on what it really takes to build leadership capability in complex environments. The conversation showcased the evolution of the Transforming Clinical Leadership (TCL) program, which was co-designed by DeakinCo. and Barwon Health. What began as a program for Nurse Unit Managers has grown into a broader leadership capability initiative across clinical cohorts, continually shaped by frontline experience, organisational context, and co-design in action. Well done for facilitating a thoughtful and engaging discussion, and to everyone who contributed through questions and conversation today. A reminder that meaningful leadership development is built through collaboration, shared experience, and continuous learning. #DeakinCo. #BarwonHealth #Leadership #ClinicalLeadership

💥 That’s a wrap on the L&D Leadership Summit in Melbourne. It's been a great couple of days connecting with leaders across industries, hearing conversations about capability, complexity, and what’s next for workforce development. Our stand had plenty of traffic across the event, lots of great discussions, interest, and energy around what we’re working on. Big thanks to everyone who stopped by, and to the organisers for bringing such a strong program together. And, congratulations to Jenny B on winning our prize draw. Next stop... Sydney. See you there! #DeakinCo. #LearningAndDevelopment #WorkforceCapability Angela Girton Shahira P. Sian Holm

💥 We’re excited to be heading to the L&D Leadership Summit this week from 6-7 May at MCEC. Our DeakinCo. team will be at Table 4, so come say hello if you’re attending. We’re also looking forward to hearing from our very own Shahira P., who will be joined by Gabrielle Peacock to share insights on Transforming Clinical Leadership: Valuable insights for any sector facing complexity and the need to build leadership capability. It’s set to be two days of great conversations, fresh thinking, and connection with leaders across the industry. #DeakinCo. #Leadership #LearningAndDevelopment #LeadershipCapability Angela Girton Sian Holm

Easter is a good reminder to step back and recharge. Wishing everyone a safe and relaxing break.

DeakinCo. recently had the privilege of facilitating the Aster Leadership Development Program with 32 members of Aster DM Healthcare, India’s leadership team in Bangalore. Across four impactful sessions, grounded in real Aster challenges, the cohort brought curiosity, passion, and commitment that made every discussion insightful and inspiring. During the program, leaders explored what it means to guide people through change. They unpacked the human dynamics of the change process and how emotional intelligence enables leaders to recognise resistance, build trust, and support teams through uncertainty. Leaders also examined how to build a change ready culture and leverage diverse perspectives to strengthen problem solving and drive innovation. They also explored the role of storytelling in leading change, how a well-crafted narrative can bring a vision to life and help teams connect to the path forward. From shaping messages that align with organisational strategy to tailoring them for different audiences, the focus was on creating stories that resonate emotionally and inspire action. Special thanks to all the participants, and to the incredible support team and facilitators who made this program possible. Here’s to leading with impact, embracing change, and telling stories that move people! #DeakinCo. #Leaders Angela Girton Deepa Susan Thomas Rakesh Pati Emmanuel David, ACC ICF, Chrisa Godly Sushmit Chakraborty