Pathways hitting the mark in the north and south alike

25 August 2015

Pathways hitting the mark in the north and south alike

AgResearch social scientist Neels Botha has found a programme designed to instil confidence in rural women to lead change in their personal and professional lives, is so far achieving exactly what it set out to do.

The Agri-Women’s Development Trust Pathways Programme was born out of Dairy Women’s Network and AWDT research that found rural women were missing this sort of professional development opportunity.

The programme was first piloted nearly 12 months ago and has been running in both the north and south islands ever since. To date, 30 women have either been through the programme or are currently participating.

“We have finished evaluating the planning sessions and from our perspective, the programme has been of immense value to the participants,” said Mr Botha.

“They have enjoyed being together, and being free to talk to other likeminded women. It’s clear that the participants all have a desire to make a difference in their businesses, in their communities and in the industry.”

He said some participants already had great leadership skills and knowledge but perhaps hadn’t realised it upon signing up to the programme and that the less experienced had learnt a lot from the “old hats”.

Jodie Goudswaard of Huntly said she got a lot out of the AWDT-designed Pathways Programme, which comprises two two-day workshops held six months apart, with three professional coaching sessions in between.

In her role as a dairy farming woman, Goudswaard leads the strategic planning, financial management and human resource functions in hers and her husband Carl’s sharemilking business.

Although she’s been carrying out these functions for the past five years, it was her recent completion of Pathways that made her realise the value of her role and how much more she was capable of.

“The tools for leading change really resonated with me and I am currently using them; mainly in my role as president at the local playcentre, but in our business as well,” she said.

“Pathways has made me realise there are opportunities out there and that you just have to go out and grab them.”

She said it was great to meet other women in the industry and come away with so many tools in leading change and a newfound confidence and energy.

Bernadette Hunt of Gore had some pretty clear goals in mind when she signed up for Pathways.

“I wanted to boost my confidence and skills to one day hopefully take on a more influential role in the rural sector,” said the mother-of-one, who runs a 730-acre mixed sheep, beef, arable, dairy grazing and contracting business with her husband Alistair.

“I’ve completed phase one of the programme and absolutely loved it. It’s been inspiring and motivating and I can’t wait for the rest of my coaching sessions and phase two later this year.”

“So far, the Pathways Programme has helped me find my strengths and work to those, and it’s also made me more aware of how I’m seen by others and how I can influence that.”

AWDT executive director Lindy Nelson says it’s exciting to see these women realising their leadership potential.

“Understanding that leadership is about behaviours and a not role is important, and when they understand this, the women have new knowledge on how to lead. They can then apply it within their business and community, gaining huge confidence which delivers results.”

Nelson says she has particularly noticed the value of the programme for South Island participants who have new leadership knowledge, networks and support to apply to their farming businesses during the current challenging time.

The programme is funded by Ministry for Primary Industries and DairyNZ.

Visit www.awdt.org.nz or www.dwn.co.nz for more information.

-ENDS-

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