THREE Solomon Islands Media leaders have successfully completed the University of New South Wales’ Australian Graduate School of Management General Manager program.
Funded by the Australian Government, the cohort included Managing Director of the Island Sun newspaper, Lloyd Loji, owner and CEO of Solomon Star newspaper and PAOA FM Joel Lamani and Christopher Adifaka, Station Manager of Barava FM.
The trio participated in the program which was held on the 17 – 25 March 2024, alongside representatives from Australian companies;Coles, Rio Tinto, Santos, and Standards Australia, and international participants from Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
The program aims to equip executives to build their individual leadership capabilities, functional knowledge, and strategic insight to drive organisational performance.
Speaking to the Australian High Commission office, Joel Lamani said the program has “tremendously impacted” him;
“… it has given me new capabilities at the executive level. Building new relationships by networking with other General Managers from diverse backgrounds- from regional Australia to Dubai- is very beneficial.”
“The lecturers are experts in the field and were able to deliver highly experiential material in a range of topics – these build the mindset of a manager as opposed to a leader,” he added.
Adifaka, the program has challenged him to be an “adaptive leader”
“… able to adapt to changing circumstances and effectively navigate complex challenges. This requires trying to get a good understanding of the business climate and being flexible in problem solving.”
“More often than not, problems can be solved collaboratively with employees rather than traditional hierarchy. I thank the Government and people of Australia for this opportunity.”
As for Lodji, the program was an “upgrade to our leadership capability”, especially within the local media sector.
“It was a transformative learning experience; sharing leadership issues across different industries in terms of change management, strategy, adaptive leadership and politics and power,” he said.
With the collective information sharing and high content delivery from the training, it will enable us to furnish our leadership approach within our respective organisations and the media industry in Solomon Islands.”
The cohort completed their trip at Brisbane where they were treated to a private tour of the Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art, learning about First Nations Australian artwork and culture, a private tour of Suncorp Stadium and attending the Women’s A-League football match between Brisbane Roar vs Perth Glory.
