Building leadership skills in Australia can begin with people you already work with. A colleague who handles a difficult handover well, a former supervisor or a contact in another team may offer a useful perspective. The value comes from a clear learning purpose and respectful use of the relationship.
Start with one leadership task you want to improve. You do not need to ask everyone for general career advice or turn each conversation into a formal mentoring arrangement. Plan a small exchange, apply what is relevant and review the result.
Choose a specific leadership task
Describe the situation in terms of observable work. You might want to explain priorities more clearly, invite useful feedback or coordinate a handover between teams. Avoid a goal so broad that nobody can tell what improvement would look like.
Write what currently happens and where you become uncertain. Keep confidential details out of the summary. The person helping you needs enough context to understand the task, not unrestricted access to another person’s private information.
Choose an area within your responsibilities. Developing leadership does not require taking authority you do not have or bypassing the people accountable for a decision.
Identify a connection relevant to that task
Think about whose experience relates to the question. Seniority alone does not establish that someone is the right contact. A peer with direct experience of the process may be more useful for a practical question.
Business.gov.au’s staff development guidance discusses mentoring, coaching and learning by observing work. Use the distinction to choose the kind of help you actually need.
Ask whether the person is willing and has time. A brief conversation should be agreed, not assumed because you already know each other. Make it easy for them to decline or suggest a different contact.
Prepare a focused request
Explain the task, the particular question and the kind of perspective you would find helpful. Avoid asking someone to solve your whole role or endorse a decision without the necessary context.
- What situation am I trying to handle better?
- What have I already tried?
- Where is my judgement uncertain?
- What experience could this person share?
- What information should remain confidential?
- What small next action could I consider?
Share only material you are authorised to share. If an example concerns a sensitive workplace matter, use an appropriate internal process or qualified support rather than turning an informal conversation into an investigation.
Use the conversation to understand the reasoning
Ask how the person approached a comparable situation and what influenced their judgement. The useful learning may be how they weighed competing needs, not a phrase you can repeat word for word.
The APS Academy’s mentoring resource describes informal learning through conversations, observation and reflection in the Australian Public Service. Those examples can prompt questions, while APS-specific structures and rules remain specific to that context.
Keep the other person’s experience in its setting. A method that worked in their team may need adjustment or may not suit your situation. Understanding the limits is part of the learning.
Do not treat a mentor’s suggestion as formal approval to change a process. Check the relevant authority and responsibilities before acting.
Plan one appropriate application
Select a modest change within your role. You might clarify the purpose of a meeting, check that a handover identifies the next action or ask a more specific feedback question.
Explain the change to the people affected where appropriate. Avoid using colleagues as an undisclosed test of a management technique. Keep the work respectful and connected to a real need.
Choose an observation that will help you review the change. Fewer unanswered handover questions may be useful evidence for that task; it is not proof that you have improved every aspect of leadership.
Review before asking for more
Record what you tried, what happened and what remains uncertain. Consider other factors that may have affected the result. A single useful conversation does not establish a guaranteed method.
If you return to the contact, explain what you did with the earlier advice. A clear follow-up helps them understand the next question and shows that the conversation led to considered action.
Discuss boundaries if the relationship becomes more regular. Clarify the purpose, time and expectations rather than allowing an informal favour to become an unlimited obligation.
Keep the learning relationship constructive
Thank the person for the agreed help and respect their time. Share useful observations through appropriate channels without claiming their support for something they did not endorse.
Maintain more than one perspective over time. Existing connections can open practical learning opportunities, but they should not become a closed circle that excludes relevant experience elsewhere.
A leadership development plan grows through specific work: ask a clear question, understand the context, apply a suitable change and reflect. That makes better use of your connections while keeping responsibility for your decisions with you.