Leadership
“What greater scope for leadership is there than in our own family, what greater contribution can we make than by being a really good parent, or brother or sister. If we are this we must have put much thought and consideration into it. This in itself will lead us into greater fields and we will feel ourselves wanting to help our friends, our workmates and fellow members of associations and teams. This is all first-class leadership.”
Sir Vincent Fairfax
“When we are taught about leaders we always hear about the great and famous leaders and we are told that the qualities of leadership are courage, willpower, initiative and knowledge. The majority of us then say, “leadership is not for me, fancy me hoping to have all those qualities.” (…) My message to you is that you all must and can be a leader.”
Sir Vincent Fairfax
Rural and regional leadership is a core interest of the Fairfax family and VFFF’s work. Sir Vincent believed in the potential for everyone to be a leader within their spheres of influence, be that family, workplace or the community.
To support members of the family as they honour the legacy of Sir Vincent and Lady Nancy while responding to present day challenges and opportunities, VFFF articulated the strategic lenses that guide our work. The five lenses sit above the grant-making strategy adopted from time to time and were developed with a clear line of sight to family values.
The Leadership lens, highlights that backing existing leaders and supporting the development of new leaders is an important characteristic in the family’s approach to philanthropy. The Leadership lens inspired the theme to this year’s annual report, “Backing Leaders”.
Family
As the family tradition of generosity continues, the views and interests of Sir Vincent's descendants are paramount to our work
Courageous yet responsible
We support ideas and organisations at critical times of development or transition
Collaboration
We understand impact is maximised when we work together with both our grant partners and philanthropic peers
Participation for all
We recognise the challenges faced by many Australians and prioritise our efforts to support social and economic participation for all
Leadership
Australia is strengthened by its "little" leaders as much as its eminent leaders and we value and nurture leadership at all levels
Social Impact Leadership Australia (SILA)
In 2019 VFFF collaborated with The Myer Foundation, Sidney Myer Fund and The Paul Ramsay Foundation to develop and support a disruptive and innovative leadership program created for for-purpose CEOs. Three cohorts of participants have completed the program and describe SILA as the “best leadership program” they have experienced in Australia and overseas. Evaluated by the NOUS Group, SILA has consistently achieved world class Net Promoter Scores (an NPS over 80 is a world class result) including a NPS of 97.5 in its most recent cohort. Through clever design by the Centre for Social Impact and expert facilitation by Professor Kristy Muir and Robbie MacPherson, along with the SILA Indigenous Lead Mark Yettica-Paulson, and Lead Coach Terri Soller, SILA’s systemic impact extends beyond the CEOs to their organisations and the for-purpose ecosystem.
Participants report four key outcomes:
- CEO networks that offer reassurance and advice;
- a greater focus on systems thinking and enhancement to their impact;
- improvement in their practices;
- increased well-being.
SILA’s success is attributed to the focus on adaptive leadership, program elements that are based on evidence and the combination of retreats and a sabbatical.
VFFF is four years into our five-year SILA funding commitment. We are watching closely the outcomes from Cohort Four consisting of leaders from the Northern Territory and Queensland and look forward to supporting another cohort of for-purpose leaders from New South Wales and ACT to participate as Cohort Five beginning in August, 2025. Subject to the final results of the NOUS Group evaluation and continued support from our partners, VFFF has committed to a further five years of SILA from 2026 to 2031.
