About the 2021 Management Challenge
The 2021 New Zealand leg of the JLT Australasian Management Challenge took place on Tuesday 13 April, with a welcome event for teams on Monday 12 April. In Our Element, from Otago Regional Council, took first place in the 2021 competition, followed by Auaha, from Hutt City Council in second place and Flight of the Kotuku, from Bay of Plenty Regional Council in third place.
Each year Taituarā runs the New Zealand leg of the Management Challenge, Australasia’s premier forum for current and emerging local government leaders.
The winning team, In Our Element from Otago Regional Council, demonstrated all the characteristics of a highly effective team – interacting well, demonstrating collaborative behaviour, and including everyone’s perspectives. They were supportive, had great energy and laughed together.
Congratulations to all 14 teams who participated!
Picking a Challenge Team
Teams have six members and a mentor. Councils that have taken part in the Challenge for many years will usually have a strategy for selecting their team members. For councils new to the Challenge the team members typically come from a variety of departments across the council. This means the team can draw on a range of skills and knowledge, and it makes it a collaborative experience – some past participants have said they’ve learned more about their wider council at a Challenge than while at work! We recommend that the team include someone who has communications experience as the day’s tasks usually include at least one where reporting or external communications is a very useful skill.
Team members are usually, though not exclusively, in mid-tier roles. The final selection of team members will depend on each council’s objectives for the Challenge so it’s perfectly legitimate to select someone with leadership potential but who is still at the start of their local government career. Conversely very senior managers have taken part and found it a valuable experience.
Find out more
Please email if you’d like more information on the Challenge.