Government &
Public Sector

Strong leadership is the backbone of public service. We build the capability to navigate complexity, reform, and community expectations

We Understand

If you’re a public sector leader in South Australia or across Australia, you know the feeling of being pulled in all directions. Communities expect more, budgets are tight, and the pace of reform never slows. Add wage pressures, digital transformation, and the demand for diversity and wellbeing, and it’s no wonder leaders and teams feel stretched. We’ve seen dedicated people caught between bureaucracy and real human needs — and the toll it takes on performance and morale.

How We Can Support

We work with you to equip leaders and managers with the skills to lead through complexity, inspire teams, and break down silos. Our programs build confidence, adaptability, and inclusive leadership practices that match the needs of today’s public sector. We create the conditions for collaboration so your people can focus on delivering value to the community.

Results

Leaders who navigate reform with confidence and clarity
Stronger cross-agency collaboration and alignment with strategy
Increased engagement and wellbeing, reducing turnover
Clear ROI by linking leadership growth to service delivery outcomes

Impact

Our evaluations show measurable returns for government clients: improved staff engagement, reduced turnover, stronger collaboration across departments, and leaders who can balance reform with daily delivery. Using Hogan assessments, 360° feedback, and impact evaluations, we provide the evidence you need to show that investment in leadership pays off — for people, performance, and community outcomes.

Case Study

Building leadership confidence and retention across South Australia’s education system

Through Orbis, the South Australian Department for Education’s professional learning platform, Elevate-CLE supported leadership development across schools and education sites statewide. Delivered through BTS Spark, the work focused on three programmes: MESSY Leadership for executive and regional leadership teams, Middle Leadership for educators moving into first leadership roles, and Mentoring for Early Career Teachers.

The need was clear. Teacher retention is a major issue across Australia and in South Australia. Research estimates that up to 50% of graduate teachers leave the profession within their first five years, while a 2023 South Australian report indicated that 46% of teachers planned to leave within five years. Burnout, lack of mentoring, insecure contracts, and the pressures of early career teaching all contribute to the challenge.

Phillip’s contribution included facilitating two-day and full-day workshops, virtual coaching pods, and individual coaching across metropolitan Adelaide and regional centres including Port Lincoln, Port Pirie, Mount Gambier, Robe, and Port Augusta. The programmes focused on practical leadership issues: leading through change, building emotional intelligence and presence, moving from colleague to leader, managing relationships in hierarchical systems, and strengthening mentoring support for early career teachers.

Participants reported stronger confidence in their leadership, greater ability to be proactive in change, stronger leadership presence, improved prioritisation and delegation, and clearer articulation of shared vision. They also described a deeper understanding of themselves as leaders and increased emotional intelligence in how they worked with colleagues and the wider school community.

What distinguished the work was its practical and participatory approach. Participants consistently valued having their own expertise recognised and being able to learn from one another’s real experience, whether they were five years or forty-five years into the profession.

In a public education system, this kind of capability-building has wider impact. It strengthens leadership at multiple levels, supports the retention and growth of early career teachers, and helps build a more resilient and effective system for staff, students, and communities.