Over the past five years, DesignInc Adelaide has had consistent organic growth in our studio team. Since 2020, DesignInc Adelaide has been crafting a leadership development program to help manage this expansion. In the second half of 2021, 17 of our senior management team and future leaders came together to develop leadership capability in our inaugural bespoke four-month program.
Adelaide Director and People + Culture Lead Ben Zoontjens said, ‘We are building a workplace culture that promotes professional development in a supportive environment that has the flexibility to adapt as personal situations changes. We are excited to have completed our first bespoke Leadership Development Program and will continue to provide leadership development opportunities to broaden our capability.’
The program’s design reflects our culture of being a Deliberately Developmental Organisation. We aim for participants to feel engaged and valued, and establish a common language of leadership for working together on our business strategy.
As a new member of the studio’s leadership team, I value the support and the tools provided in this program. The Executive Leadership Team sought the team’s input prior to developing the program. This helped tailor the sessions to our real-life needs as a collective leadership group. The program has helped me progress my career and better lead our project teams.
Michael Willis
Associate, DesignInc Adelaide
The program is structured to the following themes:
Associate, Gavin Dixon commented, ‘The leadership program gave me the tools to heighten my self-awareness. This has been invaluable to me personally on a day-to-day basis. The program also provided me with different frameworks which I can apply in various situations. These frameworks allow me to better understand what motivates individuals and what may be hindering a colleague or team’s ability to perform their job successfully and improve their performance.’
DesignInc is proud to announce that we have achieved dual Climate Active certification, which certifies both our Services and Organisation. Currently, DesignInc is the only architecture practice in Australia that holds Climate Active certification for Service.
esignInc Adelaide is pleased to announce the addition of Design Management to its multi-disciplinary studio. Recognising the increasing complexity in the design and construction industries, we are introducing this new service to provide added value to our clients and their projects. We welcome Kat Povey to our Adelaide studio and look forward to her building the Design Management capability across our team.
Directors Richard Stafford and Ben Zoontjens are pleased to welcome Sonya Montgomerie and Ben Luppino as new directors for DesignInc Adelaide. The promotions double Adelaide’s directors from two to four. The four Adelaide directors look forward to working together as the Adelaide studio and the broader industry continue to evolve and adapt to new challenges.
As we approach the end of the year, it’s a good time to reflect on the progress and accomplishments of the past 12 months. For DesignInc studios in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, it has been a year of community engagement, growth and celebration.
DesignInc has joined Architecture + Design Reconciliation Industry Network Group (A&D RING) members in co-signing an open letter to the Australian public endorsing the Uluru Statement from the Heart and a First Nations Voice in the constitution.
DesignInc is delighted to announce that Wulanda Recreation + Convention Centre has been recognised in two categories at the 2023 South Australian Architecture Awards, winning Public Architecture and receiving a commendation for Sustainable Architecture.