We're hosting a Political Wellbeing Summit in February 2025
to officially launch our thought-leading and Australian-first political
wellbeing framework.
The Summit will bring together thought-leaders and current
and former elected leaders in deep conversation on the mental wellbeing of our
elected representatives and it’s impact on our communities and democracies. We'll be unpacking each of the eight elements of our political wellbeing
framework alongside our guest speakers.
We are excited to welcome anyone interested in the wellbeing of our elected leaders and our the health of our democracy to join.
So, you might be wondering – what exactly is political
wellbeing? Political wellbeing is an emerging term used to describe the mental
wellbeing of politicians. We have adopted the definition from the Mere Mortals Report published by the Apolitical Foundation:
A politician’s mental wellbeing is about being able to perform at the top of their game, negotiate the many challenges of the job and deliver for constituents.
It goes beyond mindfulness, green smoothies and yoga. And it’s not just about being free from mental illness as diagnosed by a doctor or psychologist. It’s about being mentally fit to meet the high expectations of the job and deliver the outcomes our communities need in a complex, uncertain world. From our perspective, at its core, political wellbeing is about performance and impact, and ultimately outcomes for local communities.
As a political leadership accelerator, Locale Learning is on
a mission to build the capacity of local government councillors through
innovative training and thought-leadership.
Since the get-go, we’ve been focused on the wellbeing of our
elected leaders and this human-centred approach informs everything we do.
We’ve
seen many brave people put their hand up to lead their communities and then struggle
with the complexities of local political leadership – caught unaware by the
adversarial decision making, the personal nature of politics or the demands of
the role. We've heard plenty of stories of councillors coming out the other end worse than what they went in, and many personally suffering along the way from online abuse or high-conflict behaviour. Often in silence and without knowing where to access support.
We want to change that experience, and deeply believe that we should be lifting our leaders up, not tearing them down.
Broadly, evidence shows that lowered mental wellbeing impacts problem-solving, long-term thinking and creativity - arguably crucial cognitive abilities for our elected leaders.
The link between elected leaders mental wellbeing and policy outcomes for communities is also becoming more evident with more political leaders across the globe coming forward admitting to mental health struggles while in office. Our founder, Emma Broomfield, was recently interviewed for a
RTE radio documentary exploring the impact of personal abuse and stress on public representatives in Irish politics.
We see examples of violence, intimidation and harassment against leaders of all levels of government, both off and online. These increasing hostilities are occurring right here in Australia, with a 2021 Victorian study found a considerably high number of women councillors (56 per cent) not intending to run in future elections reported experiences of hostility and bullying as one of their top three reasons for not contesting.
Jordan Simmons, CEO and co-founder of
Nominee, a Canadian-based political leadership incubator has seen a considerable down-turn in participants in their programs contesting re-election. Simmons attributes much of this to a negative balance in the ‘risk versus reward’, with elected councillors reporting that the risk to their mental wellbeing and safety is too high for the impact they feel they are making in local politics.
The social impacts of leaders not re-contesting along with potential public leaders being warned off even putting their hand up for election are significant. Reduced diversity in representation, poorer outcomes for communities due to a high-turn-over in councillors reducing progress and innovation opportunities to name some.
While there is growing recognition of the importance of the
mental wellbeing of our elected leaders and research is continuing to emerge,
stigma remains high and structural and systemic factors stand in the way of
change.
We’ve worked closely with councillors for many years. We’ve
listened to their stories and worked directly with elected councillors to navigate
difficult and challenging circumstances that have directly impacted their
wellbeing. This includes online abuse, fractured relationships with other
councillors and governance issues that have threatened the sustainability of
their organisations. Much of this work happens behind closed doors and out of
the public eye.
Having been inspired by the work and research of the
Apolitical Foundation to more confidently and enthusiastically pursue our work
in this space, we’ve designed a political wellbeing framework for local councillors in Australia. This framework is the first of its kind in
Australia.
The framework:
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identifies eight elements of mental wellbeing that influence the impact and performance of a councillor
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provides local elected leaders with a comprehensive and easy-to-follow tool to assess and manage their mental wellbeing within the context of their civic leadership role
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steps councillors through self-reflection tools and mindset strategies to help them self-correct
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importantly, the framework provides direct links to resources for higher level support
The Summit will be the official launch of this framework! We'd love to see you there.
Don't wait. Secure your ticket now.
The purpose of local government is to create local
communities that are strong, healthy and prosperous. And we elect local
councillors to make the best possible decisions for our communities. It almost
goes without saying: Healthy leaders, equals
healthy communities.
Put simply, a healthy mind makes for better decisions. When
our elected leaders are overwhelmed by the mental and emotional load of their
role, their cognitive capacity to effectively execute their key
responsibilities declines. This leads to broader consequences for the community
and can fuel the cycle of mistrust in government.
The Mere Mortals report from the Apolitical Foundation found
that the politicians they surveyed had lower mental wellbeing than
emergency-service employees. And unlike the growing support and resources
available for our valuable first-responders, there is very limited direct
support available to our elected leaders. To the contrary, there is a widespread view that our elected
leaders should just “suck it up” or “grow a thicker skin”. And there is
continued stigma associated with politicians speaking up about these issues
from a personal perspective as it can be perceived as weakness.
We all have a role to play in changing this narrative and
supporting the humans we’ve elected to lead us.
Join us at the Summit to not just be part of this conversation but to leave the Summit with a mud map to take action in your Council or community.
The Summit will equip you with new knowledge and practical strategies so you can open the doorway for the political wellbeing of our elected leaders. And ultimately, positively impact the outcomes for your community.
Purchase individual tickets below. For group bookings, contact us contact@localelearning.com.au or 0421 180 881.
