Meet our Community - Nat McGlone

Nat McGloneManager of Community Engagement and Public ParticipationMoreland City CouncilMy name is Nat McGlone and I lead a small team passionate about building trust between community and council to enable better project outcomes and decisions for the community.How being connected with Groupwork Centre has influenced my work …Groupwork facilitation is kind of a way of life these days!All of our team has completed the Groupwork facilitation training and every day is an opportunity for us to apply the Groupwork principles and microskills in our work.  Our goal is to keep the democracy in Moreland as strong as possible, and show our organisation that the best things happen when we use the wisdom of the community in our work.The Community of Selves is a helpful framework our team uses all the time to communicate about how we’re progressing with work. We also draw on microskills in all meetings with colleagues and community members. We’ve had more than a few hairy community meetings where microskills helped us move through tough conversations to a place of mutual understanding, problem solving and collaboration.A project I’m really proud of is …Imagine Moreland 2021.This was an engagement project where our team worked with a panel of 44 community members and the wider community to develop a Community Vision through deep deliberation. This project called upon all our  Groupwork Centre training to deliver a great outcome.In 2022 we will be building on this by training up a team of internal facilitation champions and forming a Peer Learning Circle. This will help us embed groupwork practice more deeply within our organisation. By building awareness and resilience among staff, we know this will have flow on benefits to  our work with communities across Moreland.I highly recommend …the Groupwork 2-day Facilitation Training to anyone who seeks to achieve outcomes through working together with other people. It really doesn’t matter what area of work you are in, you’re bound to learn a host of skills to help you work more effectively with others. You will also pick up a few insights about yourself along the way!The Collaborative Leadership Training course is also one that I would recommend. It takes students deeper than most other leadership courses and you walk away with practical skills to improve your leadership style and your work.Thank you Groupwork! I couldn’t do my job without you.Furthermore …If you live, work or play in Moreland, we would love for you to join the conversation about our projects. We’re always looking to collaborate with the community to deliver the best work for the local community. You can find out more about Moreland Council and how to be involved in projects via our digital platform Conversations Moreland. Or email us at conversations@moreland.vic.gov.au or give us a call on 03 9240 1111.