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Leadership is often seen as an innate trait. You either have it or you don’t. I believe the opposite, and at Ray White, we take a very different view. Leadership is a skill, one that can be learned, practised and strengthened when the right environment, support and training come together.
It was this belief that encouraged me, alongside the NSW | ACT leadership team, to deliver our Next Leaders Program in partnership with the Sydney Swans. Over eight bespoke sessions, 35 emerging leaders across sales, property management and operations came together to be nurtured, coached and challenged. Our goal was simple: to give them the confidence, capability and clarity to lead well today and even better tomorrow.
Lessons in leadership
For me, one of the most rewarding parts of the program was watching participants’ confidence grow. They began to truly understand that leadership isn’t something you’re destined for, but rather something you build.
The program was designed to translate insight into action. We began with the foundations: decision-making, communication and team dynamics. From there, we shifted into sustaining performance and managing pressure.
A standout moment came from Clinical Psychologist Emma Craig, who helped the group understand their emotions, mindset and stress responses. I saw that session immediately strengthen their people leadership, particularly in how they showed up for their teams under pressure.
We then focused on communication and negotiation, working with NIDA to practise real workplace scenarios. These role-plays gave participants the confidence to handle conflict, influence teams and navigate tough conversations.
On the business side, Brett Graham led sessions on behavioural economics, ownership fundamentals and planning your next move. We also explored culture, recruitment and brand with Todd Alexander, Rebecca Green and Bridgette Collis, before closing the program with a candid conversation with Dan White about leadership, legacy and growth.
Hearing reflections from participants reinforced how impactful the experience was.
As Jake Kroehnert from Ray White TKG put it:
“The correlation between what we love and what we are good at - and how this paves the way to doing our life’s best work.”
And from Thomas Merriman from Ray White Upper North Shore:
“[It] helped me recognise the culture within my team and build real ways for us to work as a high-performance unit.”
A partnership grounded in shared values
Our partnership with the Sydney Swans elevated this program in every sense. Their philosophy of ‘Club. Team. Self.’ aligns beautifully with our own family values. We’re a performance business, but at our core is a commitment to people, culture and helping others do their life’s best work.
The insights we gained from the Swans will stay with the group and me for a long time, including some of my favourites:
“Be a stress absorber, not a stress giver”
“Make active deposits into your relationships, via the emotional bank account. Do this through trust and honesty. When you inevitably mess up, making a withdrawal won’t leave you on zero balance.”
“Everyone has an A game and a B game mindset. Be aware of when you slip into your B game, and when your team do too - how can you bring yourself back? How can you work together to bring others back?”
Their mission: “to be the highest performing sporting club in Australia, one that enriches the lives of its members by striving to be better today than yesterday,” mirrors exactly what we want for our leaders.
Building our competitive advantage
The Next Leaders Program is more than leadership training. For me, it’s a long-term investment in our group’s future. By combining elite sporting principles with real estate-specific capability building, we are developing leaders who are confident, self-aware and commercially strong.
Most importantly, I believe it reinforces what both Ray White and the Sydney Swans stand for: helping people do their life’s best work.
Natasha Borgatti
Head of Operations, Ray White NSW | ACT
