Resources

Parent & Caregiver Roadmap  

How the Personal Leadership Program Works 

Our Personal Leadership Program gives young people the practical skills, strategies and confidence to navigate challenges, make positive choices and take greater ownership of their future. Every week blends three ingredients: Social & Emotional Learning skills (self-awareness, self-management, relationship skills, responsible decision-making), Mental health strategies (engagement, optimism, connection, happiness), and Enterprise skills (problem-solving, communication, teamwork, presentation). 

At the heart of our Programs are four simple decisions that give young people practical tools they can use every day. Together, these four decisions provide a framework they can return to throughout secondary school and into the future: 

  • Decide to be Happy  

  • Decide to Goal Plan  

  • Decide to Send Stars  

  • Decide to Grow  

Week-by-week Program Roadmap

Week 1:

Welcome to the Personal Leadership Program

  • Building a safe, supportive space for learning, sharing and reflection. 

    • Be introduced to the Personal Leadership Program 

    • Explore the difference between positive and negative communication 

    • Begin identifying their own goals for the program 

  • We kick things off by getting to know each other, introducing the program, and exploring the powerful impact our words and actions can have on others.  

Tools mentioned: Success Definer, Personal Leadership, Archetypes

Week 4:

Grow Beyond Your Comfort Zone

  • Small, deliberate changes make a big difference over time.

    • Reflect on program goals and progress so far

    • Understand how habits influence behaviour, self-image and outcomes 

    • Learn the four stages everyone moves through when picking up a new skill — and why it’s normal for it to feel hard before it feels easy 

    • Identify real opportunities to choose growth over comfort 

  • We reflect on where we want to go, and what might help us — or hold us back — from getting there. This is where we introduce 'Decide to Grow', start unpacking the science of habit formation, and challenge each young person to step outside their comfort zone. 

Tools mentioned: Habits and Attitudes, Stages of Learning, Habit Training Tools, 4 Big Decision Habits

Week 7:

Find Your Voice

  • Assertive communication, and negotiating a win-win rather than a fight or a shutdown.

    • Build assertive communication skills 

    • Learn to navigate conflict without escalating it or avoiding it 

    • Develop confidence in difficult conversations 

    • Learn the IGAP negotiation technique for resolving a genuine conflict 

  • Being confident doesn’t mean being the loudest person in the room. This week explores what it means to communicate assertively — expressing thoughts, needs and boundaries while still respecting others — and uses the 'black holes' idea from Week 2 to show how tension can get passed from person to person if we’re not careful. 

    Beyond assertive communication — the IGAP technique: When there’s a real conflict to work through (not just an everyday disagreement), we teach the 'I’ve Got A Problem' technique. IGAP starts by helping a young person work out who actually owns the problem, before they say a word — because owning it themselves, rather than blaming the other person, is what makes the next step possible. From there, they learn to raise the issue without blame and negotiate towards a win-win outcome, rather than trying to 'win' the argument or simply avoiding the conversation altogether. It’s a practical, repeatable process young people can use with friends, family, teachers and, later, employers. 

Tools mentioned: Assertive Communication, Communication Codes, Cat Kicking Avoider, IGAP Technique, Decide to Send Stars

Week 2:

The Power of Words

  • Positive communication, 'star-filled' environments, and the idea that you can change your environment. 

    • Recognise the impact of positive and negative communication 

    • Consider how communication affects relationships 

    • Identify what success means to them, personally 

    • Identify strengths and qualities that contribute to a positive self-image 

  • This week is all about communication and self-image. We use the simple symbolism of 'stars' (words and actions that build people up) and 'black holes' (words and actions that pull people down) to explore how the way we communicate shapes the people around us — and how a young person can start creating a more star-filled environment at home, at school and with friends. 

Tools mentioned: Happiness Definer, Star Filled Environment Starters 

Week 5:

Take the Lead

  • Personal leadership is about developing an internal locus of control.

    • Understand what personal leadership really means 

    • Recognise patterns in their own thoughts and behaviour 

    • Learn how to challenge unhelpful thinking, using the Self Talk Identifier 

  • Personal responsibility is the core of personal leadership. We begin to see that while we can’t control everything that happens around us, we can always control how we respond. 

    What is 'Locus of Control'? It’s simply where a young person feels the steering wheel of their life sits. A strong internal locus of control means believing your own choices and effort shape what happens to you. A strong external locus of control means feeling that outcomes mostly come down to luck, other people, or circumstances outside your control. It isn’t a fixed personality trait — it’s a mindset that shifts with practice, and it’s actually one of the ways the program measures its own impact. This week’s work on self-talk is designed to nudge that dial: helping a young person notice how their beliefs, thoughts and actions reinforce each other, and build a stronger sense that they’re in the driver’s seat of their own life.

Tools mentioned: Self Talk Identifier, Locus of Control (program measure)

Week 3:

Positive Communication and Happiness 

  • Long-term happiness and communication codes. 

    • Identify different communication styles and patterns 

    • Explore how today’s choices connect to long-term happiness 

    • Understand the role of gratitude, kindness and connection in wellbeing 

    • Practise gratitude and kindness habits, from a gratitude list to a written gratitude letter and small random acts of kindness 

  • Can we choose happiness? This week explores how our everyday decisions, actions and attitudes influence how we feel now and in the future. It uses the well-researched PERMA model of wellbeing to help each young person define, in their own words, what a happy life would actually include. 

Tools mentioned: Happiness Definer, Gratitude List, Gratitude Letter, Random Acts of Kindness, Comparison Analyser

Week 6:

Turn Goals into Action

  • Small changes make a big difference. 

    • Set meaningful, personal goals 

    • Explore their aspirations and possible future selves across all 7 Areas of Life 

    • Recognise potential barriers and 'road blocks' 

    • Distinguish between a goal and the actions required to reach it 

    • Break big goals into a 10-year, 3-year and 1-year plan 

  • This week is about turning ideas into action. Starting with a Dream Sheet to imagine future possibilities and learning practical planning tools to stay organised, focused and accountable, we work out the small steps that add up to big goal

Tools mentioned: 7 Areas of Your Life, Dream Sheet, Road Blocks, Long Term Goals, Year Goals

More Resources

Take a look at our resources for Parents & Educators.