Connecting political and community wellbeing
Locale Learning
The hub for local councillor training - creating ethical and effective leaders and helping local communities thrive
As part of our upcoming Political Wellbeing Summit, we had the privilege of speaking with Dr. Geoff Woolcock , a senior research fellow at the University of Southern Queensland’s Institute for Resilient Regions and an adjunct associate professor at Griffith University’s School of Human Services and Social Work. He is an experienced social researcher who has a particular interest in community wellbeing. This includes his role as a board member of the Australian National Development Index (ANDI) – an index that measures wellbeing and progress in Australia.
Emma and Geoff met last year at the Social Impact in the Regions conference and immediately connected over their common interest in the topic of wellbeing, with both being curious about how to join the dots between their respective interests on the topic.
The overlap between political and community wellbeing
At Locale Learning we have a theory that the wellbeing of our elected leaders impacts outcomes for the community. In practice, this means that the state of their individual wellbeing—whether good or bad—affects their performance, the dynamics of the elected Council, the council as an organisation, and ultimately, the outcomes for the community.
If elected leaders, particularly at a local government level, are making decisions from a place of poor wellbeing, the consequences can be significant and tangible.
Understanding wellbeing: individual versus community
In this behind-the-scenes conversation, Geoff shares his perspective on what “wellbeing” means and explains the distinction between individual (or subjective) wellbeing and community wellbeing. Importantly, whilst different, they are intrinsically related.
He notes that up until recently, the term “wellbeing” was primarily associated with health and has more recently been conflated with “wellness,” which, while important, is a distinct concept within the broader framework of wellbeing. Geoff also shares the history behind the global movement to redefine how we measure progress, emphasising wellbeing as a key pillar of that movement.
The role of trust, connection, and democracy in wellbeing
The conversation takes some fascinating twists and turns, including an exploration of the role of trust in wellbeing and why a sense of belonging and connection to others is foundational to wellbeing. We discuss why the health of our democracies is a domain of community wellbeing and how this translates at a local level.
The wellbeing cost of political leadership
We end the conversation with an absolute cliffhanger about recent findings on the wellbeing cost of political leadership—and full warning, the news is not good! To find out what this news is, you can access the full conversation and learn more by joining us at the Political Wellbeing Summit.
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