Local Legends is a transformative development experience for local government leaders that delivers long-term results and measurable impact.
Learn the tools, frameworks, and confidence to rise above the noise, focus on what matters most, and leave a lasting legacy for your community.
Highly interactive sessions focus on real-world application, equipping attendees with the tools and confidence to drive meaningful change.
The Local Legends difference
Local Legends teaches you the skills you wish you'd learned when you started in local government.
Real-world, practical skills to get you out of the weeds and operating at the highest level.
What you'll gain
Local Legends transforms perspective, relationships and ongoing decision-making. Participants get:
- Unparalleled clarity in the roles of governance and management.
- Proven frameworks for making smarter, more strategic decisions.
- Practical strategies to foster collaboration and navigate complexity
- Tailored insights specific to your Council’s challenges.
- A comprehensive toolkit, including workbooks and templates, to ensure long-term impact.
- Post-session resources for continued learning and application.
Read client stories
Alicia McKay
Alicia McKay
Alicia McKay
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Local Legends currently has limited availability for 2026.
Alicia McKay
Questions about Local Legends
Why choose Local Legends?
This premium leadership program is tailored specifically for local government, addressing the unique challenges of governance and management.
Strategic governance
Equip Councillors to define their role, align with management, and make smarter, high-impact decisions.
Collaborative leadership
Build stronger, more productive relationships between governance and management teams.
Visionary focus
Shift from operational distractions to strategic priorities that create long-term value for communities.
What topics does Local Legends cover?
Local government faces three common strategic problems: short-termism, disconnection between governance and management, and scattered and incobsistent decision-making.
Addressing these three problems requires three fundamental shifts: Perspective, Relationships and Decisions.
- Perspective: Lift your gaze and think long-term to make decisions that define your legacy.
- Relationships: Build respect, clarity, and collaboration between governance and management.
- Decisions: Use strategic frameworks to navigate complexity and make smarter choices.
What are the key learning outcomes?
Councillors and Council managers will:
- Understand the difference between leading a Council and a business.
- Get clear on the governance-management dynamic.
- Use strategic impact levers at the policy and governance level.
- Master decision-making tools and frameworks.
- Build trusting relationships with peers and colleagues.
- Practise asking better questions to achieve better outcomes.
What makes Local Legends different?
Local government specific
Most leadership development programs are off the shelf and targeted at the private sector. Elected members learn to be company directors, Council officers learn to be corporate executives - and communities miss out on the leadership they need.
Local Legends is exclusively designed for local government leaders. You'll learn proven strategies that work in this uniquely visible and regulated sector. All content is tailored to suit local government's pressures and privileges and delivered by a local government expert.
Practical and applied
We don't lose the crowd with boring slide-shows and complex theory. We get runs on the board fast by learning skills you can put to the test in the room.
By the end, Councillors and executive managers have new tools and strategies to run better meetings, make better decisions and move beyond the operational pull to make a real difference.?
Who is Alicia McKay and why does she teach this programme?
Alicia McKay is an internationally recognised local government expert. She has worked with dozens of Councils across Australia and New Zealand to improve strategic planning, leadership and governance.
Alicia partners with local government associations and Councils to deliver training and events and is a trusted advisor to local, state, and federal governments on local government issues.
Alicia is the author of From Strategy to Action, You Don't Need An MBA, and 2024's Local Legends: How to make a difference in local government.
In 2025, Alicia was named one of the Top 25 Thinkers in Local Government in the World. She travels the globe speaking to local government organisations and conferences, including the USA and UK.
Councils enjoy Alicia's straight-talking, n0-bullshit style and her deep insight into the uniqueness of local government.
