After months of training and assisting the community, 28 people have graduated from Leadership Fiji this year.
2025 Cohort President and Natural Water of Viti Pte Ltd Industrial Relations and Administration Leighton Turner says the program has taught them real leadership and what the nation is facing
While speaking to fijivillage News, Turner says they have done several programs this year where they held donation drives for clothes and toy drives for Dilkusha Home in Nausori and WOWS Kids.
He says they also fundraised for some activities in the North for a small cinema day for children and also collected items for Dama District School in the North and Vunidogoloa.
Turner says they also gathered clothing and linen that were urgently needed for the St Giles Hospital in Suva while one of their biggest projects this year was the Golden Age Home in Samabula.
He says the home needed repairs and a facelift where they fixed the walkway shelter, the roofs, did some wiring, cleaned the place and gave it a fresh coat of paint.
CFL's Chief Engineer and Management Executive Committee member, Philip Smith was also part of the group that graduated last night.
Leadership Fiji founding member and Chair, William Parkinson says leadership is not just about a position, it's about action.
He says in this era of the political outrage, particularly on social media, this year, they have been continually reminding the group - that is not leadership.
Parkinson says leadership is not about expressing angry words but it is about taking action to solve problems, and that is the focus and will always be the focus of Leadership Fiji.
He says they have plans for their 25th Anniversary and Leadership Fiji Foundation that will be highlighted later.
While reflecting on his journey, Australian High Commissioner to Fiji Peter Roberts says being good at a junior role does not automatically translate into being an effective leader.
He says many people step into leadership but keep doing their old job with a leadership label attached but true leadership requires recognising it as a distinct role that demands commitment, deliberate action, responsibility, decision-making, empowerment of teams, and collaboration across the organisation.
Roberts says leadership is a conscious choice to shift from doing the work to leading people.
He also highlighted that genuine leadership is rooted in having a clear mission, being dedicated to it, and taking full responsibility for outcomes.
The High Commissioner says leaders must create trust by encouraging openness about problems and assuring their teams that success will be shared but failures will be owned at the top.
Meanwhile, application to be part of Leadership Fiji 2026 Corhort closes at the end of this month.
