New leadership skills see Zane kick more career goals

After a career spanning journalism and corporate communications, Zane wanted to add formal leadership skills to his professional experience.

While he had backfilled management roles throughout his career, he had never taken the step into a permanent leadership position, instead prioritising his family and community football commitments.

With his son now in high school, Zane decided it was time to revisit those ambitions.

“I took stock of my resume and realised it needed something more. I was happy with my skills and the contributions I make to my workplace but felt like my lack of permanent management experience was an issue,” Zane said.

Investigating his training options brought him to TAFE Queensland’s Academy of Sport, where he enrolled in an accelerated six-month Diploma of Leadership and Management (BSB50420).

Delivered in partnership with the Brisbane Lions Institute of Business and Sport, the qualification connected his career ambitions with his passion for footy.

“With TAFE Queensland’s Academy of Sport, you have a trusted and reputable education provider. With the Brisbane Lions, you have one of the most successful sporting clubs in modern footy. To learn from these leading institutions was a super attractive proposition,” he said.

Highlights of the course included practical activities and conversations with industry leaders, which challenged Zane’s belief that leadership was something people either had or didn’t.

“What it changed was the idea that leadership is mostly innate: you either have it or you don’t. It was apparent from the get-go that you can well and truly learn leadership and management skills.”

The course was 100 per cent online with in-class sessions at Brighton Homes arena, where Zane and his classmates heard from football boss Danny Daly and senior leaders across coaching, finance, partnerships, marketing, membership, facilities and community programs.

“Hearing leaders at the Lions speak candidly and openly about their mistakes as well as their wins made the course feel real rather than theoretical.”

Classroom role plays also helped Zane tackle something he had avoided throughout his career: difficult workplace conversations.

“I had avoided awkward workplace conversations and conflict throughout my career, to my detriment. But I feel through the lessons and role plays that I’m much better at it now.

“And to keep to the football theme, I learnt how to better play the ball and not the man or woman,” he said.

Project management was another area where Zane saw an immediate difference.

Working full-time in media and communications with the Queensland Law Society, he quickly began applying what he had learned to his existing role.

“The project management skills have been particularly valuable. I was so used to working to daily deadlines that I had blind spots in managing medium to longer-term projects. I’m now better able to plan and manage my general workload and projects.”

Zane also put his new skills to work in community sport, building on his experience in junior coaching, Auskick coordination, wheelchair football and multicultural initiatives.

Working with wheelchair football athletes, from beginners to international competitors and Paralympians, had already shown him the importance of adapting his leadership approach.

After completing the diploma, Zane joined Queensland’s wheelchair football team as an assistant coach at the AFL Open national titles. Having held a similar role in 2025, he noticed a clear difference in how he approached the job.

“I felt like I was a lot more organised, more analytical and structured, and less reactive on the sidelines. I’m looking forward to putting it to good use in future projects I’m involved in,” he said.

Completing the accelerated course while working full-time and balancing family and volunteering commitments took discipline, but Zane said the support of his wife Tara, teachers and classmates helped him stay on track.

It also gave him opportunities to practise the project management skills he was developing, from preparing for classes to starting assessments early and making the most of industry sessions.

Having taken the leap back into study and addressed an area where he felt his resume was lacking, Zane now feels better prepared to pursue his leadership ambitions.

“While it’s never too late to invest in yourself, I strongly regret not doing professional development like this much sooner,” he said.

“My TAFE Queensland studies have made me feel more confident professionally in an area that I felt I was lacking in.

“Personally, it has helped me reinforce what I want to do in my career in the coming years and given me the confidence to make it happen.”