What does this event cover

Sustainable performance isn’t just about individual resilience—it’s also shaped by how work is designed. In this webinar, you’ll learn how to identify psychosocial risks, improve the way work is organised, and create conditions where people can perform at their best over the long term.

Using the Six Dials framework (adapted from the Health and Safety Executive’s Stress Management Standards) we will explore how organisations can better respond to common challenges across local government, including competing demands, shifting priorities, high workloads, public-facing conflict, uncertainty and ongoing organisational change.

You’ll learn how to:

  • Recognise psychosocial risks before they affect wellbeing and performance.
  • Use the Six Dials framework to identify where pressure is building within teams.
  • Understand how work design influences engagement, capacity and performance.
  • Have more effective conversations about workload, priorities and wellbeing.
  • Apply practical approaches to creating healthier, more sustainable workplaces in a local government context.

Participants will leave with practical tools to recognise psychosocial risks early, have better conversations about workload and capacity, and identify opportunities to create healthier, more sustainable ways of working.

This is the follow-up webinar to Beyond burnout: sustaining performance under pressure.

Our Member Webinar series is a Taituarā member benefit. Not yet a member? Find out more about why you should sign-up

Programme overview

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Your facilitators and guest speakers

Ann Thomson

Ann oversees Taituarā membership and sponsorship activities, as well as our major events; the Annual Conference and Gala Dinner.Ann is a stakeholder engagement, event management, and communications professional with broad experience across sectors including tertiary education and the public sector.

Sarah McGuinness

Sarah McGuinness is the Founder of Revolutionaries of Wellbeing (ROW) and a specialist in sustainable performance, burnout prevention, and leadership. With more than two decades of experience advising organisations across New Zealand, Australia, and internationally, she works with senior leaders to navigate pressure, constant change, and the realities of modern work while maintaining the wellbeing and performance of their people.

Her work has supported organisations across multiple sectors during periods of significant change and demand, including the Christchurch earthquakes. She is currently completing a Master of Science (Psychology) at Massey University, with research exploring how senior doctors recover from burnout while continuing to work, and a Postgrad Certificate in Human Performance Leadership (AUT).

She holds an honours degree in psychology and a degree in communication, along with specialist training in professional coaching, adult education, and fitness. She also brings lived experience of burnout and is a strong advocate for improving conversations around mental health. She volunteers with Coastguard New Zealand in search and rescue and serves on the Coastguard Queenstown board, and has been featured in media including Stuff, NBR, RNZ, and Seven Sharp.