Biography: Dr Kathy Lacey
Kathy manages her own consultancy business, Right Angles Consulting Pty Ltd. She has been a consultant in business and education for over nineteen years. Before leaving the Department of Education, Kathy was a Principal Consultant in Eastern Region. Kathy recently completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne. The focus of her research was an exploration of the factors that impact on teachers’ leadership career choices.
The outcome of this research has been the development of strategic succession planning processes for education systems and individual schools and, in particular, strategies to improve the number and quality of applicants for principal class positions. Kathy’s research findings have been of interest to government and non-government education systems across Australia, New Zealand, the USA, and the UK. In 2003 Kathy worked with a team of eminent educational leaders to develop a succession planning tool to be published by the Australian Principals’ Associations’ Professional Development Committee (APAPDC). This kit is aimed at developing leadership capacity in all schools and in all sectors across Australia.
Kathy is currently working at Monash University with professor Peter Gronn to extend her PhD findings to include studies of teachers’ leadership aspirations in Tasmania, Queensland and Victoria.
Kathy also holds a Masters of Education with First Class Honours from the University of Melbourne as well as a Diploma of Teaching, Primary (Honours; Teaching Practice), Graduate Diploma of Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language, a Train the Trainer Certificate and Myers Briggs Type Accreditation. She is an active member of the Australian Institute of Management. The Australian Council for Educational Leaders recently awarded Kathy an honorary Fellowship.
Developing, facilitating and evaluating workplace Mentoring Programs has been a major focus of Kathy's work in recent years. This was also the focus of her Master of Education research. Organisations have used her programs to develop team building, communication, staff induction and leadership strategies. Kathy has published books on performance appraisal and career planning, and mentoring.
