Growing leaders for the Church
At Pétros, we nurture leaders by blending insights from neuroscience and social analytic theory within the context of the Catholic Worldview.
What We Do
The Church needs leaders who are stepping up to lead at the service of the Church. Our aim is to equip them with the skills and mindsets necessary to be effective in their roles. We help leaders to take a step on the journey of transformation from Simon to Peter.Our Vision | Courageous leaders anchored in the Church bringing order to the chaos.
Pétros
Pétros is the Greek word for a stone, the kind of small rock you find underfoot on a pathway. It is also the name Christ gave to Simon.A leader is rarely a leader alone; they are one stone laid alongside others, and together those stones form a path. Pathways bring order to chaos. They give people somewhere to walk, and they point in a direction, toward Christ.Every leader is somewhere on the journey from Simon to Peter. That journey is what we exist to support.
Services
We design and deliver bespoke leadership programmes that respond to the unique needs of your community, organisation, or ministry.Recent work includes:
• Priests – an 8-month leadership development programme.
• Religious – a 2-day formation workshop for Carmelite prioresses.
• Parish lay leaders – a 5-month leadership programme.
• Individual lay leaders – one-to-one leadership coaching and development.
• Catholic schools – leadership team development.
• Dioceses – a 1-day Diocesan priests and lay leaders leadership seminar.
• Dioceses and parishes – advice on developing leaders.
No two of these were the same. Each began as a conversation about what the particular group of leaders needed.
The Team
Jemma and Shanon have spent their careers developing leaders – across the New Zealand public service, the Defence Force, and the corporate and private sectors. They shared the same conviction: that the gifts they were using elsewhere were needed in the Church. Pétros is their response to that.We are passionate about forming leaders who build God’s Kingdom
Jemma Brunton BA (Psyc & Educ), BCom (Mgmt)
Jemma is a leadership development specialist with over 16 years in the NZ public service. She spent 9 years as the Director of Hearts Aflame Catholic Summer School in addition to 4 years as the Deputy Director.
Jemma is an accredited Neuroleadership coach and member of the International Coaching Federation. She has deep experience in programme design, facilitation, and Catholic leadership contexts. Jemma has two voluntary governance roles in Catholic Organisations.Shanon Stallard MSc (Ldrshp & Mgmt), BBS (Econ), GDipA (Psych)
Shanon is married with a baby boy on the way. He is an executive leadership coach and leadership development consultant working across defence, public sector, corporate and faith-based organisations. He served twelve years as an officer in the New Zealand Army, where he first began facilitating leader development, and returned later as a civilian coach working with leaders across the Defence Force. Shanon is an ICF-accredited coach and the founder of Lead With Virtue. He has led parish vision and mission discernment, and served with Jemma on the planning team of Hearts Aflame Catholic Summer School.
How Pétros began
One privilege of serving on Hearts Aflame Catholic Summer School was the evening conversations with priests. The same theme kept surfacing – leadership burdens the seminary had never prepared them for. Jemma and Shanon often said to each other that it would be a great joy, one day, to bring their work to the Church.Then, in the same season, both left employment to establish their own practices. Shanon took on a client in Christchurch – Jemma's hometown. The conversations about Pétros began there.That was all God's amazing timing. A pilot programme followed. Pétros is now working with its third cohort of priests in Sydney.
What people are saying
"Pétros is what we have been looking for. I believe that the pathway you have created has every sign of God’s fingerprint on it. I hope that many priests, not just in Sydney but in Oceania will have access to the life-giving programme that Pétros is"
- Father Epeli Qimaqima"The programme has been invaluable in helping me to build a solid foundation from which to grow as a young leader. I quickly understood that I was not going to simply learn a list of practices to implement, but would need to courageously dive into my own values, strengths, and struggles as a leader. This experience of coaching has been really beneficial for me and I have gained a lot of confidence in my ability to lead."
- Jessica Jackman, Director of the Hearts Aflame Catholic Summer School"Pétros Catholic Leadership Development has given me more confidence in my leadership helping me see that if I lean too much into my strengths they can be a risk. The course has helped me reclaim skills and processes to help me in my leadership."
- Father Paul Smithers"Pétros gave me the language and tools to see how I could grow as a leader and a founded hope that I could grow in areas I was feeling stuck in."
- Father Dan McCaughan"The course has helped me to grow in self awareness and given me tools to be a better leader as a priest."
- Father Simon Kitimbo"Pétros provided great practical skills for leadership and team building, as well as methods to improve the quality of meetings."
- Father Dominic Nguyen"It is a reflective experience that allows us to utilise our hidden abilities to serve our mission as Priests and the people of God in the vineyard of the Lord."
- Father Sone Tominiko
Have a conversation with us
To enquire about bringing Pétros Catholic Leadership Development to your diocese, parish or organisation, please get in touch via email.