For more than a decade, Liesel Houghton was part of the heartbeat of Arrow Leadership in Australia. A place she describes as “family, fun, and formation all in one.” From her first nerve-wracking cold calls as an Administrative Assistant, to shaping program development as the Program and Events Manager and leading personal management sessions at residentials, Liesel’s journey captures the essence of what makes Arrow so special: a community of Christ-centred leaders who listen, grow, and celebrate one another along the way.
The Power of the Arrow Community
When Liesel started working at Arrow, she was surprised by how deeply Arrow’s culture of connection and leadership would impact her life. One of her earliest assignments was, in her own words, “the worst job ever,” cold-calling a list of people to invite them to an Arrow event.
“I didn’t like talking on the phone,” she explains. “But the thing that just baffled me is, I’d call up and say, ‘Hi, my name’s Liesel from Arrow,’ and as soon as I said that… I’m family. They were just so kind. I remember hanging up the phone constantly [thinking] what have I gotten myself into… everybody loves me just because I’ve said I’m from Arrow.”
That moment, she says, was her first glimpse of Arrow’s powerful sense of community, something that has stayed with her ever since.
The Arrow community’s support was vital to Liesel’s growth. She advanced from Administrative Assistant to Program and Events Manager, overseeing up to 15 residentials a year. Driven by her passion for people and organisation, she pursued personal development, including joining the Arrow program for herself in North America. She later led and continues to lead the personal management session on residentials, first co-leading with Julian Dunham, a role both daunting and rewarding.
The strength of the Arrow community extends far beyond borders, and over her 11 years with Arrow, Liesel has experienced first-hand how well-connected the Arrow community is.
“I’ve stayed with one of the board members in Canada. I’ve stayed with a program director in Denmark, the program director in England,” she recalls. “These people have all hosted me and shown me around their cities,” all because she was part of Arrow.
For Liesel, there’s a shared experience that creates an instant bond. “It’s hard to describe to someone who hasn’t been part of it, and everyone who’s been a part of it shares, ‘Yeah, this is something pretty special’.”
The connection Liesel has with her Arrow cohort and colleagues continues to flourish. Years after completing her own Arrow journey, Liesel still receives messages from peers checking in or offering to pray for her. “It’s a core part of who Arrow is,” she says. “That shared experience and care for one another doesn’t fade.”
Liesel’s Contribution to Arrow’s Vision
Liesel’s dedication and contribution to shaping the leaders that come through Arrow is a testament to her passion for people and seeing them thrive.
“One of my favourite things to watch was leaders getting on to residential and settling into not being the boss and not being the one who has to do everything and just looking after them… I loved being a part of that and really shaping that space for them.”
Liesel’s love for people, creativity and attention to detail gave her the edge she needed in creating a space for Arrow participants to feel seen and cared for. Making the participants feel settled and free to grow has shaped the processes around the programs.
“Gifts is one of my love languages,” she explains. “So refining some of our processes around that, as we left gifts at their door each morning, letters from different people in their context and just giving them this space and environment where they could really disconnect.”
For Liesel, her desire for the program has always been about making the Arrow experience memorable and nothing short of excellent. From creating finger puppets for Arrow sessions to baking cookies for the recent Roadshow , Liesel has used her creativity and passion to help shape the Arrow programs into a space that allows participants to “really switch off, enjoy it, and allow God the space to do his work”.
Leadership Marked by Trust and Self-Awareness
During her time on staff, Liesel witnessed and experienced leadership that was both deeply self-aware and grounded in humility. “The leadership team was the most exceptional leadership team I’ve ever worked with. They were incredibly self-aware and very open to criticism or sharing anything that isn’t right.”
One of the key moments for Liesel was her time at the State Leaders’ Retreat in New Zealand. The retreat was a time for the Arrow volunteers to come together and connect. Arrow volunteers are largely made up of alumni who are leaders in their field or industry. What stood out to Liesel was the calibre of volunteers partnering with Arrow to nurture and grow Christian leaders. “They were so incredibly invested in what Arrow was and is becoming as volunteers who have large responsibilities of their own outside of Arrow.”
“I would say that Arrow has the best volunteer team in the world… They’re handpicked people and they’re exceptional.”
Arrow’s Impact on Liesel
Reflecting on her time at Arrow, Liesel says she learned the importance of investing in relationships before challenges come. Intentionally forming relationships built on trust was an eye-opener for Liesel and helped her grow as a leader.
Arrow’s leaders modelled this intentionally to Liesel, showing up for her, connecting personally before diving into work, and cultivating real trust. That foundation meant that “when the storms hit, we could really lean on each other well and trust each other,” she says. “It’s something I’ve tried to build in my own work life now.”
As Liesel transitioned out of Arrow in 2023, she had the rare opportunity to help shape its next chapter. “I got the benefit of picking my replacement,” she says. “They understood what was important to me and what I’d invested into it, but there were also people who were going to make it their own and grow it and change it.”
That kind of handover, she says, was a privilege and a reflection of Arrow’s investment in people. The greatest impact for Liesel is that Arrow doesn’t just tell others to invest in people; they live it. The leaders who invested in Liesel, like Julian Dunham, Liam Glover, Cath Tallack, Peter Stone, and Kylie Butler have shaped Liesel into the leader she is today. It’s because of Arrow’s culture, community and vision that Liesel believes she was able to grow so much.
As she watches from the sidelines now, Liesel remains one of Arrow’s biggest cheerleaders. “I haven’t quite found my feet post-Arrow yet,” she admits, “but I know this new season isn’t for me to be there… And I’m really happy with where I am in the Arrow world… I’ve been incredibly blessed by the investment of some really significant people.”
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