Since March of this year I have been running the stretchiest leadership development programme. It was stretchy for everyone – including (especially?) me! Eight emerging leaders who had to apply, were interviewed and made it on to the programme were ready to grow and transform.
I was absolutely delighted to be designing and delivering the programme, in close collaboration with Programme Sponsor and CEO of Isthmus Ralph Johns. This book created in celebration of the first cohort of the Emerging Leaders Programme captures the growth and commitment of every participant and mentor.
Here’s what I had to say in the preface:
I can anticipate a successful leadership programme a mile away. That’s because the success factors are so visible and visceral. First, I see the actions of the most senior leaders of an organisation then I feel their impact on myself and the participants.
The most essential is support of the kauwhakaheare matua (CEO). Support comes in the way of empowering the participants to clear their diaries and make this workshop or learning circle the most critical event of the day. Without the permission and expectation to clear the time for participation, reflection, and application back in the studio the lessons go nowhere.
Next is story telling. Emerging leaders learn when their kaiārahi (mentors) are willing to share their paths to today – both the highlights and lowlights. When stories are shared, we gain insights, and our confidence is boosted. Stories humanise the people we admire, and our trust and connections with them grow. At the start of each workshop, Ralph shared his learnings relating to the topic of the day. Each time lessons were gleaned through his openness and generosity of experiences. Between workshops, mentors shared theirs with the participants. Scraped knees and high fives from their own journeys made available for these eager learners to absorb.
Lastly, we need space- both a physical space to come together and the reflective space to explore and contemplate ideas, models, mindsets, and tools. Our venues were varied from Zoom learning circles to the Tāmaki Studio to lunch in the sun at Freyberg Square. All requiring of us to disconnect from devices to connect to one another. And in those spaces we challenged each other to think broadly and with curiosity about What is leadership? and What’s the Culture we want to create and amplify? Many times we left these spaces with more questions that required further contemplation and application to test what could work.
At our very first workshop, Ralph shared the Isthmus timeline with the participants from it’s founding to now. Two-thirds of the page, on the right hand side, was completely blank. That’s when I saw it and that’s when I felt it. This would be a successful leadership programme because the invitation was there to fill the space, to add to the story and evolution of Isthmus with support.
I am honoured to have been both a teacher and a learner on Isthmus’ first ever Emerging Leaders Programme. Watch this space.
