MiDDLEGROUND in partnership with Lead, have just delivered an exciting new leadership programme for Women. These are the reflections from one of the participants.
Imagine a space where you can think, explore, network, be inspired and feel empowered.
Enter Envision 2015: a new landscape for women leaders – Lead’s new leadership development programme, which delivered on this promise.
A few weeks ago, I left behind my busy desk and arrived full of anticipation at Pentland Brands Plc’s beautiful offices where we were to be hosted for the next few days. Andy Rubin, Chairman of Pentland opened the programme with an inspiring address advocating ‘connected leadership’ – an ideal where staff share direction, values, decision making, and are collaborative and agile. He spoke of the qualities exhibited by today’s leaders, especially valuing the 3Qs; namely IQ, EQ and ‘SQ’ which he coined as self knowing of your strengths and weaknesses.
This segued perfectly into our opening powerful session where, using Deepak Chopra’s Soul Profile as a framework, we considered profound questions I’d never really set aside the time to consider before in the whirlwind of everyday life such as ‘What is my life purpose, What is my contribution and What can I be counted on for?’ – questions that I have returned to when considering a particular course of action in the weeks that have followed.
Over the two days, we were introduced to leadership tools that helped us to recognise the often inaccurate assumptions we make that could be destructive and instead to focus on what works well and where our strengths lie in order to positively reinforce these and increase our impact.
Other frameworks introduced enabled me to have more purposeful interactions, listening to others on a number of levels – from my head (focusing on facts), heart (feelings and values) and feet (action) – something which doesn’t always come intuitively. The impact however was tangible – used together with powerful questioning and system mapping, I came away with practical strategies of how to unblock issues and build momentum through leveraging distinct elements of the ‘system’ within which I operate.
What I hadn’t necessarily predicted though was the increased self awareness that I came away with – one of the very attributes that Andy Rubin referred to as SQ – a vital component for leadership. Understanding what was important to the very essence of who I am and what I believe in together with understanding my ‘rackets’ i.e. what holds me back, will arm me with the self knowledge to develop and create impact in areas that are meaningful to me.
As well as this personal journey, Envision 2015 was equally about creating a powerful network of women communal professionals who could share ideas, learn from each other and support each other, both on the two days and going forward. This is an opportunity that we are all excited to explore, as we embrace this new landscape for women leaders.
Karen Danker, Programme Manager at Lead
