Have you ever...

• had to motivate and lead a team through a period of change?
• felt the group you work with sometimes drifts into unhelpful territory?
• questioned your own leadership abilities?
• been unclear about your own authority?
• found yourself in a difficult situation where you had to choose between two equally unpleasant courses of action?
• had to manage challenging and disruptive individual behaviour within a team?
• doubted your skills, talents or professional accomplishments and had an internalized fear of being exposed as a ‘fraud’?

If you’ve answered yes to most or all of these questions then this leadership development programme is for you.

About the programme

The leadership development programme is for a group of six to eight people who carry some responsibility for managing teams, will focus on the human relations impact of leading and has been designed using Action Learning principles.

Action Learning involves a small group working on real problems, taking action, and learning as individuals and as a group. The process acknowledges that leading a team is a complex human activity, which takes place in uncertain and changing environments. Such work makes demands on both our rational/intellectual and our emotional/relational capacities.

The eight sessions will support you to use both types of capacity to the maximum, and give you the chance to reflect on day-to-day events and changes in your leadership practice. The process will also help you question assumptions which you have taken for granted within and about yourself and your team.

The ways of working during the sessions will be flexible and adapted to participants’ needs and purposes.

Participants will finish the programme with increased confidence as leaders and a set of creative, flexible and successful strategies to improve their teams’ effectiveness in delivering good outcomes.

What you will get from this experience

• Flexible sessions, adapted to participants’ needs and purposes
• Access to all training material and to the online sessions
• The possibility to further engage on the topic with the trainers between sessions
• Personalized feedback from trainers
• Some theoretical input
• Easy applicable strength-based approaches to managing teams
• Work on real problems within your team, company or organization, using Action Learning principles and methodology
• The chance to reflect on your leadership practices, and challenge assumptions which you have taken for granted about yourself and within your team
• Increased confidence as a leader
• A set of creative, flexible and successful strategies to improve your teams’ effectiveness in delivering good outcomes
• Improve interpersonal support skills
• Benefit from a variety of perspectives and experiences
• Learn from and with each other in order to take effective action as a leader

When and where

Eight Thursdays, for 2 hours at a time: 17:00 - 19:00 CEST

• 6 May
• 3 June
• 1 July
• 29 July
• 26 August
• 23 September
• 21 October
• 18 November

The programme is offered as a package, the series of sessions being designed as a leadership development and peer support programme for those currently in leadership positions. Participants’ learning and the group's dynamic depend on a full commitment to all eight sessions.

The sessions will be held in English, without translation.

This is an online programme, hosted on Zoom.

Cost

Standard (institutional) price: CHF 400 (for professionals supported by their company, organization, etc.) 

Subsidised price: CHF 160 (for individuals) 

In your application, please select the one that applies to you.

In case you need to cancel your participation please read our refund policy carefully.

Facilitators

Neil Oliver / United Kingdom

Neil Oliver spent most of his career running a facilitation business in the UK. During this time he worked with large public and voluntary sector organizations, including the UK National Health Service. He developed specific expertise in helping to resolve conflict within teams and it was this work that led him to Caux in 2011. In 2013 Neil was part of the core team that delivered ‘Learning to Live in a Multicultural World’. He has since joined the core team of Tools for Changemakers. Neil lives in a lovely part of Somerset in South West England, where as well as learning pottery, he is involved in a number of local initiatives.

Diana Damsa / Romania

Diana Damsa holds degrees in law and music and has pursued postgraduate studies in Healing of Memories and Intercultural and Interfaith Communication. In 2004 she was inspired by Initiatives of Change (IofC)’s message that change in the world starts with change in oneself; she has been active in several IofC programmes since then. In particular, she has been involved with Foundations for Freedom in various capacities both as a member of the management and coordination team, and as a designer and facilitator of youth and leadership programmes, and of inter-ethnic dialogues in Ukraine and Romania. She is currently the Vice-President of Creators of Peace.

What previous participants say:

“The program was able to create self-reflection within me. It bridged experiences between leaders and posed questions in a new and interesting way. The facilitators were very good at addressing challenging and clarifying questions.”

“The programme met my needs as a leader at great extent, and I have already applied some of the techniques to solve management problems.”

“A high quality experience. “

“These sessions were extremely effective - to raise awareness on the different dimensions of our own challenges and strengths, learn from each other's situations and to apply theory so practically, while simplifying seemingly complex ideas.”

Contact

For more information contact us here.

Applications

• Please apply before 22 April 2021.
• Number of places available: 8
• We recommend that interested individuals apply as early as possible.
• Selected participants will be notified by 26th of April, and directed to complete the payment.

                                      APPLY HERE

Group Coaching for Leaders is part of the Tools for Changemakers programme of Initiatives of Change Switzerland.