During the DLP, we take the participants through a series of activities to help them look at the leader they are on the ‘inside’ i.e. what their values are, what they stand for and the events that have made them who they are. In a way, it’s their leadership ‘inner story’. Participants often comment upon how they like the exercises we do with them as ‘they make sense’, are ‘good fun, yet go quite deep into what makes you tick on the inside’. This inner story usually is the one that is driving us to behave in helpful and regrettably, unhelpful ways at times.
In ‘The 2Gether Partnership’, we call this our ‘Authentic’ self. Becoming more aware of and acknowledging what drives us on the inside can help us to be more choice-full about our behaviour what we do and don’t do. How often do we see top leaders in large organisations and senior figures in politics stepping down for their misdemeanours? Had they been more aware of themselves on the inside and their potential for both the positive and negative impact on others, they may have taken a different course of action or said something differently.
The ‘Authentic Conversation’ leaders have on the outside should be the best version with good intention of the conversation they have with themselves on the inside. In our day to day lives this can be hard to achieve. Nelson Mandela said, ‘May your choices reflect your hopes not your fears’. How many of us dare to voice either or hopes or fears? We find that leaders find it easier to have the confidence to be who they need to be and do what they need to do when they have had the chance to explore their inner world of hopes and fears.
Previous DLP participants have described their experiences during the two days with the 2Gether Partnership as, “Inspiring and provides a lot to consider” others have found it find it “Very interactive and challenging, fast moving, with relevant content delivered to a high standard”. We are delighted with this feedback and day to day, our guess is that most leaders don’t have the space for the Mandela type of ‘hopes and fears’ reflection.
On the DLP however, the team of facilitators, lecturers, fellow delegates and guest speakers encourage participants to reflect, to do great things; and to paraphrase the words of Martin Luther King, ‘if you are not in a position to do great things, we will help you to do small things in a great way’.
Rosie Street, Marketing Manager of Glasgow Science Centre, currently taking part in the DLP Year 5 programme agrees, “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the DLP programme so far. It’s fantastic to meet people I wouldn’t ordinarily meet and share thinking on our destinations. I’ve enjoyed how practical the course has been too; it really allows you to take learnings back into your role and this is so useful at this stage in my career.”
Find out more about DLP course content and read our alumni impact case studies.