CURRICULUM GUIDE Katherine Fleming Women’s Leadership Course
Krista Hanscomb | Martha Fanjoy | Veronica Torres
Cover artwork by: Tesfaye G/michael - Sisterhood, collaboration and love which are all values of women.
INTRODUCTION
The Katherine Fleming women’s leadership course is inspired by the commitment and humanitarian efforts of development practitioner, Katherine Fleming. A graduate of St. Francis Xavier University in 1985 and Rhodes Scholar, Katherine worked for UNICEF in various roles. She dedicated her life to addressing child poverty.
With support from friends and family of Katherine Fleming, African women leaders have built their knowledge and skills to enhance contributions to communities they work with. This course, designed by the Coady Institute, draws on leadership development content created for community development leaders who seek to engage with facilitators and a diverse cohort of women on issues of leadership styles, reflection, self-care, collective action, financial well-being, and other skills each group may wish to focus on and draw out wisdom from within the group.
This curricular resource is designed to set out activities for participation along with complementary exercises and further reading or viewing. Participants will receive a resource that provides further reading on the topics covered in the curricular resource. You are welcome to use this with other women in your community and draw on as much of what is in here as you wish. You are invited to adapt activities, add some you find more relevant, and take out any that are not.
Day 1: Building Community
During this day, facilitators aim to engage participants on their experience as leaders, elicit reflection on leadership tradeoffs and styles as well as promote conversation on stories about women leaders they may be familiar with (HerStories}.
While the words of welcome are led by leadership from the host organizations, you are welcome to adjust for your own use.
We begin in circle practice to create a sense of unity, belonging, support, and collaboration while honoring and respecting the unique and diverse lived experience of each woman in the circle. The learning space is set up so that participants are seated in a circle and the circle will open with the words of welcome and key information participants need to start their learning journey.
Activity 1: Welcome
Hosts share words of welcome
Duration 30 minutes
Materials
Preparation
Overhead projector, computer as needed
Prepare introductions up to 10 minutes long
The circles of women around us weave invisible nets of love that carry us when we’re weak, and sing with us when we are strong.” -
SARK
Activity 2: Building Our Community
Duration 130 minutes
Materials Slides with learning objectives and schedule, projector, post its, markers, flip charts
Preparation Prepare slides
Check-in Activity: Before we start getting to know one another, we would like to share a check-in practice that can be helpful in quieting distractions, worries, and to-do lists and be present with one another.
Tuck-Away Activity (Day 1): An activity to remove distractions and worries; helps participants focus and be present in the space.
Invite participants to write down their worries, to-do’s, and other things weighing on their minds. Encourage participants to “tuck away” this list as a representation of being present and clearing their minds for our time together.
Reference: The New Encyclopedia of Ice-breakers. 2004.John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Facilitators introduce circle teachings and practice to set our intentions for the next activity:
“We are building relationship and community within the circle and coming to know one another. Circles require us to remain in the present moment, to ground ourselves in our knowing and be open to new ideas and learning. The circle keeper, or facilitator, is responsible to guide the participants in being mindful, to respect the words of others, and leave space for others to share. As our circle grows into a “community”, we become helpers to one another and accountable to one another. We empower ourselves and others through circle work as it reminds each of us that we have gifts, stories, and knowledge to contribute.” (Absolon, K. 2024. “Deepening the Circle”)
Circle teachings remind us to be present, to actively listen while guided by the agreements of the circle, such as listening without judgement, we are all equal, every voice, and experience is valued. The circle gives us opportunity to learn from one another and consider perspectives other than our own. Circle work is foundational to many community groups. It sets a tone of collaboration, dialogue, and safety. In circle, participants view each other’s faces and appreciate emotional shifts while respecting differences in perspective. In circle, participants are naturally present for each other and open to reflection and dialogue.
Circle practice has a history for many communities and cultures. Invite the participants to share examples of circle practice from their communities, traditions, or culture.
y Circles are foundational to many Indigenous peoples; representing the cycles in life and nature; spiritual ceremonies; connection to the land, water, air, and one another
y Savings/lending circles globally (Ubuntu Circles)
y Dance & ceremony of many cultures such as African, Indigenous, Celtic, or Gaelic communities
y Stonehenge, a Celtic stone circle was a place for ritual & ceremony to acknowledge seasons
How can circle teachings inform leadership practice? Provide time for participants to share ideas and examples before offering the following:
y Community Building: Circles are used in conflict resolution and community building practices, fostering dialogue, empathy, and shared responsibility. Ubuntu circles, for example, provide a platform for open communication and collaborative problem-solving.
y Unity: Shared identity, vision, and purpose for community
y Interconnectedness & Equality: Each community member has gifts, every living thing is connected, all are equal and valued as such
References:
Absolon, K. (2024) “Deepening the Circle” Indigenous Wholistic Professional Development. Centre for Indigegogy, Wilfred Laurier University.
Graveline, F. J. (1998) Circle Works: Transforming Eurocentric Consciousness. Fernwood Publishing. Halifax, NS.
The Circle Way website: https://www.thecircleway.net/
Part a: Setting up the Sharing Circle – 45 minutes
Introduction Circle with question “What gifts do you bring to the circle” or “What is your learning goal for this course?”
Frame the activity with facilitator “tips”- i.e explaining why we are asking certain questions, importance of getting to know one another, purpose of group norms etc.
Show image and discuss emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical balance.
Part b: Learning Intentions (10 minutes)
Share with participants the following learning intentions. After completing this course participants will be able to:
y Explore frameworks, approaches and tools designed to develop and enhance women’s leadership;
y Identify practices, values, and actions that can be taken by women leaders and members of a community to support women’s leadership for socio-economic change.
y Enhance their leadership development goals including mobilization of social and financial resources
y Develop an action plan for a leadership practice
y Reflect upon lived experiences and leadership practices to identify personal strengths and motivations
y Build a social network with peers
y Develop relational approaches to increase social capital in communities
y Enhance existing leadership vision and approaches that support and lead to innovation and socio-economic change
Part c: Learning Expectations (30 minutes )
Invite participants to think about their own expectations. Invite participants to identify one expectation each has from the course.
Invite all participants to put their sticky notes on the flip chart that was prepared.
Summarize responses and thank everyone for participating
Share with everyone the proposed agenda on the next page:
Day Morning Afternoon
9:00 - 9:30 Welcome
1
2
9:30 - 10:30 Sharing Circle Learning Intentions, expectations, agenda
10:30 - 11:00 Tea break
11:00 - 11:30 Circle of Hands
11:00 - 12:40 Exploring Leadership
9:00 - 9:45 Circle Check in
9:45 - 10:45 Sharing HerStories
10:45 - 11:00 Tea break
3
4
12:40 - 1:40 Lunch 1:40 - 3:00 Leadership in Our Communities, work on HerStories
3:00 - 3:15 Tea break
3:15 - 4:00 Take aways, summary connection to following day
11:00 - 12:30 Exploring individual self-care 12:30 - 1:30 Lunch
1:30 - 3:00 Exploring collective care
3:00 - 3:15 Tea break 3:15 - 4:00 Take aways, summary, connection to following day
5
9:00 - 9:30 Check-in and grounding
9:30 - 9:45 Alumni leadership story
9:45 - 11:00 Sharing self-care plans
11:00 - 11:15 Tea break
11:15 - 12:30 Leadership Goals 12:30 - 1:30 Lunch Open afternoon
9:00 - 9:30 Check in and grounding
9:30 - 9:45 Participant’s leadership story
9:45 - 10:45 Sharing skills from plans
10:45 - 11:00 Tea break
11:00 - 12:30 Sharing skills from plans 12:30 - 1:30 Lunch 1:30 - 2:30 Teaching and learning skills
9:00 - 9:30 Check in and grounding
9:30 - 9:45 Participant’s leadership story
9:45 - 10:45 Skills session by participants
10:45 - 11:00 Tea break
11:00 - 12:30 Skills session by participants
2:30 - 2:45 Tea break
2:45 - 3:45 Skills session 3:45 - 4:00 Closing
12:30 - 2:00 Lunch
2:00 - 2:45 Review of learning 2:45 - 4:00 Graduation celebration and words from hosts
Part d: Community of Care
Share: An important part of circle practice and creating a learning environment that is a “safe” and/or “brave space” is developing group agreements. For our learning space, we will use the “Circle of Hands” to guide how we will come together in this space; what we need for a brave/ safe experience as well as what we don’t want.
Circle of Hands and Connection– 45 minutes
Share: “We now have a circle to work. Let’s join our hands and draw around them making sure they are close to another hand in the circle. Inside the circle of hands we will write in the things that will support our group working well together.”
Invite women to write inside the circle. Give them 10 minutes. Summarize responses.
Invite women to now write down the things they don’t want to see happening during the course outside the circle of hands. Give them 10 minutes.
Ask the group for ideas on how they will address things that they have outside the circle if they occur. Take note of these on a flip chart.
Share: “ We now have our agreements in the circle of hands. We can always return to our circle of hands when necessary. This is a visual of our Community of Care.”
Put up the circle on a wall where it will be for the remainder of the course.
Activity 3: Exploring Leadership
Duration 95 minutes
Materials post its, markers, flip charts
Preparation Prepare flip charts, lego sets
Part a: Think, Pair & Share: Sharing leadership experiences
Divide up participants into pairs and invite pairs to interview each other using the following questions:
y What does leadership look like in your experience?
y How does leadership feel in your experience?
y What tradeoffs can leadership imply in your experience?
Give the pairs 20 minutes to do these interviews and take notes.
Invite 4-5 pairs to share their notes from their interviews.
Thank the groups for their work.
Part b: Introducing Leadership Styles
There are many types of effective leadership styles and practices. Relational leadership styles provide a framework that supports the scope of values, practices, and tools for women leading in spaces of community development and social change. When women leaders come together and create a sisterhood of support, encouragement, and inspiration, their efforts ripple out to impact meaningful change.
“Solidarity between women can be a powerful force of change and can influence future development in ways favourable not only to women but also to men.”
Nawal El-Saadawi, Egyptian feminist writer, activist, physician, and psychiatrist
We will focus on exploring the following types of relational leadership, being mindful that there are variations and additional practices that may come up in discussions:
y Service Leadership: A leader who is a good listener; is empathetic, has an ability to heal, is aware, persuasive, has foresight, is a good steward, has a commitment to the growth of people, and builds community.
y Transformational Leadership: A leader who is able to mobilize people around them through values-based charisma and motivation.
y Primal leadership: A leader who depends on leading with emotional intelligence (EI). Such a leader is self-aware, has social awareness, can self-manage, and manages relationships.
References:
Alma, E. 2021. “Leadership Models and Mentorship”. Women’s Leadership for Community Development Course Notes. Coady Institute.
Quote reference: Women of Impact: Inspiring stories of Women Leaders 2023 https:// au.int/sites/default/files/documents/43035-doc-Women _of_Impact-_Inspiring_Stories_of_ African_Women_Leaders.pdf
Part c: Identifying Leadership Styles in Our Lives
Option 1: Invite participants to work in groups of four and come up with a drawing that describes the leadership styles they have experienced in their lives. Invite groups to draw for 20 minutes. Invite groups to share their drawings
Option 2: Participants each have a canvas/paper to start their drawing. Encourage participants to visualize the end result. They each create for 10 minutes and then give their drawing to the participant on their left (circle practice). Participants continue drawing for another 10 minutes, building on what the previous participant drew. After the 10 minutes, they pass to the left again. This continues until the participant has their original drawing back. This intention of this activity is to build upon the idea of shared vision for leadership & community development; letting go of control and gives participants a visual creation to take home with them.
Part d: Connection (5 minutes)
Share with the group that in the afternoon we will be exploring further on leadership styles and histories from women’s perspectives.
Let everyone break for lunch.
Activity 4: Leadership in Our Communities
Duration 80 minutes
Materials
Post its, markers, flip charts
Preparation Prepare flip charts
“If the history of Africa was written by Africans and by women, I think we would find many unsung heroes.” Sahle-Work Zewde, President of Ethiopia
As we have explored, leadership styles, and experiences can vary, In this activity we deepen our own understanding of stories of women leaders in our own communities. History is rich and diverse, yet often not told from our perspectives. To re-examine the past from a woman’s lens, we explore at least 25 significant key moments, movements, policies, people, and trends affecting African women’s lives, rights, and struggles
Part a: Review of Leadership Styles and Experiences (30 minutes)
Invite participants to share one key learning so far around leadership experiences and styles
Invite 4-5 participants to share and write down their responses.
Share with the group that there are many stories of women leaders we can learn from.
Part b: Introducing HerStory Template (10 minutes)
On the next page is a chart that will help you in organizing your work. Remember to reflect on the impact this history has had on you as an African woman.
Exercise: Identify key moments, movements, policies, people, and trends affecting Indigenous women lives, rights & struggles.
Time Period
Name the key moments, movements, policies, people and/or trends
Time period
Name the key moments, movements, policies, people and/or trends
Time period Name the key moments, movements, policies, people and/or trends
Part 2: HerStories
Individual Exercise: Consider your personal history and list 3-5 moments or life events (ex. A success, an adversity faced, life stage, relationship, etc.) that have impacted your leadership. After you finished add them into the larger timeline.
Time period Significant moment or life event Impact
Next, consider how the events in the African Women’s Timeline have impacted your own story or the stories of the women in your family and/or community. List 3-5 intersections and their impact.
Time period Key moments, event, movement, policy, person or trend Impact
Part c: Working on HerStories (40 minutes )
Support groups to begin their work on HerStories and then note that they will finish in the evening if needed.
Invite everyone to a tea break
Teabreak
Activity 5: Connecting to Day 2
Duration 60 minutes
Materials Soft ball
Preparation Prepare flip charts
At the end of each day we aim to facilitate reflection of key learning and its use for leadership practice.
Part a: Key Learnings so Far (30 minutes)
Ask the group to break into pairs. Each person should team up with someone they don’t know very well yet. Together they need to identify two key learnings from the day.
Invite each pair to share their two learnings.
Thank everyone for their contributions.
Part b: Activities for Day 2 (10 minutes )
Go back to the schedule shared earlier in the day and go through the activities for the following day.
Part d: Closure of Day 1 (10 minutes – Volunteer participant)
Summarize the activities for Day 1
Invite questions related to the content from Day 1
Thank everyone for their participation and invite everyone to be ready for the following day.
Day 2: Taking Care of Ourselves as Leaders
During this day, participants are invited to share their HerStories, explore check in practices, and identify ways to plan for individual and collective care.
Activity 6: Circle Check in
Part a: Check in (30 minutes)
Duration
Materials
45 minutes
Soft ball, flip charts and markers
Preparation Circle set up
Permission Slip Activity: This check-in activity is helpful in recognizing what might get in the way of your learning and is an opportunity to bravely practice stepping out of your comfort zone.
“Permission Slips are a great way to start building trust in a group.”
Brene Brown
Some examples of permission slips:
Individual: Stay open minded; Give yourself the time you need; Ask questions
Group: Show up for the group; Ask for what you need; Open to sharing
Think, Pair, Share Exercise Instructions:
Check-in Question: “What permission slips do we need for our time together?” What you would like to give yourself “permission” to do (or not do) today, or even throughout our time together ?Find a partner and share your permission slips with each other.
Bring everyone back together. Using the softball activity, invite a few participants to share their permission slips. Ask the larger group to recognize common themes and how this activity resonated with them. (Continue using the softball to “toss” ideas and comments to one another.) Day 2: taking C are of o urselves as l ea D
Reference: Brown, B. (2021).Dare to lead: Read along workbook. Brenebrown.com/daretolead
Activity 7: Sharing HerStories in groups
Duration
Materials
Preparation
70 minutes
HerStories
Prepare groups
Developing a broader understanding of history from women’s perspective is enriching and engages us in analyzing events throughout time.
Part a: Sharing HerStories - 45 minutes
Divide up the group into smaller groups of 5- 6 people. Invite each participant in the group to share their HerStories with others in the group briefly. Give the groups 25-30 minutes.
Part b: Debriefing HerStories – 20 minutes
Invite 3-4 participants to share responses to the following:
Share one event that you found impactful and meaningful from your perspective.
y What was one thing a woman leader did that you would try yourself?
y What was one thing that you saw as a key challenge from a HerStory?
Part c: Connection to next activity – 5 minutes
Share with participants that after the tea break you will begin to explore self-care. Invite everyone to break for tea.
Teabreak
Day 2: taking C are of o urselves as l
Activity 8: Self-care Session 1
Duration 65 minutes
Materials Flip charts and markers
Preparation Prepare sample journal page on flip chart/powerpoint
Part a: Reflection on tradeoffs to leadership - 25 minutes
Invite the group to think about the kind of tradeoffs shared the day before. Ask participants to recall and share some of these.
Write down responses from 4-5 participants.
Part b: Introducing the practice of individual self-care - 15 minutes
“We are realizing that we must become the systems that we need- no government, political party, or corporation is going to care for us, so we have to remember how to care for each other.” (brown, m. 2017. Emergent Strategy. P. 113)
Circle teachings remind us of the many connections we have; to one another, the environment, our ancestors, communities, and future descendants and how these relationships are interdependent. Nature strives for balance in these connections and holistic practice- whether in leadership, education, or life in general seeks the same. Balance does not come from everyone and everything being the same; welcoming different perspectives, beliefs, and experiences does.
Leadership grounded in relationships, collaboration, and community, while rewarding, can be depleting and it is important to be intentional in how we achieve and maintain balance.
Self-care
Self-care has become a main trending topic in contemporary society. It speaks to the importance of implementing strategies to manage stress, have work-life balance, and avoid “burnout”. Self-care is critical for leaders working alongside communities that they have a deep personal connection to. Working in areas that have impacted your family, community, and/or nation adds a layer of emotional and spiritual toll.
Self-care strategies often include things like getting enough sleep, eating well, enjoying leisure activities, and personal care such as massages and pedicures.
Women are natural nurturers and have long been the backbone for caring for our communities. Leadership literature identifies this as a significant difference between men and women in leadership roles. As women, we take on the care of our families, our homes, and our communities, especially when we are working to impact healthy changes in those spheres. We often overlook our own well-being to ensure the well-being of others. But as the saying goes, we cannot pour from an empty cup. We must care for our spirits, minds, bodies, and hearts in order to care for others.
Part c: Engaging Support (60 mins)
Scenarios of Support: Small group activity where participants role play various scenarios of gaining support from household family members.
Part d: Connection to next activity – 5 minutes
Share with participants that collective care is also important for women leaders.
Day 2: taking C are of o urselves as l ea D ers
Activity 9: Exploring Collective Care
Duration 70 minutes
Materials Overhead projector, flip chart paper, markers
Preparation
Prepare any tools to be used in the session
Share:
“Our jobs as leaders isn’t how we manage our teams but how we take care of our teams. It’s important we are supporting how they find meaning and purpose in the work they do for our communities. Then we will see how that manifests into the change we desire for healthier spaces.” FB post, Terri Cardinal, Vice President Indigenous Initiatives, MacEwan University
As leaders, we model the practices, values, and behaviors we want our teams to embrace. This is another important aspect of self-care. Not only do we teach our teams about self-care, but we must model what that looks like. Leaders are responsible for providing professional development and growth opportunities for their teams. Building self-care or collective care practices into the environment guides your team in caring for themselves, feeling supported, and translates into the way in which they work with others.
Part a: Reflecting on caring for others – 30 minutes
Circle Activity - Sharing practices for modelling/providing opportunities for self-care
y Invite participants to form two circles - one on the inside facing the participants on the outside.
y Using circle practices, ask each person in the inner circle to share how they take care of others.
y Once everyone has shared, invite the outer circle to do the same.
Break for lunch
Part b: Introduce collective self-care practices and setting balances for self-care – 15 minutes
Show visual of a scale and share that on one side are our leadership responsibilities and tasks at home, work, and in our community. Share that on the other side are self and collective care practices. Share that, as previously mentioned, emotional, spiritual, physical, and mental balance is also part of self-care. Connect this to circle practice and having balance in spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental realms.
Share that when one side has too many responsibilities or tasks then the scale is unbalanced, like our collective lives can be.
Invite participants to share their ideas on collective self-care practices. Here are some examples to add or to prompt others to share:
y Regular Check-ins, individually and as a team
y Grounding exercises, individually and as a team
y Providing time for spiritual/religious/community events/connection as part of professional development
y Opportunities to experience something together such as a conference; retreat; or celebration
Day 2: taking C are of o urselves as l
Part c: Practicing balance with self-care - 25 minutes
Invite participants to use their handouts with balances to identify what kinds of self-care practices are necessary for balance. They can write these down in the image of the scale.
Part d: Connection to Next Activity
Share with participants that bringing greater balance to one’s life also involves ongoing reflection. Participants will create a self-care plan. The visual below is a template they can use.
Self-Care
Supportive people in my life:
Activity 10: Connecting to Day 3
Duration
Materials
Preparation
70 minutes
Flip chart paper, sticky notes
Part a: Our learning this day – 30 minutes
Ask the group to break into pairs. Each person should team up with someone they don’t know very well yet. Together they need to identify a new practice they would use in their self-care.
Invite each pair to share
Thank everyone for their contributions.
Part b: Activities for Day 3 - 10 minutes
Share with participants that the following day they will share their thinking for self-care back in their communities. Share that the group will also begin to set leadership goals and identify types of skills helpful in achieving these goals.
Part c: Closure of Day 2 – 10 minutes
Summarize the activities for Day 2
Invite questions related to the content from Day 2
Thank everyone for their participation and agree on a time to start for the following day.
Day 3:
Growing Our Leadership
Activity 11: Check in and Grounding
Duration 60 minutes
Materials Flip chart paper, sticky notes
Preparation Prepare check in with a participant
Part a: Checking in – by a participant
Participant facilitates the check-in
y What is your experience with check-ins or reflections? What check-in activities or questions have you used?
Part b: Sharing a Leadership story (Alumni) - 25 minutes
Invite 2 alumni to share their leadership journeys upon completion of the women’s leadership course each attended.
Part c: Grounding exercise – 10 minutes
Grounding practices for self and for groups/teams is crucial to self/collective care. As women leaders, we are often pulled in many directions and hold a multitude of responsibilities. Community development is interdependant on shared vision, collaboration, and empowering others to lead. Grounding practices help to quiet our minds, bring us back to our center, our purpose. Sharing these practices as a team or collaborative group can foster connection, empowerment and support.
“And you can’t bring down a hundred oak trees bound beneath the soil! How do we survive the unnatural disasters of climate change, environmental injustice, overpolicing, mass-imprisonment, militarization, economic inequality, corporate globalization, and displacement? We must connect in the underground, my people! In this way, we shall survive.”
Naima Penniman,
in Emergent Strategy, P. 85
“Centering Practice”
Center:
Bring your attention to center.
Feel your dignity, your right to take up space, your connection with others, and your relationship with the arc of your life.
What is your purpose? Let that lift you up.
What is your mood?
Breath:
Let your breath guide you into your body, into your center.
Let your length be long.
Let your width be wide.
Let your depth be deep.
Feel yourself on purpose.
Centering Song (optional? Or maybe a participant has one...)
Long as the light
Wide as the sea
Deep as the dirt
I’m gonna be me
I’m gonna be free
Part d: Connection to Next Activity
Share with participants that they will be invited to share their self-care plans after the tea break.
Tea break Day 3: g rowing
Reference: “Intentional Adaptation Facilitation”, brown, a. 2021. Holding Change: The way of emergent strategy facilitation and mediation. P. 41-43
Teabreak
Activity 12: Sharing Self-Care Plans
Duration 90 minutes
Materials Flip chart paper, sticky notes
Preparation
Part a: Review of Self-care plan template – 10 minutes
Review visual of circle for self-care plan.
Part b: Sharing self-care plans in groups – 40 minutes – All facilitators
Invite participants to form groups of 4-5 and have them share their self-care plans. Give the groups 30 minutes.
Part c: Self-care actions in community – 15 minutes
Invite volunteers to respond to the following:
y What is a self-care activity you heard from someone else that you might try for yourself?
y What is a self-care approach you would recommend to others from your own plan?
Part
d: Connection to Next Activity
Share with participants that the next activity will involve them sharing their leadership goals in order to set leadership development plans.
Activity 13: Leadership Goals
Duration 60 minutes
Materials Flip chart paper, sticky notes
Preparation
y Leadership Goals and Plans
Reflecting on our time together, the shared learning and experiences so far, consider the goals you set for yourself for this course and in your leadership practice.
y Have your goals shifted or changed?
We began in circle, to create a sense of community, support, and collaboration. Each day starts with warm greetings and check-ins. Grounding exercises bring us together in the present moment and remind us of our gifts and purpose. HerStories uplifted and inspired our space. Self-care plans were developed and shared. Today’s activities will provide opportunities to reflect on your learning and explore how to bring your gifts, new learnings, and experiences into a plan to advance your leadership goals.
What has resonated with you during this learning experience? How has it shaped your leadership practice?
Part a: Think, Pair & Share – leadership goals for next 2-3 years
Invite participants to work in pairs and share goals they have for their leadership over the next 2-3 years. Give pairs 20 minutes.
Part b: Plans for Goals- introduce goal/action planning tools, templates for skills, financial considerations/resources
Share with participants a planning template for actioning their leadership goals. Share the following chart:
Leadership Development Plan
Leadership Goal Skills Needed Resources Needed Actions Achieved by
Part c: Using planning tool
Invite participants to create the leadership development plan sheet and fill out with at least three goals.
Invite participants to also think about how they will measure their personal success. Give the participants time to start using the planning tool.
Part d: Homework finishing planning tool
Share with participants that they can complete their planning in the evening or early morning.
Lunch
Afternoon open
Day 4: Building Our Leadership SKills
Activity 14: Check in and Grounding
Duration 60 minutes
Materials Flip chart paper, sticky notes Preparation
Part a: Checking in – 30 minutes
Invite a participant to lead the check-in
Part b: Sharing a Leadership story (Participant) - 15 minutes
Invite a participant to volunteer and share their leadership story and respond to questions from the group.
Part c: Grounding exercise
Option: Invite a participant to lead a grounding exercise in Day 1 or 2 that participants are welcome to share, or lead a grounding practice later in the week.
Visualization Grounding (best if can be done outside):
“Relax into gravity, extend your roots down into the earth. Extend up towards the sky. You are a line of light moving from the center of earth into the darkness of space, deep knowing to the wide unknown. You are mostly stardust, so this may feel like memory, like something you’ve done before. Let the starlight be you in your dignity.”
Reference: “Creating More Possibilities”, brown, a. 2021. Holding Change: The way of emergent strategy facilitation and mediation. P. 189
Part d: Connection to Next Activity
Share with participants that after the tea break, the group will identify skills they wish to develop together,
Tea break
Teabreak
Day 4: B uil D
Activity 15: Sharing Skills from Plans
Duration 80 minutes
Materials Flip chart paper, sticky notes
Preparation
Part a: Identify goals from plans
Invite participants to share one of their goals on a sticky note and put up on a flip chart paper.
Give participants 15 minutes to share a goal. Ask a volunteer to identify common goals on the flip chart.
Summarize common goals and differences.
Part b: Leadership and goals
Share with participants that having goals for leadership development helps to advance one’s leadership practice.
Part c: Prioritizing skills to deepen
Invite participants to share 2-3 skills they wish to strengthen in order to achieve their leadership goals,
They can jot down each skill on a sticky note. Invite a volunteer to identify common skills sought by members of the group.
Identify 2-3 skills which have been prioritized by the group.
Part d: Skills in the learning space
Share with the group that starting in the afternoon, group members will identify which skills they can share with others.
Lunch
Activity 16: Teaching and Learning Skills
Duration 80 minutes
Materials Flip chart paper, sticky notes
Preparation
Our leadership practice evolves with experiences. Often, we discover new skills or we deepen existing skills that enhance our ability to lead. We become better problem solvers, are able to better navigate conflict or we are better at managing financial resources at work and at home.
Part a: Which skills are you strong in
Using the list of skills from the previous session, invite participants to identify one skill they feel they could develop with others. Ask participants to identify the skill and be ready to share.
Invite participants to put the skill they are confident with on a flip chart along with their name.
Part b: Structure for designing a skills session
Share the following structure for developing a session with participants:
4 A’s Examples
Anchor: an activity that engages participants with the skill and surfaces their experience with it
Add: This is the skill deepening or new skill being introduced. It is a digestible presentation and therefore short
Apply: The use of the skill. This is the longest part of the session
Away: Summary activity that links the skill development to daily life.
Part c: Designing a session on skills
A narrative/ case study and discussion A brainstorming activity
Sharing the skill and an example of using the skill, It may involve introducing a tool for practice of the skill
This may be done through group work, creating an activity or individual practice
A summary presentation by facilitator or a volunteer participant.
Share with participants that they will work in groups of 3 to develop sessions on skills they have prioritized, Give groups 20 minutes. Invite one group to facilitate a skills development session and share that they have 40 minutes to facilitate.
Part d: Wrap up by summarizing the day’s sessions
Summarize the day’s learning on linking skills to leadership development and learning from others.
Day 5:
Celebrating our Leadership
This is the closing day. The tone of the day is celebratory with much excitement for course graduation.
Activity 17: Check in and Grounding
Duration 60 minutes
Materials Flip chart paper, sticky notes
Preparation
Part a: Checking in
Invite a participant to facilitate the check-in
Part b: Sharing a Leadership story (Participant)
Invite a participant to share their leadership journey for 15 minutes.
Part c: Grounding exercise
Option : Invite a participant to lead a grounding exercise
5-4-3-2-1 Grounding:
y How to: Incorporate this breathing exercise with the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique:
◊ Inhale: through your nose deeply, feeling the air fill your lungs.
◊ Exhale: slowly through your mouth, releasing any tension.
◊ Focus on your breath: and then shift your attention to:
◊ Identify 5 things you can see around you.
◊ Identify 4 things you can touch.
◊ Identify 3 things you can hear.
◊ Identify 2 things you can smell.
◊ Identify 1 thing you can taste.
Benefits: This combines breathing with sensory awareness to bring you into the present moment.
When to use: When you are feeling overwhelmed or disconnected from your body.
Part d: Connection to Next Activity
Share with participants that they will learn more skills from other participants or facilitators after the tea break.
Tea break
Teabreak
Activity 18: Teaching and Learning Skills
Duration 80 minutes
Materials
Preparation
Part a: Engage on skills
Flip chart paper, sticky notes
Participants will share sessions to build skills. One key area is communication and another is building confidence.
Part b: Explore skills
Participants practice skills
Part c: Connection to next activity
Summarize skills activity
Lunch
Activity 19: Celebrating
Duration 90 minutes
Materials Flip chart paper, sticky notes
Preparation
Part a: Take aways and gifts
During this activity participants will give each other certificates and a small token to celebrate the course graduation.
Part b: Words of closing
Hosts to share words of celebration
