Why Experience is essential to a Long-lasting Transformation

On recent trips to Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Singapore, I have been meeting many GIFT alumni. Some I had not seen in 10+ years.

Yet, the bond between us remains strong. The memories we created together are vivid and powerful. Their experience from so many years ago still influences their mindset and motivations.

How do we account for this enduring impact? It's a question I have been asking myself.

A wise mentor reminded me: The power is in the experience.

We know this intuitively - just as we feel the ephemeral quality of zoom meetings.

We are preparing for our first experiential leadership programme in over 3 years.

Before covid, we facilitated 72 field pojects in 15 countries, each with 5-6 project teams and a wealth of observations about the learning process.

Thus, I wanted to share some reflections on just few of the elements of the magic formula that we created over time that enables this long-lasting transformation.

This is what every committed business leader wants for his or her team.

This is what every Chief Learning Officer means when they ask, “How do I measure the return on my investment?”

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Learning Humility, Recognising Blind Spots

The first step on a learning journey is knowing what we don’t know. Even, accepting that there are things we don’t know.

I have seen very experienced and capable people become humbled, usually by Day 2 or Day 3.

They are humbled by how much others know. Ideas brought to them from other regions they had never thought about.

Biases about other cultures exposed. Unlearning and Re-learning.

Concepts they had never been exposed to because they were laser focused on one specialisation for 20 years.

Externalities. Resilience. Adaptation. Non-professional sense of purpose.

We invest great time and energy to create a safe learning environment where people feel comfortable and willing to speak honestly - things they can't say in the office.

When a highly accomplished person recognises their blind spots, the reaction can be surprising, challenging, even emotional. We call it the ‘wake-up call.’

Purposeful work; Not just purpose slogans

The GLP experience is anchored around a field project and the immediate realities of local stakeholders. The term “stakeholders” has become denuded through so much ESG talk.

What we do is sit with workers, families, neighbours, business partners, investors, local government reps. We spend time with them in their village or town, or workplaces to understand, even a little bit, their experience.

The project venture itself is premised on accomplishing a greater purpose.

This typically means balancing financial objectives and social objectives and counting the real costs in the business model. It is the struggle more business leaders need to be having.

This year 8-19 May, we will work with a company called Kibumi who are dedicated to reducing plastic waste and improving livelihoods amongst the most vulnerable members of society.

Company leaders are driven by something beyond self-interest. They do a brisk business but it is not financial gain that drives them.

We worked with Chetna Sinha and her team at Mann Deshi Bank which helps women in India’s farming communities save money. There are many others.

Participants quickly feel what those partners are feeling and begin to internalise the sense of purposeful work. Empathy can happen remarkably fast.

Our cohort works as an external consulting team alongside local partners. But it is not a simple job – it becomes a shared mission to transform a community, an industry, or a region. The project is a platform for the transformation.

When I meet our alumni all the stories of these inspirational partners come flooding back.

The secret is then how they build on that sense of purpose and apply it in their daily work. We have tools for helping them do that like Purpose Mapping.

Taking Ownership of the Outcomes

Motivated by purpose and with their sights set on the project outcome (the GIFT team spends months in advance researching and framing it), the participants step into specific roles to drive the production of the business plan.

Team Leaders. Chairpersons. Presenters. Editors.

Everyone has a role and a responsibility.

A sense of personal ownership goes beyond the specific role that they are given. Others in the cohort hold each other accountable.

There are moments of struggle and some feel like checking-out.

But there is “Nowhere to Hide.” It becomes immediately obvious if someone is not pulling their weight in the group.

Digging deep. Testing resilience.?How much do you want the result?

Ownership is not something that can be taught, only experienced. And there is much constructive feedback and quiet conversations to support along the way.

A big part of the learning is peer to peer feedback and coaching and finding ways of supporting those who are struggling, which is the essence of leadership.

Conflict, Resolution & the Role of Emotions

My sense is that emotions are a significant factor in how the GLP experience makes such a deep and lasting impact on people.

It’s a wide range of emotions: Surprise, Joy, Frustration, Love, Fear (of failure), and many more…

Our tried and tested methodology sets up some challenging dynamics –

5 teams of 5 or 6 individuals each – individual contributions, team deliverables, synthesis amongst the larger group.

Time pressure. Language barriers. Conceptual hurdles. More time pressure.

It is inevitable that conflicts will arise. The skills to resolve those conflicts and move forward is a personal test.

We are with them every step of the way, observing the dynamics, intervening when needed.

The Power of Reflection

It is the process of sense-making.

Overwhelming inputs from peers, ideas, project data, new environments – rural communities of China, industrial parks in Vietnam, government offices in Iran, so many more – and the personal challenge of driving an output.

Learning does not come from what facilitators say, but from the processing of the message and ensuring that it becomes personally relevant and actionable.

Personal Reflection allows one to organise thoughts into a meaningful structure and plan of action.

Participants sit quietly and write, and then get up in front and speak. It becomes the most powerful learning tool for themselves and for others in the group.

Team reflection sessions on their working process, their ups and downs, their conflicts and resolution, is all extremely useful.

Without reflection, one would only be along for the ride, with no idea where we came from or where we are going in the future.

The Beginning of the Journey

The GLP experience is just the first step on a longer journey of transformation. ?

I am convinced that it impacts a person on many levels. It comes up regularly in my conversations with GIFT alumni.

A journey of curiosity, a shift in mindset to read more, the passion to seek out different views, and engage others in new ways.

The real process of practical behaviour modification.

How someone asserts themself when returning to their team, and how the team and their supervisors respond, is a frequent topic of discussion.

It is rewarding to hear how closely connected people are even years after the programme. The methodology fosters unusually strong friendships.

No mere business networking, it is a deep dive in understanding the world through the experience of others. An invaluable resource.

There are myriad ways individuals internalise and make sense of the experience they gain weeks and even months after we are together with them.?

We are looking forward to working with another GLP cohort in May and helping to launch them onto this journey.

If you are curious to learn more and join us for the upcoming Global Leaders Programme (GLP) or nominate your staff, please get in touch.