A whole new ION world

ION Leadership Development Specialists Jill Davies and Kim Talbot, ably supported by Suzanne Parry Jones and a brief appearance from Tony Burnett (zooming in from his hols no less!) were delighted to launch our first-ever virtual cohorts this week. And what a busy week it was!

18 new delegates embarking on their fully funded New Leaders programme and 19 Leading Growth delegates picking up where they left off, after just one day face-to-face, at the end of February.

Was it possible, could it work, how would we keep it human, would delegates be interested in working virtually? So many questions and so many things to consider. Is this what they call pivoting?

ION Leadership, and LEAD Wales before it, has always been about relationships and shared experiences, those between facilitators, coaches and delegates and crucially between delegates and across cohorts.

Like everyone out there, we needed to rethink the way we work. In many ways a great leveller and an opportunity for the whole team to get involved in designing new processes, rapidly adopting new technology, immersing ourselves in as much personal development as possible to better equip ourselves for the task ahead, much of which involved major re-design to ensure everything was fit for its virtual purpose. All of this, whilst supporting each other through these crazy times.

Did it work? Well judging by the feedback we received after each day, absolutely YES:

• “I wasn’t expecting to get down to work so fast, it was great”
• “Really enjoyed working with different people in different groups”
• “The time just flew by”
• "Enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would, looking forward to what's to come"

From Jill and Kim's point of view, the experience was as enjoyable, exhausting and rewarding as any other cohort day.

We are big on reflection at ION Leadership so here are Jill and Kim’s top reflections on a week well spent:

• Surprised and delighted how well delegates got on together, many of whom had never met before and it was clear that valuable friendships and connections were being made
• It was obvious from some of the exchanges and a little bit of friendly competition creeping in, that delegates relaxed very quickly into the sessions
• Importantly, all delegates were very keen to learn, to contribute and to reflect on the activities and how they related to their own worlds of work
• Jill and Kim felt able to work together much as they have before, albeit with a good few more balls to juggle. I think “rollercoaster ride” was one of the phrases used!

Before the worldwide pandemic struck, perhaps we may have been guilty of assuming virtual delivery would not be possible. This week was the start of proving us wrong. The quality of delegates who sign up for any of our programmes, gives us a huge advantage, as their determination to get stuck in and use everything at their disposal was remarkable.

Does this sound like you? Our programmes are currently fully-funded, but we have very few places remaining, so please do act now, if you would like to get involved.