Looking Back at our celebration event

We were recently joined by former team members, industry and education partners, and some of our alumni for our 'Looking Back, Looking Forward' event at the Swansea University Great Hall, celebrating 14 years of developing extraordinary leaders. 

After a well-earned few days off for our events team, and with the photos now having arrived, we thought it was the perfect time to recap what was a fantastic day. 

Where it all began

14 years ago, Swansea University Director of Research, Engagement & Innovation Services (REIS), Ceri Jones (pictured right), was part of a group involved in bringing LEAD to Wales from Lancaster University. Ceri, who was our opening speaker at the event, discussed how proud he was of not only importing the programme to Wales in the first place, but how we have evolved it, adapting it for the Welsh market, piloting programmes for different demographics and sector specific cohorts such as life sciences, manufacturing, ICT, energy and two female only programmes. You can read more about Ceri's thougths on our leadership programme in a recent blog he penned for us.

Ceri concluded his opening address by thanking those in the room, especially those former team members who had joined us, for playing their part in the last 14 years, and for making the programme so special. It's all about teamwork - a recurring theme throughout the day. 

It's all about impact!  

Next up was ION leadership Programme Lead Suzanne Parry Jones (pictured right), who shared her thoughts on the impact our programmes have had over the last 14 years, backed up by the results of our research:

• Nearly 2,000 delegates supported
• Worked with leaders in over 1,000 businesses across Wales
• Nearly 1,500 delegates achieved professional qualifications

But it's not just about the numbers. It's about the impact on the delegates themselves. Research collated from delegates between 2019-2022 showed that:

• 100% of delegates said the programme had a positive impact on their ability to think strategically and communicate effectively
• 94% of delegates said the programme had a positive impact on their self-confidence
• 98% of delegates said the programme had a positive impact on their adoption of new management and leadership practices
• 96% of delegates are likely to participate in further learning

Suzanne ended her session by introducing the 2nd of 5 new testimonial films which were 'premiered' at the event. Films with delegates from 4theregion, DWJ Wealth Management, Swansea Arena, Tokio Marine and Abbey Glass will be shared on our social feeds, website and YouTube channel over the coming weeks. Keep an eye out. 

It wouldn't be an ION event without some fun activities 

Next up was Professor Louisa Huxtable-Thomas from the Swansea University School of Management (also a former ION leadership team member!), who shared her thoughts, as well as programme research, on why the programme works, and how the programme has helped leaders who maybe didn't think they were leaders.

Louisa then introduced our first set of activities. Led by Suzanne, Kim, Jane and Tony (who re-joined the ION delivery team for the day), delegates split into 4 groups to take part in some of the experiential learning activities we have become renowned for. It was fantastic to hear alumni (who may have completed the activities as part of their programme) reminisice about the impact the activities had on them, and University colleagues (who hadn't completed them before) enjoy the activities so much and take so much learning from them. And everyone had a big smile on their face.

Innovation, Swansea University support, and a poem (obviously!)

Following the fun activities, it was time for the last sessions of the morning. First up was Dr Gary Walpole, former ION leadership Programme Director, who discussed the Welsh Government Innovation Strategy, and the role of innovation in leading organisations forward. Gary also discussed the work of his current project CEIC Wales. 

Next up, representatives from 4 projects across Swansea University pitched their projects to those in attendance, highlighting the support they can offer. Simeon from the Swansea Employability Academy kicked off the pitches, followed by James from Swansea LINC, Kelvin from Agor, and (last but not least), Lisa from Executive Education.  

Last up before lunch, ION alumni Bill McAllister-Lovatt took to the stage to recite a poem he had written especially for the event. Bill was part of the cohort which held our first face-to-face graduation cermeony after the Covid-19 pandemic. It was a hugely emotional day full of laughter, tears and 2 poems. As soon as Bill heard about our event he contacted Adam and said he wanted to write a new poem to read at the event. How could we say no. A great end to a great morning. Time for some lunch and a chance to catch up with everyone. 

Alumni share their leadership journeys

After lunch (which included ION branded cupcakes!) it was time for our alumni Q&A panel session with Rachael Flanagan (Mrs Buckét), Shaun Welsh (Trojan Group), Bhupinder Sidhu (Business Butler) and Stephanie Griffiths (Chwarae Teg).

Hosted by our MC for the day, Helen Bowden, the alumni (from both LEAD Wales and ION leadership) discussed their leadership journeys, how the programme impacted them and their business, and there key takeaways from the programme. Thank you so much to all of our alumni for their amazing insights.

Experiential learning #2  

Next up was round 2 of the experiential activities. The delegates split into 4 groups and took part in activities led by Kim, Suzanne, Jane and this time Sibil. Considering delegates were probably still recovering from lunch, it was fantastic once again to see everyone throw themselves 100% into the activities.

Looking Forward and Thank you  

As the event started to draw to an end, there was still time to discuss the future. ION leadership / LEAD Wales has been fortunate for the 14 years of its existence to have received funding from WEFO / ESF. As this current funding cycle comes to an end, ION will be moving through a period of change. The project will continue to be supported by Swansea University and continue to support the leadership journey of the Welsh business community.

In our final session, Suzanne Parry Jones was joined by Gareth Davies from the Swansea University School of Management to run an interactive session asking those in the room what support they required in the future. It is hugely important to us that our future offerings are industry led, continuing to offer programmes which provide real solutions to the real issues that leaders face every day. We received some fantastic insights from the tables, all of which will feed into our future plans. 

And just like that, it was time to close the event. Suzanne drew the event to a close with thanks to everyone who had been involved in the day - from our events team, to our speakers, to our MC, and of course a final thanks to everyone who joined us on the day.

What a great event. What a great programme. We are hugely proud to have been supporting extraordinary leaders for 14 years. Long may it continue. 

If you are interested in finding out more about how we can work with you and your business to develop the people within your team or organization, get in touch with Suzanne or Adam on ionleadership@swansea.ac.uk.