Friday Footnote # 86

Each week we share loads of content amongst Team ION and with our network. Content that inspires us, which we find helpful, or just makes us smile. We thought we would start sharing these insights every Friday. Welcome to Friday Footnote.

It's good to be back!

On Monday and Tuesday of this week it was absolutely amazing to be able to get back to doing what we love doing the most - working with our delegates face-to-face.

For the first time in nearly 2 years we held a 2-day overnight experiential with our current Leading Growth cohort at the amazing Court Colman Manor near Bridgend (pictured right). Andrew, a member of our delivery team, said he 'loved sharing the experience with a group of people who brought their whole self to the event' and Kim, also part of our delivery team, said the 'memories of working with such a talented, enthusiastic and experienced group of leaders will last a lifetime'.

Hopefully the delegates loved it as much as we did. Here's to getting back to more face-to-face delivery. 

4theregion Conference

We are so excited! Next Thursday (17th March) we will be attending the 4theregion Swansea City Centre Conference. And it's face-to-face - we will actually be seeing people in real life. The conference promises to be a fantastic day, and it is taking place in the brand new Swansea Arena - double excitement!

The conference is free to attend, and you can book tickets here. Why not come along to stand 61 and have a chat with Adam, Kaye and Suzanne from our Swansea team about how you and your team could benefit from taking part in one of our leadership programmes. We look forward to seeing you there.

What's caught our eye this week?

• How well-designed work makes us smarter (MIT Sloan Management Review)
• How Pixar fosters collective creativity (Harvard Business Review)
• How play can lead the way to a sustainable future (IDEO)
• The future of work in 2022 and beyond (Forbes) 
• Research: Women score higher than men in most leadership skills (Harvard Business Review)
• We all have relationship regrets - here's how we can learn from them (TED)

#BreakTheBias

Earlier this week we were delighted to get involved in International Women's Day. Adam and Kaye from the team attended the Swansea City Business Network Women of Influence event where a panel of speakers including Wales Women's Football Manager Gemma Grainger, Swansea City's very own Rebecca Edwards-Symmons (Head of Commercial) and Siwan Lillicrap, Wales Women's Rugby captain, discussed their careers to date, and the need to continue inspiring and mentoring female sportswomen and leaders. 

Nicola from our Bangor team was the guest speaker at the Women in Rail Wales International Women's Day lunch where she discussed how personal development improves your confidence and growth. 

436 female leaders have so far taken part in the ION leadership programme, with the highest proportion of delegates working in the manufacturing and education sectors.

During the day we also shared a number of videos where we've chatted with inspiring female leaders about their ION experience. We caught up with Emily Roberts from M-SPARC, Alex Michelle-Parr from Wolfestone and Suzi Park from Make It In Wales.  

Our first-ever PAN Wales leadership programme

We were delighted to anounce last week that in May we will be running our first-ever PAN Wales leadership programme. Our programmes have traditionally been run separately by our teams in Bangor and Swansea. However, for the first time in our 11-year history we are joining forces to unite businesses across Wales. The aim of the programme is to enable delegates to build networks with other fast-growth Welsh brands, and develop the skills and knowledge required to meet organisational goals and flourish in a post-pandemic marketplace. 

Led by Nathan from our Swansea team, and Jacky from our Bangor team, the ILM Level 5 Leading Growth programme starts in May 2022. You can find out more about the programme here and if you are interested in having a chat about participating in the programme, please contact Kaye Harris-John on 07808 847332 or Nicola Sturrs on 01248 383024.

Starting your leadership journey?

Our ILM Level 3 New Leaders programme is designed to develop and enhance the leadership and management skills of those in the early stages of developing their leadership skills. Delegates will be encouraged to understand their own approach to leadership, and then consider their team roles and tasks required to create a strong business framework for the growth and sustainability of their organisation. Our next programme starts in May 2022, and you can find out more about the programme, including those all important dates, here.

Missed previous #FridayFootnotes?