Q&A - Lynda Hale, Tŷ Teulu

Lynda Hale took part in our programme in the LEAD Wales days and has since put several members of her team through our programmes, including her daughter. We caught up with Lynda to discuss her ION experience.

What did you hope to achieve from joining the ION leadership programme?

Before joining the programme I was a little nervous as I expected other candidates to be very knowledgable and confident and felt that I may be a bit out of my league. This feeling was immediately squashed with a warm welcome and coffee. I hoped I would gain some leadership knowledge and strategies to deal with difficult situations and conversations and some insight into employment law. I also thought it would be a good qualification certificate to hang on my office wall!

How did you benefit personally from the programme?

The cohort I was part of was all female and whilst this wasn’t necessary for me, I feel we all bonded in such an amazing way and I made friends that still keep in touch with. I drew strength from those on the course who shared experiences that I could reconcile with and the positive and relaxed manner with which the course flowed made us all feel safe to share our concerns and areas of weakness. The whole experience helped me to understand myself better and how I led the team and areas I could improve. This in turn gave me much greater confidence in myself. I felt my leadership became much more proactive and this gave me a feeling of greater fulfilment and I began to deal with things within the organisation and outside of it with less anxiety.

How has the business benefited from the programme?

Our organisation has benefitted hugely from having a more solid individual as a leader. I no longer fear that my sense of humour and fun-loving attitude needs to be quelled. Instead, I incorporate it into helping the team embrace life experiences and accept that we are all in the success together, even when things don’t always go according to plan. This has created a very open and transparent working environment where everyone is comfortable admitting when things didn’t go well or they didn’t perform at their best and we can look at how we get things done better together next time. This has created a feeling of trust, which in the care sector is central to providing outstanding levels of care.

Have you become a better leader?

Absolutely yes ( I hope!). From my more confident approach, the team draws positivity and the strength to build belief in themselves. The trust we have created has enabled me to delegate so much more effectively and the team members have thrived on this, wanting to take ownership of tasks and hungry for more learning themselves. It has made my job so much easier and I can concentrate on growing the business rather than fulfilling day-to-day tasks.

Would you recommend the ION leadership programme?

I have always recommended this course from the very first overnight experiential. This was the most enjoyable course I have ever done (and I have done quite a lot!). My daughter and business partner undertook the course, we had another manager complete last year and another starting in the new year. I think every person within a leadership role should experience this course. It is like no other and the skills learned along, with personal growth, are just something not to be missed. It cannot fail to inspire any leader, it cannot fail to bring a smile to a stressful week and some strategies to help you through. I believe that this is one course that quite simply cannot fail.