All good things come to an end and how sad all the 2017/18 UK scholars are that our 9-month programme is now over, but how lucky we are to have had what can only be described as a life-changing experience. I know that even though our bootcamps, lectures and mentoring sessions might have finished, this is a group who will continue to support and learn from each other for years to come.
So what have we learnt? Everyone will have taken their own lessons from this exhilarating programme, but here are a few of the ideas that I think have had the most impact over the past nine months.
1. You don’t need to be in a position of power to be a leader, you just need to have influence over someone else.
What an eye-opening thought. For those of us who started the programme with severe imposter syndrome, this reassured us that being a great leader has really got nothing to do with your job title. It’s about being authentic, listening and drawing the best out of others.
2. Make the small changes: together they make a big impact.
It’s easy to excuse ourselves from changing our habits and behaviours as it can often seem too small a thing to bother with, but it’s exactly those small changes that we should all make: they’re easy, immediate and they add up. To use a metaphor Richard Tyler gave us at our final bootcamp: if you move train tracks apart by 1 degree, after 50 miles they’re a mile apart.
3. Live your life on purpose.
Everything you do in your life is a choice, and taking responsibility for this shifts your perspective and makes for a much more positive outlook. It’s the switch from waiting for something to happen, to going out and making it happen.
4. The power of visualisation
It works for top athletes, so why not for everyone else? We British can be really squeamish about these kinds of techniques (I know I was) but it truly works. As we learnt on the transformative Living Leader course, “your thinking can create your reality”.
5. Invest in yourself to build others.
It’s always hard to justify the time in your diary for personal development, but changing your thinking to see this time as an investment not just in yourself, but in everyone else around you, suddenly shifts your priorities.
Finally, we’d like to say some big thank yous:
To all those who contributed and attended our showcase event “Big questions, bigger perspectives” thank you for your time and energy. It was a brand new way of approaching the showcase and we hope you found it a stimulating evening. If you weren’t able to be there, watch this space for snapshots of the evening. A big thank you too to Citizen M Tower of London, who so kindly gave over their amazing space to host the event. What a view! Check it out here.
To the UK Marketing Academy sponsors who make this programme possible, your commitment to nurturing industry talent is so appreciated.
To our mentors, speakers and coaches who all give their time so generously, we are so grateful and have learnt so much from you. Your commitment to developing others is inspiring and we hope to be able to contribute as much to others in the coming years. You can find the winners of this year’s mentor awards here.
To Sherilyn and the Marketing Academy team, there are not enough words. Thank you for this opportunity, it’s been truly transformational.
