How to become a better leader?
- To become a better leader, you have to face a completely new situation that you have to solve. It's only then that we develop. You will now undergo leadership development that will take you out of your comfort zone," says the leadership developer with a smile. The 12 excited participants are, if possible, even more excited. They are all leaders in the Red Cross, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Save the Children.
Written by Hedda Kise
The situation is unfamiliar to all of them, not least because the leadership developer from FRONT Leadership, Gunn Brigitte Danielsen, is wearing an all-turquoise suit, shiny silver shoes and an access card dangling around her neck. The group is located in one of the most prestigious office buildings in Barcode in Oslo, and the leadership developer looks more like a playful circus director than a hard-core business person. She sends a clear signal.
- Learning happens when we challenge ourselves, but if you want to become a better leader, you have to learn to feel. Is this something you want to do? Is this something you can master? If not right away, you need to feel like you can do it eventually," says Gunn Brigitte before explaining that leaders need to step outside their comfort zone to develop, but they also need to learn not to go too far outside.
-"The best leaders are never fully trained," says Gunn Brigitte Danielsen, who is a leadership developer at FRONT Leadership in addition to teaching change management and leadership in practice at several colleges and universities.
Free leadership development program
The first-ever leadership development program for leaders across humanitarian organizations is underway - completely free of charge for both the organizations and the participants. For every ten leaders FRONT Leadership develops, one leader in a humanitarian organization gets a place in this leadership program.
The places are partly sponsored by the companies that FRONT sells and delivers leadership development to, and in this way the program also contributes to meeting the sustainability goals of several companies.
Leadership development that helps leaders achieve goals
After the first day, participants were eager for the continuation.
-"It's really useful that we are leaders across the organizations, because we learn from a broader perspective than what we have experienced with other leadership development," says NRCAP's Nina Meyer Stensholt , Director for Innovation Business Development and Analysis at NORCAP. She took on a new management position a year ago and has established a new section.
- "I aim to create a shared vision and goals by next fall, and then I need to create a better work-life balance. After the first day, I really feel that the program will help me achieve these two goals," she says enthusiastically.
"We learn more on this program at FRONT Leadership than other leadership development programs," says Nina Meyer, Director of NRC.
What exactly is leadership development?
"I've never in my life experienced that it's my co-workers who have to assess me," says a slightly surprised Sivathasan Nadarajah, who is a group leader in accounting at the Red Cross. One of his most important tasks is to deliver accounting reports with great accuracy and reliability, which helps to build trust with the major donors. This is crucial for how many people the Red Cross can help.
Sivathasan smiles. He thinks the scheme is fantastic.
-"Now I'm discovering how big the gap is between how I think I work as a manager and how my employees actually experience my management. I'm going to learn a lot from this," says the experienced manager who has held many management jobs during his professional life.
-"I will learn a lot from having my employees anonymously assess how my leadership affects them, both before the program starts, during the program and after 10 months," says Sivathasan Nadarajah of the Red Cross.
Leadership development is about those who are exposed to leadership
-"The best leaders are never fully trained," nods leadership developer Gunn Brigitte approvingly, and points out that leadership development is ultimately about those who experience your leadership. That's why the employees of those who participate in the program get to speak anonymously about the leadership they are exposed to - both before the program starts, several times during the program and finally after one year.
FRONT Leadership is known for these "pulse measurements", which are a very useful tool for finding out if what participants are working on is having an effect.
-Pulse measurements should be used for learning and growth, not to beat yourself over the head.
They will help you adjust your goals," says leadership developer Gunn Brigitte, reassuring the group that no one other than the leadership developer and the manager who is in the program will know the individual's "grades".
-If you want to be a better leader, you have to step outside your comfort zone, says Gunn Brigitte Danielsen who is a leadership developer at FRONT Leadership and teaches practical leadership and change management at several colleges and universities.
Leadership development that delivers the fastest and best impact
The leaders in the humanitarian organizations will gain both new theoretical knowledge about leadership and valuable training in practical leadership skills. This is a research-based method for leadership development that provides the fastest and best effect.
-"The most unique thing about this program is that the participants are leaders across organizations and across levels of management," says Gunn Brigitte, Leadership Developer, explaining that in any organization you need to understand each other's challenges and build community.
Because most of the challenges the world faces today, we need to solve together.
Sharing experiences to become better leaders
-"I think it will be particularly useful for me to have a colleague to spar with, and it's only positive that the learning partner is from another humanitarian organization," says Christopher Molstad, Head of HR at Save the Children.
He is supported by Sivathasan at the Red Cross accounts department, who emphasizes that the humanitarian organizations are not competitors, but have a common goal. Together, the organizations can become stronger and contribute even more to society.
-"It's positive that I have a learning partner from another humanitarian organization to spar with," says Christopher Molstad, HR Manager at Save the Children.
Read more about what research says about the right leadership development to become a better leader
What can I do to help Ukraine?
-"I won't forget sitting in front of the TV and watching the war roll into Ukraine. We saw on the news that the aid organizations were doing a tremendous job, and it made an impression. We all thought the same thing: what can we - with our expertise - do to help people in need?
Mats Kristensen, CEO of FRONT Leadership, explains how the leadership development company got the idea for the special leadership development program.
-"I remembered a network meeting where a large humanitarian organization had told me how useful it was to learn from other companies," says Mats, who is also network manager for several EGN networks. So the Red Cross, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Save the Children were contacted.
The desire to make a difference was strong among FRONT Leadership employees, and together with the humanitarian organizations they developed the program A LEADERSHIP JOURNEY.
-"The goal is to be able to offer the humanitarian organizations 120 free places next year, because a better leader can help more people," says Mats Kristensen, partner and CEO of FRONT Leadership.
120 free leadership development places in 2023
- Good leadership ensures that we retain and develop our employees. Good leadership helps us to perform optimally in the future. Good leadership ensures that we get the most out of every krone," write the Secretaries General of the Norwegian Refugee Council Jan Egeland, the Red Cross Bernt Apeland and Save the Children's Birgitte Lange in a joint statement on the leadership development program.
A LEADERSHIP JOURNEY strengthens the culture of continuous development and increases productivity in humanitarian organizations.
-"The goal is to be able to offer 120 free places next year," says Mats Kristensen of FRONT Leadership.
Good leadership means that we get the most out of every the three secretaries general write in a joint statement about the leadership development program from FRONT Leadership.
How do you build team spirit?
But this year, the first twelve participants have started the program. They stand in a circle on the floor.
PCs, phones and other technical aids have been replaced with a little skin contact, lots of eye contact and solid doses of laughter. The gang is clearly out of their comfort zone, but they are full of positive energy and joy.
-"This is a simple technique for building psychological safety and team spirit," teaches leadership developer Gunn Brigitte, while the participants literally feel it on their bodies. The educational leadership training is underway.
PCs, phones and other technical aids are replaced with a little skin contact, a lot of eye contact and solid doses of laughter.
What is leadership training?
"Through the program, I get support and training to become more change-oriented and better at marking," says Frederik Francios Siem, who manages a team of professional advisers at the Red Cross who work to protect people from violence, threats and attacks.
-"The leadership development program EN LEDER-REISE puts teaching, experience exchange and training into an effective structure, adapted and integrated into the participants' everyday work life," explains Gunn Brigitte, Leadership Developer. After the physical kick-off, which lasts a whole day, the 12 participants will meet once a month in a digital meeting place. This ensures that everyone has time to fail and to learn from their mistakes, so that they are left with new in-depth knowledge and can actually change their leadership behavior.
"The fact that this program is not a one-shot deal, but runs for ten months, makes it even more interesting and educational," says Stine Paus, Executive Director of Partnership and Policy at NRC.
Stine Paus, Director of the Norwegian Refugee Council, believes that the ten-month program will yield much better results than expensive seminars using the skippertak method.
Adapt management to those you manage and you as a manager
FRONT Leadership believes that leaders should spend time identifying their unique strengths and then use them to adapt their leadership to the people being led and to the leader. Leadership developer Gunn Brigitte is an experienced facilitator of co-creative learning processes. She lectures in change management and leadership in practice at several colleges and universities. Her core competence is to make leaders better at the relational interaction they face every day, so that they can stay in their role over time.
- "Before the program started, I thought it would help me find my leadership style. After the first day, I think the program will be even more useful - it will challenge my leadership style," says a satisfied Frederik Siem of the Red Cross.
This program challenges my leadership style and I get support to become more change-oriented," says a satisfied Frederik Siem at the Red Cross.
Better managers dare to screw up
Christoper Molstad, HR Manager at Save the Children, is also excited:
"My first thought was that an almost one-year leadership development program - I really don't have time for that, so I had to go several rounds with myself before I decided to say yes. But after the first day, I'm incredibly happy that I joined ONE LEADERSHIP JOURNEY.
The kick-off for the very first leadership development program across humanitarian organizations is coming to an end. Leadership developer Gunn Brigitte looks out over the group.
-"Remember, you have to dare to make a fool of yourself!" she says.
-"If you don't dare to screw up, you're done with development and you have nothing more to give as a leader.
After the full-day physical kick-off, the 12 participants will meet once a month in a digital meeting place. This ensures that everyone has time to fail and learn from their mistakes.
What will you do differently tomorrow?
It's clear that the leaders on this program are not done developing.
-"But don't wait to start the process," says leadership developer Gunn Brigitte at the end of the day.
- Start tomorrow, based on what you've learned today. Lasting change can only happen one small step at a time. So think about what you're going to do differently as a leader tomorrow, based on what you've done today. That's what will make you a better leader.
