Activate Participant:      Louise Goodwin

Position:                           Senior Team Leader - Apprentices and Trainees

Organisation:                  Gforce Employment Solutions

Session:                           Week 5

Theme:                             Leading Change

Our eight week leadership journey so far has been very interesting, a lot of fun and, on a couple of occasions, just a little challenging.

We have just completed week five which was held at the TAC. Jane Barker was our first presenter and Jane was very energetic, open and down to earth. Jane's leadership journey has not been a direct pathway but rather a zig zag of a lot of different experiences. I related very well to Jane's statement that she still didn't know what she wanted to do for a career.

We caught up with Paige Williams again for an interactive workshop which had us thinking about change in the workplace and how this is implemented in an effective way that is sustainable. One thing that I found interesting was the power of habits and the discussion and workshop we had around this.

Cynthia and Rosemary entertained us with a creative activity later in the day around the voices in our head that influence us every day. I must say creativity is not my greatest strength but the activity was fun and quite enjoyable with music in the background while we were drawing, cutting and pasting. It was an insightful activity for me which helped with my self-awareness and focusing on how we stay positive.

The session was finished off with a look at ways to have those awkward conversations with staff. This was very helpful and the thing that stood out for me most was that it is important to practice the conversation quite a few times before having it.

Next week we are at Gforce, which is my workplace and I am looking forward to hosting and catching up with everyone again. I have really enjoyed meeting everyone who is a part of our group and getting to know them all more each week. The group is overall a happy and positive group with a lot of interesting experiences and ideas to share.