Why I created leadership programs for teenagers
As I have navigated my way through a career that has been quite diverse, I discovered a few things about myself. I realised that I have a curious mind and have often challenged the inability to do things that others have told me are not possible. I have also realised that I am passionate to share knowledge so that I can lift others around me.
The second point has shaped who I have become and drives me to be the person I want to be. A strange thing for me as I truly believe that, whilst I hold a great deal of confidence in what I am doing, I know that there is still more to learn and more to come.
I look back on my life, one that has been of privilege and of humble beginnings. I was privileged to have a curious mind at a young age, to learn the art of listening to better understand, to be able to stay neutral in conflicts, and a special trait to be able to recognise patterns and behaviours in people.
However, I wasn't seeing any of these skills as special and I had even overlooked most of them as anything important, I was who I was and that was that. I did not know any different and I did not know that others did not know what I knew.
But as some events in life came to be, I began to realise patterns in others that were different to mine and this created more curiosity, but still, I did nothing about it. I was who I was and did what I knew best – shared knowledge and kept going until, one significant day in my life; one that I only recognised months after the fact brought me to a grinding halt. I did not listen to my internal dialogue and took advice given to me at face value. That advice led to an event that perhaps if I shared my voice a little louder may have been prevented. An incident that has impacted me for life as well as the other person involved I am sure.
Mistakes happen, failures occur but it is what we do with them that matters.
Whilst the next few months were very traumatic for me, it took me several years to find my way in discovering what I wanted to do from the lessons learnt:
I changed my inner dialogue and made that my default. I listened to my instincts.
My values took centre stage.
I defined my boundaries and held them steadfast.
I shared knowledge when asked that provided clarity to others with lived experiences.
I decided who I wanted to be in life and stepped forward knowing where I was going.
These measured steps have brought me to where I am today. I know that what I know today has given me greater purpose than anything I could have possibly imagined because nobody in my life or in my circle of influence had ever thought this way or shown me this was an option.
I have spent a good 3 and half decades listening to people. I have taken guidance from incredible humans across the globe and from our future generation. I know that my path is that which I have curated for myself and I have clarity on the impact that I want to make. I can only be who I have chosen to be and have no expectation for anyone else to be me, but if they share my passion, and have their own purpose that aligns with mine, it will make for a wonderful and impactful shared journey ahead.
Leadership programs – a dime a dozen
Here is the beauty in what I know:
It does not matter what anyone else is doing, there is enough for everyone.
I do not need to compare, what I bring to the table changes lives and the way people and children step forward in life – for the stronger.
I just need to be me, because that is the best version of me.
I share my story, my lived experiences, not someone else’s.
People will connect with me or the person that will serve them better and that is what matters – service is about the person you are serving not what you offer.
I am not perfect, and that is ok. I will surround myself with those that will compliment what I do but live in my place genius, not theirs.
I want to share what I have so that others can start from a higher baseline than where I had started because that’s what sharing knowledge is about. Lifting those around you.
My limitless beliefs include the ability to see in others what they are yet to see in themselves.
Our future generation does not need to fall and learn from experience if I can show them how to start from a higher baseline.
The teenager in me is calling the adult in me
Whilst I was perceived to be a confident young teenager, I had my doubts too. I did not feel like I fitted in at times - yet was seen to fit in everywhere. These feelings don’t go away over time and they are not topics discussed, not to the depth where solutions are sustainable and make a difference internally. This is why so many adults go through life with friction, conflict, and the inability to share a voice when they disagree; be it in their person lives or in the boardroom.
I want to create a path that allows leaders and our teenagers to be heard, understood, and to develop a new way of stepping forward in life. I look at the corporate world and I hear what we are saying, but I also see the actions taken and the dichotomy that sits in between. I then hear the justification on why steps are taken that do not align with what they want to do or say.
This dichotomy would benefit from changing the lens and the internal dialogue that happens before young people begin their life after school, or in any given career. They deserve the opportunity to know what they don’t know and to be able to shape how they step forward in making changes for themselves. To express, learn, try, and fail outside the walls of a classroom or a boardroom where they may be judged, tested, and marked on and have a somewhat bias experience because the status quo will not change as they are still amongst peers who influence and need to conform to what has been historical behaviour or traits.
“Young people deserve the opportunity to know what they don’t know and to be able to shape how they step forward in making changes for themselves.”
Success to me is not measured by a points system or by what I deem to be successful
When I planned to embrace a path that involved leadership to teenagers, it was not with the lens of following what might be out there but reflecting on what lessons I have learnt in life and in my career. I have listened to millennials for the past decade and am drawing on what I have learnt from my mistakes and, in doing so, I have recognised that what our future generation wants is to be heard.
Our children have an opinion but somehow their voice is not being heard because we as adults feel that they are kids. If you are reading this I am encouraged as I know that you have taken the time to consider what I am sharing, but most importantly, you are reflecting on what you can do differently, or perhaps on what may have been different for you if you had the opportunity to do one of my programs.
If nothing else, I ask you to pause and choose how you can contribute to the future path for you, your team or your child, and what impact it would make for them if they could be part of one of the programs I run.
Don’t be like me, learn from me! Don’t wait for the ’30s, ’40s, or ‘50s to come around. Be committed to yourself, to your team or to your child(ren) and in shaping a path that leads to a better tomorrow.
If you were able to better understand yourself and be more conscious of others around you and be confident to be you, to influence and to elevate others around you, who might you be today or what might you have done differently?
Whilst I love what I share with Executives, C-Suite who dare to want to live and work with a higher vibrational and purpose, I am now also committed to serving our future generation and I have incredible facilitators on the journey with me that will help navigate the new path forward for young and old.
I wake up with a smile on my face every single day and despite having challenging days on the odd occasion, I don’t find myself saying “why me?” when something goes wrong. I say "what a blessing to have been able to discover this so that I can share with those around me.”
My purpose is to share
My purpose is to share so that we all live a better life across the Globe elevating others with us and ensuring those in underdeveloped countries and underprivileged communities have access to it too. We fund programs for free where we see the need and we do this with impact contributors and by paying things forward so for every program you pay for, we pay it forward to someone else.
It should not matter where you are born, into what family or the bloodline. When we all come together it is about sharing knowledge and experiences so that we can better understand what is needed to live a collective life that ensures that our future generation lives the life that they deserve across the Globe.
Purpose and "Why"
Whilst I have shared my purpose through my voice and in my actions, I know there are many others who share it too but just have not known how they can contribute. Our children have been calling for change and I have listened. They don’t want was has historically been done because that is not working for them.
The objectives of the programs are to reshape the way in which we all step into the world. Yes, we can all contribute. There is no “But what can I do? I am merely one person”. As Gandhi has so previously shared “Be the change you want to see in the world”.
Robert Harold Schuller also shared “If it’s going to be it’s up to me” and I have embraced both quotes with open arms and stepping forward into the world to bring about the changes that I want for our future generation. I am honouring them and showing others how. Now the next steps are up to you.
I have created the path so that others may join me. Showing is my place of genius. I do it from lived experiences so that our future generation have skills and tools that are relatable.
The programs are designed to:
Build confidence
Develop discipline and self-practices
Improve communication
Gain insight on oneself
Become conscious of others around us
Acceptance of differences
Understand personal values
Create boundaries
Gain insight on the impact of knowing your purpose
Establish Goals and then add some more
To register your interest or that for your child please reach out and share what has inspired you today.