After a successful first round of Circl in 2021, ten tails.com pack members became the second cohort to take part in Circl’s leadership programme - with some incredible results for both our pack members and future leaders, let’s dive into how things went.
What is Circl you say?
Circl is a coaching programme giving ten tails.com professionals the opportunity to improve their communication and collaboration skills by coaching and being coached by young adults from underprivileged backgrounds.
Ten young adults from St. Margarets school were paired up with tails.com pack members. They then embarked on five sessions over four months, spanning several topics such as active listening, observation and coaching models.
What’s in it for tails.com?
In order to get the most out of the programme and encourage application of the learnt techniques and methods, an extensive selection process was put in place in order to ensure an impactful experience for both our pack members and future leaders. This process is now being used as an example by Circl in order to streamline the selection process for their other programmes.
Our Round 2 Circl participants were all either new line managers (less than two years experience), pack members who were already in a leadership role, or people who are likely to take on more responsibilities as future leaders and are a year or so away from using these skills daily.
Finding gaps between the areas the participants needed to work on and the development areas which the Circl programme addresses, was also a crucial factor in the selection process.
Be bold, be vulnerable and be you
Looking over the key takeaways from the programme and what future leaders and our pack members said, be bold, be vulnerable and be you are keywords that have really stood out for this cohort.
“Be bold about your observations, even if it feels awkward,” said one of our pack members. Don’t shy away from difficult conversations or giving constructive feedback - it is precisely those bold conversations that cement credibility, consistency and connectedness. The three C’s are rooted in the trust model and are strengthened by being bold, however it does require an equal and opposing force: vulnerability.
Be vulnerable. Our pack members were able to bring their vulnerable sides to the table, by sharing reflections and examples from their own lives that related to leadership. Our Circl programme coordinator Luxsiya reflected that this vulnerability “was great role modelling for the future leaders.”
Trust is one of the key components in our Learning & Development offering at tails.com, as it not only allows for open conversations around work, but also around development and building strong relationships. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable as a leader helps you avoid being self-centred and allows for trust to blossom and build.
Be you. An age-old cliché, I know, but it couldn’t ring truer, especially in today’s environment of remote and/or hybrid working where we have less face to face interaction - don’t be afraid to be you. The success of our last two rounds of Circl have been amplified by pack members purely being themselves and showing up. Showing younger generations that you can be bold and vulnerable at the same time is invaluable in setting them up for success for their future endeavours and serves as a reminder that the only person you have to be to put your best foot forward is yourself.
We now look to our pack members who participated in the programme to transfer the skills they learnt and perfected to their day to day at tails.com to strengthen their work relationships, to challenge themselves and others, and most importantly to champion their unique ability to be themselves.
