Giving a step towards leadership means giving a step towards an inner journey of self-discovery. It requires hard work, discipline and self-awareness. Leadership is like climbing a mountain – the journey is long and tough but, when you arrive at the top, you will find the sun.
That is what our fellows experienced last weekend. The group spent two days outside of the Brussels crowd. They walked up to the hill and joined the Quartier Gallet community surrounded by nature in the south of Belgium. Walking, meditating and praying, they focused on their personal growth, spiritual exercises and gratefulness.
Besides that, they keep learning. On a weekly basis, the fellows keep enriching their minds and challenging themselves. A good Fellow knows that Leadership can be found outside his comfort zone. By talking to the speakers, mentors and coaches, they confront their points of views, they learn, make mistakes and grow. Recently, the Fellows started testing themselves through FLIGBY, a professional game to identify, measure and develop leadership skills. Through this leadership game they are learning to become effective team leaders, to handle difficult decisions and to promote happiness when managing teams
Finally, they are giving back what they learn. In such a moment, giving back to the community is a sign of commitment and trust. The fellows enjoyed the Easter break in their communities, volunteered and helped others in spending nice time. As well, the fellows are starting submitting their research papers topics and gathering materials for their arguments. In June they will need to defend their thesis in front of a jury member at the University Centre Saint-Ignatius Antwerp (UCSIA). At ELP we are happy to encourage and witness our Fellows journey. Life is like a mountain climb, a quest to reach the mountain peak. Our Fellows aim high. From the bottom that is their journey, they look at the mountains they need to climb. The journey is long but they know that, once they reach the top, there will be sun.
Gianmarco Palermo
European Leadership Programme Officer
