The Need

A workshop to kick off a 3 – day strategy session which challenged the team and acted as a catalyst to spark fresh ideas and perspectives. Specific themes included adaptive leadership, diversity, resilience and change management. 

The Size9 Experience

15 curious and slightly anxious leaders arrived at the Fitzroy Housing Estate’s Adventure Playground, with no idea of what they were about to encounter. After being set the challenge of producing a video, the team wrote questions and then interviewed three hand- picked community leaders with migrant and refugee backgrounds. Each community leader had a different story to tell and had faced obstacles that we in Australia cannot imagine. They quickly won over the BP team with their wisdom, authenticity, courage, vision and passion. 

Following the interviews, the team relaxed and reflected over a game of basketball (with Omar from the Helping Hoops program) and water fights with the kids from the Estate. The day was then capped off with a joint performance of the Rap song “We are the same” written by Fablice (one of the community leaders). The BIG de-brief drew out the learning from the afternoon, and its relevance to the BP teams  current challenges and leadership responsibilities. 

The Outcome

The manager’s expectations were more than exceeded. She was delighted with the resulting conversations, shifts in perspectives and learning from the day. Highlights were the discussions around diversity, the power of a story and the importance of demonstrating passion for what you want to achieve. Another theme was the extent to which each leader ‘gave back’ to their community, and their belief in developing the leadership skills of those around them.

The event stretched comfort zones and a once in a lifetime learning experience. The day also allowed Size9 to produce a short film which will positively promote leadership in the community and inspire new and emerging leaders.