Vitae leadership course

Last week I had the opportunity to trek down to sunny(ish) Bournemouth in the company of 60 others to learn about leadership. This was a course run by Vitae, a national organisation funded by Research Councils UK (RCUK) to generally look after the welfare of PhDs and post-docs. I had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the course, the people and the refreshing approach.

During my PhD I was sent on a number of similar residential courses and in general I quite enjoyed them. This one caught my eye because I've never had any leadership training and in the leadership roles I've taken on in the past felt a bit directionless and ill-equipped. I thought this would be a good opportunity to remedy that. I was also curious about Vitae and what they do, since they are, after all, there to help me and my kind.

The course structure was different to similar courses I've been on, with the bulk of the contact time taken up by six ninety minute practical sessions. These gave a chance to observe and put into practice everything you learned in the 20 minute theory sessions that were spaced between. There was also time to reflect in a 'home group', a group of the same people you met with a number of times during the course. The final main element was an extra, larger activity to do in partly scheduled and partly leisure times. Parameters, aims and work schemes were well set, the tutors were excellent and the whole course ran like clock-work.

There's a few learning points that really stood out for me. These were mostly summed up in one word or phrase each: awareness, authenticity, beginner's mind (i.e. a humble approach), skill recognition etc etc. Most of all I got a sense that I can lead and do a pretty good job. The chance for all of us to lead at least one of the long exercises reinforeced this last point well.

All I can say is, if you get the chance to go on this course, do! I had a great time and am very grateful to all the tutors and participants for giving me so much to think about and chew over for a very long time to come.