client stories...

Cultural Leadership International (British Council)

Theme: International Cultural Leadership
Country: Spain, Bahrain, Jordan
Participants: 80 cultural leaders from Europe, North America, North Africa and the Gulf States
Key content: Leadership styles and preference, business simulation, Hero's Journey, personal development planning

In the Spring of 2009 we were asked to contribute some thinking to an ambitious new international leadership development programme being developed by the British Council in partnership with the Cultural Leadership Programme.

As a consequence of this thinking, we were then asked to be part of the pilot phase of this new initiative, now called Cultural Leadership International. This first phase involved drawing together over 80 emerging cultural leaders from across Europe, North Africa and the Gulf States and helping them consider what leadership in the cultural sector is for them in an international context.
This involved some intense and challenging workshops in Madrid, Bahrain and Amman, working with some amazing, creative people.

In order to make this challenging project work, we had to re-check all our thinking: we were working with participants, for the majority of whom, English is a second language and who came from a wide range of contexts: independent artist collectives through to state institutions.

What happened next?

Theme: International Cultural Leadership
Country: Lebanon
Participants: 40 cultural leaders from the UK, North Africa and the Gulf States
Key content: Leadership styles and preference, Temperaments, Situational Influence, Hero's Journey, Open Space Technique

In the autumn of 2010 we were invited to contribute to the leadership development of a second cohort of Cultural Leadership International participants. This time we were working with 40 artists and cultural leaders from the UK, Saudi Arabia, UAE and various North African countries. We spent four days in Beirut working with this group of managers, entrepreneurs and thinkers, exploring themes of creative leadership, preference and style, influence and personal planning.

Beirut Image Gallery