Emerging World

My colleague Ionela Spinu and I are in the San Francisco Bay area this week scoping a leadership experience Emerging World have been asked to deliver in early December. It’s my first time back in the city since 2019 and it’s been great to catch up with some old friends and colleagues. Thank you Lisa K. & Maeven M.. San Francisco is a fascinating (and photogenic) city. It tells a rich and diverse story. Early European explorers originally found the Bay a safe haven for ships and it’s still a big location for importing and exporting with a thriving harbour. The gold rush of 1849 really put the city on the map and though the currency may have changed, people still flock here to search for their fortune but now it’s the tech industry that holds the promise of riches rather than gold mines. It’s also a city that has promoted inclusion. Liberal attitudes have enabled diverse communities to feel they belong – from people with diverse SOGIE (Sexual Orientation and Gender Expression) to the hippies of the 1960’s and many communities from across the Pacific and Latin America who have made the area their home. These attitudes are not without the drawbacks. Sympathetic local government policy has helped to make the city attractive to the homeless in such numbers that local people’s tolerance is being tested due to the associated issues homelessness brings, particularly around drug use. Rents have skyrocketed pricing local people out of homes and adding fuel to the problem while the structural inequalities experienced by marginalised and historically excluded communities are still apparent. But the city has resilience. Earthquakes may have razed many buildings over the years but the sprit of the city and its people live on. I can’t wait to find out what the week will bring and what stories we can bring into our learning experience in a few weeks’ time.

I’ve just returned from an inspiring week in Hyderabad with Michelle M. McBride, MSOD, Suzanne Coonan MS, PCC, Ravneet Jandu and the Salesforce senior executive development team. It was a transformational experience that engaged senior executives at Salesforce in tackling priority issues the company is facing as part of their development. We used an immersive learning approach through which participants: 🤝 Built strong relationships with each other – there is nothing like being together in-person in a vibrant location away from home for creating the conditions in which relationships and connection flourish ⏩ Worked collaboratively to move forward complex business challenges that need to be addressed to keep the company thriving 👓 Broadened perspective through a range of immersive activities such as visits to local schools supported by social entrepreneurs, engagements with inspirational people demonstrating leadership every day and paired conversations with local talent that provide the inside track on change 🛠 Embraced approaches like Action Learning and Adaptive Leadership that provide practical new ways to understand and tackle problems 📚 Shared personal life stories and how these influence leadership choices The impact was palpable. To be witness to the discussion and energy on the final day was a true privilege Thank you Salesforce for our enduring partnership over the past 7 years and huge thanks to our amazing Emerging World team of Amanda Bowman, Ionela Spinu, Amy Moore (ICF MCC) & Ed Williams. You all demonstrated the #adaptability that’s required to deliver such powerful leadership experiences in the current context, as well as bringing your many diverse talents and incredible teamwork to our efforts. I am truly fortunate to work with such great people. Thank you also to Carl Sanders-Edwards for your words of wisdom as well as our amazing partners Subbu Parameswaran, PMP of Learning Curve , Eshwar Bandi of Inqui-Lab Foundation, yuva kanagasabapathy & Madhavi of Chotuu Ki Education, Nayantara Janardhan of EnAble India, and the teams from 1M1B (1 Million for 1 Billion) & Teach For India for helping bring this experience alive. You deserve huge recognition for the great work you are doing.

Last month, members of our Emerging World core team and associate facilitators came together to flex our #ActionLearning muscles as we supported our partner, ANKAA Project, with a challenge they were facing. We incorporated elements of #AdaptiveLeadership into our engagement and through 2 virtual sessions we were able to: 💡 Unearth the core challenges ANKAA was grappling with   💪 Build confidence in the skills already present in the team 🎉 Celebrate the passion & commitment of the team for the work they are doing 🔎 Identify opportunities to explore & experiments to try out to address the challenge A big thanks to the ANKAA Leadership Team for their time, vulnerability, and sticking through the tough stuff to get to a solution they can carry forward! Bringing diverse perspectives together is a sure-fire way to fuel creativity and innovation to address complex challenges. If you’d like to bring this type of opportunity for nonprofit partner support to your company, get in touch! #ActionLearning #AdaptiveLeadership #Experimentation #Partnership #DiversePerspectives cc: Matthew Farmer Amanda Bowman Ionela Spinu Richard S. Amy Moore (ICF MCC) Ed Williams Line Didelot Mariangela Panagiotidou Isabella Kalogianni

Emerging World is pleased to be an event sponsor at the upcoming iVentiv Executive Development Knowledge Exchange in Amsterdam! Our Managing Director, Matthew Farmer, together with Els Van de Water of Philips, will be leading a session on 'Transformational Experiences in a 'Change as Usual' Era'. They'll share perspectives emerging from our work supporting Philips to make operational shifts at the company. We look forward to sharing and learning with the leaders in attendance. If you're a senior leader working in Executive and Leadership Development, join us! Register here: https://lnkd.in/ewrm5N7B #LeadershipDevelopment #ExecutiveDevelopment #Collaboration

Have you heard of #ActionLearning? At Emerging World we use it to help corporate leaders address complex business challenges with confidence. With several #WIAL certified Action Learning coaches on staff and part of our associate network, there's no question we believe in the power of Action Learning! Here are 4 reasons we think Action Learning is a powerful tool you can adopt to build the capacity of your leaders. #LeadershipDevelopment #EmployeeeEngagement #ProblemSolving cc: World Institute for Action Learning - WIAL

Grateful to our partners at Earthwatch Institute for facilitating such a rewarding expedition for the Unit4 Act4Good Anniverary Experience participants in Andorra. Thanks for sharing your recap and amazing video Fabiola Tarvainen! #Act4Good #CorporateVolunteering #ImmersiveExperiences #BusinessforGood

The Emerging World team is out and about, connecting with our incredible clients across the globe! 🌏 Here, our Managing Director, Matthew Farmer shares his reflections on a recent trip to Hyderabad, India, where he gained fresh insights into the dynamic local landscape. We're thrilled to be facilitating an immersive leadership development experience in this vibrant city soon, fostering growth and impact in an inspiring setting! 💫 #LeadershipDevelopment #GlobalImpact #ImmersiveExperiences #Hyderabad

🌍 2 Years of Impactful Partnership! 🌍 We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with ANKAA Project as part of Unit4’s Act4Good Anniversary Experience program for the second year! Since our partnership began, Unit4 employee volunteers have had the unique opportunity to immerse themselves in ANKAA’s daily operations, while gaining invaluable insights into the realities of forced migration and the resilience and achievements of ANKAA’s students. These immersive experiences not only broaden perspectives but also strengthen our shared commitment to shaping a better future. Read more about the partnership here: https://bit.ly/3AJE0og   We’re incredibly proud to support ANKAA’s vital mission and look forward to continuing this meaningful partnership for years to come! #EmployeeEngagement #CorporateVolunteering #Act4Good #Resilience #SocialImpact #Partnership

One thing we value at Emerging World is #ContinuousLearning. We are curious learners. This curiosity drives our innovation, our continuous improvement and keeps our passion constant. It's what we seek to bring into the work that we do for our clients and the participants in our programs -- to embrace new perspectives, challenge our own assumptions, and consider ways to do things differently in our efforts to shape a better world. How do you stay curious in the work that you do? What are you learning that's helping you improve? #StayCurious #NorthStar #ShapeABetterFuture #EWat20

"...being exposed to different challenges in different fields of life, trying to make sense of them, identify the real issue and work a way forward is a wonderful way to develop as a leader" says our Managing Director, Matthew Farmer. Our leadership development experiences at Emerging World really work to help leaders effectively diagnose and navigate the complex challenges they often face. Take a look at Matthew's further comments below on the #AdaptiveLeadership Framework and its significance for effective leadership.