Our Future Leaders: bravely leading the way

Catriona Rowley shares insights and learning from Our Future Leaders course, a leadership course for people with learning disabilities.

Since 2020 I have been working alongside Elaine Crichton from Inspiring Scotland to develop and run a leadership course for people with learning disabilities. The course is called Our Future Leaders and is currently on its 4^th cohort, a total of 38 participants to date.

Over the 13 sessions of the course, we see participants grow in their knowledge, confidence and understanding of their own leadership skills and their abilities. We have unequivocal evidence to demonstrate that graduates of the course have gone on to push the boundaries of what they can achieve and get their voices heard.

The course covers several topics such as understanding charity finance, the responsibilities of being on a board, interview skills, activism and campaigning, mindfulness and using social media effectively. Most of the sessions are led by guest presenters who are experts in their topic. The presenters have been supported by us to make their presentation more accessible to the audience of people with learning disabilities.  We tweak and change elements of the course in real time based on feedback from the learning logs we receive from the participants and their sponsors after every session. These make up the bulk of the course homework.

Four of the course sessions are presented by Alison Sherry, a consultant who specialises in leadership skills and coaching. Alison’s sessions help participants to develop self-awareness and to understand that when working with others we need to understand that perceptions can differ and that others have different communication preferences. We all need to try to adapt how we present ourselves to different people and different situations. We all need to think about our own reactions, behaviours, and responses when we want to get the best out of working in a team.

Alison’s sessions are challenging but they are where I have seen the most growth in the participants. In the first session I found myself looking at a zoom screen of startled deer, caught in the headlights of being asked to self-reflect, many for the first time. By the fourth session things had clicked and the participants seemed more confident and their feelings of pride at having learned so much about themselves were palpable! By the time they graduate from the course they are armed with their own personal vision to work towards, oodles of confidence, and a supportive group of graduates to help them on the way.

We end with a fun online graduation ceremony peppered with songs such as Ain’t No Stopping Us Now, Don’t Stop Believing and Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now. I usually fail to finish the words of thanks I have prepared as tears start to come to my eyes and my voice loses its certainty. I think I can speak for Elaine, my co- coordinator, and many of the guest presenters when I say that it’s an emotional event. We feel humbled by the support for each other shown throughout the course as well as the levels of pride that individuals feel for themselves and for each other. It’s truly a real honour to have been part of this course.

Naturally, things are only getting started for our graduates after the course finishes; they go on to learn more, develop more, and to lead more. We invite past graduates back to present on the course and see people who at the start of the course were unsure of themselves present confidently about their achievements with pride and are not embarrassed to brag a little or to admit where they still need to improve. Our graduates have gone on to get new jobs, internships, join boards and to stand up for other people with learning disabilities. I see them being brave every day whether that be traveling independently for the first time, going for a job or volunteering opportunity, or confidently telling ‘high heid yins’ that they are not doing things well enough! People with learning disabilities are often asked to participate in consultations and research that is not accessible for them. They can choose not to attend but it is braver and more likely to be noticed if they attend and say with head held high that people with learning disabilities have lots to say and should be heard but if the information and environment isn’t right then they are being set up to fail.

Our graduates are starting to lead the way when it comes to bravely standing up to people and saying that with the right access to information and support, They Can!  And after seeing our graduates grow, I am confident that They Will!

For more information on the course:

Our Future Leaders on Vimeo

Our Future Leaders Course – Inspiring Scotland

Our Future Leaders – apply now for our new intake! – SCLD

Contact Elaine Crichton for further information elaine@inspiringscotland.org.uk

This opinion piece is part of the Courageous Leadership series which profiles leaders in health and social care across Scotland. The series, part of the ALLIANCE’s Health and Social Care Academy programme, asks what Courageous Leadership means, delves into what makes great leaders and looks at the journeys toward leadership roles.

End of page.