Future Leaders: Learn to lead, regardless of your background
Our Future Leaders are underrepresented young adults between the ages of 18-24 who are highly motivated but lack access to the opportunities and networks that can help them move forward. The Circl programme is an opportunity for you to learn how to be a great leader alongside high flying professionals from companies such as Meta, Google, Pepsi and British Land.
Our Future Leaders are complete equals to the professionals on the programme. The Circl Leadership Development Programme is a two-way street focussing specifically on coaching skills; you will coach and be coached by your professional match to help one another achieve your goals and overcome your challenges.
At the end of the programme, each Future Leader receives the same qualification as the professionals- the ‘Circl Leader as Coach’ certification, recognised by the Association for Coaching, the UK’s governing body.
I was on the Facebook 4 Circl Programme – I was looking forward to trying something new and exploring the concepts of coaching!
Despite not knowing my match or the group before, we quickly started to work well and create an inclusive safe space for everyone to share their thoughts.
Meeting new people, and understanding how coaching can have such a positive impact if done right as well as exploring the range of coaching methods.
How have you applied coaching skills to your life after the programme?
I coach myself often as well as apply my skills in the workplace to support colleagues. This allows them to further their skill sets instead of being mentored and given the
solution.
Would you recommend the Circl Programme to other FLs and why?
The programme has provided very useful insights, created a space to network with peers and has equipped me with coaching skills which is a life skill itself as well as a skill which can be used in my current job and future career. The Circl team are very supportive and caring throughout the programme which makes a huge difference compared to other types of programmes out there.
I was on the Next 15 Circl future leaders Programme and I was expecting to learn more coaching based on the research I did when I was applying to the course. However, the coaching sessions surpassed my expectations
It was a real treat working with my professional match and the group as a whole! We worked really well together, as a group and as our Circl match, providing feedback on various coaching techniques during the session and within the 1-to-1 sessions. I truly believe that we have developed our coaching skills through the Circl programme.
Within the Circl Programme, I enjoyed working with the group during the sessions. Having a ‘safe space’ where we can practice our skills with fellow professionals and future leaders has enabled me to understand how I best apply the techniques and how to improve on them.
I work as a User Researcher, so I carry out interviews with users of a service to understand how we can improve it for them to better meet their needs. Within this role, the techniques that I have learnt have been of great help to get
deeper insights from the users. I also apply my coaching skills within my personal relationships and work relationships because the core principle within coaching is that the answers to one’s problems are found from within.
I most certainly would recommend the Circl Programme to other Future Leaders because it has helped me become a more refined user researcher, a more attentive listener and a more wellrounded individual in the world of work.