Graham Mitchell – Challenge of Leadership

HPAs (high payoff activities) were a great takeaway from the course content.

I was offered the opportunity to enroll into LMA’s Challenge of Leadership course, by my line manager which was an intriguing opportunity. Whilst I was not new to leadership, I was reasonably new to a management role, so was curious about what I would gain from the experience. After reviewing the content and speaking with a colleague who had completed it previously, I decided I had nothing to lose and everything to gain by taking part.

In previous roles I have heard the comment ‘he or she is a good manager’, and often wondered what makes others perceive an individual as a good manager. I went on this course with the hope of learning this and graduating as a better leader and manager myself.

From an outcome perspective, I wanted to gain the knowledge and practical skills, on how to engage other leaders within the business, for the completion of specific tasks which ultimately they are responsible for, in a way where they felt empowered, rather than required.
HPAs (high payoff activities) were a great takeaway from the course content. This concept is what now allows me to maintain focus for where I spend my time and effort on tasks, that are most meaningful to the operations of the business. I learned that assigning tasks to others is not a sign of weakness, nor a sign that I don’t have the capacity or capability, but rather I have the faith and trust in other people’s capabilities. Assigning HPA tasks to others demonstrates a higher level of faith and trust and can often fulfil a sense of empowerment.

I really enjoyed the pace and structure of the course. Initially having three-hour fortnightly time blocks to attend the interactive workshops felt unachievable. Not only did it work, but it also set the standard that once a fortnight, for three hours, no one needed me. Once I evaluated all the participants were on the same learning path, it didn’t matter if you had been a manager for years, or never before and despite being in different roles or at different points in our careers, we were all here for the same reason, to better ourselves personally and professionally.

I would recommend this course to others looking to develop their leadership capabilities, as since completing this course, I have been able to implement a portion of my learnings by engaging others to complete tasks, with focus on HPA’s, goal setting, project management, and sharing wins with the team.

We need to work on ourselves as leaders before, and probably more than, we work on others. I find now I am re-energised to grow in my career by helping others around me grow in theirs. One phrase I heard during this course, and one I now often refer to is, “I would rather invest in someone, and they leave, than to not invest in them and they stay”. The course has been well worth it for me.