The Global Emerging Leaders Programme (GELP) held its First Breakfast Retreat organized by TEMPLE Advisory Limited in partnership with Grace Leadership Foundation at the African Regent Hotel, Accra. The retreat brought together the ladies on the GELP Golden Cohort who are doing exploits in their various endeavours and redefining leadership.
The Guest Speaker, Elsie Addo Awadzi – 2nd Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, urged the ladies to always seek the wisdom and grace of God in everything they do, especially when they feel overwhelmed, to sail through successfully.
She also said if the ladies feel stuck at a place or position, they should seize the moment and opportunity to grow and pick up lessons for the next steps of the journey ahead. She encouraged the ladies to be fearless, recognize the opportunities around them and strive to get to the top, because more women leaders are needed there.
Mrs. Awadzi gave each woman an autographed copy of her book titled ‘What I Know For Sure at 50, Elsie’s Golden Nuggets on Life and Living It’.
The women in the programme shared how GELP has tremendously impacted their lives in diverse ways. They have become more organised in planning, managing different tasks simultaneously; built on their interpersonal and communication skills, goal-setting skills; and forging better relationships with the team, family and friends. All in all, they are better leaders who are in tune with their own growth and development needs those of their teams.
The women were full of praise for the coaching they received from experienced coaches: including Doreen Baffoe of BranchOut Africa; Maggie Lawrie, MLA International; Doris Ahiati of Crescendo Consult; and Erinn Ramsom-Ofori of Infinite Potential Africa.
One of the participants, Jacqui Oyimer – Senior Associate of International Justice Mission said: “I have participated in a couple of global leadership development programmes, but I must say that this one is very unique. What I find unique about this one is the God factor. When we come together we are not ashamed to talk about what God is doing with our lives. That’s very fulfilling, and I am thankful to God that I am part of this programme.”
According to Ing. Dr. Mrs. Bennetta Koomson, “The Monthly SMART Action Planning coaching session with Robert Bennin has helped me to plan in a smart way; such that I have been able to submit a couple of excellent proposals on time. This has resulted in obtaining funding for 3 research projects in the past 4 months”.
One key lesson learnt, according to Dr. Gifty Sunkwa Mills – Municipal Director, Ghana Health Service is that: “If you find yourself staying longer than you anticipated at a point or place or position, ask yourself if there are any lessons in there for you to pick up; you will most likely be needing those lessons for the next wonderful steps of the journey ahead”.
Commenting on the programme, the GELP Programme Director, Robert Bennin – who is the Chief Learning Strategist at TEMPLE Advisory, said the Global Emerging Leaders Programme [GELP] is an immersive, year-long leadership development experience for emerging leaders with great potential to lead and contribute significantly to business and society. The programme curriculum design reflects the aspirations and challenges of emerging leaders in the 21st century.
The programme curriculum is delivered through Group Coaching, Leadership Assessments, Case Studies, Breakfast Retreats and other learning interventions and events. The 1st cohort is made up of 10 women from Academia, Health, Banking, International Development, Agribusiness and Services.
The cohort is sponsored by the Grace Leadership Foundation, a leading organization that provides women with targetted opportunities to sharpen their leadership capacity and realize their potential. Robert Bennin expressed his gratitude to Grace Leadership Foundation for taking up the programme’s full cost.
