Last week, 31 brand new Time to Shine Leaders and their managers were at The Midland Hotel in Morecambe for the 2019 launch. The cohort was split into two groups: Group 1 who attended from Monday to Wednesday, and Group 2 who arrived on Wednesday afternoon, leaving on Friday.  The managers joined their respective Time to Shine Leaders a day after their arrival. This meant that each group of leaders had 24 hours to get to know one another, participate in ice-breaker sessions, and engage with their Action Learning Set groups.

There were sessions were run by our very own Caroline Broadhurst and Kai Wooder to introduce the programme, a ‘Leadersmithing’ session was run by the fantastic Eve Poole (whom many of you will have engaged with at our Annual Conference in October 2018), an introduction to Action Learning Sets was delivered by RankNet Leaders Action Group member, and CEO of Blackpool Carers Centre, Michelle Smith, and a ‘Leading through a Growth Mindset’ session was run by Jen Mackay. The groups were engaged, willing and ready to dive in, which was a joy to witness.

The launch was also a fantastic opportunity for new Time to Shine Managers to meet other managers in the same situation, but also to meet with those who had managed a Leader in previous years. There were some guidance sessions for the managers, with time for questions to clear up an uncertainties.

The Rank Foundation team had a wonderful week meeting the new Leaders and their managers, and we are looking forward to watching the leaders, managers, and their respective organisations develop and grow over 2019.