Situation:
The organisation provides and promotes networking, development and training for leaders across all sectors, backgrounds and countries. We were asked to devise a "train the trainers" 90-minute workshop for 80 participants from across Britain. As well as being creative, it had to be a fun energiser and have strong learning outcomes. We were asked to use storytelling to facilitate the understanding and application of the theme for the 2-days, "Leadership Beyond Authority."

Solution:
In consultation with Common Purpose we put together a workshop where participants could create a personal leadership story based upon a particular experience. The quick succession of exercises were designed to produce an energetic and enthusiastic atmosphere. Pauses between the practical work would allow the participants to think and to discuss what their stories communicated and why. It was also important to encourage them to consider what they had learnt and how they had developed as leaders because of the events in the story.

Results:
The 80 participants each left with their own personal story, which demonstrated their beliefs and values. All the participants, who lead workshops themselves, experienced being on the receiving end of instructions and expectations, reminding them of the vulnerability often felt by delegates on their own workshops and training. Feedback was shared to discover the many ways in which stories and storytelling would be further used within Common Purpose.