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Harnessing the Unconscious:
Leadership Development Program

BACKGROUND

  • Canada’s largest and highest educated emerging female workforce is being underutilized and marginalized
  • Successful South Asian Women are not immune to the systemic barriers and negative perceptions in the workplace
  • More than half are planning on quitting their jobs within two years due to frustration
  • The current large pool of highly qualified South Asian Women are overlooked in today’s workforce
  • South Asian women embody an entrepreneurial spirit and are driven to succeed if they cannot find this in their current role they will look elsewhere
  • Internships, co-op programs and educational assistance programs need to be amplified and encouraged
  • The family structure can be both a benefit and a hindrance to career progression
  • Old stereotypes and other negative perceptions are hindering career progression
  • Same entrepreneurial spirit can and should be harnessed by employers as leadership skills
  • South Asian Women are time starved
  • Employers can help with retention and career progression by offering opportunities to build new skills, continuing education and providing mentorship.

CHANGE IS HARD

The conscious mind is insufficient to create lasting change in individuals and organizations who are already successful. Instead, the unconscious holds the key to transformation. When our unconscious remains unexplored it can sabotage us, leading us to act against our best interests and intentions. These blocks leave us destined to perpetually wrestle with one negative behaviour after another without finding the root causes. By harnessing our unconscious barriers, we break the cycle and create significant, lasting change.

Based on Core Allies, LLC’s extensive experience, we have developed a number of unique tools and frameworks for exploring the unconscious and making change. We are also well-versed in most traditional assessment tools, which we use as appropriate. Work is not done in an abstract vacuum. Rather, we support the participants in the context of their ongoing work, so they can test and prove the changes they are making in the real world.

About the Program

Pink Attitude and Core Allies, LLC developed and ran a 6-month bespoke leadership development program that addressed the issues surfaced in the National Report with Cultural IQ and fostered lasting change by overcoming unconscious barriers to success.

Twelve participants were chosen to reflect a wide range of business experience (0-20+ years), industries (finance, consulting, government, tech, etc.), roles (consulting, mergers & acquisitions, sales, lawyer, etc.) and career inflection points (entering workforce, transitioning to management, promotion, seeking new job, etc.).

Over 6 months, the program consisted of:
  • 2 In-person group meetings
  • 4 Zoom group meetings
  • 6 individual Zoom coaching sessions for each participant
  • 5 peer group Zoom sessions
  • 5 fieldwork assignments
Topics covered in the program included:
  • Telling our story and the enneagram
  • Unconscious blocks and making lasting change
  • Owning our superpowers and personal branding
  • Confidence, authority, feedback, and negotiation
  • Leadership, delegation, confrontation, and difficult conversations

Program Outcomes

Pink Attitude and Core Allies, LLC developed and ran a 6-month bespoke leadership development program that addressed the issues surfaced in the National Report with Cultural IQ and fostered lasting change by overcoming unconscious barriers to success.

Twelve participants were chosen to reflect a wide range of business experience (0-20+ years), industries (finance, consulting, government, tech, etc.), roles (consulting, mergers & acquisitions, sales, lawyer, etc.) and career inflection points (entering workforce, transitioning to management, promotion, seeking new job, etc.).

At the end of the program both quantitive and qualitative research was collected and showed excellent outcomes from individual and corporate perspectives.

  1. Removed unconscious barriers leading to lasting change
  2. Increased agency of personal leadership development
  3. Enhanced engagement
  4. Crystallized leadership skills including
  • Better Decision making and clear vision
  • Improved Communication
  • Impactful Teamwork
  • Solidified self confidence

INCREASED UNCONSCIOUS AWARENESS DECREASED BARRIERS TO SUCCESS

barriers-chart
“Understanding our unconscious and almost having to unlearn a lot of what is our natural instincts is due to our upbringing and culture is going to allow us to be more successful and improve as professionals.”
“I felt safe, heard, seen, and validated as a result of the shared experiences that came through our shared identity.”

PROGRAM WAS SUCCESSFUL AND VALUABLE FOR PARTICIPANTS

NPS Score in the Excellent Range*

Program Evaluation – Percentage that chose 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale
Instructors were knowledgeable and engaging 100%
1 on 1 sessions were very valuable 100%
Presentation of information was clear 92%
Group sessions were very valuable 75%
The program was relevant for my life and career 75%

* NPS is a calculated score based upon a 10-point scale of how likely each person was likely to recommend the program to a colleague

PARTICIPANTS DEVELOPED LEADERSHIP SKILLS AND SELF-CONFIDENCE THROUGH THE PROGRAM

Leadership Skills – Percentage that chose 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale
I am better prepared to be a leader 92%
I am more aware of the criticality of taking a pause before reacting to difficult situations 92%
I understand how different Leadership Styles can provide flexibility and be utilized to different effect 92%
I can identify my super powers 92%
I better understand the conditions for effective teamwork 92%
I can stay in the present moment 83%
I am better able to communicate effectively with Authority 83%
Self Confidence – Percentage that chose 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale
My self-confidence has increased 100%
I am more confident in my ability to speak up for myself 100%
I am more confident in understanding my unique abilities and skills 92%

PARTICIPANTS DEVELOPED LEADERSHIP SKILLS AND SELF-CONFIDENCE THROUGH THE PROGRAM

“I have become more confident. I was struggling with finding my voice at work […] [I have] shown to those I work with that I am capable of doing things they didn't realize I was able to do/ready to do.”

“This course has definitely made me a better leader […] I learned that understanding other people’s perspective is vital for being a good leader.”

“I have become more confident. I was struggling with finding my voice at work […] [I have] shown to those I work with that I am capable of doing things they didn't realize I was able to do/ready to do.”

“This course has definitely made me a better leader […] I learned that understanding other people’s perspective is vital for being a good leader.”

PROGRAM HELPED PARTICIPANTS BECOME EMPOWERED AND OWN THEIR LEADERSHIP PATH

Empowered Leadership – Percentage that chose 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale
I am more engaged with my own leadership development path 83%
I have more agency over my own leadership development trajectory 83%
I have a better understanding of a full range of leadership skills 83%
I am able to engage more with my work 75%

NEXT STEPS

Pink Attitude and Core Allies, LLC developed and ran a 6-month bespoke leadership development program that addressed the issues surfaced in the National Report with Cultural IQ and fostered lasting change by overcoming unconscious barriers to success.

NEXT STEPS – CORE ALLIES, LLC

  • Core Allies, LLC, is available to be engaged to conduct additional Harnessing the Unconscious: Leadership Development Programs using the successful model
  • Core Allies, LLC, is also available to develop and execute a training program to allow additional people to be instructors:
  • Potential program instructors would first be required to be a participant in a Harnessing the Unconscious: Leadership Development Program
  • They would then need training using curriculum to be developed by Core Allies, LLC
  • Finally, they would need to be a co-instructor for a Harnessing the Unconscious: Leadership Development Program with an experienced instructor

NEXT STEPS – PINK ATTITUDE

  • Pink Attitude can use the success of the pilot program to sell the Harnessing the Unconscious: Leadership Development Program to corporations, who can provide funding and participants
  • Pink Attitude can engage Core Allies, LLC, to conduct additional program sessions.
  • In order to scale the program, Pink Attitude can engage Core Allies, LLC, to develop an instructor training program, and identify potential instructors to participate

We are grateful for each of our sponsor’s support and their contributions towards our mission to empower South Asian Women.

Together, we will build a more inclusive Canada.

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Newsletter

MAY 2021

Heros in Uniform

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Our Board

The PAE Board is comprised of a cross-section of professionals who share the common vision and have the strong passion and commitment to make a difference in this under-developed area.

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