On the 23 and 24th of March, I and my fellow Durham Scholars enjoyed two days of invigorating, eye-opening and challenging leadership training. The two days of intense activities offered a valuable pause from the logistical side of preparing for our LiAs, and encouraged us all to think more carefully about why we are doing this work and how we can approach it effectively in order to maximise the long-term positive impact we can have.
Perhaps the most insightful event of the training was Dr. Nikki Rutter's session on voluntourism. Before these sessions, I was aware that people with malicious intentions can have incredibly damaging effects on communities - what the sessions made clear is that even good intentions, without conscious palnning, reflection and effective communication with the people you're working alongside, can lead to outcomes that are negative or even harmful. Dr. Rutter's talk challenged me to think critically about whether the structures surrounding volunteer work truly serve the communities involved. Is our work truly impactful, or are we taking away jobs that could be carried out by members of the local community? It's a discomforting but vital realisation, and one I intend to carry into every stage of my LiA.
More broadly, the training shaped my understanding of the importance of approaching the LiA with intentionality. It isn't enough to simply show up and do the work; I need to consider how my actions will affect the communities I'm engaging with and take active steps to ensure those impacts are positive. That means building in safeguarding, seeking feedback, and avoid coming in with unfounded assumptions about what is needed. Leadership, in this sense, is less about directing and more about listening.
On a more personal level, the values-based exercises led by Graeme Taylor helped me identify curiosity as my strongest driving value. On reflection it makes sense - curiosity is what tends to draw me toward asking questions rather than assuming, and toward wanting to understand a situation before jumping in. It also connects naturally to the Laidlaw programme's own emphasis on curiosity as a core value, which was reassuring. It suggested that the way I'd like to approach my LiA - by learning from the community rather than arriving with fixed ideas - is at least heading in the right direction. I'm aware that putting this into practice will be harder than it sounds, but having that value identified and articulated feels like a useful starting point.
Dr Bruce Malamud's session on communicating resilience to hazards offered a different but complementary perspective. It highlighted how important it is to communicate complex information in ways that are accessible and meaningful to the people who need it most. This resonated with me beyond the specific context of natural hazards, reinforcing the idea that in any community-based work, effective communication and listening to the community is of utmost importance.
I also appreciated the practical tools introduced across the two days, from SMARTER goal-setting to risk assessment frameworks, which have given me a more structured way to prepare for the uncertainties ahead. Looking forward, I plan to apply these insights directly to my LiA planning: grounding my preparation in ethical principles, staying connected to my values, and approaching the experience with the humility and awareness the training reinforced.