PD beyond Frameworks and Flipcharts: Self, Sisterhood and Space

Sidecar Summits offer alternative approach to professional development, designed with females in mind

Picture a typical professional development event. I bet at least some subset of the following come to mind: chairs and tables, flipcharts, slide decks, laptops, name badges, set agendas, smart or casual business dress, stated outcomes, certificates of completion, large and impersonal conference venue in an urban setting. Or on Zoom: squares with faces, chat rooms, slides, a screen uniting and dividing humans.

Now picture this: a lovely inn in a rural setting, low chairs and cushions in a circle, notebooks and pens, slants of sunlight coming through the windows, birds chirping in the oak trees outside, stocking feet and comfy clothing, mindful check-ins, delicious vegetarian meals, yoga, stories and laughter around firepits, therapeutic treatments, walks in nature. And yes – content-rich programming tailored to the specific professional growth goals and conundrums of individual participants as well as sessions and activities focused on enhancing appreciation for, and practicing, a female approach to leadership.

This is professional development, Sidecar Summit style.

What’s missing? The pre-defined outcomes, prescribed curricular frameworks, and check-boxed skills development that characterize most PD offerings out there. What’s present? A wholistic approach to leadership, grounded in the individual, co-created by and with the participants, space to breathe and be, with nature invited in.

As the most recent group of summiteers wound up Sidecar Summit Portugal ’23, reluctant to leave after 4 rejuvenating days together, we reflected on the elements that made our gathering feel so professionally (and personally) transformative. We landed on three key ingredients: a focus on self, the power of sisterhood, and the expansive possibilities of space. Themes that surfaced in each category:

Self:

·      Be who you are. Lead from your heart.

·      Listen to your gut. It’s the seat of deepest knowing.

·      Take risks. That’s where the learning happens.

·      F**k resilience. Ask for, and accept, care.

·      Observe and listen (women have been doing that for eons!). Then – trust yourself to express yourself!

Sisterhood:

·      The sense of kinship and support from other women, each traveling along an adventurous and often lonely path, together able to learn from one another’s experiences.

·      Feeling buoyed and cared for by fellow travelers.

·      Different backgrounds, experiences and approaches lead to collective wisdom, experienced in small individual moments and communal ones.

·      Hierarchy and positional authority not relevant here. All are leaders with plenty to contribute and plenty to learn from one another.

·      Leave baggage at the door. Feel free to express emotion and share personal stories without fear of judgment, knowing it will be held in confidence.

Space:

·      Slow down. Take space. Spend time being rather than doing.

·      Environment is everything. Being in a beautiful, comfortable space, where nature has a seat, creates an atmosphere for deep reflection and learning.

·      Just as schools create spaces for ‘co-curricular’ activities to enrich the ‘whole child,’ so can content-rich PD events create space for activities such as yoga, art expression, walks in nature, mindful meditation to enrich the ‘whole leader.’

·      Occupying a space that is solely for females feels safe, supportive, restorative and expansive.

Summiteers did not take home certificates of completion. Nor did they all walk away armed with one set of outcomes. Each had her own personal journey, reflecting on her own deep seated wisdom and strengths, her own sense of how she could deploy these as she continued on her path, while gaining insights and support from her sisters-in-leadership, with bonds that will last well beyond the Summit. These are her takeaways, her personally relevant outcomes.

That is the power of an alternative approach to professional development, one rooted in appreciation for the role space – in its many guises – plays in wholistic leadership learning.

Yours in creating alternative spaces where thriving can happen,

Bridget