Masterclass ‘Personal Development and Female Leadership’ for Malian partner ANGESEM

Nearly all women working within ANGESEM took part in the masterclass, from interns to managers, including the company’s general director Ms. Konake Djénéba Ouma. During the masterclass, held by trainers Francisca van Dusseldorp and Traoré Néné Konaté, the women learned how to gain better insight into their personal leadership style, qualities and challenges.

Day one of the masterclass focused on what leadership actually is. Why we need leaders, and whether they are born or made. And what the difference is between management and leadership. Also, they learned how cultural contexts influence leadership and stereotypes, as well as diversity and gender-related aspects. 

Fig 1: a group assignment to distinguish the difference between leadership and management

The second day, the participants explored how personalities influence behavior, using the CAPS (cognitive-affective personality system) model. This model is helpful to identify which leadership style is most suited for introvert or extravert, formal or informal personality types. At the beginning of the exercise, almost all woman believed their personalities were mostly formal and extravert, but after some discussion many of them realized that they are more informal and introvert types. They looked into what kind of leader they themselves wish to be and how to gain trust and confidence of their colleagues.

The group further delved into leadership styles on the third day, and examined how leaders can adjust their styles to those they lead and their abilities. Using the Hersey-Blanchard Model for situational leadership, they learned that successful leadership is both task-relevant and relationship-relevant, and that determines whether a directive, persuasive, participatory or delegative leadership style works best. They explored team synergy and how to build effective teams, looking at the level of engagement, mutual accountability and personal development. We got some good energy in the room during the interactive assignments, from relating ourselves to pictures to a relay race. Also, they went into the different stages of the development of a team.

The focus of the fourth day was effective communication and the five main communication skills: feedback, asking questions, active or empathetic listening, non-verbal communication and the formulation of clear questions.  Furthermore, they looked at how to best deal with shyness and fear of public speaking and how to confidently present yourself. In addition, they learned how coaching can stimulate engagement, improve decision-making, clarify goals and enhance self-awareness and self-confidence.

The fifth and final day, the group went into conflict management, how conflicts arise, what types of conflict exist and which leadership style fits best depending on conflict situation and the personalities of those involved. The training was concluded with an action plan made by each participant individually, which contains, among other things, their intentions of making optimal use of the different leadership styles, providing feedback to others and engage in public speaking.

Fig 2: presenting the results of the analysis of a case study, whether the situation needs a directive, persuasive, participatory or delegative leadership approach (left). The participants received a certification or participation during the closing ceremony (right). 

During the closing ceremony, the participants expressed how grateful they were to have taken part in the masterclass. Ms. Berthe Fanta Kante, Head of the General Administration Department and Legislation, closed to masterclass by thanking all participants for their attendance and motivation and handing out certificates.

We look forward to the follow-up training!