Misha Hussain, at the rear of this group shot with Baroness Dean, a trustee of the Thomson Foundation, at the House of Lords
By MISHA HUSSAIN
‘To be the best, you need to know the best, and the TF future leaders programme is designed to put you in the know.’ So ran the slogan for the Thomson Foundation’s Future Leaders course.
It was a tall order, and a lot of room for disappointment … so how do I feel after two weeks on the course?
Meeting people from different parts of the world was also had a great impact on me. In the words of Peter Bazalgette, one of the course facilitators, creative networks need to “have many flowers, be talent friendly and multi-cultural”.
Well, having journalists from over seven different nations and three different continents has definitely been an eye-opening experience.
The course brings together broadcast and print journalists, and I realise there is a lot we can learn from each other if the future is going to be a together on an altogether different platform – online journalism.
From a journalistic perspective it was interesting to meet Paul Horrocks, former editor of the Manchester Evening News. I found his workshop on dealing with editorial crisis very interesting. By using real life examples of difficult editorial decisions that he had to make, Paul gave us the opportunity to consider how we would have reacted under time pressure.
During the first two weeks of the course I’ve had the opportunity to speak with and learn from journalists and leaders across the British media – and it has inspired me.
I realise there is a lot we can learn from each other if the future is going to be a together on an altogether different platform – online journalism.
It seems that certain skills are common to many of the leaders, like being able to communicate and gather the best people around you.
Interestingly enough, it was David Mannion, the ITV editor in chief, who said you must never be afraid to put the best people around you, even if they are better than you.
The course also allowed me to closely analyse my own leadership qualities. Having been the frontman in companies I have worked for over the last 10 years, this course was taking the challenge of leadership to the next level. That is to say, can I be the front man of the front men?
However, it isn’t all about networking and making contacts. I’m hoping that I walk away from this course with not only a set of very influential colleagues in the media world, but also a group of trusted friends who I can rely on for guidance and advice in the future.
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