Mona Chami, left, finds great value in listening to the experiences of media chiefs and course colleagues
By MONA FARAH
The first two weeks in Cardiff! Ooohhhh … how would I describe them?
Meeting so many leaders is the best thing that can happen to a journalist. People like ITV editor David Mannion and former Manchester Evening News editor Paul Horrocks make decisions while working under tremendous pressure. To learn how they made those decisions was a real education.
David also made me realise that you can be both a dynamic leader and human. The way he spoke of the seriousness of his responsibilities while talking about his job with a smile and joke enabled me to relate to him as an equal.
On a serious note, his comments about the death of his staffers in Basra made me think deeply about the role of the leader, as I was myself in Basra at the time. As David explained, they are the times when you must focus on what you can still change and control; look to the future and do you best. “I had to remember I still had people in Basra to lead and a job to do,” added David.
The way he spoke of the seriousness of his responsibilities while talking about his job with a smile and joke enabled me to relate to him as an equal.
That kind of advice, coming from somebody with such responsibilities, is priceless.
David is, of course, not the only person who has taught me new things about leadership. Listening to my colleagues speak about their work challenges makes me realise that my own situation is not unique. In a broader context, I have come to see that many of us share the same concerns over human rights.
So now in we go into the last two weeks of the course. I can only hope these will be at least as intense as the first two weeks.
After all … you only get one opportunity to train as a Future Leader with the Thomson Foundation!
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