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From the 14th to the 16th of April 2023, our students of the Master in Project Management for International Cooperation – PMC and of the Master in Humanitarian Operations in Emergencies – HOPE, attended a WebLab on Management and Leadership Development.

This online 3-days workshop was led by Marco Crescenzi – President and Founder of the Social Change School, Elena Sofia Fanciulli– Career Development Coordinator at Social Change School, Donna Ratier Kimberley – HR and Admin Coordinator Social Change School, and Beppe Pedron– Coach for Development and Humanitarian Organizations.

The online workshop aimed to provide the students with the latest knowledge and tools to prepare them for the world of work in the Third Sector, and several were the topics covered, included how students become more effective managers and leaders, improve public speaking skills, the Career Development Service offered by the school, strength character analysis, and how to manage the stress while on the field.

Day 1 – Managerial competences in the NoProfit Sector and Public Speaking with Marco Crescenzi

The WebLab started on Friday with a session on Management Development and Assertiveness, led by Marco Crescenzi, President and Founder of the Social Change School. Marco Crescenzi shared his knowledge on how to deal with some of the specific main issues related to self-effectiveness and organization in the Non-profit sector, and key factors that contribute to professional and management success.
“It is important to underline that the role of manager in the No-profit is a lever of change and social impact, an organized fighter for social causes; we should not have negative associations to the word ‘manager’!”

The students learned about how to identify potential areas for improvement in their work environment, when they will be Managers, and the main issues faced by nonprofit organizations such as availability, assertiveness, organization, and team: good will alone is not enough to resolve these issues, and students were taught how to approach them in a more effective way.
Lastly, the students were taught how to manage their coordinators and project managers effectively, such as understanding their expectations and how to communicate effectively with them.

Another important aspect of leadership and management is public speaking. In the afternoon session, students learned about how to speak effectively in different contexts (presentations, conferences, and meetings) and proactively manage and deal with the audience, including how to engage them and manage their expectations. They worked on being aware of and managing their mindset, fears, imagination, and key messages. Additionally, they learned how to manage their standing and poise, both nonverbally and paraverbally, to instill authority and confidence in the audiences. They also delved into the bases for an impactful presentation of the project work in groups, that they will present at the end of the Master Program.

Day 2 – Introduction to the Career Development Service and Strength Character Analysis

On the second day of the WebLab, Elena Sofia Fanciulli conducted a session on the Career Development Service, a Service that the School offer to the students to strengthen their knowledge about the nonprofit market and main professional profiles in the sector. Students also learned about possible entry strategies for a career development of value. They gained insights into the VUCA context: this is a trendy managerial acronym – Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity – that tries to represent a new way of approaching difficult situations in terms of changes, of predicting the future, of interconnection and clarity.

In the afternoon, Donna Ratier Kimberley conducted a session on Strength Character Analysis, where students took the High-Five Test and Hermann Whole-Brain Model Test to better understand their strong points, gap, and self-limitations. They also gained a better understanding of their five best character strengths, a comparison through different tools of analysis, and their personal working style and team with the Whole-Brain model of Ned Herman and the E. Schein’s Career Anchors test.

Day 3 – Stress Management with Beppe Pedron

The last day, Beppe Pedron conducted a session on stress management, where students learned about welcoming stress for humanitarian and development workers.
The workshop started from the data about the stress level in Humanitarian Worker, that is higher than the normal population.
For the reason that organizational support plays a vital role in managing the stress in the Humanitarian context, students gained insights into how to introduce managing stress tools and practices in their future work environment and how to turn the stress into a positive force for personal and professional growth.
Trought an interactive session, the students find out what are the main triggers for their stress level and how to work on resilience, while developing cooping mechanism for stress.

Key takeaways from the WebLab

The WebLab on Management and Leadership Development provided students with valuable insights and practical skills to succeed in the third sector and it was an opportunity to learn from experienced professionals and develop their skills and competencies in management and leadership. It was very participative, as students teamed up, forming mixed groups on Zoom, working on practical exercises and delving deep into the subjects.

Of this latest weblab, I especially liked the fact that it concerned an aspect that relates to us personally. The weblab was very useful because, speaking of personality management, it also focused on the process that leads us students to enter the world of work, giving us concrete advice on how to maximize the chances of being seen and recognized. Even the part on stress management really interested me because stress is a variable that affects everyday life and not just within the humanitarian field. Therefore, receiving the tools and some tricks to deal with stress is a chance to revolutionize our vision and to see opportunities where we used to see obstacles.
Anna Aziz – HOPE Student

The School prepares students to face the world of work in the Third Sector with the most current and updated tools, in order to Be The Change.