Trainee Leaders of 2017 | Page 17 | Youth Insearch

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Mon, 31/07/2017 - 16:32

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At the start of July this year, 19 Trainee Leaders from across Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales came together for their first week out of two weeks of Leaders Training. What a week it was! There were several guests that came in to present to the group and engaged with the Trainees over the week.

They all got off the bus on Monday morning where the Volunteer Accredited Leaders were waiting anxiously for them and shared some hugs just to try to relieve some of the anxiety and excitement that everyone was feeling. After the hugs, they got straight into learning more about the program and being introduced to what the whole week will look like. The team of Accredited Leaders and the new Trainee Leaders then took a break for lunch which afterwards they were introduced to Greg Meyer. Greg went through with the trainees about leadership skills and working together as a team and gave the personal development a kick start. The rest of Monday was filled with information sessions about various sessions specific with the Youth Insearch Program and how the Trainees should present themselves over a weekend workshop.

Tuesday morning started bright and early with a Morning Energizer to show the importance of taking care of oneself and to get all the Trainees moving about with enough energy to last them the whole day of concentration and fun. First up was Alan Kuczynski for the day and he went through values and beliefs with the Trainees. Alan also did an activity the group where the Trainees had to break through a board physically and mentally so they could continue with their journey of personal growth and open their mind to all the possibilities and their individual capabilities.

Wednesday started with another Morning Energizer to get everyone moving and ready to take on the day. For most of the day Dan McFarlen the representative from RogenSi worked with the Trainee Leaders with their communication and presentation skills. Going through individually what makes a good leader and the skills needed to fully capture your audience’s attention and to efficiently get your message across also going through the content of what a good speech needs. The way in which he did this was coaching the Trainees through writing a short testimonial of their story and getting them all to present it to the group. Afterwards giving each Trainee things they did well and where they could improve whether it was the content or their presentation. The day finished with Prue MacSween coming in and talking about Personal Leadership. Prue went on to explain that to be an effective leader you need to respect yourself and have belief in your abilities and just yourself in general.

Thursday morning kicked off with James Wilkinson going through the importance of health, nutrition and exercise with the Trainees. James also went through the dos and don’ts of these three subjects while giving them handy tips and advice on how to better their health individually. Later on in the afternoon the Team got together to explain to the Trainees what each session that is usually presented on a weekend workshop contains. During this it was explained what happens during the sessions and why it is presented the way it is. The Trainees then got into groups and came up with mock session plans which they then presented to the group while the Team were demonstrating the kinds of difficult behavior they might come across and the correct way in which to deal with them. This allowed the Trainees to get some feedback on what they are doing well and what they can improve on in a safe and non-judgmental environment before going and presenting on a program. They then kicked it back that night with a bit of trivia to have some fun, build on the friendships already being formed and just relax a bit.

First up Friday morning the Team went through and debriefed with the Trainees on how they went overall on the week and the Trainees also evaluated themselves to build on the awareness that they have been practicing over the week. Just before the bus picked everyone up to take them home they had some final hugs to say goodbye for now and show that they have come together as a team.

The week was challenging, thought provoking and a real opportunity for personal growth. They all stepped up to the challenge and came through like champions. Congratulations “Team Ohana”!