Leadership theory

ACEVO - Leadership Journey

The “leadership journey” currently being delivered to members of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) uses a somewhat emergent group learning process to develop and explore leadership capabilities, whereby a group of 12 or so Chief Executives from different voluntary-sector organisations embark on a one-year learning experience together. The programme, run by a consultancy organisation (Telos), is based around a series of two-day residential modules and associated action learning sets and individual and group challenges.

Whilst the basic structure of the programme is outlined in advance (e.g. module dates and generic themes), the emphasis is very much on getting the group to agree on future topics, activities and speakers and thus input and develop the programme as it proceeds. A further central element of the programme is the “make a difference challenge” which is an active development challenge for participants to complete within their organisation and share with other members of the group. The programme is, therefore, very experiential and depends to a large extent on peer-group interaction, support and development.

4.