Some 156 participants recently attended the 7th Edition of Leadership Circle: ‘Managing Up’, organised by the Young Professionals Network (YPN) Brunei and supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports Brunei.
The discussion is part of the organisation’s initiative called the Leadership Circle that acts as a platform to convene thought leaders, individuals in leadership roles, and those in managerial positions across the board to collectively discuss insights, frustrations, and best practices in leadership.
This initiative welcomes thought leaders, individuals in leadership roles, and youth keen to develop stronger leadership skills through a constructive virtual discussion.
The ‘Managing Up’ session was mentored by Faiq Rani, an Administrative Officer, Grade 1 at the Minister’s Office, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.
The session explores the elements to foster effective communication, collaboration, cooperation, partnership and understanding between people and leaders at different levels of authority, diversity in perspectives and skills.
It also aims to develop and maintain a healthy and mutually beneficial relationship with superiors; to build a win-win situation of productivity and a positive working environment; and to get more comfortable managing conflict.
In the first part of the session, Faiq shared a slide presentation to discuss his way of managing whose leadership values greatly focus on self-discipline and credibility.
The civil servant raised discussions about being in control when responding to a situation, focusing on what to do instead of what to be, concentrating on execution instead of credits, preparing yourself for adversity in life, and getting back in the field after facing adversity.
The session saw several discussions ranging from being in a leadership role to following a leader. The participants raised several questions about ways to motivate the people they lead; ways to manage conflicts and dilemmas as a leader; and ways to effectively raise issues to a leader.
Apart from that, there were also discussions about managing conflicting values and beliefs between leaders and followers; managing intergenerational gaps in communication between leaders and followers; leader’s role in breaking glass ceiling to empower women; and ways to support niche industries such as sports.
The co-founder of YPN Brunei, Fatin Ariffin in a statement said that YPN is a community platform that aims to promote and empower our young people through networking, dialogue, mentorship, and advocacy.
“We aspire to always challenge our young people to be courageous to participate and come forward to lead development and through the Leadership Circle, we want to support our youth to equip themselves to build the right mindset and skills by understanding the responsibilities of leadership,” she added.
The event was also live streamed and saved in the highlight of @YPNBrunei in Instagram and it is available to be watched at any time. – Analisa Amu
THE BRUNEIAN | BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
