Undertaking Avocado’s Leadership and Development Program (LDP), I realised that while I may be proficient technically, there were some gaps in my approach when dealing with certain scenarios and difficult situations. Since participating in the program, I have witnessed so much growth in myself because I was able to bridge the gap between my IQ and EQ.

In the past, I have completed adhoc leadership sessions however, I have never been part of a full Leadership program until I came to Avocado.  This course has been important for me both professionally and personally because the key takeaways are applicable across the board.  The LDP gave me the tools required to handle a range of situations. To give an analogy – They are now my knife and fork and I’m ready for whatever is on the menu! LDP have become such an integral part of my everyday life, that I use the same approaches with my kids! I sit them down and say, ‘how can we overcome this?’ and utilise the approaches learned through LDP.

What stands out for me, is the fact that we train all our people inside the team, so we are all equipped with these useful skills and knowledge to communicate effectively which is so important. Being at the same level of knowledge, we can draw on our experiences from the LDP training scenarios and identify an issue as it arises and work together more effectively to overcome it.

In the most recent session, I participated in the maximising teams’ performance. Significantly, learning about unconscious bias was really eye opening. While this is something we all have, recognising that it exists, and what checkpoints we put in place so we can manage our bias is critical. At Avocado we are a diverse team – where everyone has a specialty, everyone contributes and where all viewpoints are heard. For this session, my mentor also participated. It was great to collaborate and share differing viewpoints. We were able to talk through our approaches to certain scenarios and how we address those issues which I found valuable.

Mohamed Chmais – Principal Consultant, Monitoring

“ I started working at Avocado in March 2021 as a project coordinator. Since then, my role has morphed due to growth trajectory happening within Avocado’s Delivery Practice. I have enjoyed and embraced these opportunities at Avocado and subsequently my changing responsibilities. To facilitate the changing nature of my role, I have been able to access Avocado’s Leadership and Development Program which has empowered me to adapt faster and work better.

 

Through the program I was able to gain insight into how I could personally give valuable feedback to my colleagues and team members, as I learnt how to take a dynamic feedback approach which factors in differing scenarios. The ‘feedback module’ also reiterated how feedback needs to focus on the topic of the feedback rather than the individual. I’m now more aware and alert of the importance of recognising and providing well delivered feedback, both positive and constructive that helps the team grow. I have also enjoyed the social element of this program, especially hearing from my colleagues who have shared their opinions on important topics.”

Rachael Zhou, Project Coordinator.