Building a Community of Leaders: AMP's First French Leadership Lab
In May, we brought together leaders from our French-speaking partner teams for an intensive three-day Leadership Lab event in Dakar, Senegal. This marked a significant milestone as it was the first time AMP conducted a Leadership Lab in French.
A group of 12 passionate team leads and their deputies, hailing from five French-speaking Ministry of Health teams that we support in Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Republic of Congo, and Togo, gathered to collaborate, explore their leadership styles, and create a productive space for knowledge sharing among themselves and their teams.
The team from Togo, our partner since 2020, participated in the Leadership Lab not only as delegates but also as teachers and facilitators. Now six months into the sustainability phase of their partnership with AMP after the conclusion of the Management Partner’s tenure in December, they shared valuable lessons from their experience working with AMP and improving the leadership and management practices within their team. This is an approach we aim to replicate with other partner teams, providing them with opportunities to share knowledge and insights.
One of the most pressing challenges facing leaders today is striking the right balance between providing guidance to their teams and empowering them to take ownership. Questions like "What kind of leader am I?" and "How can I adapt my leadership style to meet the evolving needs of my team while maintaining respect and authority?" sparked meaningful discussions during the event.
With the expansion of the number of French-speaking teams we partner with, from one in 2021 to six today, we saw the need to offer our partner teams an opportunity to enhance their leadership and management skills while learning from one another. Unlike many training events that primarily focus on technical and field-specific topics, our Leadership Lab stood out by creating an environment for engaging discussions centred around how to successfully lead and manage during an era of both unprecedented challenges and opportunities.
During our journey of supporting teams in achieving their goals effectively, we have observed that team leaders often lack peers to consult about their specific leadership challenges. Additionally, they rarely find time for deep self-reflection or to actively workshop their leadership styles and management behaviours.
Being in the presence of their colleagues, team leaders felt a sense of camaraderie that enabled them to create a space for sharing their experiences openly and learning from each other. Throughout the training program, we embraced experiential learning, emphasizing the value of hands-on activities and active reflection. The participants expressed genuine excitement about the unique nature of the training and shared their frustrations with systemic challenges such as limited resources and infrastructure. They also highlighted the difficulties they face in their work environments, including navigating bureaucracy and managing top-down directives.
Klara Michal, AMP Health’s Chief Learning Officer, said: “It’s about fostering a learning environment. Instead of simply giving solutions, we ask questions that encourage individuals to think through problems themselves. This practical application of coaching skills was valued and contributed to the development of strong bonds among the participants. Halfway through the training, they expressed a desire to stay connected through a WhatsApp group even after the program ended.”
We asked participants to reflect on what they could control and influence within their sphere of responsibility. Our intention was to redirect their focus and guide them to consider whether they could approach things differently with their teams, showing them the importance of leadership in developing and empowering the individuals in their team to make the most of their available resources.
Klara noted:
“Behaviour change takes time, and it can be challenging to observe immediate differences. However, based on feedback received from the management partners, there have been notable positive changes in the leaders' approach. They have become more reflective, demonstrating a thoughtful and inquisitive mindset by asking more questions. Additionally, their leadership style appears to have become calmer, which is a welcomed transformation.”
We believe that this first French Leadership Lab has contributed not only to strengthening the leadership skills of the participants, but in building a community of leaders in public health who will continue to support one another to lead with curiosity and inspire their teams to achieve their goals.