who am I as a leader, really? from reactive habit to conscious, deliberate leadership. one film today. the morning is given to it; the afternoon turns it on you.
Vishakha R Mmentor · leadership essentials · with Neha co-facilitating
today's arc · pre-assessment with your PRs at 9:30
four blocks
10:00 to 11:40opening, ulysses & sullyprovocation, sirens and the mast, the film and both debriefs
12:00 to 13:00agency groundedagency defined, the map of the week, your own examples
14:00 to 15:00lab 1 · the trigger mappairs
15:00 to 16:45johari, growth identity & the identity shiftneha leads · reflection zone closes the day
session 1 · 10:00 to 11:40
opening, the ulysses debrief & sully
the opening provocation
if all of this is free, and available to everyone, why are great leaders still so rare?
hold 15 to 20 seconds of true silence · take 2 or 3 answers only · do not resolve them yet
concept · the ulysses framing
he exercised agency over his own limitation
S · the sirenwhat reliably pulls you off course in the momentyour phone buzzing mid-conversation. the urge to say yes when you should say no.
M · the mastthe advance commitment that holds you anywaythe phone left in another room. the colleague told beforehand: "stop me if I start doing X."
30 seconds, private: what are your sirens? then 30 more: what is your mast? not a general intention. the specific advance commitment.
debrief · sirens & the mast
say one out loud
pairs · 7 minone siren you're willing to nameand the mast that would actually hold you to it.
full group · 6 min3 or 4 voluntary pairswhat did you notice about the gap between knowing your siren and building a mast?
"we are here to decide in advance. not to learn. to commit."
on screen while it plays: across both scenes, the decision, the landing, and the hearing that followed, where exactly was the choice, and what did it cost?
debrief · part 1 · the choice
sully, in the cockpit
1what did he knowin that cockpit, that the tower didn't?
2what was he told to dowhat was the tower telling him?
3what did he chooseand on what basis? not luck. what was he weighing?
first beat of agency: knowing you have a choice, and exercising it.
debrief · part 2 · facing the consequences
sully, in the hearing
1the hearingquestioned in public, with data suggesting he could have made the runway. what is actually happening to him in that room?
2does he hold?does he back down? does he doubt himself?
3callback to ulyssesis this the same muscle as naming your siren and building your mast, or something different?
session 2 · 12:00 to 13:00
agency grounded
concept · agency, defined
three beats
1know the choiceknowing that a choice exists at all.
2exercise the choiceactually making it. not letting the moment happen to you.
3accept the consequencesstanding by it, under scrutiny, without needing to be proven right.
sully just gave the room all three beats of agency in one telling.
the map of the week
one idea, five days
day 1the agentagency, defined
day 2the anchoremotional regulation
day 3the lensobjectivity
day 4the bridgeintegrated wisdom, watched
day 5the crucibleit becomes your own
agency runs on integrated wisdom: head, heart and body moving as one.
applied to you · personal examples
this morning was sully's story. now the same three beats, on your own.
quick-write · 8 min, silenttwo momentsone conscious leadership choice under pressure. one autopilot reaction.
groups of 5 · 17 minunpack bothagainst the three beats of agency just taught.
share-out · 10 mintwo groupsone pattern each, to the room.
8:00quick-write · click or T
lab · 14:00 to 15:00
lab 1 · the trigger map
lab 1 · pairs
the trigger map
step 1 · rate 1 to 5fifteen workplace scenariosnext slide. rate each for how much it actually triggers you. honesty beats image.
step 2 · top 3 · partner interviewfor each of your threewhat does your body do first? what story do you immediately tell yourself? what do you do next, as a leader?
rate each, 1 to 5
the fifteen scenarios
1a team member misses a deadline without warning you in advance.
2your idea is publicly criticised or dismissed in a meeting.
3a peer takes credit for work you led.
4a decision is made above you that affects your team, and you're blindsided by it.
5a direct report pushes back on your instructions in front of others.
6you receive critical feedback on your own performance review.
7a senior leader interrupts you mid-sentence in a meeting.
8you discover a mistake in your own work just before a big presentation.
9a colleague is consistently late to meetings you've called.
10you're asked to deliver bad news, layoffs, budget cuts, to your team.
11someone challenges your competence in front of a client.
12you have to give tough feedback to someone you personally like.
13your team misses a target you personally promised to leadership.
14a cross-functional partner stops responding to your emails or requests.
15you're excluded from a decision-making meeting you expected to be part of.
pick your top 3 for the partner interview.
first raw pattern
thoughts, emotions, actions
met here as raw experience, before it's taught as a concept tomorrow.
session 4 · 15:00 to 16:45 · neha leads
johari, growth identity & the identity shift
groups of 5
the johari window
known to self
not known to self
known to others
open areaknown to you, and known to others.
blind spotseen by others, not by you. today's focus.
not known to others
hidden areaknown to you, hidden from others.
unknown areanot known to you, or to others, yet.
extending the window · the identity shift
nature, or choice?
N · core naturewhat comes naturally to yougenuinely hard to change.
A · adaptive behaviourwhat you deliberately chooselearned, and effortful.
the real question: when do you use which, and is that choice itself an exercise of agency?
this is exactly what friday's blueprint will ask you to map for yourself.
reflections zone · in your handbook, private
before you go
one choice today where I exercised, or avoided, real agency.
one place I noticed the pull between what comes naturally and what I'd have to deliberately choose.
tomorrow we build the anchor: emotional regulation. wednesday, the lens. thursday, we watch both operate together. friday, it becomes your own manifesto.
the school of future