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This document provides an overview and introduction to the Acumen Essentials 1 online course. The 6-week course aims to give participants a taste of Acumen's leadership training through exploring personal values and goals, understanding challenges in poverty alleviation, and developing skills like moral imagination. The course will be completed in lab groups that meet weekly to discuss readings and activities. It emphasizes applied learning experiences and cultivating leadership skills that can be used across sectors. Participants are joining a global community of over 50,000 individuals through the course's Google+ community component.
This document provides an overview and introduction to the Acumen Essentials 1 online course. The 6-week course aims to give participants a taste of Acumen's leadership training through exploring personal values and goals, understanding challenges in poverty alleviation, and developing skills like moral imagination. The course will be completed in lab groups that meet weekly to discuss readings and activities. It emphasizes applied learning experiences and cultivating leadership skills that can be used across sectors. Participants are joining a global community of over 50,000 individuals through the course's Google+ community component.
This document provides an overview and introduction to the Acumen Essentials 1 online course. The 6-week course aims to give participants a taste of Acumen's leadership training through exploring personal values and goals, understanding challenges in poverty alleviation, and developing skills like moral imagination. The course will be completed in lab groups that meet weekly to discuss readings and activities. It emphasizes applied learning experiences and cultivating leadership skills that can be used across sectors. Participants are joining a global community of over 50,000 individuals through the course's Google+ community component.
3 HOURS INTRO TO MORAL IMAGINATION & CHALLENGES IN POVERTY ALLEVIATION COURSES WELCOME TO +ACUMEN COURSES! We created +Acumen to give people a meaningful way to add Acumen to their lives and our online courses are a new way to do just that. We want to share what Acumen is learning in the feld our knowledge and insights, and perhaps more importantly, the values and principles underpinning our approach with more people around the world. Were focused on changing the way the world tackles poverty and building a world based on dignity but we understand we cant do this alone. It will take all of us. With 7+ years of experience running our fagship Acumen Global Fellows Program, we see an opportunity to use online tools to scale the impact of our traditional leadership development programs so that even more emerging leaders can gain the skills and networks they need to improve the lives of people around the world. And even if youre not focused on poverty alleviation, we think the skills and tools covered in our courses are valuable to emerging leaders in any sector looking to drive change. Youre joining a community of 50,000+ individuals from over 167 countries who have already participated in a +Acumen course. We want you to take what you learn at +Acumen and apply it in your own way. Innovation could come from anyone, and we believe that the world truly needs you to lead. This is your invitation. ABOUT ACUMEN ESSENTIALS 1 This is a 6-week introductory course to give you a taste of Acumens leadership training. The content of this course was developed based on our experience training Acumens Global and Regional Fellows. This course is for those who are new to the social impact space and interested in cultivating more self-awareness as a leader and change agent. We will touch on Acumens investment model. However, this course is not about the impact investing space and will not provide an in-depth look at Acumens work. The curriculum is drawn from diverse disciplines and methodologies with the purpose of helping you better understand yourself, the challenges of the work of poverty alleviation, and discover some clues for how you might develop your own leadership style to get started. We are also excited for you to connect more closely with other like- minded individuals in this course, so that you can start to build a community of learners that will beneft you on your journey. 4 WELCOME TO +ACUMEN COURSES Course Learning Objectives Explore your own values, motivations and goals for how you want to impact the world Understand the different perspectives and complexities around the work of poverty alleviation Understand Acumens patient capital model and its role in poverty alleviation Understand and begin to develop the capacity for moral imagination - the humility to see the world for what it is and the audacity to imagine the world as it could be Refect on your leadership journey and the changes you might be willing to make in the future This Course is for You You will get as much out of this course as you put in. There is much about this course that will seem challenging, which is appropriate given that this is about leadership development. You will need to be self-motivated to make it through all 6-weeks. Some of the exercises are designed to push you out of your comfort zone. You will need to build relationships with your lab group and conduct meaningful discussions with no clear authority in the room. Many of the issues we will discuss will not have a clear right or wrong answer. This may seem frustrating, but as our CEO Jacqueline Novogratz likes to say it is more important to live the questions. We will do our best to share Acumens current point of view on these issues, but it is more important that you come away with your own views and opinions. We encourage you to question assumptions, to share your point of view and respectfully challenge your course mates. Lab Groups This course is designed as a group-guided learning experience. In order to make this structure work, youll need a group of at least 2 (and no more than 6) people. You can read through this curriculum but its not going to work. The real learning happens face to face, person to person, when you challenge yourself and those around you. Structure Course content will be delivered over the internet. Each week, you will have a set of pre-readings/videos to watch/ activities to do before meeting with your lab group. Each group is expected to meet in-person once per week to discuss/debate the pre-work/watch a video/ participate in an activity together depending on the week. Lab Leader Each week, a new member of your team will serve as the lab leader. This person will be responsible for reviewing the lab prep readings/videos and the lab guide thoroughly before the weekly meeting so that they can lead the lab discussion and activities. The lab leader will also organize your team to bring required supplies each week. You should coordinate with your team to schedule who will be the weekly lab leader for each week at the start of the course. We understand that some people are stronger facilitators than others but we believe facilitation skills are an important component of any effective leaders tool box; therefore, we like to give everyone practice facilitating at least one lab group. If youre new to facilitating check out the tips for good facilitation weve put together on pages 6 and 7. If youre one of those people with great facilitation skills then let them shine and support your group members who may be newer to this by providing tips and constructive feedback when its their turn. Time Youll have about one to two hours of prep work each week to prepare for your lab group. Each lab is scheduled to take about two hours. The only exception is Week 4 which will require you to come up with an empathy building exercise that takes you out of your comfort zone and likely into your community. This exercise could take 4 or more hours and then you will need to write a short blog post about that experience. This is why we give you two weeks to complete Week 4. Calendar You should plot your lab group meeting on a calendar with your group. Can everyone commit to attend all of the sessions? If not, mark dates that members might miss and plan accordingly or reschedule Ahas At Acumen, we have a practice of sharing Ahas on a regular basis. It is a way to refect on an experience and to gain more insight into the world and yourself. An Aha moment is a moment of clarity, a moment that touched you, challenged you, or possibly even changed you. They can be big or small moments, funny or sad, surprising and inspiring. Each one is unique, personal, and we think, worth saying out loud. Youll be asked to participate in this practice of sharing Ahas at the end of each lab and we encourage you to share these with the greater global group on the course Google+ community. 5 WELCOME TO +ACUMEN COURSES If you do not have a Google+ or Gmail account 1. Go to https://www.google.com/ 2. Find the red box that says sign up at the top right corner. 3. Fill in the required information and register for a Google account. 4. Once you are logged into your Google account, click on +(your name) that appears at the top left corner of your screen. For example if your frst name is Jessica, it will appear as +Jessica. 5. Once you have reached your Google+ profle page, you can either upload your picture by clicking Snap a photo/upload an image or simply move on by clicking on the blue box that says Finish. Now that you have an account/already had a Google+ account 1a. Click here and Ask to join the Acumen Leadership Essentials community. The full URL for the community is listed at the bottom of this page. 1b. Or Look for a button that says Home at the top left of your Google+ profle page. Scroll down the menu until you reach Communities in green. Click on it. Within the box that says Search for communities, type in Acumen Leadership Essentials. Click on the button that says Ask to join this community. 2. Wait for an email confrming you've been accepted into the Google+ Community. Take a few minutes to orientate yourself to the Google+ community 1. When joining the Acumen Leadership Essentials Community, you must read the About this community section on the community home page. Please be sure to also read A word from our legal team. We know the legal stuff isn't exciting, but it's important. 2. IMPORTANT: Since this is a private community, the default notifcation setting is ON. If you don't want to receive an e-mail every time someone posts to this community. Click the Notifcations bell OFF. 3. Browse the various sections of the Google+ community under All posts. You can view comments posted by previous course participants as well. Some categories that you might fnd useful include Tips for Google+ Community Course Calendar Optional We have established a Google map to visualize who is taking this course around the world. The link to the Google Map of course participants and guidelines for how to participate in this dynamic map is posted under the category Map Who is taking this course? from the Google+ community page. Participate in the Google+ Community We created a Google+ community to help you see what other lab groups are doing with the course and share what youve been up to too. Use this community to continue your discussions online and explore the perspectives of your course mates from around the world. Depending on your familiarity with Google+ we've outlined how you can sign up to participate. 6 WELCOME TO +ACUMEN COURSES Provide a safe space for the group to share At times the lab discussions may become diffcult. People may share experiences that are particularly painful or scary. Acknowledge at the beginning of each lab that this is meant to be as open a conversation as possible. It is also wise to ask everyone to verbally affrm what is said in the space stays in the space. Open with a Check In The Check In is the initial phase of a meeting and is really independent of the lab content. The purpose of this is to bring everyones focus into the room and establish the discussion boundaries, so that right from the start you can be clear on how everyone is feeling that day and what to expect from each other. One technique is to go around the group and ask everyone to rate on a scale of 0-100% how present they feel. Are they only 75% present because they had a bad day at work and are still mulling over what their boss said? Or are they 100% present because theyve been looking forward to this discussion all day. Encourage storytelling people love stories and they are far more likely to remember information they hear in a story than as a recitation of facts. Encourage your lab mates to share their stories, and share your own. Opening up and a willingness to be vulnerable will often create a greater willingness in your lab mates to reciprocate and share their own stories. It builds an atmosphere of mutual trust. Allow each participant to come up with the answer themselves These discussions are not intended to feature a lecture. Instead, your goal as the facilitator is to help participants and yourself to fnd your own voice with in the discussion. You dont need to provide the solutions. Everyone in your group has access to wisdom and can help teach each other as well as teach you. A good facilitator helps fnd those with the seeds of wisdom in the room and allows them to grow. The key is not to judge, not to impose your own opinions and not to dominate the conversation. Improvise Facilitation is not about following the script. While we provide a series of topics, questions, and activities, let the conversation guide the group. Feel free to add your own questions or explore ancillary topics and lines of discussion. You all have your own experiences, knowledge, and wisdom that will enhance these discussions. Use these topics as a starting point, and make the conversation your own. Dealing with diffcult group dynamics There will be times when you will be faced with challenging situations, either from individuals or from the group. If you can learn to embrace these situations, and work with them, they can be powerful experiences for learning and growth. The following, taken from The Facilitators Guide to Participatory Decision Making by Same Kaner, gives some typical challenges, with suggestions for how to deal with these. Tips for effective facilitation 7 WELCOME TO +ACUMEN COURSES Problem Common Mistake Effective Response Highly vocal member dominates discussion Trying to control this person excuse me XXX do you mind if I let someone else take a turn? If one person is overparticipating everyone else is under-participating, so focus your efforts on the under-participators and encourage them to participate more. Ask: How do the rest of you feel about this? or break into smaller groups. Fooling around in the midst of a discussion Trying to organize by saying ok, everyone, lets get refocused. Aim for a break as soon as possible. People become undisciplined when they are overloaded or worn out. After a break it will be easier to re-focus. Low participation by entire group Low participation can create the impression that a lot is getting done quickly, so the facilitator assumes that things are going well and does nothing. Change from large group open-discussion to something else, like idea listing, or working in smaller groups. Two people constantly having a personal battle Focusing on two individuals and trying to resolve confict. A lot of time can be wasted trying to resolve confict between two people who have no intention of agreeing. Reach out to other members and ask who else has an opinion on this? or lets step back a bit are there any other issues that need to be addressed. Remember dont focus on the dominant minority, but on the passive majority. One or two silent members in a group whose other members participate actively XXX, you havent said anything yet. Whats your view? Can make the person feel put on the spot and so retreat further into silence. Break into small groups, to allow the quieter members a greater chance of speaking up. Minimal participation by members who dont feel involved/interested in the particular topic Ignore it, and act as though silence means consent. Be thankful that they are not making trouble. Look for an opportunity to have a discussion on Whats important to me about this topic? Have people break into small groups to discuss. This gives everyone a chance to consider their own stake in the outcome of the discussion. Quibbling about trivial issues/ procedures Lecture them about wasting time Have the group step back from the content and talk about the process ask them what is really going on here? Someone becomes strident and repetitive At lunch, talk behind the persons back. Confront the person during the break, and then be surprised when you see their anxiety go through the roof when you resume. People repeat themselves because they dont feel heard. Summarize the persons point of view until s/he feels understood. Encourage participants to state the views of the group members whose views are different from their own. People just want to feel heard, not necessarily that everyone must agree with them. This document contains all the materials you will need for Week 1: WELCOME TO ACUMEN ESSENTIALS 1: Introduction to Moral Imagination & Challenges in Poverty Alleviation Objectives: Become familiar with the lab format and get to know your lab group Understand and articulate your personal values, motivation and purpose for taking this course Understand what leadership means to Acumen LAB Do this with your lab group Estimated time: 2 hours Pages: 1014 PREP Do this on your own before meeting with your lab group Estimated time: 1 hour Page: 9 ACUMEN ESSENTIALS 1 Week 1 9 Context At Acumen, we believe self-awareness and the practice of internal introspection are vital to the success of a leader and that understanding your core values, purpose and mission help you anchor your life. This course will bring up tough issues and you are likely to emerge with more questions than answers. This is okay. In the words of the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, it is important to: So we begin by having you better understand your self. Lab 1 is all about exploring your motivations for joining this course and the question of what leadership means to you. Read and Watch 1. A manifesto by Acumen (http://bit.ly/Acumenmanifesto). New to Acumen? (http://acumen.org/about/) 2. No Ordinary Leaders by Rutendo Change (http://bit.ly/Rutendo) 3. Inspiring a Life of Immersion Jacqueline Novogratz TED Talk. (http://bit.ly/LifeofImmersion) If your internet connection does not allow you to stream video, you can read a transcript of her talk. (http://bit.ly/LifeofImmersionText) Refect and Write 1. Acumens manifesto serves as a moral compass for the kinds of leaders we hope to be and to refect the values of leadership required in an interconnected world. What are the key components of your moral compass? What people, places, and ideas have infuenced the development of your moral compass? 2. What are the moments or turning points in your life that have infuenced your beliefs? (Youll be doing an activity based-off this refection during your lab group meeting) 3. Why drew you to this course? What are your personal objectives or takeaways for this course? We look forward to hearing more about your frst lab! try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Dont search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer. 1 HOUR PREP ACUMEN ESSENTIALS 1 Week 1 10 Lab leader, please welcome everyone to the very frst lab group and guide the group through the following activity and discussion questions. Appoint one of your lab mates to be time keeper for this session. Introductions: Life Maps 45 min 1 hour depending on the size of your group Course Logistics 20 min Group Discussion 35 40 min depending on the size of your group Ahas 15 minutes Preparing for Week 2 5 min A printed or electronic copy of this Lab Guide Enough sheets of white paper for each lab member Black/colored markers/pens/pencils (enough for each lab member) Tape (optional) Something to keep time with Agenda Materials 1 2 3 4 5 2 HOURS LAB ACUMEN ESSENTIALS 1 Week 1 11 Welcome to your frst lab! In order to break the ice and help you get to know each other, you are each going to make a LIFE MAP. But a life map is different from a normal map because you can make it look like whatever you want it to look like... it can look like a timeline, taking you from where you were born, to where you grew up, to where you are now it can look like a normal map, retracing your footsteps across the world and point out all the places youve been it can just be a collection of pictures, showing a few memories that are important to you Instructions youll have about 20 minutes to draw your life maps, and then you will each take turns sharing your life maps with the group (each presentation should take about 5 minutes). you can share as much or as little as you want with your life map, but know that this is a safe space and that no one will make fun of you for what you decide to open up about. So feel free to put down as much as you feel comfortable sharing. include what drew you to this course and what you hope to takeaway from it lab leaders should have markers and paper for you to draw your maps, and if not, improvise. you have about 20 mins to draw your maps Time keepers please set a timer or watch the clock. Ready? Get set. Go! Next take 5 minutes to share your life map with your lab group. Once again, time keepers please set a timer or watch the clock. A: Thats right! Its a map of your life! A life map is just like a normal map that helps you understand where you are by thinking about where youve been and also helps you fgure out how to get to where you might want to go next tells you about the major landmarks and buildings or in this case a map of your life tells you about the major landmark events in your life tells you about the places you came from, a map of your life tells you about the country/ culture/family you came from Q: Can anyone guess what a life map is? The most important thing about your life map is that it tells a story no two people in this room are the same and we each have a unique and special story about our lives we each have had a different journey that has brought us here together today, and by learning from each others stories and experiences we can learn more about the world when we share stories we become more connected because we learn about the things that make us both different and similar feel free to include on your life map your happiest moments or moments where you were sad... Your proudest achievements but also things that you might regret 1 INTRODUCTIONS: LIFE MAPS 45 min 1 hour depending on the size of your group ACUMEN ESSENTIALS 1 Week 1 12 2 The lab leader should guide this discussion. This course has a group-guided learning structure and will be most successful if you follow as closely as possible to the guidelines below. Discuss each of these guidelines and determine if there will be any problems and map out potential solutions. Time Youll have about one to two hours of work each week to prepare for your lab group. Each lab is scheduled to take about two hours. The only exception is Week 4 which will require you to come up with an empathy building exercise that takes you out of your comfort zone and likely into your community. This exercise could take 4 or more hours and then you will need to write a short blog post about that experience. This is why we give you two weeks to complete Week 4. Calendar You should plot your lab group meetings on a calendar with your group. Can everyone commit to attend all of the sessions? If not, mark dates that members might miss and plan accordingly or reschedule. Lab Leader Each week, a new member of your team will serve as the lab leader. This person will be responsible for reviewing the lab prep readings/videos and the lab guide thoroughly before the weekly meeting so that they can lead the lab discussion and activities. The lab leader will also organize your team to bring required supplies each week. You should coordinate with your team to schedule who will be the lab leader for each week at the start of the course. COURSE LOGISTICS 20 minutes Set group norms We recommend that your group takes a moment to set a few rules or norms for how you would like the weekly meetups to function. One way to start is with a pen, a piece of paper and a group brainstorm. Here are some questions to get you going: How can you structure the weekly meeting to ensure that an environment of mutual trust and respect is created? How should feedback (both positive and negative) be communicated so that each individual and the group get the most out of it? Are there other rules that you can think of which will make the weekly meetups run more smoothly? Sharing Weve created a Google+ Community where youll be asked to post updates from your lab group meetings and learn what other groups around the world are discussing and doing. See page 5 for instructions on how to join the community. Pick a group name Your group should select a name. Have fun with the name and choose something that is distinctive and represents your lab group. Youll use this group name to post updates to the Google+ community ACUMEN ESSENTIALS 1 Week 1 13 GROUP DISCUSSION 35 40 minutes depending on the size of your group 3 In the lab prep you were exposed to several voices from the Acumen community speaking about leadership. What do you think leadership means to Acumen? What was new to you? What surprised you? What are you still puzzled about? How does this compare to what leadership is to you? What are the qualities/characteristics leaders you look up to possess? Acumen decided to write a manifesto, which we asked you to read, to help guide us through the tough decisions around investing in companies and leaders daring to serve the poor in genuine, empowering ways. It is an aspirational document, a moral compass to ground us in the kinds of leaders we want to be. What are the key components of your moral compass? What people, places, and ideas have infuenced the development of your moral compass? (Share and discuss similarities and differences among your group) What kind of leader do you aspire to be? What are some of the barriers/challenges to becoming the leader you want to be at this moment? What do you all think are effective ways to overcome these barriers going forward? ACUMEN ESSENTIALS 1 Week 1 14 AHAS 15 minutes PREPARING FOR WEEK 2 5 minutes 4 At Acumen, we have a practice of sharing ahas on a regular basis. It is a way to refect on an experience and to gain more insight into the world and yourself. Take 12 minutes to think and write down your aha: a key takeaway, a new perspective, a memorable comment or question, or a parting thought from this lab. Then share your aha with the group. If you are struggling to come up with an aha, heres a question to help you: If you were to tell your friend about this experience tomorrow, what would you tell them? 5 1. Report your participation (Individuals) In order to be eligible for a Statement of Accomplishment at the end of the course, you must individually report your participation each week. Please complete your Lab 1 report (This will take you less than 5 minutes) (http://bit.ly/AE12014Q3ReportLab1) 2. Choose your lab leader for next week 3. Confrm the time and location for next weeks lab meeting 4. Dont forget to Join the Google+ Community if you havent done so already (http://bit.ly/ALEcommunity) Share your individual Ahas from Week 1 and/or any photos from your Lab 1 meeting on the Google+ Community under the discussion category Lab 1. Feel free to share your team name, group norms, and answers to any of the discussion questions too. Browse the Google+ Community posts from other participants around the world Have a great week!