“You’re not an imposter. You’re our future” – My experience of the Community Leadership Academy

In this question and answer session, James Masters from Grange Big Local reflects on completing the Community Leadership Academy (CLA), overcoming his imposter syndrome and recognising the skills he can offer as a local leader to better his community.

Hello James! Looking back from when you started, what were your initial thoughts and interest in the CLA and how do you reflect on them since finishing?

It was July 2019 when Local Trust were first in contact with me about an exciting programme in development. I was remembered from a meeting a year before at an event and was told it was specifically designed to support people that “take on huge responsibilities within the community” intending to support them more. My initial reaction was classic ‘imposter syndrome’ – “that’s not me!” – but as the conversations developed, it was clear, this was something designed from the ground up for someone just like me, however uncomfortable that might have made me feel at the time.

I’d hoped that the CLA would give me a toolkit but the reality is that it did, but gave me so much more as well.

I’ve had a varied career starting out spending a decade with a single big multinational corporation, including a secondment within Europe for a couple of years – leaving only to spend another decade building and running a business, but I am very new to what I now know is called the ‘Third Sector’ and was finding the (glacial) pace and obstacles (visible, hidden and political) challenging. I’d volunteered and taken a position of responsibility as chair of my Big Local, was keen to drive the change the community deserved, and had communicated during consultations and were waiting for, but increasingly felt unsupported and sometimes completely unprepared for the situations that unfolded in front of me and around me. The offer was for individual coaching and a programme of community leadership with a cohort of like-minded volunteers. I said I’d love to be a part of the pilot.

I’d hoped that the CLA would give me a toolkit but the reality is that it did, but gave me so much more as well. Looking back, perhaps the most significant part of my learning and growth was to crush the imposter syndrome voice in my head.

Before the CLA I felt I was close to capacity but now I feel more connected, more supported and therefore stronger and more confident and able.

How do you feel you’ve changed since being in the CLA? 

I feel I’ve broadened. Not just my skillset with a new leadership toolkit. Not just emotionally, but my well-being from the sharing and support of what is now our own CLA network and community. Not just my ambitions or aims, as you can’t help but be inspired and remotivated when you’re working together in a breakout room with people you truly love and admire. Before the CLA I felt I was close to capacity but now I feel more connected, more supported and therefore stronger and more confident and able. Our community mycorrhizal network is now more connected and powerful than ever!

It was challenging moving the programme fully online due to COVID, especially considering the considerable value of face-to-face final sessions in York. It is often the space around the content that provides the most stimulating conversation and connections. We all understood and accepted, but you can create more value and impact in real life than you can online in many cases or so I thought. What I hadn’t considered was just how much and how deeply you can learn online. The first thing I noticed was my listening and note taking, sure it was tiring, sure it was condensed, but deep connections and friendships were forged online – and to this day continue. This evening our CLA cohort are having an informal get together and catch up on Zoom, it isn’t our first and won’t be our last. We support each other via a WhatsApp group helping each other with connections, contacts, ideas and sometimes just by being there.

The CLA has helped me to realise that sometimes it isn’t how much passion and effort you put into something or come at a problem but often taking a more strategic view can get a better result or avoid a conflict.

Has what you’ve learnt in the CLA impacted your Big Local Partnership and Community? 

Certainly. A wide range of impacts. Everything from having some overdue ‘courageous conversations’ through to making significant changes to the structure and our external relationships. Sometimes when you’re working closely on hyper-local issues it is hard to zoom out and have an external or macro focus. The CLA has helped me to realise that sometimes it isn’t how much passion and effort you put into something or come at a problem but often taking a more strategic view can get a better result or avoid a conflict. Something akin to learning a community ‘Art of War’! skillset. A key part of my journey was the realisation that you can’t fix everything and not take on too much. Things can fail and you can all learn from them. You can build a ladder out of any metaphor to tell a story or bridge a skill gap, and we all have a hierarchy of needs as well as wants. Wherever possible be more strategic. Look for the bigger picture, the bigger connections, the bigger impact. Be brave. Be fearless.

when situations arose that I felt like everyone was against me, I had someone who knew the situation, and knew what to say to help me decide to double down and stick with it.

What was the main highlight of your 18-month journey whilst in the CLA? 

Coaching sessions – as others have said, I imagine it is like a form of therapy, but with a push and challenge. A deep dive into the practicalities of a local issue as well as your psyche – working through a live brainstorming and planning session so that you leave each session feeling both challenged and supported, often with practical steps to implement and counter-arguments to any reoccurring thoughts and doubts. I have a lot to thank my coach for, his experience, kindness and [instead of writing lots of other adjectives] love, meant that when situations arose that I felt like everyone was against me, I had someone who knew the situation, and knew what to say to help me decide to double down and stick with it. Without this support, I’m not certain I’d still be in the role I am. I imagine that’s a common experience. We need to develop more long-term support for people who volunteer their time to try and affect positive community change. Especially those who are considering changing careers when they get close up and see the massive gaps and need within the community they have made home.

All of us have been pioneers

I thought about naming individuals and recounting anecdotes, but then I thought about permissions and privacy – so the names (and stories) have been omitted to protect the innocent (and guilty) – but you all know who you are and the impact you’ve had on all of this first cohort both individually and collectively. All of us have been pioneers, working and learning together in a real-time global crisis has made our bond permanent. My thanks to each and every one of you. All I want to say to conclude this is that if you’re even thinking ‘I wonder’ after reading this, make the call, send Local Trust an email, the CLA is for you. Do it. You’re not an imposter. You’re our future.