The Need
With such challenging times in education, Arts University Bournemouth wanted to invest in its leaders to help their teams feel supported as well as foster collaborative and dynamic team working practices.

Our Solution
Our programme focused on four key areas: Self-Awareness, Team Working, Leadership Approach, and Impactful Conversations, and all workshops were underpinned by the insights from The GC Index®. To add a little creativity, we also had fun bringing to life LEGO models, applying LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methodology.

Self-Awareness
Each participant took the GC Index to gain a deeper understanding of their unique impact and contribution within a team, and potential areas for growth. This
self-awareness helped them understand how they, as individuals, contributed to teams, but also got them to think about how their teams work together collectively.

The Power of Teamwork
During this workshop we explored team dynamics, and used GC Index® team data to look at the aggregate of the whole team. This insight is powerful as you can see how the team is working as a whole, and whether this is proving to be successful, or needs some re-evaluation.

Leadership Approach
We delved into The GC Index’s multidimensional leadership model and looked at how each leader approaches leading their teams. Because we all lead in very unique ways, this insight is helpful so leaders can learn to adjust their leadership approach depending on the situation or the team they are leading. Without the GC Index® Insight, this is harder to do with leaders and their teams.

Impactful Conversations
In the final session, we explored the structure of effective conversations, taking onboard our Ego States, using the Transactional Analysis model. Using a coaching-style approach to the exercises, each pair took it in turns to be the ‘leader’ and the ‘employee’. They practised active listening, and summarising what had been said back to the employee for clarity. This is a very powerful technique in developing a coaching mindset for managers & leaders. The exercise highlights the importance of understanding what underpins impactful conversations, whether this is a 1:2:1 or an annual review.

“This valuable, impactful and creative Leadership Programme, designed and delivered by Your Future Impact, has provided a range of essential skills and insights for our managers to apply in their daily roles here at AUB”

Kerry Sheehan
Director of People, Inclusion and Organisational Development

The Need
A report found nearly half of young carers were stressed and 44% were tired. Bourne Academy commissioned Your Future Impact deliver a self-awareness workshop for its young carers to help them balance the demands of home, school and teenage life.

Our Solution
As part of a wider programme from the school to support its young people with caring responsibilities, Your Future Impact Delivered a Self Awareness workshop using the Young People Index® and LEGO® Serious Play® Self-Awareness: Each participant took the Young People Index® to gain a deeper understanding of their unique impact and contribution within a team, and potential areas for growth. This self-awareness helped them understand how they, as individuals, contributed to
teams, but also got them to think about how their teams work together collectively.

LEGO® Serious Play®
Equipped with the self knowledge from the earlier Young People Index®, the group had some fun using LEGO® to create models that communicated their own unique strengths and motivations. The group were able to reflect together on what that meant for how they worked together, giving them an understanding of the different ways that teams can support each other while working together.

“As part of our Young Aspirers programme, Helen Rivero, from Your Future Impact delivered a very successful self-awareness workshop, using the Young People Index and Lego. They were all able to relate to the strengths profile provided by The Young People Index and then enjoyed using Lego to help define their own strengths to their peers. The students, from Years 9 and 10 (13-15 year olds), were all selected as young carers who are in need of the extra support from school to develop their careers choices. The Bourne Academy careers strategy aims to target our resources to particular groups such as SEN, scholars and young carers on top of the progressive careers provision for all. This programme was funded by the soon-to-be phased-out Southern Universities Network (SUN)”

Andrew Roberts-Wray
Careers and Aspirations Assistant Lead Bourne Academy

The Need
Your Future Impact partnered with two schools as part of the Young Enterprise Company Programme. Using The Young People Index assessment, students were able to identify their energy for making an impact within a team. This insight helped them choose the most suitable director roles for their startup businesses, aligning their personal impact with business needs.

Our Solution
Students from Bournemouth School for Girls and Queen Elizabeth School completed The Young People Index® assessment and attended a workshop to explore their unique results. Each student received a personalised YPI report and each team also discovered more about their collective team energy for impact, which helped them see their strengths and blind-spots as a team.

Developing Self-Awareness
Each participant took the Young People Index® to gain a deeper understanding of their unique impact and contribution within a team, and potential areas for growth. This self-awareness helped them understand how they, as individuals, contributed to teams, but also got them to think about how their teams work together collectively.

Team Dynamics
This insight helped the students to align their team working inclinations to the key director roles that Company Programme requires at the start.

Collective Team Impact:
When we looked closer at the whole team impact, we can see that both teams had high inclinations for strategy and polishing.

“An excellent workshop, professionally delivered with some real insights into team performance and personal preferences that our students will find invaluable in their future working careers.”

Steve Collins
Head of Economics and Business Education
Bournemouth School for Girls

The Need
Research shows there is a mismatch between the skills young people believe employers want and the skills they believe they have. Karen Bentley, Progression Manager at Coombe Sixth Form School, set out to create a programme that would help young people identify how they can add value to organisations as well as provide careers education.

Our Solution
Coombe Sixth Form located in Surrey, in the UK, were invited to be take part in a sponsored employability programme which incorporated The Young People Index®. A finance company embarked on a Corporate Social Responsibility project with the goal to help prepare young people for the world of work. 30 students were invited along to a half-day programme, consisting of 3 bespoke workshops:

Discover Your Impact: Students discovered more about what energises them through their Young People Index® profiles. There was an emphasis on helping students understand environments where they will thrive, not survive.

Team Dynamics: This insight helped the students to align their team working inclinations to the key director roles that Company Programme requires at the start.

Your Future Impact: A big part of the session concentrated on aligning personal values to organisational values. Students were asked to research an organisation that they find interesting and explore their values and beliefs to see if they are aligned to their own.

These exercises helped students understand how they can:

• Add value as an individual and as part of a team
• Work for an organisation that is aligned to their values
• Research potential employers
• Prepare themselves for interviews

Students not only reported increased self-esteem and self-belief but many students used what they had learnt to make practical plans for their future.

“As careers educators and schools, it’s important we look for ways to bridge the gap when it comes to social inequality and help level the playing field. The Young People Index® provides a great opportunity to do this by making students who might feel disengaged or demotivated actually feel good about themselves and provide a plan.”

Karen Bentley
Progression Manager
Coombe Sixth Form

The Need
St Edward’s fosters an environment where all students, irrespective of ability, are encouraged to realise their potential. Acknowledging that academic excellence alone a doesn’t guarantee success, it partnered with Your Future Impact to enhance self-awareness and confidence among its students.

Our Solution
Our programme focused on four key areas: Self-Awareness, Team Working, Leadership Approach, and Impactful Conversations, and all workshops were underpinned by the insights from The GC Index®. To add a little creativity, we also had fun bringing to life LEGO models, applying LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methodology.

Self-Discovery

All students completed the online Young People Index® assessment before we kickstarted the workshops. Then we started with our Self Discovery Workshop, Discover Your Unique Impact.

Using The Young People Index insights & LEGO® Serious Play® methodology, students discovered insight about how they contributed and impacted a team, and then built LEGO® models to articulate their unique strengths. This session focused purely on raising self awareness, before moving onto how they worked within teams.

The Power of Teamwork

Students explored teamwork, and why it’s a vital work skill, and how each person will contribute in different ways. Students learned the importance of inclusivity and diversity when building teams. We practised the classic Marshmallow Challenge, so the students had a practical opportunity to apply their learnings. The students constructed free-standing towers using only marshmallows and spaghetti so they focused on their active listening, collaboration, and problem solving skills. They were encouraged to contribute to the team based on the insight from their profiles.

Leadership Impact & Personal Organisational Values

Students discovered more about their unique  leadership style through their personalised YPI profiles. We discussed old vs new leadership theory but focused more on how each individual will lead in the future based on more recent situational or multi- dimensional leadership models. Students left the session feeling more confident about their own leadership style in the future.

Key takeaways from Students
“I enjoyed using the LEGO®. I found out how some of my traits linked together”

“I enjoyed finding out how I can lead others in a way that works for me as well as them, also finding my place in a team and how my role is important”

“The spaghetti and marshmallow test was a fun, team-building exercise which helped us fit in a group. Thank you very much!”

A report from the Carers Trust found nearly half of young carers felt stressed and a further 44% were tired.

It’s no wonder they might struggle – carrying such a responsibility while also juggling school and the other challenges (and delights) of youth.

So, I felt honoured to be able to offer some targeted sessions this Mental Health Awareness Week for young carers at a compassionate and forward thinking school.

I spent a few hours with 40 young carers, running creative and fun group sessions using The Young People Index and Lego Serious Play.

Many of these young people have caring responsibilities outside of school, and often students like this are invisible within education – but not at The Bourne Academy.

The amazing team at The Bourne Academy have organised a brilliant programme to support these young carers, from running Lego workshops, providing them with 1:2:1 career guidance using The Young People Index, Employer visits and a trip to Lego Land!

‘As part of our Young Aspirers programme, Helen Rivero delivered a very successful self- awareness workshop, using the Young People Index and Lego. They were all able to relate to the strengths profile provided by the YPIndex and then enjoyed using Lego to help define their own strengths to their peers. The students, from Years 9 and 10 (13-15 year olds), were all selected as young carers who are in need of the extra support from school to develop their careers choices.

The Bourne Academy careers strategy aims to target our resources to particular groups such as SEN, scholars and young carers on top of the progressive careers provision for all. This programme was funded by the soon to be phased out Southern Universities Network (SUN)’ (Andrew Roberts-Wray).

Well done to the students who really embraced the self awareness session and delved into some reflective exercises with their friends. How do you support your young carers?

#YoungCarers #MHAW2024 #MentalHealth #YouthDevelopment

A report from the Carers Trust found nearly half of young carers felt stressed and a further 44% were tired.

Last week marked the end of Your Future Impact Student Programme 2024 at St Edward’s School. We have worked with St Edward’s School since 2019, taking students through innovative, self discovery workshops using The Young People Index. 

In preparation for leaving 6th form, over the course of 3 months, we took 25 students through three highly interactive workshops focused on developing self awareness skills and enhancing their employability skills.  

Let me tell you more about what we did. 

Firstly, all students completed the online YPI assessment before we kickstarted the workshops. Then we started with our Self Discovery Workshop, Discover Your Unique Impact. Using The Young People Index insights & LEGO® Serious Play® methodology, students discovered insight about how they contributed and impacted a team, and then built LEGO® models to articulate their unique strengths. This session focused purely on raising self awareness, before moving onto how they worked within teams. 

In Workshop 2 – The Power of Teamwork, students explored the topic of teamwork, and why it is a vital work skill, and how each individual will contribute in different ways. Students gained an understanding of the importance of inclusivity and diversity when building teams. During the session we practised the classic Marshmallow Challenge, so the students had a practical opportunity to apply their learnings. The students constructed free-standing towers using only marshmallows and spaghetti, which required them to focus on their active listening, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.  They were encouraged to contribute to the team based on the insight from their profiles. 

 Workshop 3 was focused on Leadership Impact & Personal & Organisational Values. Students discovered more about their unique leadership style through their personalised YPI profiles. We discussed old vs new leadership theory but focused more on how each individual will lead in the future based on more recent situational or multi-dimensional leadership models. Students left the session feeling more confident about their own leadership style in the future. 

Why are our programmes unique?

The distinct difference when delivering employability programmes with Your Future Impact is that every student takes The Young People Index, an assessment tool that highlights a young person’s natural inclination and energy when working in teams. Each student is provided with personal insights about themselves, leading to a deeper level of self awareness. We know that young people with higher levels of self awareness are more likely to be successful in their lives / careers.

Students also get to use LEGO® to help articulate and externalise their thoughts,increasing  creativity, innovative thinking and building trust in teams. 

Learn more about our innovative and personalised workshops in our student brochure. 

Key Takeaways from students completing the programme: 

“I enjoyed using the LEGO®. I found out how some of my traits linked together”

“The spaghetti and marshmallow test was a fun, team-building exercise which helped us fit in a group. Thank you very much!”

“I enjoyed finding out how I can lead others in a way that works for me as well as them, also finding my place in a team and how my role is important”

“It made me realise how important it is to check a company’s values before applying to the job position”

Using The Young People Index insights & Lego Serious Play methodology, students discovered insight about how they contributed and impacted a team, and then built lego models to articulate their unique strengths.

We recently had the privilege of introducing a group of Bournemouth University students to the crucial concepts of self-awareness and maintaining a positive mindset. Our aim was to equip students with the tools for personal development, effective communication, and success across various areas of life, particularly in the ever-evolving world of business.

Grounded in research published in the esteemed Journal of Applied Psychology, we discussed the impact of self-awareness on job performance and the effect this can have on their career trajectory. Studies show that individuals with a deep understanding of their strengths and weaknesses are better positioned to leverage their strengths and address areas for improvement, ultimately enhancing their overall performance.

Throughout the session, we explored the growth and fixed mindset model, encouraging students to focus on raising their self-awareness, and provided practical tips on creating and maintaining a positive mindset. By honing in on their core values, aspirations, and goals, students felt empowered to make informed decisions that felt true to who they were, both within and beyond the confines of the workplace.

We then introduced the students to the innovative GC Index Model. This unique business tool helped them understand their individual impact when it comes to their approach to work. This knowledge helps position the right people in the right roles, giving greater self-assurance and clarity. 

Crucially, the combination of self-awareness paired with a positive mindset was highlighted as a catalyst for resilience and growth. By reframing setbacks as opportunities for learning and development, students were empowered to confront challenges head-on.

The significance of addressing self-awareness and developing a positive mindset cannot be overstated in today’s competitive workplace. As we continue to embrace these basic principles, we encourage a journey of self-empowerment and growth, ready to seize the opportunities that lie ahead.

When a young person is well-suited to their role, they are more likely to excel in their responsibilities. Their skills, strengths, and natural aptitudes align with the demands of the position, enabling them to perform at their best. This leads to increased productivity, efficiency, and overall performance, not to mention general job satisfaction. That is why we believe that helping these students to discover who they are and where their strengths lie now, enables them to make better-informed choices about their future.

We then introduced the students to the innovative GC Index Model. This unique business tool helped them understand their individual impact when it comes to their approach to work. This knowledge helps position the right people in the right roles, giving greater self-assurance and clarity. 

We were recently invited to attend ‘Bourne Futures’, an inspiring event hosted by The Bourne Academy. This event not only provided a platform for local businesses to connect but also demonstrated the academy’s commitment to shaping the future workforce through innovative career guidance and support.

At the heart of Bourne Academy’s career guidance lies the Bourne Ambassador’s Programme – an initiative that facilitates educational partnerships between students and local businesses. Through this program, students are paired with business volunteers who serve as mentors, providing invaluable industry-specific insights, offering work experience opportunities, and giving guidance to help students navigate their career paths.

The Bourne Ambassador’s Programme is not just about professional development; it’s about instilling confidence, and ambition, empowering students to realise their full potential. By bridging the gap between education and industry, Bourne Academy is equipping students with the skills, knowledge, and connections needed to thrive in the competitive landscape of today’s job market.

Increasingly, schools are recognising the importance of integrating career preparation into their curriculum, acknowledging that academic success alone is not enough to ensure students’ future prosperity.

Statistics reflect this shift, with studies showing that over 90% of students believe that career guidance programs are essential for their future success. Bourne Academy is at the forefront of this movement, spearheading initiatives that prioritise student development, paving the way for long-term career fulfilment.

As an attendee of ‘Bourne Futures’, we were impressed by the academy’s forward-thinking approach to career guidance. Their framework aligns with our own mission; to help young people discover insights about themselves which help them make better informed choices about their future. Through collaborative partnerships with educational institutions like schools, colleges, and universities, we deliver engaging workshops designed to offer personalised insights to students. These sessions aim to help young people discover their energy for making an impact upon the world, as well as cultivate a sense of direction for the future. 

The Bourne Ambassador’s Programme stands as a shining example of how educational institutions can effectively bridge the gap between education and industry, providing students with the necessary tools and guidance to thrive in their chosen careers.

As advocates for personalised career guidance and support, we wholeheartedly resonate with Bourne Academy’s mission. By empowering young individuals to discover their passions and strengths and acknowledge their weaknesses, we believe we can collectively contribute to shaping a generation of confident, ambitious, and fulfilled professionals.

“Statistics reflect this shift, with studies showing that over 90% of students believe that career guidance programs are essential for their future success. Bourne Academy is at the forefront of this movement, spearheading initiatives that prioritise student development, paving the way for long-term career fulfilment.”

Coombe Sixth Form located in Surrey, in the UK, were invited to be take part in a sponsored employability programme which incorporated The Young People Index®.

A finance company embarked on a project as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, with the goal to help prepare young people for the world of work.

The Background

Research shows there is a mismatch between the skills young people believe employers want and the skills they believe they have.

In a bid to support young people, Karen Bentley, Progression Manager at Coombe Sixth Form School, set out to create a programme that would help young people identify how they can add value to organisations as well as provide careers education.

How the Young People Index® was used to make an impact

A finance company sponsored a project at the school. This involved a series of employability related workshops that incorporated The Young People Index®. GC Partner and Co-Visionary of The Young People Index®, Helen Rivero, ran a series of innovative workshops for students at Coombe Sixth Form.

These were designed to help students raise their self-awareness and confidence in knowing more about who they are, so they can make better informed choices in the future.

How the Young People Index® helped make an lasting impact

Students discovered more about what energises them through their Young People Index® profiles. There was an emphasis on helping students understand environments where they will thrive, not survive.

A big part of the session concentrated on aligning personal values to organisational values. Students were asked to research an organisation that they
find interesting and explore their values and beliefs to see if they are aligned to their own.

These exercises helped students understand how they can:

• Add value as an individual and as part of a team
• Work for an organisation that is aligned to their values
• Research potential employers
• Prepare themselves for interviews

Students not only reported increased self-esteem and self-belief but many students used what they had learnt to make practical plans for their future.

Ali Sadiq, Student at Coombe Sixth Form, talked about how he lacked motivation and his grades weren’t as good as he expected them to be. He explained he was pretty much just doing what his parents told him and he didn’t feel he knew who he was. He said…

“As careers educators and schools, it’s important we look for ways to bridge the gap when it comes to social inequality and help level the playing field. The Young People Index® provides a great opportunity to do this by making students who might feel disengaged or demotivated actually feel good about themselves and provide a plan.”

Karen Bentley
Progression Manager
Coombe Sixth Form Teacher, St Edward’s School