The Essentials of Find Your Way is designed to provide insight into your personal leadership style and to provide baseline aspects of the wider Find Your Way programme. You don’t need to consider yourself a leader at this point to join the Essentials, and you will find that the Essentials provides insight into what leadership means for you. Some of those who attend the Essentials return to join us for the more involved programmes, and some are content to have had this shorter opportunity to engage with the key elements of Find Your Way. We welcome applications from the orchestral sector including musicians, youth orchestras, opera and ballet companies, conservatoires, artist managers, musical organisations that offer wider access and others.

The programme provides:

• Insights into leadership in the sector
• Exploration of each participant’s personal leadership style
• Understanding of personal challenges and potential actions

The sessions will include:

• Programme introduction and discussion of participants’ expectations
• Personal work circumstances, challenges, opportunities and aspirations
• Leadership in the Sector – key mindsets and behaviours
• A guest speaker who is a leader in our sector
• Personal insights from leaders in the sector
• Coaching, its role in leadership, as well as structure and application
• Creating the opportunities for leadership – practical tools to extend your leadership in the workplace
• Creating plans for application of the first day’s learning, ahead of the second day

There will be a variety of activity during the sessions including input, small group work, pairs coaching and personal reflection. Course numbers will be a maximum of 12 participants.

Criteria for selection

All places on the course will be offered following an application process. The deadline for applications is 5pm on Thursday 25 May. The course is open to ABO members and ABO non-members.

We’re keen to hear from people from Black, Asian and other diverse communities who are currently under- represented in our programme and courses, and in leadership roles in the classical music sector. We welcome applications from Deaf and disabled people. We are offering a 50% reduction to the programme fee for a successful candidate. The bursary is supported by funding from the ABO Trust.

Please complete and return the application form and equal opportunities monitoring form to Fiona@abo.org.uk

The cost of the course in 2023 is £385 +VAT for ABO members and £500 +VAT for non-members.

If you wish to discuss your own situation further, please feel free to contact Richard Wigley, Andy Beaumont, or Fiona Harvey to set up a Zoom or phone meeting.