Written by: Katrin Beringer

Thanks to the announcement on our ELTAS website I attended the online workshop “A hands-on approach to soft skills and leadership development for ELT professionals” with Bob Dignen on 17th April. Hosts were our sister organisations from Ulm and Berlin – it was a highlight and one of the many examples of how much we all benefit from the fine collaboration of the different ELTA in Germany.

In this very interactive workshop Bob combined the three big topics leadership, language and intercultural skills. He took us on the journey of how leadership was defined over the last 100 years and what kind of paradigms currently exist. Is a leader a controller, a therapist, a messiah or an eco-integrater? After watching video sequences with a German manager of Beiersdorf, we were asked to identify challenges he faced in India and Bulgaria and to think of strategies how to dissolve conflict. It was exciting to listen to the ideas of the colleagues in my breakout room and to compare them to the solutions Bob presented. Bob also shared lots of links and book titles which provide even more food for thought. A very inspirational afternoon indeed.