My Future Leader Experience - Rhianna Prewett

If you would have told me that I would have the opportunity to intern at Circl when I first applied for the Future Leader Programme, I probably wouldn’t have believed you! However, nearly two years since I initially applied for the Future Leader programme, and a year since I became an intern, my time at Circl is, unfortunately, coming to an end. As a result, I thought this would be a great opportunity to reflect on my experiences at Circl.

The Circl Leadership Programme is a fantastic opportunity for young people to improve their leadership and communication skills while also networking with professionals and other like-minded young people. I developed a lot of confidence in my leadership abilities and met a lot of inspiring people while on the programme. Furthermore, the curriculum fundamentally transformed my perspective on leadership and what it means to be an effective leader in a professional setting. I now understand that empowering employees to take the lead on certain projects and be responsible for problem-solving allows them to improve and level up their skills. Upon completion of the programme, I gained a Leadership through Coaching certificate certified by the Association of Coaching. This is always a topic of conversation in my interviews, and it has significantly improved my Linkedin profile! After the training, I was given the opportunity to attend a series of Q&A events with renowned professionals as well as become a paid intern at the organisation.

The learning didn’t stop there - one of the biggest lessons I learnt whilst at Circl was how useful coaching culture is when practically applied within the workplace! During the programme, I didn't realise how useful the taught coaching techniques would be when actually within a professional setting. Whilst I haven't actually coached anyone whilst at Circl, I have definitely integrated Coaching behaviours into work, for instance, asking more questions, trying to really listen and embracing what it really means to be human. As well as this, I have learnt the importance of challenging myself and placing myself within situations that I'm not always confident within, with these experiences often leading to growth. 

A question I asked myself when applying for the Circl Leadership Programme was “How will I manage it alongside my studies?” Thankfully, I didn’t have to worry! The programme only requires 1-2 hours of time commitment a week over the course of three months, with hardly any independent work or e-learning. Every other week, the content was provided in an engaging and participatory Zoom workshop. When the Zoom workshop wasn't scheduled, my main job for the week was to schedule a one-to-one with a business professional to practise my coaching skills. The program's time commitment was 100 per cent worthwhile.

Overall, I would definitely recommend that you apply for the Circl programme and make the most of the Circl Future Leader community.  The Circl programme will help you get ahead professionally and start developing core soft skills which are in high demand from employers and will make you stand out when you begin your professional career. Plus you will probably meet a whole bunch of amazing people. Good luck!

To learn more about the Future Leaders we work with on our programmes, head here.