– calls for new leadership identities in Guyana

By Faith Greene

WHAT is leadership, and how can I become an effective leader? These questions were answered at the Disruptive Leadership Conference 2023, Masterclass Leadership Series, and Business Mixer on Wednesday.

The event featured Stedman Graham, a bestselling American author, speaker, and educator, who, this year collaborated with Go Blue Consultants, organiser of the 2023 leadership masterclass, to share his expertise on identity leadership in Guyana.

Graham has said that identity leadership is one of the highest orders of leadership, it is leadership that is required in the 21st century.

The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) supported and endorsed the event.

The GCCI Senior Vice-President, Richard Rambarran, said that an event like this one, within the local state, is of utmost importance for not just the Guyanese business community, but the Guyanese people at large.

He mentioned the importance of forging new leadership identities for Guyana. Rambarran suggested that there is a strong need to develop individuals who possess not only intelligence, culture, or resourcefulness but also integrity, ethics, and morality to confidently represent themselves on any global platform.

Go Blue Consultants’ Chief Executive Officer, Judy McCutcheon, who has spent several years consulting and training persons, noted that she has wanted to change the leadership landscape of the Caribbean. However, in 2019, she got the idea that she could help fill the leadership gaps that she knew exists in the Caribbean region.

McCutcheon noted that when she started the Disruptive Leadership Conference in 2019, it was to help fill these leadership gaps which exist, as well as to help leaders grow and develop better people-centered leadership.

The Masterclass according to McCutcheon, was aimed at setting participants on a path to self-discovery, which will help them to tap into who they are at the core of their being.

The Identity Leadership Masterclass, was advertised to mobilise people in organisations to apply success processes to their personal and professional lives in ways that align with their organisational goals.

Graham has a ‘9 steps to identity leadership success process’ which is described on his website as a life management and learning system, which teaches you how to organise your life, around who you are; These nine steps are: 1) to check your ID; 2) create your vision; 3) develop your travel plan; 4) master the rules of the road; 5) step into the outer limits; 6) pilot the seasons of change; 7) build your dream team; 8) win by a decision and finally, 9 )commit to your vision.