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case study:

‘The Heroine’s Journey’ for Women Leaders at Centrica plc

Background

Centrica is an integrated energy company operating predominately in the UK and North America. They source, generate, process, trade and store energy as well as supply gas and electricity to millions of homes and businesses and offer a range of home energy solutions and low-carbon products and services. Aspire facilitated a one-day development event for women at Centrica. The day was a prelude to a mountain-climbing charity fundraising challenge that Centrica sponsored for its women leaders as part of a programme of development events aimed at improving its gender diversity. The five-day challenge took place in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, and included climbing Mount Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa. The group raised money for Camfed (the Campaign for Female Education) whose aims are to eradicate poverty in sub-Saharan Africa by educating girls and empowering women.

Objectives

The purpose of the event was to connect the women participating in the mountain trek and fundraising challenge with the experience and with each other.

Programme

The day involved leading the women through an exploration of the Hero’s Journey described by Joseph Campbell, which is a metaphor for the journey that these women embarked on when they signed up for the trek. The stages that the hero, or in this case the heroine, goes through represent the inner and outer journey people universally experience in life’s challenges. In understanding this, the participants were able to plan for and learn from their own experience and that of others and make the connections to what this journey means to them as women and as leaders in Centrica. The day was highly experiential and involved participants taking part in activities that simulated the experience of the Heroine’s Journey with the intention of them being able to draw on this ‘in the bones’ learning during the trek itself and in their leadership going forward.

Participant Comments/Results

"It was awesome! Everyone was very engaged and appreciated the opportunity to meet their fellow trekkers but also reflect on their Heroine’s Journeys! They enjoyed meeting and getting to know each other and sharing their emotional journeys. I enjoyed seeing them ‘come alive’ as people with comments like ‘this is very different from the kind of leadership development stuff we do in the office’. You reflected my brief perfectly and the exercises were a great mix of building a supportive environment while creating a sense of challenge to bring the trek itself alive. I genuinely believe it will make a difference to the experience of the trek and what people will take out of the challenge ultimately."
Lynne Turner, Director, Financial Control, Centrica

"Thank you so much for a thoroughly enjoyable day today. I’ve just re-read my notes and I’m sure that they will help me in the coming months and on the actual trip. I appreciated the opportunity to meet my fellow climbers and felt that the structure of the day worked well as it facilitated lots of time to meet new people and get to know each other."
Lucy Darch, Senior Head of Energy Solutions, Community Energy, Centrica