Leading the Way in Value-Based Leadership
We caught up with Imse Spragg Nilsson. She has a background in the Scouts and has been active in the work of the EU's youth policy strategy. She was also a board member of the European Youth Forum. Today she works at Scouternas Folkhögskola − The Swedish Scouts’ Leadership College, and she is the project manager of a program called Value-based Leadership.
by Emma Aasa
Can you tell me about what you do at Scouternas Folkhögskola?
Imse: I am the project manager of an education program called Value-based Leadership. We want our students to discover and develop their own individual leadership styles. Nowadays, I spend a lot of time developing the curriculum. We are exploring ways to work more with team values by using congruence maps and group evaluations.
In the program you find Scouts of course, but the attendees also represent other fields of organizations, from individuals within startups as well as established companies, who all wish to expand their leadership skills.
So, how does it work?
Imse: Everyone makes a ranking and gets a value map, then we work with storytelling. During this phase we get to know each other through our values, while we also build self-awareness. This is a way to find your own language and your way of relating to your own values. Then we’re off to the Leadership Island.
Can you tell me about the Leadership Island?
Imse: It’s the Scouts' education system, where we focus on the individuals to challenge themselves. You step ashore on this fictive island, and you stand at the pier. Then, you can choose where you want to go. You create your own path according to the interests you have and the skills you want to develop.
How did you encounter Point of Value?
Imse: I have always been interested in value-driven leadership, and somewhere along the way Point of Value and I found each other, and it has been a successful collaboration from the very start.
How has working with values made a difference?
Imse: We all have different experiences and values, and we make the best use of them when can pinpoint them. All my students make great inner journeys during the course. Many say that ranking has helped them put their values into words, which has widened their self-awareness. Knowing your values help some make big life changes: they resign, maybe break up with their partner or move abroad.