I found myself in the middle of a magic moment recently. It was a meeting between the Research Design Train (RDT) team and the Youth team. We were together to discuss the design of a new leadership component for the youth process. As the youth team described what they see and experience of young people in the community, we listened and were immediately engaged in the world of youth. The passion of the youth team set us off and soon we were sparking off one another, tuning in to the needs, identifying the gaps in our process, and talking about the possibilities.
It feels like there is magic in collaboration because of the acceleration in ideas, creativity and deeper thoughts. Powerful questions and thoughts emerged from our discussion; what makes a good youth process leader? How do we help youth make space for one another? What if leadership is about feeling worthy to make a contribution and then able to step into taking responsibility for self and others? What if leadership is connected to a sense of belonging?
Collaboration is the process or action of working with someone to produce something. I love being part of the dlalanathi team where collaboration is a key ingredient in our work. All of our work out in the community starts with a collaboration process within the organisation. Being the wonderful age of 20 years, dlalanathi has matured to a place where collaboration happens in ways that do indeed feel magical at times! Everyone’s voice is heard, everyone’s opinion is important, everyone gets to play!
This meeting was magical for me because we were embodying our dlalanathi values through working in collaboration with one another in deep respect and love. These values have been cultivated over time and it’s exciting to see the way they emerge and enrich the ordinary and day to day with a bit of magic!
