The Leadership Development Training program was led four times in 2022, and this work has had direct impact on many participants while actively learning in each program.
The program was working through our Understanding Motivation Module, which references Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which is the theory of human motivation and how the five levels work from a bottom-up approach to achieving from basic to more advanced needs.
Tanya, a participant in our third program cohort shared how she was currently advocating for a close friend who was working on getting her children back in her care after being placed in foster care. She was currently struggling to afford the rent of a 3-bedroom home after the reduction of her income assistance, but if she gave up the space her children wouldn’t be placed back with her. She needed to be able to provide a bedroom for each of them. Tanya phoned the Vancouver Police Department’s Child and Family Services and explained her friend’s situation and how it related to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
It was her through her thorough and thoughtful explanation of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs that she was able to support her argument on how her friend was not able to support her basic needs and her friend was being set up to fail with all of the tasks and barriers being put in front of her. The VPD officer was able to take her statement and share this with their sponsorship program that would ultimately give her friend more funding to be able to stay in her home and work towards getting her children back.
This type of impact has changed the direction of her friend’s life. These leadership theories that are part of our Leadership Development Program can be applied every day in both personal and professional situations. These programs leave lasting impressions on our participants and it’s a privilege to see them apply the work and share these stories with us.