Hope & Ambition Phase 1

Organisational impact

Hope & Ambition helped Intercultural Language Service (ILS) move from an embryonic organisational reality to a more structured unit. When it came to seeking other funding, through the direct offices of Liz Hayes in particular and through the offices of the Mount Street Club Trust in general, the Trust, through Hope & Ambition, was of immense support both morally and practically and put their considerable resources and experience at our disposal every step of the way.

It is very likely that without the support of MSCT, ILS would no longer be operating or would be struggling a lot more to provide its services. Even though ILS is still in a precarious position regarding funding and sustainability, the relations with MSCT have been vital in helping us through a very difficult time and, as a result of this rapport, and the incredible personal and professional contribution by Liz Hayes, the school is back operating at pre-pandemic capacity. ILS has turned a corner and with the help of MSCT, it can continue to become organisationally and operationally stronger.

When funding is not enough

In the past, ILS has received funding from various sources, but the impression was, whether intentional or not, that it varied from a box-ticking exercise to a way of offloading funds or just to make the issues we dealt with somehow go away. If some follow-up support was offered, it tended to be more focused on marketing and upscaling our model at the expense of deepening our knowledge and practice. Hope & Ambition has shown that there is another way to support, and indeed learn from, the shared practices of the organisations that took part in this project. Though the amount of funding involved with Hope & Ambition may be deemed modest by some, the spirit and practice of this program is rich with ideas, support and potential.

Reflection and practice

Being a CEO and founder can often be a very lonely experience and there is often no time to reflect or rarely any peers available with whom to share the burden of guiding the organisation as a whole while running the everyday operations. With the CEOs Club, Hope & Ambition gave us a safe space, outside and away from the crowded workplace, and outside our own loaded headspace, where we could honestly share and reflect on issues and practice. 

“Hope & Ambition gave us a safe space, outside and away from the crowded workplace, and outside our own loaded headspace, where we could honestly share and reflect on issues and practice.”

Under the very capable guidance of Liz Hayes, we were encouraged to question, explore and share our thoughts, feelings and practice not only in relation to our daily work, but also regarding our own professional and emotional health. The cross-sectoral space of the CEOs Club has been game-changing for me personally as the lone and lonely decision maker in my organisation. These issues of isolation in leadership and strategies for coping with this are common to many in the group and I think that the CEOs have built a solid, creative and productive relationship which should continue with ILS as part of that. This reflective space has been so important as a place to breathe and think without the daily clutter and noise of my organisation. I believe that ILS can bring more to this forum and gain even more from it into the future. Finally, I can say that I came away from these CEO meetings lighter of heart and surer of foot.

The value of crosstalk

This way of sharing knowledge, practices and experiences through dialogue and reflective practice seems to be at the heart of the Hope & Ambition project and has proven to be a very effective way of promoting learning on all sides of the relations involved. These frank and informed conversations across the stakeholders, from the practitioners to the Trust, the Trust to the CEOs and all of the relevant crosstalk back and forth created a rich and dynamic tapestry to which all involved were contributing and learning from at the same time. In this way, the Trust has created a community of practice where purpose, values and trust bond us together and provide true hope and ambition going into the future.

In conclusion, though the multi-party and multi-directional dialogic practices and knowledge sharing methods of Hope & Ambition may be a work in progress, I can say that this work has already borne fruit for me and our organisation and I look forward with anticipation to see how this model can evolve and grow over the coming years.