Meridian

A flexible and personalised leadership course that offers modular learning and development for established leaders in larger metroplitan areas.

What is it?
Who is it for?
What are the benefits?
How does it work?
What does it cost?

What is Meridian?

A leadership course for established leaders from all sectors and backgrounds based in metropolitan areas. Meridian is currently offered in India and in six other countries. Participants often choose to do some of their modules in other locations and countries.

Spanning a five month period, Meridian offers a flexible modular format that means leaders can tailor it to meet their individual needs and to match their diaries.

The full group - drawn from all walks of life in the area - attends three full days together at the start, midpoint and end of the course. In between, each leader chooses from over 50 events to explore a huge range of real-life challenges - based in anything from a prison to a casualty unit; a trading floor to a production plant; a rehab centre to a radio station - in small groups, learning constantly from each other, the contributors and the experience of operating in very unfamiliar situations.

The result is that participants develop an understanding of how their area really works, the impact of their decisions and become more effective leaders at work and in wider society.

Upcoming courses

February - August 2011
Johannesburg / Gauteng

2011 - To be announced
Cape Town

Who is Meridian for?

Meridian is for established leaders who are already experienced at delivering objectives and managing people and priorities. It is ideal for leaders who are responsible for developing partnerships, engaging with internal or external stakeholders, working across several locations, divisions or countries or who simply need to broaden their horizons.

As with all our open courses, the participant group on Meridian will be diverse in terms of background, experience, sector, outlook and approach. Participants share and challenge each other and discover that this diversity - far from being a weakness - provides a key strength of the course.

Participants can expect to:

become more accustomed to going outside their familiar environment and better able to adapt to new situations.
develop lasting working relationships with people they would almost certainly never have met otherwise.
learn how to lead in situations where they have no authority and how to become the kinds of people who can build and lead collaborations when required.
become responsible leaders who understand their local surroundings - in the national and international context - and the impact of their decisions.
discover how their own language, behaviour and biases can get in their way as leaders.
find out when and how they can make their own contribution in society.

What is the course format?

Meridian participants complete between 60 - 90 hours of learning. For each activity, participants meet at a different venue within the area to give them a range of perspectives.On the three core days - at the start, mid-point and end - participants look at why, where and how they lead and at how their biases influence their leadership. Between the core days, participants select from a series of modules.

Participants can choose to do some of their hours on a Meridian course elsewhere in India or internationally.

Meridian modules are:

Understanding place - behind-the-scene insights about how the metropolitan area really works.
Understanding change - real-life leadership scenarios based in hospitals, schools, businesses and council chambers, meeting and quizzing the leaders who make the decisions there.
Leadership insights - key leaders share their first hand knowledge - from their successes and failures - of leading beyond their immediate area of authority to create positive change.
Learning groups - tackling the challenges brought by participants to the group sessions.
Practices - participants are set a series of leadership 'practices', small challenges to complete in their own time that will broaden their thinking.
Quests - a day immersed in the economic, political and social context of another city, either in the India or internationally.

What is the cost to attend Meridian?

Course fees are R21,750 + VAT

Financial Assistance

There are a number of almost full (every participant must make some contribution) and part bursary places provided on every Common Purpose course for participants who are genuinely unable - as opposed to unwilling - to meet the full fee. Applicants who cannot pay the full fee should not be deterred from applying.

If you would like to apply for a bursary, please fill in the section of the form for bursary candidates. If you need to discuss this further, please contact your local Common Purpose Office.

Common Purpose Plus
Everyone who has completed a Common Purpose course will be offered a 20% reduction on the fee of any future courses they attend. Please notify us in your course application if you wish to apply for this reduction.