In these challenging times when person-to-person meetings are scarce or impossible, Leaders of Dialogue regional groups play a vital role in helping Leaders bond and support each other. Each of our regional groups has an opportunity to decide on directions of professional development they plan to focus on, by organizing workshops, field trips, or meetings with experts. Initial stage of group meetings focused on posing questions about what brings the groups together, resulting in ideas for future activities undertaken this year within the Leaders of Dialogue regional groups.
One of the workshops that was recently organized by the Małopolska regional group, was dedicated to mental strength and resilience of a Leader of Dialogue. A two-day workshop, conducted by a certified coach Dorota Nawrotek, was a response to Leaders’ needs who felt they lacked group-empowerment and were close to burnout. The participants learned new techniques of balancing their mental well-being. They also discussed crucial issues such as emotional management, failure resilience, or openness to change, as well as the degree to which they can control their work. The reflection on their work styles, discussed with fellow Leaders of Dialogue, allowed participants to improve their emotional readiness for activities focused on memory and difficult history, especially during the pandemic, which affects their commemorative efforts.