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17 November 2021, New York, USA - The second session of the “Leadership & Self-Awareness Programme” took place with the collaboration of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research and Columbia Law School. This session was attended by approximately 210 participants and focused on self-awareness and how it feeds directly into the kind of leadership exercised in organizations.

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Mr. Pelayo Alvarez, Programme Coordinator at UNITAR New York Office, welcomed participants and introduced Professor Alexandra Carter, Clinical Professor of Law and the Director of the Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School. Professor Carter introduced the topic of leadership and self-awareness, explaining how important it is and how it affects organizations. The floor was then passed to Mr. Paul Riley, Columbia Law Mediation Clinic. Mr. Riley initiated a break-out room exercise discussing the qualities which all great leaders possess. This exercise helped unearth several viewpoints which lead to a very interactive discussion between participants, Professor Carter and the Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School.

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Mr. Parker Hasler, Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School, talked about leadership styles and characteristics. He prepared a leadership exercise for the participants. Ms. Emily Dennan, Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School, supported Mr. Hasler’s presentation with an explanation of different styles of leadership, specifically top-down and bottom-up. Mr. David Alexander, Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School, supported Ms. Dennan’s presentation with two scenarios focusing on both the top-down and bottom-up approach. Participants were then able to brainstorm situations or ideas that they may have experienced in their own working environment.

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Mr. Ben Childress, Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School, talked about self-awareness in terms of individual needs and values, as well as an understanding of how others see things and how this affects a person’s leadership skills. Moving to the importance of cultural intelligence, Ms. Daimiris Garcia, Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School, outlined the three components of cultural intelligence, explaining each one in detail. Ms. Aita Seck, Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School, discussed the value of active listening. She said that the key to active listening is listening to understand and not just to respond, which is what most individuals do. The second session of the Columbia Law School series ended with an interactive Q&A.

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