Exploring the Foundations of Leadership
November 11, 2025 – The second day of the Erasmus+ mobility „From Training to Leadership” was dedicated to introducing fundamental leadership concepts and self-assessment of participants’ competencies. The 26 youth workers explored the program’s central question: what makes a successful leader?
The morning session, held between 9:30 AM and 11:30 AM, marked the entry into the thematic core of the project. The trainers facilitated an interactive exploration of the leadership concept, challenging participants to identify the qualities, behaviors, and skills that define an effective leader in the context of youth work. Discussions addressed both theoretical perspectives and practical experiences of participants from the five partner countries.
Self-Knowledge and Leadership Profile
After the morning break, the next session was dedicated to self-assessment. Participants worked on essential dimensions of personal development in leadership: identifying personal qualities, building an individual leadership profile, exploring internal motivations, clarifying fundamental values, and defining personal vision.
This component of introspection and personal reflection is considered essential in non-formal education, where competency development begins with understanding one’s own strengths, limits, and directions for growth. The exercises allowed each participant to build a clearer picture of their own leadership style and how personal values influence their work with youth groups.
Key Leadership Concepts
In the afternoon session, trainers guided participants through the exploration of fundamental leadership concepts: leadership styles (democratic, authoritarian, participative, delegative), a leader’s roles in different contexts, and the mechanisms through which a leader can positively influence group dynamics and team members’ development.
This session combined theoretical presentations with practical exercises and case studies, allowing participants to understand not only the concepts themselves but also their applicability in concrete situations from youth work.
Harvesting the Learning
The last working session of the day, as usual, was dedicated to harvesting and reflection. Participants had the opportunity to process the complex information received throughout the day, identify connections between the different concepts addressed, and reflect on how these relate to their own professional practice.
Everyone understood the importance of this day in building the theoretical and conceptual foundation necessary for the following sessions, which will address more specific aspects of applied leadership in youth work.
The second day of the „From Training to Leadership” mobility consolidated participants’ understanding of the complexity of leadership and prepared the ground for deepening specific competencies in the coming days. The program continues tomorrow with modules dedicated to communication and building trust in youth teams.
The „From Training to Leadership” project is funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ program and takes place between November 10-16, 2025, in Bucharest.
