A Window into The Arts and Leadership
MY VOICE MY LENS:
Leadership Development Through The Art of Self-Portrait Photography
At Wave Financial
“Keep Moving Forward” Nadia Rauch - 2019, Wave Financial
“The great leaders are like the great conductors - they reach beyond the notes to reach the magic in the players.”
Blaine Lee, Teacher, Author, Entrepreneur
HISTORY OF MY VOICE MY LENS
On a summer afternoon in 2016, Ashira Gobrin - Past Chief People Officer at Wave Financial - invited me to collaborate on envisioning and shaping a deeply introspective personal development program that encouraged Wave leaders to 'see' themselves through the art of visual storytelling. At the same time, our intention was to build meaningful connections with fellow-participants - all navigating the same vulnerable, inspiring, and meaningful journey, as they shared ideas, listened with empathy, and expanded personal perspectives.
Drawing on My Voice Through My Lens experience at the Aphasia Institute we designed a series of workshops and culminating exhibitions that focused on leadership development: I would create and teach the photography component and curate all in-house installations, and Ashira would develop and present the leadership component, which she aligned with each session’s photographic theme.
And thus, with this picture in mind, My Voice My Lens: Leadership Through Self-Portrait Photography began its artful journey at Wave, creatively engaging 10 cohorts of exceptional leaders over 5 years.
Introduction Essay. My Voice My Lens: Leadership Through The Art of Self-Portrait Photography, by Judith Leitner and Ashira Gobrin, Pikto, pp. 3-4, 2019.
My Voice My Lens: Leadership Through Self-Portrait Photography, Photo-Book, 2019
“MY VOICE MY LENS is a thoughtful and focused program for us at Wave, because at its core, we understand that our values are behaviours that form our culture and drive our performance in real and meaningful ways . The focus is on building effective leaders and developing deeper levels of self-awareness and empathy through self -portrait photography.
I continue to be humbled by the great potential I am surrounded by every day, and feel privileged to be a part of this personal journey with each participant.”
Ashira Gobrin, 2016-2021, In- House Curatorial Statement, Wave Financial