Learning Generously, Giving Generously

When I first started working in the housing sector, everything felt new. The language (and there was a lot of jargon!), the challenges, the conversations. When colleagues asked how I was finding it, I often described myself as a ‘sponge’, constantly absorbing, listening, and learning as much as I could each day.

Over time, though, that idea started to sit less comfortably with me.

Anyone can absorb information. Anyone can learn if they are curious enough. So why did so many people seem so willing to give their time, insight, and encouragement? Why invest energy, money, and trust in someone with barely a year in the industry since graduating?

Being accepted onto the Housing LIN Future Leaders Programme deepened that question. I was genuinely thrilled to take part, but also quietly surprised. At first, I saw the programme simply as something I was lucky to receive. What I didn’t yet understand was why spaces like this exist at all. Listening to leaders share their journeys - openly, generously, and at times vulnerably - gradually shifted my perspective.

One moment that stayed with me came from one of the speakers, Carly Dickson, who spoke about curiosity, generosity, and interdependence. She reminded us that dependence is not a weakness. In fact, society itself is built on interdependence, and leadership should reflect that reality. Seen this way, leadership development isn’t charity. It is a conscious empowerment for our collective future.

That idea surfaced again and again throughout the programme in different ways.  From the advice to ‘go where the good people are’ and not mistake struggle for purpose, to the reminder that leadership is less about titles and more about action. Here are three messages that especially stayed with me:

1. Creating rooms when they don’t already exist.
2. Reconnecting people to the story of why they do the work they do.
3. Living your values consistently, especially when it feels uncomfortable.

What struck me most was the shift from leadership as authority to leadership as allyship, as shared by Neil Crowther. The idea that real leadership doesn’t cling to power but is willing to share it. That helping one person might not change the whole world, but it can change someone’s world. There is something quietly powerful about that kind of interdependence.

By the end of the programme, my idea of being a ‘sponge’ had changed. A sponge absorbs endlessly, but a battery feels like a better metaphor! We often start by ‘charging’ - listening, learning, and storing energy. Leadership is what happens when you begin to use that energy to power something beyond yourself. Learning isn’t passive, it also comes with responsibility: to notice who is missing, to be generous with what you know, and eventually to pass it on.

I am deeply grateful to have been part of the programme, and I would wholeheartedly encourage others to apply.

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Jasmine's blog is one of many by members of the 5th cohort of the Housing LIN’s Future Leaders Programme who have agreed to share what they learned on the 2025/26 programme. We are excited to publish these ahead of recruiting for the 2026/27 intake onto our Future Leaders programme, sponsored by Sovereign Network Group.

And, if you found this of interest, do check out the other blogs in this series, along with the TikTok videos recorded, which will be available here.