For the Extra Mile Institute

Where we landed

We met, and we have direction. The first page was my thinking and the second was our structure. This one is the plan. Two initiatives, both starting this year, with what each side owns written down so nothing waits on a conversation neither of us remembers we needed to have.

Initiative 1: Step back sessions

Your step back sessions get embedded directly into how GSCG already operates, rather than sitting alongside us as an add on. That distinction matters to me. This is an existing EMI product, already implemented in industry, so we are fitting a proven thing into our calendar instead of inventing something new and hoping it holds.

What a session actually is

Everyone reflects individually on a shared concept, then shares their experience with the group. The point is better connectedness and a shared understanding of growth. Students get a link ahead of time to watch a short video and reflect on their own. When they come together, they reflect more deeply.

Where it lives inside GSCG

• Director meetings. Directors run their own step back sessions.
• Project meetings. The director and project manager run them at the start of the meeting.

How we roll it out

The sequence is deliberate. Each step earns the one after it.

1. Directors attend an information session on what step back sessions are and why we are doing this.
2. Directors complete about 15 to 30 minutes of self paced training on how to execute one.
3. The initiative is introduced to everyone at the GSCG kickoff meeting, so the whole group knows what is coming.
4. After kickoff, sessions begin at the start of project meetings.

Choosing the concepts

Structured ahead of time at first. Imposter syndrome is the kind of concept in scope. Over time, project managers pick and choose which concepts are most relevant for their team, which is the version I want us to get to.

Accounts and access

Students download the app as users. Project managers and directors get a different login with access to the full library, since they are the ones facilitating.

Two things worth stating plainly

• Each session takes roughly 15 minutes to run inside a meeting that is already happening. It does not add a meeting to anyone's calendar.
• This is a trial. We are testing it, not committing the organization to it permanently. If it is not working we will say so.

Initiative 2: Awareness speaker series

Four sessions, one per GSCG principle, to raise awareness of internal growth while people are pursuing outcomes. Beyond awareness, the series is also how we conduct some studies and get a better understanding of what students are actually struggling with. That second job is quieter but it is the one that shapes whatever comes next.

Nothing below is booked. Speaker identified means we have the person in mind and the conversation is live, not that a date is on the calendar.

What each of us owns

Neither initiative moves without both sides doing their part, so here is the split as we left it. The two items marked as open questions are unresolved. They sit on our side because we are the ones who need to find the answer, not because we have decided anything.