Cohort highlights

This January, GROW¡ Cohort 5 paused for a wellness-centred reflection session titled “Grounded Leadership: Reflect, Heal, and Grow Forward.” Bringing together 22 leaders (15 in person and 7 online), the session created a psychologically safe space to slow down, reconnect with self, and process the personal and professional shifts that have shaped their leadership since completing Modules 1, 2, and 3.

Facilitated by Grace Kabatangare and supported by Gloria Ampaire (Emotional and Psychological Counsellor), the experience blended mindfulness, journaling, and guided conversations around three questions: what has shifted within, what has changed around, and where support is still needed. Leaders left feeling grounded, re-energised, and clearer about their leadership direction.

Read more: Full session highlights and featured reflections from the Growers.

GROW¡ Cohort 5 began 2026 with Step by Step We GROW¡, a class-led initiative designed to take learning beyond the session room and into the city. Through two guided walks starting and ending at Acacia Mall, Growers walked with the CEO of CivSource Africa, engaged in guided reflection, and began the year grounded in clarity, shared purpose, and community.

Across both walks, 15 Growers participated in intimate conversations shaped by intentional pauses on gratitude, identity and belonging, leadership skills, courageous decision-making, and the discipline of finishing well, with a joyful moment of movement reminding everyone that leadership also needs rhythm and rest.

Read more to explore reflections from the Growers and highlights from the Year-Starter Walk with the CEO.

The Brand Is You is a reflection piece from Module 2 of GROW¡ Cohort 5, facilitated by Ms. Belinda Agnes Namutebi and attended by 26 leaders. The session opened with a bold question: If you were a product on a supermarket shelf, would anyone choose you? From there, participants moved beyond “branding as image” and into branding as authenticity, purpose, and connection, how you show up, what people experience when they encounter you, and the value you consistently deliver.

Guided by Belinda’s F.A.C.E. Framework (Functionality, Appeal, Community Service, Emotional Appeal), leaders reflected on self-awareness, consistency, and strategic visibility, both personally and institutionally. The key takeaway was simple: a brand is not a logo or a tagline; it is the reputation you build through aligned values, clear action, and meaningful service.

Read the full story to explore cohort reflections, standout insights from participants, and lessons on shaping a brand that is remembered for substance, not performance.

Reflection on GROW ¡ Module 3: Know Your People to GROW ¡ Your People

Module 3 of the GROW¡ Program was a powerful pause-and-reflect moment, helping me better understand how teams grow, how leaders shape that growth, and why career development is more than promotions. From building intentional career pipelines to naming the realities of forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning, the module offered practical language for diagnosing team dynamics and moving toward high performance. We also explored the value of cross-functional collaboration and the strategic importance of professional networks, reminding us that leadership development is both skill and relationship. Read more

The launch of GROW¡ Cohort Five opened with colour, laughter, and a surprisingly deep icebreaker, leaders introduced themselves as fruits and linked those fruits to their leadership style. What began playfully soon revealed powerful metaphors about resilience, generosity, authenticity, and growth. The session affirmed a core GROW¡ truth: leadership is not one-size-fits-all, and no leader walks alone. With peers, mentors, and a supportive community around them, this cohort is set for a transformative journey of becoming.

Read more about the launch moments and what Cohort Five will be exploring this year.

At the GROW¡ Cohort 5 Launch, Catherine Poran offered a clarion call for purpose-led leadership: the future of work is community; “wear your own shoes, your race, your pace”; and let attitude outrank résumé through humility, resilience, and coachability. She reframed change as possibility, redundancy as redirection, transition as transformation, and urged us to let faith be strategy, prayer be focus, and people the bridge.

Convened by CivSource Africa, ICF Uganda Charter Chapter, and Imprint (U) Uganda CivLegacy Foundation

GROW¡ Cohort 4 graduated some time ago, but the lessons still ring steady. In this recap edition, we look back on a season that moved from self-leadership to people-leadership, from money mastery to legacy thinking, and from quiet breakthroughs to visible courage.

Watch out, here we GROW¡

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Reflections on Leadership and Branding

GROW¡ Module 2: Know Your Brand to Grow Your Brand facilitated by Belinda Namutebi

In GROW¡ Cohort 4’s “Know Your Brand to Grow Your Brand” module, participants discovered how leadership and branding are deeply intertwined, going far beyond logos or appearances. This session revealed that truly effective branding is rooted in purpose, authentic connections, community building, and emotional resonance. By aligning their values, stories, and leadership style, participants are learning to create brands, personal or institutional, that inspire trust, loyalty, and meaningful impact.

Are you curious how branding can transform your leadership?

Read more and explore these insights.

#GROWLeadership #KnowYourBrand #BrandingWithPurpose

At GROW¡ Cohort 4’s Picture Your Future session, blank boards turned into bold declarations of purpose. Guided by futurist and designer Gloria Mugarura Bwandungi, participants transformed dreams into visuals, each cutout, each image, each word anchoring their intentions. More than an art activity, this was a sacred act of clarity, courage, and ownership. The future isn’t something we wait for; it’s something we build.

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The “Coaching Gym” is revolutionizing leadership development, offering first-time CEOs a dynamic space to sharpen skills, foster resilience, and grow through mentorship. Powered by the GROW! Leadership Program, it’s a transformative journey for emerging leaders.

Discover more about the Coaching Gym here.

Leadership is a continuous construction process, where we are both the architects and the structure. Using the powerful analogy of a construction site, Jacqueline Asiimwe inspired leaders to embrace growth through self-awareness, resilience, and intentional actions. Leadership, like any great build, is a work in progress, shaped one brick at a time.

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Self-awareness is the foundation of personal growth and resilience. By understanding our thoughts, emotions, and values, we align our actions with our true selves, unlocking authenticity and purpose. This journey inward reveals the profound strength that guides us through life’s complexities.

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