Alp activating leadership potential

04/10/2026

Leading Without the Mask: A Self-Compassion Practice for Impostor Syndrome

By Salem Islas-Madlo

Impostor syndrome has a familiar voice:
You’re not enough.You don’t belong here.
Sooner or later, they’ll find you out.

After participating in a transformative course on shame with self-compassion expert Chris Germer, I began looking more closely at the connection between shame, impostor syndrome, and the way we lead.

What happens when, instead of meeting self-doubt with criticism, we meet it with curiosity and compassion?

Here are five practices to explore:

1. Notice the trigger.
When impostor feelings arise, pay attention to what is happening in your body, thoughts, and emotions. Awareness gives us the opportunity to respond rather than react.

2. Explore the origins.
Ask yourself: When did I first learn that I wasn’t enough? Some of the stories shaping our leadership today may have been formed long before we stepped into positions of responsibility.

3. Practice self-compassion.
Acknowledge the difficulty. Remember that you are not alone. Offer yourself the same kindness you might extend to someone else navigating uncertainty.

4. Return to your values.
What matters most to you as a leader—integrity, curiosity, courage, service, compassion? When self-doubt appears, your values can become an anchor.

5. Imagine leading without shame.
What might change if fear of being exposed no longer shaped your decisions? How would you communicate, take risks, relate to others, or use your voice?

Self-compassion isn’t an indulgence in leadership. It can support resilience, clearer decision-making, authentic relationships, and cultures where others feel safer to bring more of themselves to their work.

The next time impostor syndrome appears, consider asking:

What would change if I met this moment with kindness instead of criticism?

Even more simply:

What would love do here?

✍🏽 Adapted from the blog on the ALP Network website Leading Without the Mask: A Self-Compassion Practice for Impostor Syndrome by Salem Islas-Madlo for the ALP Network.

09/09/2026

Here we are with participants from 4 countries!

From 7 to 10 September, Progetto Crescere welcomes partners from Germany, Lithuania and Austria to Reggio Emilia for new days of training and exchange within the Erasmus+ project SMILE CAFÉ – Digital skills & well-being for 55+.

An opportunity to meet, share experiences and skills, and continue the project journey together.

Welcome to Reggio Emilia! 🇮🇹✨

09/09/2026

This week, we're in Reggio Emilia, for the start of our pilot phase in project Smile Café. Contact us to find out more! Julia Hoopfish Braunegg, Irene Rojnik

29/08/2026

One result of the training "Supporting Parents’ Expertise in Erasmus+", hosted by biedrība ideA (Latvia) is a questionnaire for exploring how caregiving affects professional participation in Erasmus+ — what makes it easier, what makes it more difficult, and what support is needed.

If you are a parent or caregiver working in Erasmus+ you have the chance to share your experience and shape the future of Erasmus +.

⏱️ It takes about 15-20 minutes
🔗 https://forms.gle/QBMcrb6EUH93oNaL8
🗓️ link will be active till 16th of September, 2026

Please feel free to share the questionnaire with other parents and caregivers working in Erasmus+.

+
Jaunatnes starptautisko programmu aģentūra Erasmus+ Latvija Biedriba IDEA

This questionnaire is part of the Erasmus+ project "Supporting Parents’ Expertise in Erasmus+", organised by organization "ideA" (Latvia). The questionnaire is intended for people who: are or has been professionally involved in Erasmus+ Youth activities, such as youth exchanges, mobility projects ...

29/08/2026

Second day of “Supporting Parent’s Expertise in Erasmus+” training in Jelgava, Latvia taking place from 25-30 August, 2026!

Let’s see what happened:

The discussion explored how parenthood, caregiving and professional participation in the Erasmus+ youth field are shaped not only by personal choices but a variety of factors.

We focused especially on the pressures faced by parents who work as trainers, facilitators, freelancers or project-based professionals.

A central theme was that parents—particularly mothers—are often expected to remain fully available, productive and professionally reliable while also carrying most childcare and household responsibilities.

Lots of quiestions remain such as how can the Erasmus+ field recognize parenthood as a temporary but legitimate inclusion instead of a private matter? Or how can the programs be more inclusive rather than treating parents as a problem?

We are looking forward to another day of exciting discussions tomorrow!

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union, European Commission or the granting authority (Agency for International Programs for Youth). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

+
Jaunatnes starptautisko programmu aģentūra Erasmus+ Latvija

16/08/2026

What can the land teach us when we take the time to listen?

In rural places, learning often happens beyond the classroom, in relationship with the land, with community, with tradition, and with one another.

At ALP, we believe meaningful learning is not only about acquiring knowledge. It is about exchanging perspectives, questioning what we think we know, and creating the conditions for people and communities to grow.

Across borders, cultures, and generations, we keep learning from one another.

Because connection is not simply something we build.
It is something we practice.

15/08/2026

What if courageous leadership begins not in the mind, but in the heart?

During her Erasmus+ mobility experience, Ana Bernardes explored what it means to lead from a place of presence, embodiment and authenticity.

Her experience led her to a simple but powerful question: What truth is living inside you that wants to be expressed?

For Ana, authentic expression is not about having all the answers or about speaking without fear.

It is about pausing. Feeling your body. Listening inward. Finding the courage to give voice to what is true with compassion.

She calls this “The Heart’s Voice.”

A practice that invites us to move beyond performance and into presence, reminding us that when leaders are willing to be real, they create space for others to be real too.

This is what Erasmus+ mobility can make possible: learning through experience, transforming that learning into practice, and sharing it so that it can travel beyond the individual.

Ana’s reflections are now part of ALP’s Erasmus+ dissemination work.

👉 Read her full story: "“Speaking from the Heart: A Practice in Courageous, Authentic Expression in the ALP blog

What would change if you spoke from your heart, not just from your head?

10/08/2026

What if leadership isn’t something you’re given, but something you grow? As ALP – Activating Leadership Potential, we believe leadership lives within everyone. It's not just in titles, boardrooms, or in the people who are already calling the shots. It's in you, in us; it's in all of us.

ALP is a growing European network of professionals who come together to explore what leadership can become when it is rooted in authenticity, connection, curiosity, compassion and courage.

We create spaces where people can pause, regenerate, question what they’ve been taught, discover their potential, and turn that potential into meaningful action. The world doesn’t need more leaders who simply know how to perform.
It needs people willing to lead differently.

Across organizations, communities and cultures, we bring people together to exchange ideas, nurture connection, develop new perspectives and cultivate the capacity to create sustainable, innovative and positive change.

Our vision is simple, but bold:
🔆A world where diverse people are empowered to step into their leadership.
🔆 A society that recognizes and nurtures the unique potential within each person.
🔆 Communities and organizations where leadership is shared, human and connected.
🔆 Spaces where we can lead with both courage and care.

ALP began its journey in Austria in 2011. Today, our network reaches across Austria, Denmark, Italy and Malta, and continues to grow. We’re not here to tell you what kind of leader to be. We’re here to help create the space where you can discover who you are becoming.

This is ALP-Activating Leadership Potential.
We’d love for you to be part of the journey.
Follow us. Connect with us. Explore with us.
Your potential isn’t waiting for permission. It’s waiting to be activated.

06/08/2026

Meet another one of our newest members of ALP – Activating Leadership Potential: Ana Bernardes.

With 20 years of experience spanning business consulting, corporate training, event management, experience design, and game design, Ana brings together psychology, embodiment, movement, and play to create meaningful experiences for learning and transformation.

As a psychologist, embodiment facilitator, dancer, and lifelong explorer of human potential, Ana is devoted to creating safe spaces where people can reconnect with themselves, expand their awareness, and grow with authenticity.

Through body-based and awareness practices, Ana supports individuals and teams in cultivating greater presence, resilience, and connection—believing that by bringing more consciousness and playfulness into our lives, we can create a lasting impact and live with greater purpose and balance, both individually and collectively.

We're grateful to have Ana as part of the ALP community, where embodied leadership begins with coming home to ourselves.

04/08/2026

Happy to be part of this project dealing with such a relevant topic and exploring how to overcome it.

🧊 How Big Is the Invisible Part of the Iceberg?
On the barriers faced by parents in the international Erasmus+ community.

When my son was eight months old, I had my first opportunity to join an international Erasmus+ mobility as a trainer. Before he was born, this had been my everyday life for almost ten years – designing and facilitating international training courses within the Erasmus+ youth field.

And here's the thing: I was only able to accept that professional opportunity for one reason – the project was designed in a way that made it possible.

🤝 I was able to bring my husband with me, who looked after our son while I facilitated sessions and met with project partners.

🏠 The organisers arranged family-friendly accommodation.

🤱 My training schedule was adapted to my baby's sleeping and breastfeeding routine.

👀 From the outside, it might have looked like I was simply lucky, or exceptionally motivated. In reality, my participation was made possible by a series of invisible conditions: an adapted programme, my partner's presence, flexible arrangements, and organisers who were willing to make them happen.

💭 That experience taught me something important: not everything that limits participation is visible.

In our project, Supporting Parents' Expertise in Erasmus+, we will use the Iceberg Model approach to explore the realities faced by parents who are professionals in international youth work.

🧊 The iceberg is a powerful metaphor for structural barriers. Only a small part is visible above the water, while beneath the surface lie the beliefs, norms, expectations and systems that shape our opportunities to participate.

👁️ Above the surface, we see someone declining mobility, facilitating fewer international trainings, or gradually disappearing from the professional community.

But what lies beneath?

💶 The additional costs of travelling with a child or arranging childcare.
🤒 The uncertainty that comes with a child's health.
🌙 The most valuable networking opportunities happening after working hours – precisely when a parent's "second shift" begins.
👩‍👶 Social expectations that it will be the mother who stays home with the child.
💼 The constant need to prove that, even after becoming a parent, you are still just as competent and committed as before.

⚖️ These are not individual challenges. They are structural barriers.

At the same time, we cannot ignore another important fact: the youth work sector and the Erasmus+ community are predominantly made up of women. This means that the unequal distribution of caregiving responsibilities is not simply a private family matter. It affects the sector's ability to retain experienced training leaders, youth workers and leaders.

💡 For me, the Iceberg Model helps shift the conversation away from asking "Why aren't parents participating?" towards a much more important question: "What are the invisible barriers, and why are we still not ready to see them?"

I still think about that project, four years later – the first time I was able to be both a mother and a training leader at the same time. It proved to me that the problem was never my motivation or my competence. It simply took someone who was willing to look below the waterline and adapt the environment, instead of expecting me to adapt to it.

📷 Photo from my personal archive, taken on the way to an Erasmus+ project in Glasgow, 2022.
Story shared by Madara Mazjāne

---------------------------------------------------------------
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union, European Commission or the granting authority (Agency for International Programs for Youth). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Jaunatnes starptautisko programmu aģentūra
Erasmus+ Latvija



Madiba Cooperativa Sociale
Ribologija
Фондация „УоманЪп" / WomanUp Foundation
Alp activating leadership potential
Change Your Self
CIM Horyzonty
Tréneri Edzőtábor Egyesület