The Skills Journey
By Esther Demery
Executive Function coach and co-author of the Skills Journey.
We’ve designed a new programme: the Skills Journey. But why?
Two questions for the reader:
How good are you at getting things done?
When did you learn how to learn?
The reason we ask is important.
Often, children today:
Feel stressed because they are regularly late for commitments.
Lose track of belongings.
Miss deadlines, procrastinate and leave tasks until the last minute.
Blurt out answers without thinking or lose their temper.
Parents, you might find some of these challenges resonate too:
Feeling overwhelmed with your to-do list but not knowing where to start.
Losing track of possessions like your keys or phone.
Frequently being late for appointments.
Putting off long-term projects as there are always more important things to be done.
So what’s the solution?
When we talk about Executive Function skills, the clue is in the name. They are skills that we would expect to find in a good executive in a business. They manage and control the processes in our mind to make sure that we get things done.
Executive Function skills are primarily associated with the prefrontal cortex of the brain and refer to the following areas: organisation, being able to define and work towards a goal, task initiation, sustained attention, planning and prioritising, cognitive flexibility, working memory, time management, emotional control, response inhibition and metacognition.
Development of these skills begins in early childhood and continues well into adulthood.
Why are these skills important?
The correlation between Executive Function skills and success at school is strong.
Improving these skills helps children to complete tasks on time, work independently and set and achieve their goals.
Building these skills during teenage years also brings lifelong benefits. They can lead to greater success in the workplace, healthier relationships and improved resilience in managing life’s challenges.
Strong Executive Function skills are also linked to emotional wellbeing, supporting teenagers in particular with navigating friendships and social situations, as well as reducing stress and anxiety.
The good news?
They are all skills that can be learned, practised and improved.
The Skills Journey has been designed to help students think personally and practically about their strengths and weaknesses in these areas, and to help find personalised strategies to enhance their skills in the future.
Over at Oppidan HQ, we believe that honing your Executive Function skills is for everyone. We asked a few members of the team which Skills Journey session they wish they had been offered in their teens:
‘I wish I had done the session on metacognition. I don’t think I ever stopped to learn how I learn at school and what works for me. I just kept making the same mistakes over and over again even though I was working hard.’
Jess Bibby
Creative Executive
‘I wish I had been mentored in nailing goal-directed persistence at school. A more knowledgeable other to support me in breaking down complex tasks into more manageable and achievable chunks would have been a huge support and made the big, high stakes assessment points less intimidating and more navigable.’
Charlotte Harmer
Head of Education
‘I would have loved some help with time management. I tried to do everything at school and spent lots of time failing. Plays, sports, music – it was a LOT and I was lucky but often didn’t do things properly. I really could have used someone to break these skills down for me, segmenting time and being clear about the goal of each strand of my life. Don’t even mention my exams!’
Adam Goodbody
Senior Founders’ Associate
‘I would definitely have benefited from help with my organisation skills, particularly in spotting common patterns that emerged. Both thoughts and possessions need a space and support with developing systems to create that space would have been really helpful.’
David Hickson
Product Manager