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Welcome to the
Programme
No matter how you found your way into this role, one thing is crystal clear: you’re here because the people around you see that you’ve got what it takes to shine as a leader at this level!
This programme is the investment that backs that belief.
VGMA meets you where you are and asks the same thing of everyone in the cohort: ​
HONESTY
COMMITMENT
WILLINGNESS
To examine how you lead and to build something better.
The Commitment
VGMA runs across four quarters, over 12 months, each anchored to a core leadership pillar. It is intentionally paced, deeply applied, and built to sit inside your venue life rather than on top of it.
Q1
SELF
Leadership Identity. Who are you as a leader?
Includes: Self-awareness, DISC, emotional intelligence, the coaching switch, and the foundation that makes everything else possible.
PEOPLE
Leading Others. How do you build a team that performs because of the environment you have created?
Q2
Includes: Situational leadership, feedback, Robertson's frameworks,
and succession thinking.
Q3
BUSINESS
Operational Acumen. How do you run a venue like an owner?
Includes: P&L, labour, COGS, commercial decisions, and the leadership behaviours that move your numbers.
Q4
STRATEGY
Future Leadership. What kind of leader are you building toward?
Includes: Strategic thinking, stakeholder leadership, and your Capstone pitch to the Yo-Chi leadership team.
Your Time Investment
The program lasts 12 months and requires about 65 to 80 hours of your time, averaging 1.5 to 2 hours per week.
Quarter 4 has a heavier workload due to the Capstone Project, where you'll create and present your Venue Business Strategy to the Yo-Chi leadership team.
AT A GLANCE
Approximately 1 hour before Q1 begins. DISC Assessment, your opening reflection.
Welcome Week
Total per Quarter
Approximately 16-20 hours for Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4.
Total Programme
Approximately 65-80 hours across 12 months.
TIME BREAKDOWN
6-8 per quarter across 10 weeks. Self-paced interactive lessons via Universi-Chi. Each includes research grounding, interactive elements, scenario checks, peer discussion prompts, and a venue task.
45 MIN PER LESSON*
Rise Lessons
Venue Tasks
Applied tasks completed in your venue with your team. This is where the learning becomes capability.
45 MIN EACH*
Discussion Board
After each task, you post a structured summary: what you did, what it revealed, what you are sitting with, and respond to at least one peer.
15 MIN PER LESSON CYCLE*
Facilitated cohort conversations that draw directly from your board posts.
2 PER QUARTER, 30 MIN EACH
Group Check-ins
Quarterly Workshop
Applied and scenario-based group session. All lessons must be completed before attending.
1 PER QUARTER, 45 MIN
Mentor Session
Your individual session with your mentor, following your Prove It Reflection Submission.
1 PER QUARTER, 30 MIN
Your formal submission, reviewed and responded to by your Mentor.
1 PER QUARTER, 600-900 WORDS
Prove It Reflection
Capstone Project
Develop your Venue Business Strategy Plan and prepare your leadership pitch across Q4.
6 HRS*
*Approximate times provided
What you will Receive
DISC
Assessment
Completed during your welcome pack week before Day 1. Your behavioural profile: how you show up, how others experience you, and where your development edge is. Woven throughout all four quarters.
RACHEL ROBERTSON
Respect Trumps Harmony
Required reading before and during Quarter 2. Robertson's three tools, No Triangles, The Bacon War, and Lead Without a Title, are unpacked directly in Q2 sessions.
Workshop Session
One to two sessions across the programme year. Use them strategically for the leader and career you are building toward.
Mentor
Your programme mentor for the full 12 months. One written group check-in session in Q1 and one individual 30-minute session per quarter.
Peer Group
A small group of VGMs going through this alongside you. Your most challenging learning will happen in conversation with them.