Programs

Leading by Being®

The Academy's Foundation Course

The context for this work…

The times we live in are complex. Change is happening on so many levels—global and local—and with that change comes a need for new definitions and capacities as human beings. Whether leading an organization, teaching children, facilitating groups, creating a community art project, or raising a family, we are called to bring our awareness and influence to the future wellbeing of a world that is becoming increasingly unsustainable.

From this perspective, no matter what our occupations, all of us are in positions of leadership. What is clear is that who we are shapes what we do. Our challenge is to know ourselves, and to have confidence in our own capacity to meet the future that is coming towards us. What is being called for is a form of moment by moment leadership that embodies self-awareness, and is rooted in a life-long practice of learning. This commitment to learning – to intentional growth and transformation through life experience – frees us to express a quality of what we call Personal Leadership that manifests through a depth and clarity of being.

The practice of learning involves stillness, as well as action. While action is vital, unless it is grounded in a capacity for deep reflection, and unless we can befriend the sometimes-difficult processes of learning and transformation (being transformed) we run the terrible risk of perpetuating the very forces that we are trying to change. Our task is to embody new expressions of humanity and more wisely compassionate, intimate, and spiritually informed patterns of human relationship. If nothing else, these embodied capacities of being are what must become strong and sustainable.

This program is the foundation for all the Academy’s work whether in the fields of education/learning, organizational life, or community engagement. Taking an integral and experiential approach to learning, the program invites participants into a personal and shared exploration of the fundamental questions: Who Am I? and Who Are We? These timeless questions, we believe, must be addressed if we are to experience our full humanity, and take personal leadership as citizens—becoming the change we want to see in the world, in whatever our fields of endeavor.

Art work by David Gordon Leading by Being® establishes the Academy’s experiential approach to learning as a core personal practice. This practice, once it becomes an integral part of a participant’s personal life, becomes an enduring resource supporting personal transformation and the embodiment of authentic personal leadership in whatever expression each individual chooses to bring to the world.

The course takes place over a period of approximately 18 months, and is made up of two Modules plus a final Integrative Session. Each Module consists of an introductory intensive, plus three follow-up intensives in Module I, and two follow-up intensives in Module II. Between intensives, small groups or ‘learning sets’ form to explore specific questions or lines of inquiry that support the learning process. The final Integrative Session brings together all the strands of learning from the program and asks: given our deepening understanding of our own unique ‘flavor’ of expression, What is Truly Mine to Do? This is key to sustainable action in the world.

The overall movement of the course is from inner to outer. By first inquiring into our selves, from a range of perspectives, we gain the insight and skills to serve our own learning and growth, as well as that of others. Through this process, a group Learning Field is activated, providing a fertile ground for personal and group transformation. Out of individual and shared experience, the group makes meaning, developing a base of knowledge and ways of knowing that are unique to each cohort.

Is this for you?

The program is designed to attract a diverse, multi-generational group of people whose work is—or aspires to be—with individuals, groups, or organizations to affect transformational change in all manner of contexts.

We welcome participants who are seeking their place in the world in a way that balances self-fulfillment with service. We also invite participants who have established a place in the world but are longing for a greater depth of soul connection in the work that they are already doing.

How we work

Leading by Being® is an exploration and awakening of ourselves as learners. It also invites a deep remembering of the fullness of our expression as human beings. The exploration takes place within the individual self—through contemplation, reflection, and a process of creative inquiry—and also through active engagement in the evolving group process. The tension between individual need and expression, and the needs and expression of the larger group, is an important and enlivening aspect of the investigation.

The course content draws from a broad spectrum of disciplines and resources including learning theory and psychology; contemplative practices; ritual forms; movement; music and other forms of creative expression; and our relationship to the natural world.

Module I: Who am I? — Four Intensives

How can we explore and learn from multiple perspectives of self: constructed self, free self, and no self?
How do these aspects of self interconnect?
How can we un-learn, while also opening ourselves to new learning?
What ongoing support do we need to keep ourselves awake to self-discovery and learning?
How do we engage the fullness of our own being in order to support another in their learning?
How can we slow down enough to hear and incorporate the voice that comes from the depths of our being: our deepest voice

Module II: Who are We? — Three Intensives

What can we learn about nourishing individual growth while also serving the waking up of the group as a whole?
How are we shaped by – and also creators of – the Learning Field?
How can we bring our personal leadership to support the group’s aliveness – its creativity, learning and productivity?
How do we use silence?
What does it take to be truly open to the emergent mystery and transpersonal nature of group?

Integration Intensive — What Is Truly Mine To Do?: Foundation for sustainable action in the world

After your immersion in the questions, Who am I? and Who are We?, what do you know of the depths of your longing to make a difference?
What compels you to take action, and how do you sort your own story from those that you see reflected in the world around you?
How to you express the ways that you are impacted, and the depth of your longing to make a difference?
How do you know what is truly yours to do?

Leading by Being® Outcomes

Upon completion of the course you will take away:

A deepening knowledge of your natural and authentic expression of being.
Greater degrees of freedom in bringing forth personal leadership, resting in your fundamental values, integrity, strength, vulnerability, and love.
An ongoing practice based in learning as a path toward waking up to the fullness of your humanity, and the humanity of others.
Practices and capacities – inner and outer – that are clearly aligned with your values, and that will bring a depth of learning and self-inquiry in a variety of group contexts.
Direct experience of stillness and non-action as a vital aspect of personal leadership.
Trust in the organic, unfolding nature of human dynamics as a key aspect of leadership.
Insights and tools both for the transformation of personal limitations and for engaging with your gifts.
Familiarity with group process and the development of a Learning Field.
Experience in working intimately within a group context toward shared learning.
Experience working with challenging issues with individuals and groups.
Confidence in exploring ways of thinking and engaging that are novel and non-conforming.
And appreciation of energetic and transpersonal dimensions of being and our connection to the whole.
Certificate of completion

Leading by Being® Advanced Training

In 2013, the Academy is planning to launch the first in a series of Advanced Intensives designed for people who have completed the Leading by Being® Foundational Training, or an equivalent combination of our programs. These Intensives offer not only a continuing immersion in the personal transformational learning process, but also enable participants to focus within specific topic areas. All participants in the Advanced Training will be required to take a module addressing Cultural Influences and Difference. Other topics will include Personal Leadership, Depth Facilitation, and Arts and Community Engagement.

Training sessions are held in Santa Fe, New Mexico. For more information about Leading by Being®: The Academy's Foundation Course, and for application, contact the programs department or call 505-995-1860.