Leading by Being®

The Academy's Foundation Course

Next training begins Fall 2012

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, all of us are in a position of leadership, no matter what our occupation. 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 what is coming to us from the future. 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 in the fields of education/learning, organizational life, and community engagement. Taking an integral and experiential approach to learning, the first two modules of the program invite participants into a personal and shared exploration of the fundamental questions: Who Am I? and Who Are We? These enduring 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.

Leading by Being® establishes transformative learning as a core practice in participants’ lives. Participants apply this practice as they continue their exploration in the third module, which supports their personal expression of leadership in a chosen area of action in the world. At this time, specialization options include:

Personal Leadership
Facilitation: Academy’s Learning Field Approach
Arts and Community Engagement
Parents as the Child's First Teacher
Re-Imagining Education

Each module in the course is made up of an introductory intensive lasting five days, and two or three follow-up intensives of four days each. Between intensives, small groups or ‘learning sets’ form to explore specific questions or lines of inquiry. Taken as a whole, Leading by Being® takes place over a period of 18 to 24 months.

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 and that of others. Through this process a group Learning Field is activated, providing a fertile ground for personal and group transformation.

The final specialization, Module III, is directed towards small group exploration, and the cultivation of each participant’s distinct ‘flavor’ of personal leadership in a chosen area of action in the world.

During each intensive we explore guiding questions that take us into far-reaching personal and shared inquiry and, potentially, transformation. The inquiry is integral and comprehensive, as we investigate with all aspects of our ‘being’; therefore much of the coursework is experiential and reflective. Out of the 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.

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 and soul connection in the work that they are already doing.

How we work

Leading by Being® is an exploration of awakening ourselves as learners and remembering the fullness of our expression as human beings. This exploration takes place within the individual self – through contemplation, self-reflection, and 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. The Academy’s transformative learning model guides the Foundation Course as well as our other trainings and advisory services both in the US and Europe.

Module I: Who am I?

How can we explore and learn from the various aspects of self: constructed or psychological self, free or authentic self, and spiritual or non-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 our learning?
How can we slow down enough to hear and incorporate the voice that comes from the depths of our being?

Module II: Who are we?

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?

Module III — Specialization: What is it?

How do we establish our places as creative, active, compassionate members of society - embodying the change we want to see in the world?
What ‘arts of being’, practices, and skillful means are now necessary for us to fulfill our purpose, whatever our calling?
How do we embody stillness and reflection in the heat of change?
How do we cultivate and sustain active Learning Fields in the groups, organizations and communities of which we are a part?

Leading by Being® Outcomes

Upon completion of the three modules 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 for the transformation of personal limitations, and engaging with your gifts.
Familiarity with group process and the development of a Learning Field.
Experience in working intimately within a group context towards shared learning.
Experience working with challenging issues with individuals and groups.
Confidence in thinking ‘outside the box’ for insights and bringing them into action.
An appreciation of energetic and transpersonal dimensions of being and our connection to the whole.
A vision and specific plan of action to move you into a new phase in life and/or work in the world.
Certificate of completion.

Dates for Module I: TBA

Intensive 1:

Intensive 2:

Intensive 3:

Intensive 4:

Dates for Module II: TBA

Intensive 1:

Intensive 2:

Intensive 3:

Dates for Module III (Specializations): TBA

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 Patty Nagle or call 505-995-1860.