THE HEART OF LEADERSHIP
​TRANSFORMATION AND SERVICE FROM THE INSIDE OUT

Not like any other leadership course. Leaders of the New World Paradigm. Digging deep, supporting each other; A course only for the brave and bold. Relationships and community for life. Drawing on ancient knowledge, these concepts work. Decades of work on myself, and I finally found my confidence to move forward with my vision.

THE GLOBAL CONTEXT & THE POSSIBILITY OF MAKING A DIFFERENCE

We live in a time of tremendous global change. And, many of us are feeling significant shifts in our personal lives and the communities in which we live and work. As unsustainable eco-social paradigms and systems collapse, we are called to seed and cultivate new visions for our future. But how do we do that effectively?
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Imagine sitting in a powerful circle of fellow change-makers, speaking your truth and remembering your nature... reconnecting with the living world, your passions and service path, and a feeling of village... cultivating a set of practices to nurture your emerging visions... moving beyond calcified constructs, beliefs, and patterns of the past and into a new era of healing, creativity, peace, joy, wholeness, reverence, love, and collaborative service... for yourself, for your community, and for a thriving planet. 
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Through experiential, nature and community-based leadership development practices, the Heart of Leadership program blends inquiry and skill development, self-awareness, and deepened nature connection with principles of systems thinking and permaculture. With the support of a powerful and dynamic circle, you will explore leadership from the inside out, envisioning and stepping into the possibilities you hold for your life and your service path.

​The process of cultivating our leadership capacity is an adventure, full of opportunity, challenge and possibility. The Heart of Leadership gives you the tools to navigate this adventure and bring your leadership forward in the world, supported by a powerful alliance with the natural world and a community of other leaders.

WHAT EMERGES

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You will come out of the journey with a unique collection of skills, practices, and frameworks to improve your well-being and effectiveness as a leader. For many, ecological leadership becomes a new way of thinking and being. Throughout, you will experience what is naturally yours – an intimate relationship with the natural world. You will learn to source your leadership from this connection and stay attuned to the patterns in your own life, creating a new level of effectiveness and awareness in your leadership.
On your leadership development journey, you will be supported to:
  • Discover your gifts, passions and the visions you hold for your work in the world, as well as other important aspects of your life
  • Develop new skills and behaviors that are aligned with this vision
  • Create a way of living and leading that moves you toward your dreams for yourself and the world
  • Explore your patterns of belief, behavior and thought and determine which ones serve and which can be released and ‘composted’
  • Receive structured coaching and support from peers and facilitators between workshops
  • Adopt practices and routines that connect you with nature and reset your overall nervous system
  • Take on assignments that help cultivate your leadership skills and integrate the skills, mindset, and routines of the course into your daily life
  • Nurture a regional leadership circle that will continue to serve and support you on your leadership journey after the formal component of the program ends

STEPPING INTO YOUR VISION

As the Heart of Leadership unfolds, you will learn to integrate nature awareness, ‘inner gardening’, and leadership skills into your daily life and service path. You will experience leadership as a dynamic process that translates your awareness and insights into effective action toward your goals and making a difference in the world.

Many alumni have taken remarkable strides toward their visions. As part of their journey, each leader is invited to identify a focus area through which to actualize the tools of the program. Here are just a few accomplishments of previous graduates:
  • Starting an organic farm
  • Launching new social change organizations
  • Helping African women have access to education and employment by learning to ride bicycles
  • Taking a long-envisioned walk-about around the world
  • Overcoming the belief that having a family and doing powerful social change work are mutually exclusive
  • Leading efforts for Berkeley to become a Fair-Trade Town
  • Providing medical relief work in conflict and disaster areas
  • Overcoming long-standing fears of public speaking
  • Writing a book
You may also focus on more personal or “inner” forms of transformation.  Growth is the work of a lifetime and each person's path is different. Your experience in the Heart of Leadership will reflect your own aspirations and callings.

THE Heart of Leadership IMMERSION

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Our Heart of Leadership Immersion is the flagship Ecology of Leadership program, held at the beautiful permaculture site of the Natura Institute for Ecology and Medicine in Bolinas, CA.  

This immersion program is designed as a multi-month journey.   We meet one weekend per month at the permaculture design site of Commonweal Garden in Bolinas, where participants are introduced to new content, while sharing in an experience of village life and of deep connection with the natural world.  We camp together by the ocean, awaken to birdsong, and begin with gratitude and setting collective intentions.  We then spend our days in various configurations of small and large groups, learning together in the yurt, and exploring the natural world.  We end the day by sharing food and gathering around the fire.  The learning and support continue between weekends, with small group coaching meetings, buddy calls, and practical application of the material shared in prior weekends. The rhythm of moving between the deep-dive weekends and then having time to integrate and apply the content between the months makes the curriculum come alive and facilitates a new way of living, being, and engaging the world.  
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Weaving practical tools and frameworks together with alchemical experiences of connection and transformation, the Heart of Leadership will give you an opportunity to reimagine every area of your life - including your health and personal well-being, your relationships, your work life, your home and family, your community, and your service in the world - and support you to bring these together to build a comprehensive vision for your life and purpose.  We will dance together between the inner and outer realms, exploring the roots and soil that inform who we are being, and their relationship to what we are doing and what we want to create in the world.  Over the months, each individual will go on their own journey of healing and "inner permaculture" while moving towards the outer manifestation of their dreams and life purpose. Countless graduates have spoken to how this iterative process has led to lasting change and transformation in every area of their lives. ​  ​
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If you want an opportunity to be fully immersed in what it means to be in deep remembrance and connection with the natural world, and to discover through the experience of community & village your own true nature and purpose, this journey is for you. ​