Courage To Lead®

“Leadership is a concept we often resist. It seems immodest, even self-aggrandizing, to think of ourselves as leaders. But if it is true that we are made for community, then leadership is everyone’s vocation, and it can be an evasion to insist that it is not. When we live in the close-knit ecosystem called community, everyone follows and everyone leads.” – Parker J. Palmer

Are you actively engaged in creating communities rooted in justice, peace and ecological responsibility? Are you passionate about your vocation or cause and trying to sustain yourself in these complex times?

While the forces of exhaustion, loneliness, violence, and injustice are real and undeniable, so are the powers of human authenticity, generosity, courage, and community that rise up to meet them.

Courage & Renewal retreats help you become a more self-aware, wholehearted leader. You will experience the time and space to:
-Pause, be still, and disconnect from technology and the demanding pace of life
-Seek clarity in your vocation and sense of purpose and cultivate the courage and stamina to rise to today’s challenges
-Honour both successes and struggles in your professional and personal life
-Witness and be witnessed, listen and be listened to – without performance evaluation, statusizing, or ego
-Recognize and value the genuine in yourself and others
-Strengthen your skill to ask open-ended questions that help others uncover their own inner wisdom
-Expand capacity to be fully present to others in ways that affirm and heal
-Increase confidence to seek or create communities of support
-Move beyond either-or thinking into holding opposing truths and complexity
-Stay grounded in your own integrity and inherent worth

At the retreat, we create a counter-cultural community that helps amplify and validate the voice of one’s ‘inner teacher’, shifting from a dominant perspective of leadership that prioritizes external authorities. In Circle of Trust retreats, skilled facilitators help create a trustworthy and intentional space—a circle of trust—in which the noise within us and around us can subside, where introspection becomes possible. In large group, small group, and solitary settings, you will explore the many intersections of your life and leadership, making use of stories from your own journey, and insights from poets, storytellers, artists, various wisdom traditions and time on the land.

You’ll have valuable time to focus, without distraction, on what matters to you, especially your values and vision, challenges and fears. You’ll learn principles and practices from our approach that can be applied to your life and leadership, helping you stay true to who you are even in the tough times. And you’ll connect with others seeking similar insights, who listen fiercely and honour each other’s identity and integrity.

You can return to Circle of Trust retreats again and again; each experience offering new possibilities, helping you discover what brings true meaning to your life.

This retreat is modeled on the Circle of Trust® approach developed by Parker J. Palmer and the Center for Courage & Renewal. You can learn more about “Circles of Trust” at www.couragerenewal.org or in Parker Palmer’s book, A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life.

“People are hungry for expressions of hope that they can locate themselves in.”
–Kathyrn McElveen, Executive Director, Center for Courage & Renewal

“Courage to Lead was by far one of the best professional development experiences I have had. The skills I learned have helped me in my workplace, in work I do in the community, and in my personal life.”
–Past participant, Courage to Lead

“We reflected on how to contribute to an increasingly fractured world without getting lost in hopelessness at the magnitude of the issues facing us. It is this practice of resiliency that I feel is so essential for young leaders and activists to develop “
–Past participant, Courage to Lead