Emerging Leadership Circle — Growing Togetherness While Leading Change
Wednesday, August 2, 2023 — 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST
Facilitator: Derick Carter of Building Togetherness
Cost: $25
If you are a change agent or impact leader working within an organization, community, network, or you’re just interested in discovering new ways of working, organizing, and addressing the systemic challenges of our times, this Circle is for you!
Regardless of experience level or the initiative at hand, change agents and impact leaders face shared internal and external challenges. While these transformational hurdles can’t be avoided—as they are inherent in the process itself—they can be navigated. Whether working within a system or outside of it, implementing change takes commitment, creativity, inspiration, and discovering new solutions and ways to thrive in fresh operational configurations. It also requires risk taking, pushing boundaries, transcending self-imposed limitations, whole person self-nurturance, and unlearning self-defeating habits and unproductive patterns. This process can bring feelings of fear, frustration, loneliness and isolation as well as the pressures of organizational politics and working at or beyond the edge of a network’s comfort zone. Additionally, shifting to a self-organized structure and managing others within this community also brings unique challenges. Receiving specialized support is critical for success.
In this restful, open and supportive environment, we will begin the journey from leading as “me” to “we to “us” while naturally cultivating connection with ourselves and others through our stories and shared interests, understanding, and purpose.
The Benefits of Learning Circles
An age-old practice inspired by storytelling traditions that foster speaking and listening from the heart, circles involve bringing people together to bear witness and share authentically.
A circle in an intentional relational space that offers a safe meeting place to collectively nurture our own well-being, which increases our capacity to do good in the world.
The circle approach supports a deep sense of community, shared understanding and interconnectedness. It allows space for individuals to find their voice and share their stories, cultivate a compassionate response to anger, defensiveness and violence as well as strengthen emotional health and resilience.
Through experiencing deep listening and sharing from the heart, the circle builds positive relationships and neutralizes hierarchical dynamics formed by the inequality of status, race, or other social factors.
We agree to speak one-at-a-time and share our personal stories and experiences—rather than opinions—and listen non-judgmentally while others do the same. In sharing and listening to universal stories about love, loss, fear, triumph, challenge, hope and other experiences, we can realize that despite our many differences we have much in common.
What emerges from the Circle reflects our shared humanity and collective wisdom.
Building Togetherness
Building Togetherness provides business training, coaching and consulting services in the areas of leadership development and management, community building, and organizational design.