Testimonials

About our Trainings and Instructors:

"Anima will take you on the longest journey in your life... from your head to your heart."

"An excellent grounding in the qualities and practices of leadership that can build powerful relationships among caregivers, indeed among any group of people valuing collective development of our capacities."

"We hired Anima to facilitate our strategic planning retreats for two consecutive years now. Annahid and Shakil are warm, creative, skilled facilitators. They helped focus our planning and surface issues that build up in a workplace, guiding us to deep listening and opening us to the new."

"Anima Leadership programs offer staff authentic wisdom to nurture change in an organization."

"For our staff planning retreat, Anima Leadership offered us a full range of teambuilding and strategic planning activities that made for an energizing few days. Their facilitation style put everyone at ease, enabling us to tackle potential obstacles with little effort. Our time together was money well spent!"

“There is a power to Anima's work and it comes from the depth of their authenticity and courage. They embody what they teach. With love and gentleness groups are guided right to the heart of things; to the place where transformation happens."

“Anima Leadership's ability to bring together practical pieces with a deep sense of inner growth and emotional intelligence is stunning. I have full confidence in Anima leadership and will continue to rely on their offerings for my professional and personal development.”

"An eye opening perspective... a major benefit to policing!"

“Anima found the perfect balance between content and process in guiding our team through both facilitation and team building work. They understood our needs and crafted an excellent session that helped move our group to the next stage of authenticity and ultimately productivity...Can't wait to work with Anima Leadership again.”

"The Anima Leadership Women’s Program helped me to nurture my vision of what good leadership looks like. I have learned new things and been reminded of old wisdom"

"A great chance for people to take their leadership to a new level. Anima creates a space for breakthroughs!"

"I went into the Anima Leadership training session expecting to learn and develop facilitation and team building skills and walked away with so much more. It was a truly engaging experience that has helped me to not only connect with others around me but helped me to connect with myself. Shakil and Annahid, through their respectful, open and inviting presence, helped to transform a group of strong individuals into a stronger team. Truly a rewarding experience!"

"Developing leadership that supports and encourages rather than dominates is one of the most important tasks of our time. Anima employs methods that can teach us to be the leaders we want to have. Annahid and Shakil are two of the most creative and effective educators I know."

"What I gained was the power of authenticity; the power of my voice and expression. What you showed us to do in a short period of time was how to open ourselves, to be more human and to speak more genuinely...Those feelings are exactly what a leader should inspire in others."

"It is said that, “A great leader is someone people choose to follow to places that they wouldn’t go themselves.” Shakil Choudhury is such a leader. He creates an environment where people feel comfortable critically analyzing their attitudes and behaviours. He encourages people to question the status quo, but also leaves them feeling empowered to make a difference."

"Annahid Dashtgard represents a new kind of leadership that the world desperately needs. She is intelligent, both intellectually and emotionally: thoughtful, thorough, political and spiritual. It is wonderful to witness her work holistically and without ego. I have changed greatly from her guidance and insights."

"In our programs, so much depends on the strength and quality of the lead facilitators: authenticity, heartfulness, clarity, artistic and improvisational ability. Our work also calls for a keen understanding of how to lead multi-cultural, cross-generational learning events: cultural sensitivity, masterful communication skills, transparency, flexibility and decisiveness. David has all this and more; I am so glad he is a member of our lead-facilitator team."

"Developing gender sensitive leadership models is one of our collective challenges in building a fairer world where women’s rights are respected. The ALIVE program is an excellent example of the kind of space we need to open up to share our power and potential and the training truly empowers women to be more inspired and intentional leaders in their relationships, organizations and communities."

"I don't have language for the comfort and warm space you created ~ like a safe crucible for learning."

"This Anima leadership program was very different from what I'd come to expect from developmental-type courses....In short, I felt that my experience was really driven from my own being rather than being a cookie cutter course that sought to tell me how to be and do things differently."

"Annahid has the gift of gently calling your inner leader forward to stand up and celebrate!"

"Annahid Dashtgard is a Leader. She has an ability to show both her vulnerability and strengths openly. She stays in the moment, shares power and lives the values she teaches through honest, aware and responsive self-reflective action. She generously encourages her brothers and sisters to rise to their own power within…"

"Shakil Choudhury, of Anima Leadership, is once again on the cutting edge of educational work that challenges the borders that separate us… He is a wonderful teacher of teachers because he is so forthright, honest, and approachable; he shares the struggles and contradictions of his work as well as the successes, so that people can identify with him and imagine themselves taking on their dreams and undertaking ambitious and heart-felt projects…"

Contact Us

Anima Leadership
T: 416.644.1024
F: 416.979.3936