Winter 2008

Director’s Notes

I hope that you are having a wonderful start to the New Year. At Anima Leadership, we are ready to leap into an exciting 2008 with a great program line-up for the winter. Among other opportunities, we have a very special offer for small not-for-profits – a full-day staff training for only $500! – – so keep on reading! Before we do move ahead, here is a brief look back at some of the highlights of our busy fall...

Highlights of Fall 2007

Our last quarter in 2007 was a time of rich relationship-building and exploration of new and exciting possibilities at Anima Leadership. A few highlights:

• We held our first Equity & Leadership Institute in partnership with the Canadian Race Relations Foundation of Canada (CRRF) on November 1–2 and it was a great success! We had human rights and sexual harassment workers from universities across Canada, representatives from the police, military and federal government, and leaders from schools, community as well as diversity organizations. The training offered new strategies to help move beyond the frigid ground of political correctness to deeper levels of emotional literacy, truth-speaking and the courageous project of building relationships across difference in all its forms.

  “A wonderful weaving of the emotional, the spiritual, the political, the communal, intellectual. Great!”
  ~ Njeri-Damali Campbell, Peel Diversity Roundtable

  “The activities were excellent and useful to take back... Incredibly useful. Incredibly. I can’t say enough good about these amazing 2 days!”
  ~ Kim MacKenzie, OCISO

  The next Equity Institute will be held at the Tatamagouche Centre, outside of Halifax, on February 29-March 2nd, 2008. For more program details, see ”Upcoming Programs” below or to register, go to www.tatacentre.ca.

 

• Anima has been expanding in healthcare over the fall, working in the nursing sectors in both Manitoba and British Columbia.

  
  Participants in discussion during the ALIVE Program for Nurses offered in Manitoba, September 2007.

  The ALIVE Program for Nurses provided a much-needed opportunity for professionals to discuss, develop and apply individual and team leadership skills necessary to improve health/wellness outcomes for both staff and patients. In addition, the Equity and Diversity Institute for Health Care Practitioners helped participants understand and counteract the ways in which our cultural bias – often subtle and unconscious – negatively impacts all individuals in the healthcare environment. Anima Leadership has developed a very unique approach to address the nation-wide challenges of staff retention, productivity as well as workplace culture and management issues. We are looking forward to continuing our work in the healthcare sector in 2008.

  “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 or our capacities.”
  ~ Jackie Larkin, Healthcare Consultant

  “I feel MUCH more prepared to meet challenges and deal with stress. I wish I could do this every year!”
  ~ Holly Johnson, ER Nurse, Participant in the ALIVE Program for Nurses

   

• As part of our commitment to the grassroots, we held our first Anima Community Day on December 1st called, ”A Cappella, Conflict and Creativity: The Art of Improvisation.”

  
  David Hatfield

  Designed and led by our Vancouver associate, David Hatfield, the day was a fantastic synthesis of vocal improvisation and conflict transformation work. A very diverse group of people joined us from around Southern Ontario to participate in a day that was rich with new personal learning and improvised music (not to mention great energy, risk-taking and a ton of laughter!). An optional post–event hangout at a nearby restaurant allowed us to relax and continue unfinished conversations into the evening.

  “I learned that there are many different creative mediums that I have at my disposal to deal with conflict and to learn about myself. The conflict simulations were very powerful and informative – offered new ways of dealing with familiar patterns.”   ~ Workshop Participant

  
  Group improvisation during David's workshop, December 2007.

   

  We received wonderfully positive feedback that day, and would like to thank our partners, the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, for helping us host the event. We hope to continue Anima Community Days every few months, whereby community members participate in our world-class leadership trainings on a donation basis. Our next community day will be in mid-March 2008 with a focus on emotional intelligence and conflict resolution .

   

   

• On a final note, I would like to let you know of the most inspiring global peace project I have come across in the past year. I recently had the privilege of spending a day with William Ury, international conflict expert, at the Shambhala Centre outside of Denver, Colorado. He recently started a project called the “Abraham Path Initiative“, based out of the Harvard Global Education Project. The goal is to work with countries across the Middle East (including Israel, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey) to re-trace the path of Abraham – – the uniting story of Islam, Judaism and Christianity – through North Africa and West Asia. The long-term goal is to invite people – THOUSANDS of people – from around the earth to walk this path as students of the old traditions, as eco-tourists to boost troubled economies and as witnesses of a peace that is possible. There are emerging local chapters of Abraham Path to carry the spirit of this project to communities worldwide. Check out their work at www.abrahampath.org.

Once again, Happy New Year and may 2008 bring expansion and growth in your life. We look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events.

Warm Wishes,

Annahid Dashtgard, Executive Director

UPCOMING PROGRAMS – January to March 2008

Below is a list of Anima’s winter programs! All of our experiential-based programs are grounded in innovative approaches to inclusion and equity, emotional intelligence research, the relationship sciences (neuroscience, quantum physics and social psychology), and cutting–edge theories of change.

We also offer customized programming, organizational consulting and facilitation. Contact us if you are interested in any of these other offerings.

 

ALIVE Program for Women, January 31–February 1, Toronto / March 7–9, Nova Scotia

The Anima Leading with Integrity, Vision and Effectiveness (ALIVE) program is Anima’s flagship leadership program tailored specifically to catalyze, strengthen and deepen women’s leadership potential and abilities. The ALIVE program puts women’s leadership into the context of an emerging paradigm: a leadership re-balancing the feminine. In essence, the approach is based in developing emotional intelligence alongside critical thinking, linking presence with action, and connecting our hearts with our minds. This form of leadership examines how to share power, how we can strengthen relationships across difference, and what it takes to build truly inclusive organizations and communities. The ALIVE program has been offered across Canada over the last year, helping women become more powerful agents of change and offering the knowledge and skills to create breakthrough results in both their personal and professional realms. The feedback has been outstanding! Limited space due to intimate nature of the workshop. Click here for more information.

 

Equity & Leadership Institute: Integrating Anti-Racism, Emotional Intelligence and Conflict Resolution, February 29 - March 2, Nova Scotia

Anima Leadership has teamed up with the Canadian Race Relations Foundation to present this unique, interactive workshop for managers, educators, and leaders of equity initiatives. By integrating anti-racism with emotional intelligence and conflict resolution, a unique and very hopeful approach has been developed to create inclusive organizations and environments. The Equity & Leadership Institute balances intellect with emotions, and internal factors with structural forces. Self-awareness, empathy, compassion and truth-speaking are the foundations for this embodied, relational approach to equity. Using theory, practice and experiential activities that have been developed and tested in national and international settings, this cutting-edge program will both challenge and support your current equity strategies. Limited space due to the experiential nature of the workshop. Click here for more information.

 

Anima Community Day: Saturday, March 15, Toronto
Emotional Intelligence and Conflict Resolution: The Leadership Foundation

In this program, Anima Leadership uniquely blends emotional intelligence and its application to transforming conflict within our personal and professional lives. We believe that conflict creates opportunities, not just roadblocks; that when navigated well, conflict can actually deepen rather than damage relationships. Emotional literacy basics of self-awareness, empathy and relationship-building will be integrated in a unique conflict-effectiveness framework through experiential activities and theory. This powerful, one-day program is a foundational Anima Leadership training and is well-suited for executive directors, managers, professionals, ADR practitioners, and anyone interested in developing their skills in transforming conflict at work or at home. No previous training or experience necessary. As a way of supporting our local region, the Anima Community Day will be offered every few months in 2008, whereby our world-class leadership trainings will be available to community members on a donation basis. Come and join us! Pre-registration required. Click here for more information.

 

The February 500 – Diversity and Anti-Racism for the Grassroots

As part of Anima’s commitment to the grassroots, we have a very special offer called The February 500 which is available exclusively to small not-for-profits in the Greater Toronto Area. What does this entail? A full-day diversity/anti-racism training designed by Anima’s award-winning educators for only $500 (plus GST)! Integrating anti-racism with emotional intelligence and conflict resolution, our unique trainings have been delivered in national and international contexts to outstanding reviews. We will help your organization take important steps toward building inclusive environments in which people will feel like they belong and matter – a key factor in people’s ability to be productive and effective. There is limited availability on this offer – only 5 spots – for training dates in January, February and March 2008. Group size must be between 12–30 people. Micro-organizations can team up under one fee! Bookings will be made on a first-come-first-serve basis. For more details, please contact Shakil Choudhury at Anima Leadership shakil@animaleadership.com, 416-462-9512x2.

 

Contact Anima Leadership for more information or to register for any of these programs:

info@animaleadership.com | 416.462.9512x1 | www.animaleadership.com

 

Recommended Reading

Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw it Coming

by Paul Hawken, 2007, Penguin Group

This book is a blast of fresh air and hope in a time where despair and cynicism seem to dominate the global stage. Paul Hawken describes what he calls the largest movement for change that the world has ever seen. With roots in environmental activism, social justice initiatives and indigenous cultures’ resistance, Hawken notes this “movement of movements“ is based on a diversity of issues rather than on a unified stance. However, underlying this diversity is a common baseline of values: a commitment to the preservation of life in all its forms; inclusive environments;healing and wholeness; and ultimately a striving for an interconnected harmonious order. He eloquently describes this movement as the planet’s immune system in the face of the incredible crises facing us as a species. This book describes the multitude of steps for change – from the micro to the macro, the visible to the invisible – taken daily by people across the planet. For those of us concerned for our collective future, this compelling vision of hope is a must read.

“This movement is a new form of community and a new form of story.... What are the characteristics of leadership required when power arises instead of descends? What would a democracy look like that was not ruled by a dominant majority? What would a world feel like that created solutions to our problems from the ground up?.... What if some very basic values are being re-instilled worldwide and are fostering complex social webs of meaning that represent the future of governance? These are but a few of the questions collectively posed by a movement that has yet to recognize it is a movement.”

~ Paul Hawkins, Blessed Unrest, 2007