1. Diversity Leadership: Courageous Conversations Across Difference
2. The Contact Project: Initiating a Personal Growth Program for Activists
3. Introducing Facilitation Basics: Brushing up on Groupwork Skills

    III.Spend Time With Us – 2010 Upcoming Programs

1. Women’s Leadership Institute – March 25th & 26th
2. Authentic Management - April 9th
3. Authentic Facilitation I - June 10th
4. Authentic Facilitation II - June 11th
5. Diversity and Equity Leadership Institute – May, July & September
6. The Leadership Crucible – June & October
7. Deep Democracy: Facilitation, Leadership and Whole System Transformation- Oct. 28th-39th

    IV. Recommended Reading

The Mindful Brain by Daniel Siegel

I.  Welcome

What an invigorating week this has been with Canada putting more on display than a record number of gold medals at the Olympics -- our grace under pressure came out in in countless moments among our atheletes, volunteers, performers and leaders. Who can forget Joannie Rochette's skate after the death of her mother? Or Jasey Jay Anderson, when asked how he felt after winning gold in snowboarding slalom, stuttering: "I don't have any words." Or the outpouring of grief for the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili. It's important to remember that grace can exist under the hardest of circumstances as the recent earthquake in Chile follows so closely on the heels of that in Haiti. I don't know about you, but I fear other environmental disasters to come, hitting hardest the most vulnerable among us. The shiny promise of the Obama era has dimmed somewhat. The war in Afghanistan has expanded. New restrictions on security are being swept into place. Racial profiling will now be a reality for many Canadians traveling to the US.

It can sometimes be difficult to focus as much on beauty and faith in the face of tragedy and fear. We live in strange and turbulent times. More and more, I believe that to reach the tipping point required for us to re-balance our planet, we must work as much on our hearts and minds as we do externally in our jobs and relationships. One of the liabilities of working in the social change sector is that it is easy to lose connection with purpose, to burn out, to feel isolated, and to lose touch with compassion for ourselves and others.

To this end, we have a new course offering this year -- The Leadership Crucible: Foundations for Social Change is for sectoral and community change leaders who are ready to talk about new ways of working for change that are more sustainable and ultimately more effective. This initiative is being offered in partnership with Tammy Neilson, founder of Creating Realities. Join us in June in Nova Scotia or in October in British Columbia to delve deeper into exploring new ways forward in our organizations and communities.

On other fronts, we have had a full 2009. Our Diversity and Leadership Institute, offered in partnership with the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, expanded to a 3-day residential training with a 2 day train-the-trainers. This program will be offered on the east and west coast, as well as in the Toronto area in 2010. See below for more details.

We also were involved in strategic planning processes last year with Kairos Ecumenical Coalition and currently with Greenest City. Please let us know if there are organizational development areas we may be able to help your organization address.

Check out our updated website at www.AnimaLeadership.com

Thank you to all the people and organizations we have the pleasure and honour of working with! We wouldn’t be here without you. And we look forward to more adventures together in 2010.

Annahid Dashtgard, Senior Partner

II. Highlights from Fall 2009

Diversity Leadership: Courageous Conversations Across Difference

"If you work in diversity and equity and can only attend one workshop this year, this is the one." ~ Craig H, Children's Aid Services Diversity Supervisor

The Contact Project: Initiating a Personal Growth Program for Activists

Since July, we have been consulting with The Contact Project. Their mission is to create personal growth programming for social change agents. Their philosophy is that if change leaders can shift their consciousness, it will ripple out into other sectors of society.

Annahid attended the recent curriculum development meeting held in Victoria, with other program representatives and social activists. Anima continues to support the development of this program, contributing our expertise in programming, knowledge of the social change sector and diversity issues.

Introducing Facilitation Basics: Brushing up on Groupwork Skills

Since the summer, we have been offering one-day facilitation trainings for community members in positions that require skillfully navigating of group dynamics, decision making processes and conflict resolution. These courses have filled up very quickly! We are now offering each of our facilitation courses once per quarter and encourage you to sign up quickly if your work requires skillful facilitation.

III. Upcoming Programs:

1. Women’s Leadership Institute:
Leading Transformational Change in Turbulent Times

“This course is another beginning for me on my journey as a woman in leadership. It has provided me with the incentive to bring my voice as a woman to the table- not just the voice of an employee.” ~ Cheryl Hendricken, Team Leader, Fraser Health Authority

This program is for you if you desire to be more effective in your work while using less of your valuable time and energy; want to become more skillful in handling workplace conflicts and differences of opinion; struggle with feeling depleted, and believe it's time for more women to occupy, and thrive, in leadership roles! Join us to sharpen your leadership skills, clarify organizational vision and learn from a community of practice.

Together, we will explore different frameworks, tools and techniques to help navigate the challenges that arise to offering transformational leadership at individual, team and organizational levels. Cutting-edge knowledge from the fields of emotional intelligence and neuroscience will be integrated with conflict transformation processes, mindfulness and feedback techniques and organizational development frameworks. You will leave with a renewed understanding of the dynamics involved in creating deep and lasting change on all levels of the organization and how to stay replenished in your leadership role.

This program is by application only for women who have experience in leadership roles including as team managers and senior level leaders, sole entrepreneurs, and facilitators/practitioners in different fields.

To apply: Please send a paragraph including your current position, background and intentions for taking the program to Info@AnimaLeadership.com. Apply Now!

2. Authentic Management:
Foundational Leadership Skills for New Managers

 
Date: April 9th, 2010, Centre for Social Innovation | Register Online!
$195 + GST including materials and snacks

Often we get promoted to management positions without a lot of training or support for different aspects of the role. This one-day session is for new managers as well as those with experience who wish to brush up on certain parts of the job. Drawing from the realms of neuroscience, psychology and organizational development, we’ll be exploring the heart of what it means to work effectively with others in leadership role:

• who you are in the management role: what strengths and blindspots do you have?
• what does authentic and clear communication look like in practice?
• how do you build a cohesive team across differences?
• how do you effectively address conflict in a way that strengthens relationships?
• how can you build support for yourself when you have responsibility for others?

This session is a synthesis of the Anima Leadership Development process™, offered in different contexts both nationally and internationally. Invest in brushing up on your management skills and treat yourself to this one-day intensive! Read more online or contact us for details.

3. Authentic Facilitation I:
Learning to Facilitate with Presence and Ease

"I thought Anima Leadership's facilitation workshop would be pretty straightforward. But it was much more. The day was thought provoking, inspiring, a great chance to network and learn from others ~ and not to mention fun!” ~ Janet McCausland, Founder, Get it Done Communications

"To facilitate = the art of making things easier"

Set yourself up with this one-day facilitation intensive using Anima Leadership's trademark process! This is for those new or relatively new to the role of facilitator, as well as for those keeners who want to brush up on their skills. We will explore how to be fully present, how to direct group energy in different directions, how to handle differences and conflict, and how to let the process unfold without controlling it. Limited space due to the experiential nature of the course. Read more online or contact us for details.

4. Authentic Facilitation II:
Learning to Sit in the Fire of Conflict

 
Date: June 11th, 2010, Centre for Social Innovation, Toronto | Register Online!
Register before April 30th: $170 + GST including materials and snacks

"Conflict = An opportunity for growth"

The real test of facilitating or leading a group happens not when groups are in harmony, but when differences emerge. Many of us tend to contract, to take one side over another, to want to control or direct group response when this happens. How do we stay open to the transformational learning possible in times of conflict? This one-day primer on facilitating group differences, offers a framework and different techniques and tools for what to do when things get rocky. Read more online or contact us for details.

5. Diversity and Equity Leadership Institute:
Integrating Anti-racism with Emotional Intelligence and Conflict Transformation Skills (plus Train-the-trainers)

 
Date: May 9th – 12th, 2010, Tatamagouche Centre, Nova Scotia | Register Online!

Date: July 5-9th, 2010, Location TBA (Toronto area), Ontario | Registration coming soon!

Date:Sept 10th – 15th, 2010. Hollyhock Retreat Centre, British Columbia | Register Online!

This is one of the most positive experiences I've had in my career and I have a great sense of the importance of this work to our world!" ~ Kris Ewing, HPE Coordinator, University of Toronto Schools

"Studies over the past decade have confirmed, our brains operate with a vast unconscious mind that even Freud never suspected." ~ D.G. Meyers, Scientific American Mind

Neuroscience research over the last decade reveals that our day-to-day behaviour is dictated - contrary to popular belief - by how we feel rather than what we think. Emotions, invisible and controlling, are rooted in the unconscious mind and frequently impact our actions without our awareness. Developing greater emotional intelligence - self-awareness, empathy and relationship-building - is widely-recognized as the most important personal competency for leaders to possess. The terrain of emotions raises important and profound question for issues of diversity in the workplace:

• What is the role of emotions in our interactions with people from backgrounds different than our own?
• How do we uncover our personal "blind-spots" that reside in our unconscious mind in order to create truly inclusive, welcoming environments?
• What is the role of unconscious bias and emotional triggers in how well we handle conflict that involves issues of difference (i.e. race, gender, class or sexual orientation)?

Anima Leadership and Canadian Race Relations Foundation continue their successful partnership to offer this ground-breaking institute with an optional Train-the-Trainers component.

6. The Leadership Crucible: Foundations for Social Change

Deepen your capacity for effective leadership

Date: June 28th – July 2nd, 2010, Tatamagouche Centre, Nova Scotia| TLC@animaleadership.com for more information and for the application form to apply

Date: October 6th – 10th, 2010, Hollyhock Retreat Centre, British Columbia | TLC@animaleadership.com for more information and for the application form to apply

Date: January, 2011, Ontario Location TBC | TLC@animaleadership.com for more information and for the application form to apply

Gather with other leaders to imagine a new paradigm for activism and social change in the 21st century. Drawing from Otto Scharmers’ transformative Theory U process, Anima Leadership’s expertise with the intersection between emotional intelligence and oppression and Creating Realities’ history of community and organizational development, this program will take you on an interactive journey to explore questions at the heart of this new paradigm.

• How do we sustain individual leaders while facilitating systemic change?
• How do we access the deep riches of diverse leadership in authentic ways?
• What do we need to transform our divisive and emerging relationships into a solid foundation of social change?

Tammy Neilson and Annahid Dashtgard

Use skill development modules, mindfulness practices, deep dialogue and creative reflection to sharpen personal and collective leadership capacities. Transform your relationships at all levels and leave re-energized, refocused, and newly hopeful about creating meaningful change.

This program is being offered in partnership by Annahid Dashtgard, Co-Founder of Anima Leadership and Tammy Neilson, Founder of Creating Realities.

7. Deep Democracy: Facilitation, Leadership and Whole System Transformation

 
Date: Oct. 28th – Oct. 29th, 2010, Downtown Toronto | Register Online!

Register before July 1st: $450 + GST including lunch, materials and snacks

This two day seminar introduces the facilitation methods of Worldwork, a participatory style of facilitating organizational and collective change based on the principal of Deep Democracy. Developed by Arnold Mindell through research into human consciousness, deep democracy is the idea that sustainable group life depends on all the voices, positions and roles being heard and valued. It recognizes that growth and creativity frequently originates in the margins, in the disavowed experiences and perceptions of group members. In addition to people, positions and voices that are marginal or underrepresented in a group, deep democracy also refers to states of consciousness, emotions, feelings, and other subjective experiences that have a profound influence on group life.

Worldwork facilitation offers a set of robust tools that help leverage the innovation, creativity and learning organization that is implicit in conflict. These two days will introduce you to three basic pillars of the Worldwork method:

• Skills for facilitating and leading large and small groups, and harvesting the creativity, innovation and learning implicit in conflict, polarization and difference
• From Power to Eldership – discovering and using your personal power and unique style to create conditions for change and growth.
• Earth based methods for sustainable leadership – learning how to care for ourselves and stay centered in the midst of stress, pressure and extreme conflict.

Anima is proud to host Julie Diamond, Vice President of Academic Affairs for the Process Work Institute of Portland, to offer this program. This is a rare opportunity to be exposed to the Process Work model of leadership and change-- spaces are limited so we'd recommend registering soon.

Read more online or contact us for details.

IV. Recommended Reading

The Mindful Brain: Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well-Being

By Daniel Siegel, 2007, W.W. Norton

The Mindful Brain is a captivating look at the practice of mindfulness and what it might have to offer us in an increasingly complex society. Siegel connects his ideas with such depth, coherency and accessibility that he invites us into the burgeoning world of neuro-scientific research and the complexity of what actually happens in our brains when we are mindful. The Mindful Brain is ultimately rooted in neuroscience, but woven throughout with insights from the world’s wisdom traditions, and made increasingly interesting by Siegel’s personal experiences that help to illuminate his ideas. This book is relevant for anyone whose work addresses some of todays toughest challenges, for the insights it has to offer on how we can understand and connect with others more meaningfully.

Anima Leadership

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