Academy for Leaders

Academy alumni say...

Scroll down to watch videos.
 academybunch180

“A truly unique program focusing on the courage to build matters of the heart into the workplace.”

“A deep dive into the issues that matter most to leaders.”

“Like too many leaders, I’d assumed the form of a comet, sailing way too fast and at risk of burning out. Providing courage for renewal, this program placed me back on trustworthy ground.”

“This was an opportunity to do personal, reflective, inner work around my own leadership, supported by a community of like-minded peers from an array of professions.”

“What I’ve experienced is a trustworthy approach to professional development that brings us back to the true meaning of leadership in a world at risk of forgetting.” (Read more of this leader's story)

In the Academy for Leaders, 25 diverse leaders will spend six months as a cohort building on their initial retreat experiences, more explicitly delving into how best to lead back in organizational and community venues.  

Specifically, we will

  • Provide a bridge between the Courage & Renewal principles and practices and leadership in your spheres of influence. We focus on six foundations of trustworthy leadership.
  • Invite reflection on your experiences and then build a "community of practice" with fellow participants where you can clarify your leadership intentions and go home and experiment in bringing them alive.
  • Provide opportunities for peer coaching and support so that your practice of leadership (and that of your cohort) will be enriched with each other bearing witness.

Parker Palmer says it well in Healing the Heart of Democracy:

An ongoing circle of trust not only intensifies our sense of accountability to our own truth but also gives us a safe space in which to imagine and implement ways of witnessing to our integrity in the workplace. We can conduct small on-the-job experiments while we still have access to a supportive community, returning to the circle to share our successes and failures with people who can help us learn from them. All of this increases the odds that the inner imperatives we touch will find expression in the outer world.

2013-2014 Program Dates - Minneapolis/St. Paul

Residential Retreat I: October 24-27, 2013
November-March: Ongoing implementation supported by Peer Learning Circle teleconferences
Residential Retreat II: April 24-27, 2014

pdf Download the full program description for details.

Register now at the Early Bird rate and save $400. The Early Bird rates is available through September 1, 2013.

If you're interested in future programs, please contact Rick Jackson for more information.

A Deeper Look at the Academy

Enjoy this Prezi slideshow that goes into more depth about the Academy, what it is and what in can do for you. Many thanks to Academy alumni Patricia Thompson for creating it.

After you click "start Prezi" you can click on the full-screen icon fullscreenicon in the lower right to display a larger view on your full screen. Press your Esc key when done to close that full view.

TIPS: Please make sure you have the most recent version of Adobe Flash Player. Click here to get the latest version. Also be sure that Prezi.com, Adobe Air and Adobe Flash Player are allowed by any virus software, firewall, or pop-up blocker programs that you may be running.

In Their Own Words

We asked some of our 2012 Academy for Leaders alumni to tell you what they found unique and valuable about the program...in their own words:

CJ Callen, CEO
Youth Leadership Institute, San Francisco, CA

“Leadership is hard. People put so many expectations on us. Sometimes you get into survival mode. This space, this place, this commitment to understanding yourself and your leadership role, will allow you to thrive.”


Rev. Aaron McEmrys, Senior Minister
The Unitarian Society, Santa Barbara, CA

“Being in a community of leaders helps me learn very deeply, and be brave enough to practice directly, not only paying attention to what I do and say as a leader, but this experience helps me focus on who and how I am as a human being and as a leader.”


Madaleinne Peters, Director of Masters in Education
Dominican University, San Rafael, CA

“For people who carry their hearts with their work and their work becomes disconnected from their heart...this is a chance to make that connection again, and go deeper, and have the tools to sustain that effort...to be the leader you always have been.”


Valerie Purnell, Legislative Advocate
Los Angeles, CA

“The academy is an opportunity to tap into your inner wisdom. Being aligned, being ‘trued up’ with your True North, that’s what’s being offered here.”


Rob Meyer, MD
Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge MA

“It's very different, because it addresses matters of the heart…This one talks about paying attention to one’s inner wisdom, what one’s heart is telling them. It’s been invaluable to be allowed to go in that direction and to be supported in going in that direction.”


Jack Williams, Provost
University of New England, Portland, ME

“Leadership is a very solitary, lonely place. When you’re trying to grow a community in your own workplace that is somewhat countercultural -- taking more time for relationships and building trust, often we’re too rushed -- these workshops offer a strong sense of community and affirmation.”


Mike Seely, Executive Director
Oregon Health and Science University Transplant Service, Portland, OR

“You will take stock of where you are in your professional and personal life, and get in touch with certain touchstones that will afford you the opportunity to examine your own leadership and possibly take it to the next level.”


Bonnie Campbell, Chief Operating Officer
Health Care, Santa Barbara, CA

“I got such a sense of hope for the future that there were more people concerned with deeper issues, wanting to push out their experience to benefit the rest of the world. It was staggering and inspirational.”


Alan Furth, Executive Director
Cobscook Community Learning Center, Lubec, ME

“The continuity built between meaningful, substantive immersion programs offers the depth and duration to help carry us forward in our work. The approach is powerful. It’s been a great investment of time and resources, and we’ll bring it back in spades.”


At Home in the Academy

Reflections from a 2012 Leader, Pat Thompson

Challenging assignments, significant supervisors and hardships. The Center for Creative Leadership ranks these three sources of experience as critical to developing effective leaders.  It is, however, the failure to learn from experience – missing the meaning – that usually results in the derailment of careers.  

It wasn’t until I participated in my first Circle of Trust® retreat in 2004 that I found the time, space and resources to listen to my own stories and to learn their lessons. Several retreats later, the Circle of Trust approach has moved from the edges to the center of my work. But adopting its principles as my own has been much easier than turning practices into habits. What I’ve needed is a place where I can continue to integrate what I know and what I do daily as a leader within my field.

Enter the Center for Courage & Renewal’s Academy for Leaders – a new six-month program for Circle of Trust program alumni like me. Read the full story.