"Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes." - Carl Gustav Jung

The Leadership Adventure: Mindful Integration of Purpose and Partnership

Advance your leadership capabilities through the courageous blending of purpose and partnership.

Transform the way you perceive your experience, engage in your relationships, and lead your projects or business with three days of uninterrupted learning.

Imagine connecting to the excitement, curiosity, and learning of a grand adventure as the norm in your daily experience. Imagine communicating with authenticity where your ideas land with the intended impact, where you express your desires without fearing other's reactions, where you share your beliefs without preparing to defend yourself, and where you stay connected to others while discussing differences in opinions and objectives.

Create a foundation for the future you want to inhabit. The Leadership Adventure offers a chance to step back from the day-to-day experience of living to explore how you are creating your reality; the quality of your experience in your relationships and in your work.

Come explore how your patterns of verbal and non-verbal communication that you have honed and developed, not only shaped what you have achieved, but may also constrain, and possibly damage, your relationship to self and others and keep you from doing your best work.

Who Attends the Leadership Adventure?

Our clients include entrepreneurs, business owners, executives, managers, board members, coaches, consultants, artists, educators, family members (individuals) whose leadership growth and success requires them to evolve their thinking and practices of working in partnership with others.

The Leadership Adventure draws people who have been successful and yet believe there is something deeper or more profound that they can do. They are willing to take risks to achieve a desired future, which will allow them to feel deeper satisfaction in their personal life and in their work.

They are individuals that want to navigate the uncertainty and adversity inherent in any grand adventure with more enjoyment and less fear, with more interest and less worry, with more health and less stress.

Most of all they realize the need to stop waiting for another day to begin living into the future they know instinctively is possible now.

What Makes this Workshop Unique?

The Leadership Adventure is a true "workshop" experience, not an academic seminar or skills training. It is an intensive program in an intimate group setting that emphasizes significant member participation in the learning process. You will be discussing, engaging, and moving with other members including the workshop leaders to learn about and advance your unique leadership presence. Each member receives a significant amount of individual feedback and attention.

We combine theories and concepts from the fields of leadership and organization development, brain science, and psychology and blend them with physiological concepts and practices to fully explore each individual's potential.

Content Summary

The course will be delivered through a combination of instruction, interactive conversation grounded in the theory and principles of the course, physical practices and practical coaching with the course leaders Neil McCarthy and Tracy Rekart.

All the exercises are designed to make you better equipped to:

Prevent costly mistakes that occur when someone interprets something that was not intended.
Discover and resolve problems that others did not see and/or were not initially willing to discuss.
Use your own reactions under pressure to generate even deeper, more meaningful, more authentic connections with others.
Make clearer requests that generate the action and support of others.
Transform differences of opinion with customers, vendors, staff, and family into creative, relationship-enhancing conversations.
Embody yourself more deeply, aligning your inner desires with your external expression.

The following are typical topics that will be covered:

The body does not lie. Understand your presence and have more choice regarding stress.
We stand in ourselves, our presence. Our presence has a shape to it. When we see a friend coming toward us, even before we see their face, we know it is them through their shape. At The Leadership Adventure we use body-oriented practices such as grounding, feeling our feet on the ground, and centering, aligning with our center of gravity. Through these practices, we begin to create a place in our body and mind that we can know and can depend on. When we have way to return to the sensation of being grounded and centered many possibilities open up for us within our experiences. We have more choice to react or not. When the body and mind coordinate we are more relaxed and more powerful.

Moving beyond "my view" versus "their view" to find the intersection of both.
Often, without conscious thought, we hold other's points of view as less important than ours. Recognizing the validity of another's viewpoint is a crucial leadership skill. You will learn how to separate facts from your interpretation of those facts. This skill alone can aid you in resolving issues in a way that honors each person's point of view.

Define the future you are moving toward.
Many of us have a vague idea of our future. Some of us have a view that is more succinct. Within both of these futures there lies a truth, our unique gift that we have to bring to the world. At The Leadership Adventure you will be asked to look into your future, to reflect on your past, to define what you truly desire. In those reflections lies a commitment that inspires us to achieve more than just the bottom line. The Leadership Adventure will help you navigate mistakes and take the fear away from making them.

Are you on autopilot?
In the split-second before you speak, several things are occurring that will determine the outcome of the conversation. We will break down the complexity of thought and internal motivations allowing you to see how it is possible to stay connected/present in conversation, even when you are upset, without endorsing another's behavior or changing your view.

Are you listening, or just waiting to speak?
The most respected and effective leaders are those who truly listen, beneath words to what was meant. You will see how your own thoughts and reactions filter what you hear. In the space where you can see what shapes your thoughts, emotions and reactions, you can learn to make new choices.

What People Are Saying

"I'm more aware of the story underlying my triggers and the ways it plays out in my thoughts, my actions and how I "am" in the world. I'm getting a clearer sense of the story I want to write and excited to be at work on it!"

"The Leadership Adventure sharpened my ability to remain relaxed as a leader. With the tools I gained, I can deal with stressful and difficult situations in a much more calm and centered way. I have seen the improvement in my effectiveness. I am also enjoying myself more, in both my work and my personal life. Thank you, Tracy and Neil!"

"I entered into the class with a limited understanding of what I could learn and takeaway at the end of the 3 days. I did this due to the trust I have in Neil and the positive experiences I've had working with him in the past. At the end of the 3 days, I left with the class far exceeding my expectations. I learned practical methods and techniques to make me a more effective leader, more grounded in my true life goals, and more equipped to make them a reality."

"The leadership adventure has the power and influence to alter your outlook on life. The practices combining mental strength and physical awareness offers a path to achieving ones deeply held objectives and commitments. Great job Tracy and Neil. A perfect couple using their combined skills to help leaders grow."

"At some point every leader encounters the intrinsic limitations of his or her individual nature. Three days with Neil and Tracy will help you understand what those are, and give you effective methods for turning those limitations into new authentic strengths."

Facillitators

Neil McCarthy and Tracy Rekart did their graduate work in Applied Behavioral Science at the Leadership Institute of Seattle and started McCarthy Consulting in 2003, a leadership and organization development coaching and consulting practice.

Neil has spent the last 10 years exploring the psychology of leadership, group dynamics and organizational change. Tracy's 20 year long meditation and yoga practices have led her to the study of Somatics, which combines psychology of the mind and physiology of the body.

Neil and Tracy have also had their share of adventures rock climbing and mountain guiding around the world. But their greatest adventure so far has been using all their skills and studies to navigate the challenges of raising two equally adventurous children.

We appreciate the support of the Center for Authentic Leadership, in creating the foundation for this workshop.

Schedule & Tuition

Date: April 19th - 21st, 2012
Location: Seattle, WA
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Thursday - Saturday
Tuition: $1,000
To Register: Please e-mail Neil McCarthy, or call 206-818-7541 to inquire about availability.

Due to the small group size, space is limited.