Programs

When we are caught in the pressures and complexity of rapid change, linear solutions fall apart. The impulse is to move faster and work harder, but the reality is that we need to step back, think more deeply and broadly, and learn to see and act in new ways.

Many of today’s leaders, businesses, organizations, and communities are experiencing a pressing need to move in directions like these:

From a reactive fix-it way of working to one that generates new value and solutions, and addresses root issues
From a top-down leadership model to one that is distributed, flexible, and empowering
From a passive work culture to one that inspires shared purpose and alignment, and that creates an environment where everyone can grow

Even when we have committed to such directions, moving them into reality takes skill, practice, and guidance. ALIA leadership programs are an immersion in the resources and connections you need to move into your next phase, wherever you are on this journey.

Three Integrated Streams

Foundations in authentic leadership

Authentic leadership is an ongoing process of fully inhabiting oneself, one’s work, and one’s world. ALIA programs create a foundation that supports this process through mindfulness, creative process, and the contemplative arts. Like other personal practices you may already have, this foundation helps you

strengthen self-awareness, resilience, and presence through holistic ways of knowing and seeing
shift habits of attention and tune in to the subtleties of your situation
develop a more compassionate and satisfying relationship with yourself and others
work more effectively with pressure and complexity
sharpen your intuitive “systems sense”
navigate through uncharted territory
more fully embody leadership that is grounded in an authentic way of being

Skill-building for action

ALIA brings together leading-edge theory, models, and tools for shifting culture and generating new, more resilient and innovative pathways and solutions in the midst of complexity.

These approaches

are rooted in a living systems (vs mechanistic) view of the world
apply design thinking (vs linear problem-solving) to planning and strategy
access untapped potential in individuals, groups, and systems
combine the benefits of divergence (creativity, collaboration, inclusion) with the practical need for convergence (consensus, action, results)

ALIA leadership programs offer intensive skill-building in such methodologies as the Change Lab, Art of Hosting Strategic Conversations, Human Systems Dynamics, Presencing (Theory U), and Appreciative Inquiry. In each case, the underlying principles are introduced through experiential learning and application, rather than by delivering a packaged “toolbox.” This results in a deeper understanding of how and when to use a particular methodology, and how to adapt it to changing conditions.

Community dialogue and exchange

An ALIA leadership program is a dynamic learning community of pioneers, innovators, and leaders. The ALIA container includes both structure and emergence, teaching and peer learning, reflection and action, global realities and spontaneous play. The arts are woven throughout. This is an environment that is inviting, provocative, and enriching. Come prepared to share your own story and experience. At ALIA, everyone is both learner and teacher.

Upcoming

ALIA Summer Institute 2012
June 18-23 • Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
PDF flyer

Recent Programs

Youth Work That Works
May 7-10, 2012 • Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

ALIA Europe Leadership Intensive
March 26-31, 2012 • Driebergen, The Netherlands

Art of Hosting Strategic Conversations
September 26-28, 2011 • Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Authentic Leadership
September 29-October 1, 2011 • Oslo, Norway

ALIA Summer Institute 2011
June 24-July 1, 2011 • Columbus, USA

ALIA Europe Leadership Intensive

March 8-12, 2011 • Elspeet, The Netherlands

Human Systems Dynamics Professional (HSDP) Certification
November 8-12 and December 13-17, 2010 • Ottawa, Canada

Mindfulness as a Leadership Practice
December 3, 2010 • Halifax, Canada