Epic Leadership Core Lessons
Lesson 1 – Meet the Maegus
Conjuring Sustainability Out of Chaos
Have you ever had the experience of trying to drive in a blinding rainstorm or dense fog? Gripping the steering wheel a little tighter as you strained to see what was ahead, and the relief you felt as you relaxed when you could finally see clearly again? Leading an organization can be like that these days, only the fog never lifts, and neither does the stress. This lesson contains your first gift: the one map that can show you the way through the complex challenges you face to the balanced and sustainable life you and your team deserve.
In this session you will…
Meet the Maegus, your first and most important guide, who has the uncommon power to discern the hidden architecture of dynamic change
Be introduced to six everyday superheroes, the nonprofit exemplars with whom we will be working throughout the course
Be introduced to the Six Levels of Leadership which will allow you to perceive patterns within chaos and enable you to recognize and harness the invisible forces driving your results
Learn to apply the Four Essential Keys to Personal Transformation that guarantee true and lasting personal change
Develop your Personal Learning Plan to identify the unique situational stress points, new leadership skills and specific organizational results you will accomplish in the Program
What’s possible…
As you exercise your newfound ability to analyze chaotic situations and reframe chronic problems to make them solvable, you will come away feeling calm, confident and in command of situations that used to confuse and baffle you. You will feel more relaxed and empowered than ever before as you take decisive new action to leap toward your chosen goals.
Lesson 2 – The Challenge of Balance
Embracing Emotional Wisdom for Health & Serenity
We all have friends and colleagues we are concerned about, whose lives are slipping out of balance. We fear they are working themselves to death — ticking time bombs of emotional distress and ill health. And no wonder. We care so deeply about the urgent, often desperate human needs of others that we address that we are easily seduced into making one personal sacrifice after another. This session is about developing emotional authenticity in order to achieve and model a balanced life.
In this session you will…
Meet Mimi, our everyday superhero who has the singular power to create a work/life balance that is genuinely sustainable
Learn the natural meaning and purpose of your primary emotions, and use The Emotional Compass to identify the most effective action you can take in any situation
Learn a step-by-step process to fine-tune your intuition for infallible guidance
Identify your own unique method to access your personal source of greater wisdom and profound peace
What’s possible…
Knowing the true purpose of your emotions, and with a mind both wide awake and calm, you will confidently access the experience of deep peace essential to sustaining a balanced life. Anxiety, frustration and weariness will melt away and you will naturally find yourself accomplishing more by doing less.
Lesson 3 – The Challenge of Understanding
Mastering the Art of Perfect Listening
Sometimes attempting to communicate can be like trying to give a pill to a cat: the other person just won’t take in important information and rejects all offers of help and support. No matter who the “cat” is in your organization, or who’s offering the pill, it can become so frustrating that we withdraw and avoid each other. Unless we find a way to re-establish communication our relationships are in jeopardy. This session focuses on how to listen with unprecedented precision to what others truly need in order to provide the specific understanding and support necessary for strong, effective working relationships.
In this session you will…
Meet Yuan-Mi, who demonstrates the power of Perfect Listening
Learn the Six Keys to Perfect Listening and how to use them so others feel fully understood
Learn Five sure-fire ways to deal with resistant people and provide effective support when someone can’t tell you what they need
Learn to spot hidden competition and quickly turn it into the genuine agreement necessary to form effective partnerships
What’s possible…
Realizing the fruits of Perfect Listening you will experience the confidence and satisfaction of expressing yourself more precisely and completely than ever before, and the joy of providing understanding and support so complete and real that the people you care most about are motivated to rise to their personal best.
Lesson 4 – The Challenge of Generativity
Unleashing the Creative Power of Groups
An effective meeting is like a healthy heartbeat: with every beat, essential information and vital emotion are being pumped throughout the organization, defining and inspiring right action. A poorly conceived meeting, on the other hand, can ruin team morale, kill productivity, endanger partnerships and even undo hard-won progress. This session presents the essentials of group dynamics and teaches us how to design and facilitate meetings that unleash the creative power of your team while simultaneously enlivening and sustaining its members.
In this session you will…
Meet Grupus, the superhero who can unleash the wisdom and power of groups
Learn the essential Guidelines for Effective Dialogue needed to foster collaboration, minimize unnecessary conflict and tame domineering individuals
Learn how to use the technology of Process Design to create uplifting meetings that maximize engagement, draw out reticent participants to ensure all voices are heard and drive ownership of results
Learn three techniques that are guaranteed to get twice the work done in half the time, including how to tap the best wisdom of the group mind in 10 minutes or less
What’s possible…
Empowered with the principles of intelligent meeting design and collaborative facilitation, your team will experience a new level of trust and productivity. When work is done in a good way you will enjoy the satisfaction of knowing your colleagues are sustained. Each meeting will be more than an assembly of people, it will be a gathering of souls.
Lesson 5 – The Challenge of Reputation
Engaging Community Resources through Inspired Storytelling
Donors give to causes they love, but only when they hear a compelling story that moves them to act on what they value. When President Kennedy promised to put a man on the moon he inspired an entire nation to action. Likewise, the best board members and volunteers are attracted to serve and contribute when they are inspired by the promise of making a meaningful difference. Without a powerful message to convey your vision and mission you risk being invisible or forgotten by those who would sustain you. This session focuses on the art of the Epic Story to bring people together, inspire them and move them to action.
In this session you will…
Meet Medio, who understands the extraordinary power of organizational culture and public opinion to attract and engage community resources
Learn to create the climate and image you want by generating positive gossip, taking symbolic action and effectively responding to negative events
Learn how to use the Epic Story Blueprint to craft and communicate your message to your people and to the world
Learn the 3 Secrets to Securing Free Publicity so the media pros will deliver your message to the world
What’s possible…
With your Epic Story in hand, your Board will be on message and your staff will be communicating confidently with the public. You and your team will experience the satisfaction of knowing that your reputation in the community is strong and you are easily attracting the best people and the greatest possible contributions to ensure that your organization continues to thrive.
Lesson 6 – The Challenge of Inclusion
Collaborating Across Power and Difference
A sustainable organization depends on genuine collaboration between individuals and groups of different cultural backgrounds and identities, where people are not merely respectful of each other but truly appreciative of the value that differences bring. However, good intentions and inspirational posters are not enough to develop collaborative relationships. Sincere efforts all too often result only in continued doubt, misunderstanding and unresolved conflict. It is notoriously easy to devote time and energy to a diversity initiative, only to end up right back where we started (or even further behind). This session introduces a time-tested model of intercultural competency and inclusivity that is guaranteed to make the positive difference you want and deserve.
In this expanded session you will…
Meet Valangwe, who sees the invisible histories we all carry and has the power to create the conditions for healing and genuine collaboration as she navigates the world of cultural differences.
Learn Six Core Competencies essential to systematically develop yourself and your people to effectively lead your inclusive diversity initiative.
Learn the 12 Critical Success Factors that will guide you and allow you to measure your success as you create a respectful, affirming environment in your organization.
Learn to implement the Conditions for Effective Dialogue in order to create and maintain a safe space to learn about modern racism and other forms of contemporary injustice
Learn how to use Cultural Introductions to discover and honor your own cultural identity and invite others into constructive learning dialogues.
Learn how you and your Board can apply Cultural Group Analysis to open up dramatically more productive strategies of fundraising and resource development
What’s possible…
You will enjoy the confidence and peace that comes with knowing precisely who you are as a cultural being, exactly what is expected of you in mixed groups and what your best contribution to an inclusive environment can be. You will experience excitement because you trust that you have the skill to connect in a meaningful way with people who are different from you as well as to build alliances and partnerships that were not available to you before.
Lesson 7 – The Challenge of Efficiency
Designing Simple Systems for Breakthrough Sustainability
You don’t start a campfire by holding a blowtorch to a log. A single match flame on a piece of tinder is all you need to start a fire to keep you warm and cook your food. So why waste time with 6 people in a 1-hour meeting when 2 people for 10 minutes will suffice? An elegantly designed procedure is like finding the match instead of always reaching for the torch. Our focus in Week 7 is the discovery and design of the leanest possible systems that both work effectively and enliven the good people who use them.
In this session you will…
Meet Itienne, our superhero colleague with the power to imagine and build elegant systems that help people grow, thrive and flourish
Learn Process Innovation Guidelines to ask the most important questions, secure essential input and avoid the biggest mistakes when designing new policies, procedures and work systems.
Learn a simple, powerful, time-saving Organizational Decision-Making Process that can be used immediately by everyone in your organization
Learn how the 3 Secrets of Supervision will enable you to conduct genuinely empowering performance reviews in the shortest possible amount of time
What’s possible…
You will marvel at the creativity and artistry you and your team are employing to create efficient, empowering work systems. You will experience joy as you witness people feeling enlivened by simple policies and procedures that truly support them. Because of the foundation you have laid, and assured of your capability to continually create exciting new efficiencies, you are confident that your people and your organization will endure.
Lesson 8 – The Promise of Remembering
Applying Wisdom for Lasting Change
Congratulations! You and your crew have completed your heroic journey, returning home at last safe and sound to share your story of hard-earned experience born of challenges overcome and problems solved. Your newfound wisdom and skills may soon be forgotten, however, unless you and your team also create an enduring way of remembering, teaching and applying what you’ve learned. In this session we will focus on systematically integrating the lessons of sustainable leadership into your organization and the lives of your people, as well as realizing the combined power of your newly assembled superhero team to effect lasting transformational change in your organization and the world!
In this session you will…
Assemble your own team of everyday superheroes and practice leading their combined talents to overcome exceptionally complex problems
Ensure your new knowledge and skills are sustained by articulating the Six Levels of Indisputable Evidence that prove your success
Enjoy the profound effects of deeply honoring your team by powerfully retelling the story of your Epic Leadership journey.
We will conclude the course with a special 2-hour LIVE call to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments and learnings of your new Epic Leadership community and together we will create the better world we know is possible!
What’s possible…
Having uncovered the previously hidden superpowers of your team and the potential of the Maegus in yourself, you will experience joy and relief from the burdens you were previously resigned to accept. You are thrilled and delighted by your ability to solve problems you did not know could be solved. You naturally bring out the best in everyone around you by consciously modeling heroic service without needless sacrifice.