Self-Leadership Backbone

Leading yourself is the central prerequisite for leading others. To do so means knowing yourself, building up your personal focus, and developing the personal mastery which is the basis for effective and successful leadership. The Self Leadership Backbone is a 3-day high impact development program that targets and affects 3 levels of an organization.

 

In-house Corporate Program

The Self Leadership Backbone is a 3-day high impact development program that targets and affects 3 levels of an organization.

Open Program for Individuals​

The Self Leadership Backbone is a discovery journey into the self. The program brings together people that consciously step out of their everyday life to realign themselves. Together we develop scenarios for your next chapter in life.

In-house Corporate Program

The Self Leadership Backbone is a 3-day high impact development program that targets and affects 3 levels of an organization.

Organizational Focus

Strengthens the ties and connection between the organization and the employee and helps increase staff retention and loyalty.

Team’s Focus

Builds interpersonal skills and develops the emotional intelligence necessary to help participants be much more effective in their inter- and intra-team interactions and collaborations.

Individual Focus

As a personal development programme, the SLB supports the profound personal growth of each individual employee.

The effects the SLB has on an organization:

  1. Build organizational resilience by improving the resilience of all the people within it, and therefore its teams and the organization itself.
  2. Overcome Silo Thinking. Build up and try out the foundations for new ways of cooperating in cross-organizational Enabler Networks.
  3. Throughout the process, Knowledge Transfer and Learning are naturally strengthened inside the organization.
  4. Foster an Organizational Culture of openness, co-creation & cooperation. Since the programme allows participants to experience that they are different yet have very similar issues, it fosters tolerance, open-mindedness, and the prevention of conflicts. The participants learn about the realities of sometimes far-away colleagues.
  5. Employee and Talent Retention
    • The fact that the organization invests heavily in its employee’s personal development is perceived and acknowledged as reflecting appreciation and caring.
    • By reflecting on their own deeper values, intentions, and personal meaning, participants are able to match them with their company values and mission and thus draw energy and commitment from them. The bond between the employees and their organization becomes more consolidated.
  6. Since the programme concentrates on developing personal focus, direction, empowerment, ownership and commitment, it frees up resources for innovation and thus promotes entrepreneurial thinking.
  7. Digitalization (in the remote programme makes effective virtual cooperation a tangible experience. We work on the tools, as well as the methods and behaviors that are necessary for successful digital collaboration.

Effects that the SLB has on teams and internal collaboration

  1. Improved communication and active listening skills. How we communicate is important to our interpersonal relationships at work. Effective communication fosters teamwork; it allows us to overcome misunderstandings and prevent conflicts.
  2. The participants are sensitized to recognize and accept different points of view while still arriving at workable solutions that are acceptable to everyone.
  3. Fostering trust and quality relationships between colleagues across different parts of the organization. The openness, as well as the vulnerability, accepted and shared in the programme lead to a strong sense of community and belonging.
  4. Strengthening empathy and respect within the workforce
  5. The potential and resources of colleagues from across the organization are pinpointed and used effectively.

Effects that the SLB has on participants’ personal development

  1. New ways of working require a great deal of self-direction and personal responsibility from employees. Collaboration and cooperation are key. Social skills are key and are becoming increasingly critical skills in the modern work environment.
  2. Participants gain clarity and direction about what really matters to them. This kindles the development of initiative and willingness to act. With clearer objectives, they can quickly identify which task will give them the best result with the resources available to them at that moment.
  3. Self-efficacy, self-directedness, personal effectiveness. The new benchmark in modern working life is the self-responsible employee who takes the initiative and has the drive to resolve issues. By building self-organization competencies, the employee becomes more able to structure and organize his/her work autonomously.
  4. There will always be tough times in life, and the training strengthens the participant’s resilience and their capabilities to cope with crises and problems. They become more resilient in dealing with life’s adversities. Many of them become able to mobilize their own resources to stay calm, composed, and in control when a crisis strikes. The programme teaches them to pause and determine the best course of action to take. In this way, any damage caused by the negative experience can be minimized.

Digitalization (in the remote programme: The virtual SLB strengthens digital social competence. It promotes traditionally valued skills such as communication, conflict resolution, or team working skills in a digital context. The participants personally experience how emotional depth and trust can be created in a digital environment by design and not by chance.

How does the SLB programme look?

The programme consists of 3 days of profound personal inquiry and self-recognition about what is truly important and valuable to the participant in his or her private and professional life.
The SLB is a collective process that gains its momentum from each individual participant going on a deep personal journey of discovery.
The programme methodology is based on:

What the participant will learn in this programme:

In order to grow as leaders, participants need to invest in learning about themselves. This programme guides them step by step through a profound process that is focused on helping them to:

  • Develop leadership and empathetic communication skills, by taking the time to understand their purpose and vision for the world.
  • Strengthen self-confidence by learning core skills in communication, empathy, and proactive listening.
  • Discover and learn how to control obstacles and challenges in their way, which can present roadblocks towards realizing the impact they want to make in life.
  • Develop decision-making capacity, defining the core values that will guide them in their authentic actions.
  • Grow as agile leaders by defining the elements of their unique talents, and learn about where and how to express them in their business, team, and beyond.
  • Build role-modelling competencies, the base to successfully manage today’s agile businesses, teams, and projects.
  • Learn about the power of Co-Creation and collaboration with others when creating new ideas and insights.

Who should attend a SLB program?

  • Anybody who wishes to develop personal focus, direction, and clarity in life, in order to live up to his or her full potential.
  • People taking responsibility or wanting to take responsibility for themselves.

Why should you Participate?

The SLB helps you to discover and develop your inner source of meaning, power, and peace, instead of trying to train certain technical skills.
With our program focus centering around individual personal growth, the Self Leadership Backbone ensures you are ready for any challenge your life holds for you.

The technology we use

Virtual workshop technology: ”We will meet virtually, but it will be REAL”
To run the virtual workshops, we use programs as Zoom for video conferencing and breakout groups, Mural for interactive work on posters and boards, and WhatsApp calls for trio walk exchanges.

  • Zoom will be the collective “plenary“ video conferencing platform.
  • It allows breakout sessions for sub-groups to work on specific topics. The results are then presented back in plenary.

  • Mural allows members of a virtual group to collectively work on pinboards or white boards.
  • Pre-produced posters and templates give structure and direction to the group work processes.

The SLB Open In-house Corporate Program

This presentation gives an overview of the SLB Open In-house Corporate program.

 

Open Program for Individuals

Self Leadership Backbone (SLB) – Journey of Inquiry into the Self

The Self Leadership Backbone is a journey of discovery into the self. The programme brings together people that consciously step out of their everyday lives to realign themselves. Together we develop scenarios for your next chapter in life. How can you make good and meaningful use of your resources, your talent, and your time? How do you act effectively and achieve your purpose in life? What is it that you want to bring back to life?

Why the Self Leadership Backbone?

A “backbone” is a spine: the principal supporting element of our skeleton. This is where all our major movements have their origin. Without a healthy backbone, our movements are either painful – or impossible.
If we transfer this image of the backbone to our lives, the Self Leadership Backbone is the supporting element on which we build our existence from day to day.

What is the Self Leadership Backbone Process?

The Self Leadership Backbone Process is an intensive work session on our inner person. It is a “journey of discovery” that lasts several days, during which we find out what is really relevant and meaningful for us, our lives and our professions.
Within the framework of the process, we work on the following sequential guiding themes:

  1. History: what important experiences have shaped my life?
  2. Insights: what are my strengths and weaknesses? What do I stand for?
  3. Purpose: what is my contribution to this world, my calling? What are my core values?
  4. Ambition: where does my future lie? What are my dreams? What do I want to achieve in the next chapter of my life?
  5. Pathway: how do I sometimes sabotage myself? How do I overcome limiting beliefs that limit me, and shape the next chapter of my life?

The programme methodology combines group discussions with exchanges of experiences, journalling exercises and reflective walking. This allows you to experience your inner journey of discovery on various levels. The result is a deeper consciousness of ourselves and an insight into our inner dynamics. We have developed strategies that enable us to use our personal resources effectively, meaningfully and sustainably infor our everyday lives. purpose.
This allows us to act authentically and congruently according to our values even under difficult external conditions. We have developed our inner moral compass.

Who should participate?

SLB is a programme for personal growth and is aimed at people who want to make a difference by:
– giving themselves and others support and direction.
– initiating changes in their lives.
– developing an authentic self-image and acting accordingly.
– giving something back to society.
– doing the right thing.
The seminar offers a time of intensive self-reflection for personal growth. The participants use the opportunity to open up within a group of like-minded people, to look at their own situations and develop plans.

What do Participants say?

We have been delighted to hear from some very satisfied participants

  • Great learning experience.
  • The SLB format is unbelievably effective. It was possible to realize so much in such a short time!
  • The SLB methods are very effective, non-invasive and prevent participants from feeling vulnerable or exposed. Everyone reveals exactly as much about himself or herself as s/he wants: they decide for themselves.
  • I was very impressed that the process allows each participant to work on themselves at their own pace and appropriate intensity. I had the impression that most of them experienced maximum personal growth in the seminar.
  • I had no expectations about the programme – and it was the best I have experienced in 30 years.
  • The format addresses head and heart without drifting into spiritual Kumbaya.
  • It was a sensational seminar! It helped me to find answers to my vital questions, both professionally and privately.
  • Recommended for everyone who wants to engage intensively with his or her own development and goals.
  • It brought me so much more clarity for myself, that I am simply happy and grateful that you offered the seminar!
  • The SLB programme is at the very top of its game. I am very interested in group work that aims at personal growth. This course, and I have a lot of experience, is one of the best.

Our experience

The SLB programme has been successfully introduced in many contexts, including large organisations. Some parts of the course use the “Presencing” method of the socio-economist Otto Scharmer.
How often do we try to plan and determine the future only to be overwhelmed by it? Our aim is to consciously experience one’s own future potential and to learn with and from the future as it unfolds.
This philosophy is reflected in the daily practice elements of the programme. The methodology of the course alternates between online remote exchanges and outdoor walks.
We want and need to be everything at the same time: flexible and assertive, open-minded and determined, sensitive and confident.
But how do we get there?
With self-awareness and common self-reflection.
By creating a context in a 3-day workshop in which various methods of self-leadership are developed.
In this way, an authentic self-image emerges that is consolidated in conversations.
Cooperative self-exploration: as a participant you explore and create a script of your future. With the knowledge you acquire within the group, you develop and initiate suitable future strategies for yourself.

The SLB Open Program for Individuals explained

This presentation gives an overview of the SLB Open Program for Individuals program.

 

Feedback to the programme

Read the Feedback to the programme from participants over the past years.

 

Watch the feedback from two participants