This Sunday, we will be undertaking the 12th in our series of free Leading From Above The Line one-day introspective retreats at the Asa Wright Nature Centre, the first of which was held almost one year ago-on May 2, 2010. These introspective retreats are designed to help individuals to retreat from the business of living in order to better reflect on their true life intentions and to determine corrective actions that they may need to make in order to improve their quality of life. These one-day retreats serve to introduce the philosophy of Leading From Above The Line to the public. We wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to all those who have participated in these retreats during the last 12 months and in particular to those who have become regular participants and volunteers in support of our quest to take the message of Leading From Above The Line to the wider community and with a special focus on the youth. Our sincere thanks go out to the Asa Wright Nature Centre for hosting us and for providing a wonderful retreat venue. On May 20 we will be launching our second series of retreats-the tuition-free eight-day leadership self-discovery retreat which, like our introspective retreats, will be open to all members of the public. The leadership self-discovery retreat is life-transforming and helps individuals to live more productive, responsible and fulfilled lives.
Strengthening the leadership capacity is, without doubt, one of the greatest needs in T&T since it is now widely acknowledged that there is a leadership crisis in our homes, in our schools, in the public sector, in the private sector and particularly in our politics. Sadly, most of what passes for "leadership" is based on inflated egos of self-importance, much pretence, not so crafty deception and bold-faced lying. Our children are the ultimate victims of this unpleasant scenario-hence, the widespread irresponsible and antisocial behaviours fuelling the violence, corruption and crime in the country. Our programme, Leading From Above The Line, is a principle-centred approach to personal development. It has been developed to specifically address the leadership challenges in rapidly transforming economies such as T&T. Leading From Above The Line is targeted to the holistic development of individuals towards more disciplined, responsible and purposeful living whether as members of families, organisations, or communities. The programme is anchored in the philosophy that all human beings have the potential to achieve way beyond their usual day-to-day performance levels. Thus, the programme aims to transform the lives of individuals towards the release of their full human potential.
Leading From Above The Line recognises that there is a sharp dividing line between what is morally acceptable and what is morally unacceptable. It seeks to develop leaders who live and lead above the moral line, ie, leaders of high ethical values. It takes individuals on a journey of self-discovery to find their true inner power. The programme has been tried and tested in Leading From Above The Line laboratories in Johannesburg and in Pietermaritzburg in South Africa; and in the many leadership development programmes we have undertaken for public and private sector organisations in southern Africa and in the Carib-bean over the last ten years. A unique feature of Leading From Above The Line is that although it emerged primarily out of our experiences in developing countries, it is built on a leadership philosophy for the advancement of all humanity. On completion of the Leading From Above The Line programme, individuals are expected to: Have a greater awareness of themselves, their human potential and the potential of others. Have knowledge of the universal nature of humanity and of the Fundamental Principles. Understand the personal benefits of living and leading from above the moral Line. Have knowledge of how to strengthen the inner-self and how to build self-esteem.
n Know the meaning of life and how to achieve true happiness in all spheres of life. Have an enhanced capacity to work with others-even the most difficult; and across all racial and cultural groupings. Know how to become a nucleus for the development of others. Know how to lead in a principle-grounded and nourishing manner.
Organisations undertaking the programme will benefit by having staff that: Know how to build value and knowledge-based organisations that will be better able to perform in the rapidly transforming national and global environments. Have leadership capabilities that are anchored in the fundamental principles.
n Are more confident and motivated. Know how to lead in the development of an Above the Line culture in organisations and thus facilitate greater adherence to a principle-based organisational code of conduct. Have an enhanced capability to work in teams and to lead teams in the increasingly diverse environment of organisations. Are better prepared to lead and manage the new challenges faced by organisations in the 21st century. Thus, the objective of the programme is to develop individuals to attain a high level of self-awareness and human consciousness and therefore to better adhere to the fundamental principles which anchor all modern-day democratic societies and human beings throughout the world. The essence of Leading From Above The Line lies in the following: Leading through self-discovery; leading through principle; leading through being; and leading through doing.
The basic programme is normally delivered through two four-day leadership self-discovery retreats and supported by various post-retreat activities. The self-discovery retreats together cover the seven groundings of the programme. The groundings are organised as highly interactive and introspective workshop sessions, in which all participants are encouraged to actively participate. In this way participants are taken on a journey of self-discovery through listening, sharing, questioning, introspecting, facilitating, reading, researching, leading and being. The method of delivery is dynamic and current in relation to developments in the social and working environments of participants. The programme is holistic and deals with leadership in the context of self, family, organisation, community and humanity. Next week I will outline the key elements of the seven groundings of the programme and how they help to strengthen our inner selves so that we can better become the human beings that we would really like to be.