Co-Creating the Emerging Future 2021: The Schumacher Certificate in Leadership and Facilitation

Led by Jenny Mackewn, with special contributors and teachers.

An eight-month journey that consists of:

A period of preparation
A residential intensive
An 8 month community of practice through Virtual or Face-to-Face meeting

I found a deep connection to myself and my true aspirations and values via the great facilitation provided by Jenny and the fantastic visiting professionals and the inspiring content.
Hege Saebjornsen, Head of Sustainability, IKEA

Programme Summary

Join us for an eight-month learning adventure that consists of a period of preparation, an intensive residential at Schumacher College and a subsequent community of practice group which meets by Skype or face-to-face meetings.

This is an opportunity to develop leadership and facilitation skills necessary for a fairer and more sustainable world for all of us.

The programme, which leads to the Schumacher Certificate in Leadership and Facilitation, has five interconnected approaches to leading and facilitating change in groups, organisations, communities and in the wider field:

• A new model of leadership and facilitation – especially designed to meet the challenges of an increasingly volatile, unpredictable and complex (or VUCA) world
• Skills  - we develop our leadership and facilitation skills through immersive learning and
• The magic of practice – by practicing our leadership and facilitation skills during the intensive residential process and applying them in real life during eh 8-month community of practice
• Getting to know inspiring leaders – who embody and bring to life the skills of the new leadership and facilitation
• An understanding of Theory-U – and how it informs and inspires new leadership
   

Who is the course for?

This course is for leaders, managers, facilitators, politicians and change agents from all sectors who wish to develop their leadership and facilitation skills in the service of life on earth, within a variety of settings such as groups, teams, organisations, communities and the wider field.

Full Programme Details

Before the Intensive Residential, a Period of Preparation:

Shortly after registering, one of the programme leaders will call you to help you:

Identify tangible projects which you are already leading and facilitating
Clarify issues and areas where you dream of taking a lead
Find books or DVDs, YouTube films or TED talks to read, watch or listen to in preparation
You will also be asked to complete a questionnaire to encompass your needs as much as possible in our final planning for the programme.

An intensive residential from 7th – 18th June 2021

The intensive residential explores the skills needed for taking a lead in the volatile, uncertain, complex world in which we now live. We understand the relevance of continuous and immersive learning for the leaders of today; we find out how to rapidly prototype; we create common ground; we learn to implement with fierce resolve and deep humility; we discover how to actively collaborate with nature; and how to sustain our resolve – even when the going gets tough. Throughout we are attending to letting go of the past - in order to sense and ‘Let Come’ the new.

We have time together as a group, time with our lead tutor and our special guest contributors, time on the land with nature, time to develop our ideas and above all time to practice.  See a Walk Through The Week for details of the residential intensive.

The 8-month community of practice invites you to:

Apply the skills you have learnt to your everyday or professional life
Continue to develop the areas in which you are already taking a lead (or dreaming of taking a lead)
Initiate new projects that you feel called to
Maintain practices of inquiry, collaboration and co-creation by meeting in small groups (virtual or face-to-face)

The Schumacher Certificate in Leadership & Facilitation is awarded to people who:

• Complete the Residential Intensive
• Participate in the Community of Practice and
• Create ways to Show their Story of Taking a Lead in the Service of the Future

Previous groups have created reports, stories, films, collages, cartoon strips, animations, computer games and apps for mobile phones. The world is your oyster.

The 12-day Residential Intensive

The course starts with everyone gathering at lunchtime for the first of many delicious vegetarian meals. We meet members of the College community; we discover the beautiful old buildings of Schumacher College and the attractive gardens, woods and forests which surround the College.  We are introduced to the flow of the week and we explore what we mean by leadership with Jenny Mackewn.

We also identify a breakthrough question for ourselves – in order to help us focus on how to apply the course to ourselves and to both our professional and personal lives.

Over the coming days we will be introduced by Jenny to a new Model of Leadership and we explore all aspects of this unique Leadership Model both intellectually and experientially. We practice Speaking Inspirationally and make a field trip to sea or moor.

Together with a selection of Special Contributors we will explore the macrocosm of the universe and the microcosm of our own dreams by considering and flipping the dilemmas which will inevitably arise/emerge as we try to make progress on our chosen path;  how to sustain energy and commitment even when the going gets tough. 

Jenny Mackewn introduces us to different ways of Conceptualizing, Leading and Facilitating groups and explains leadership and facilitation projects. 

The course also includes an immersive learning journey – a mini Vision or Purpose Quest which enables us to connect deeply to nature, to sharpen our sense of purpose and to Let Go our past mindsets and to Let Come our future. 

As the second week draws to a conclusion we start designing our community of practice (the next 8 months) and our final reunion called a Creative Feast – to which participants return in person or virtually – to tell the story of how they have applied their learning at Schumacher to the real world and taken action (however modest) in the service of a better, fairer and more sustainable world.

*The Booking Deadline gives us an accurate idea of course participant numbers at approximately 6 weeks before the course is due to run, at which point we confirm the course, add additional time for people to book on or cancel the course. We encourage people to register early for courses as places are limited.