Courage to Lead®

Courage to Lead® is a registered program of the Center for Courage & Renewal www.couragerenewal.org

The Courage to Lead® program offers an approach to leadership rooted in integrity and trust.  Through the Circle of Trust® approach, developed by Parker J. Palmer and the Center for Courage & Renewal, you can:

  • Expand your inner capacity to lead a more authentic, meaningful and engaged life;
  • Develop your ability to listen openly and to be present to others;
  • Increase your skill in asking open, honest questions that help others uncover their inner wisdom;
  • Discover a process for discernment to reach clarity around key questions;
  • Learn principles and practices that can be applied to your daily life and work.

Past participants of Courage to Lead report powerful benefits:

  • A stronger sense of purpose and satisfaction with their work
  • Feeling recharged and ready to return as an agent of positive change
  • Heightened self-awareness and ability to be more fully present
  • More trustworthy and compassionate relationships

What happens at the retreat?

Carefully prepared facilitators craft a “safe space” for self-reflection and shared exploration using insights from poets, storytellers and various wisdom traditions to guide you. A Clearness Committee, a deep process of discernment that lets you hear your inner wisdom, will be the capstone of the retreat.

'The Courage to Lead®: Living and Leading from Within – a retreat to reflect on and revitalise your leadership', was held August 28-30, 2015. Rodger Spiller co-facilitated this retreat with Rick Jackson, Co-Founder and Senior Fellow at the Center for Courage & Renewal. Rodger is now a certified facilitator with the Courage & Renewal.  Click here to download a PDF of the retreat brochure: Download File  Participants' comments included:

  • The retreat provided me with powerful tools to use in my leadership and a safe and nurturing space to reflect. I wholeheartedly recommend it. 

  • The Courage to Lead Retreat is a powerful and rare opportunity to reflect on one's journey as a leader is the company of a thoughtful and well facilitated group in a trustworthy process.

  • The weekend retreat exploring 'Courage to Lead' provided me with valuable insight into my own leadership. The gentle, reflective approach was well rounded allowing me some excellent take away thoughts to apply to my path through life.

  • An elegant, simple, clean way of bringing oneself to oneself and community. 

  • Thanks Rodger for your generous gift of facilitation, of leading us in a humble, purposeful and elegant way.

  • I have gained a greater clarity and real acknowledgement and appreciation for my inner resources and strength. 

  • Words cannot really express how much it meant to me to be part of the Courage to Lead...being in that positive, inspirational environment with a leader who leads by example....an astonishing gifted and super-organised person (aka Rodger). It's like you have found a precious gift that you are excited to share, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to share it with you and experience it for myself. I really did find a new-found strength, courage, and renewal...A new stage of life that is now filled with hope and possibility.

  • Come along to Courage to Lead and be profoundly changed. 

  • I went in feeling drained and unsure, and have come out feeling hopeful and unburdened. 

  • Loved the process. Thank you. 

  • Loved everything.

Participants at Rodger's introductory events provided the following comments:

Leading Authentically – a one day workshop about leading with courage:

  • An enlightening, enjoyable thought-provoking session expertly led by Rodger Spiller. He really ‘walked the talk’, being vulnerable and courageous, sharing his own stories and facilitating the session so everyone felt safe to open up and share. Great fun too.
  • Provides the opportunity to reflect on what courageous steps need to be taken to align your outer life with your inner values – excellent.
  • Excellent workshop – an opening of the doorway to explore myself in a reflective and deeper way. Highly recommended. The use of poetry contributed to the strength of this workshop.
  • Rodger created a rich and safe holding space to explore living authentically. The day was very well-crafted, facilitating new depth of understanding and awareness.
  • Amongst anyone I’ve ever met, Rodger Spiller is one of the most committed to his own personal evolution; and from this place, assisted by a vast pool of knowledge and wisdom gathered from the baskets of many paths and trainings, he is able to walk beside others with wisdom, with humour and with authenticity and with love. He connected us all and helped us to connect to self and other. 

 Being Mindful – a two hour workshop about leading with courage:

  • Great structure. Super interesting. Fantastic facilitation. Very well done. Very impressed with the opportunity it gave me to connect to myself, share that and then go even deeper.
  • I enjoyed the opportunity to be inspired and share insights with fellow leaders, with warmth, integrity and fun.
  • Rodger, through this work in two hours, led me to a personal discovery that I will begin to apply in my life immediately. Thank you.
  • I came here tonight knowing nothing about ‘Courage and Renewal’. I find the process gentle, focussed, intriguing, enjoyable, safe and quite powerful. Thank you. It has me interested!
  • Particularly liked poetry as a way of finding more insights into our own lives.
  • Flowed well. A lot covered in a short period of time. I came away with much to reflect on.

If you are interested in the Courage & Renewal approach for you or your organisation please contact Rodger Spiller & Associates.