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About this Retreat
Too often I have heard highly competent and seasoned leaders talk about their need to ‘reconnect with their purpose in life’ in order to have a better bearing on how best to respond to the leadership challenges they are facing in their organisations. They seem to intuit that their success in navigating across increasingly unfamiliar landscapes and being confronted with tough dilemmas that require informed and authentic choices, requires them to act with integrity and authenticity – “being true to myself whilst being true to the leadership that is required”.
The Still Life Workshop is a personal development process that I believe is an invaluable learning opportunity for anyone who is in a leadership (or a coaching) role. Tailored to support the Depth Leadership Conference, (and as contributor to the Conference) we are offering this to those participants (and contributors) as a mini retreat post the conference programme. The retreat provides an opportunity to pause and reflect after the conference with a smaller group of participants. The retreat will be based on a Sean Germond’s “Still Life Process” that offers a unique and creative approach to self insight and personal development, and would be tailored to the conference theme and conversations that would have taken place.
Background to the Still Life process
The Still Life Process has been designed as a creative way to encourage the participants to develop and articulate a compelling narrative of “who I am, what is important to me, how this shapes my work”. I initially developed this process in 2007 as a collaboration with Charles Handy his wife Elizabeth Handy as part of a 4-day residential “emerging leaders” programme that would form part of a broader Global gathering known as The Tällberg Forum (Sweden). Our agreed approach was for Sean to develop a group process that built on the Handy’s interest in the use of a ‘vanitas’ (…in the seventeenth century in Holland it was the custom for successful people to commission what came to be called a vanitas or “Still Life”. These paintings depicted a collection of objects symbolizing the individual’s life).
We decided to create a modern day Vanitas by photographing a composition that participants have created out of personal artefacts (personal objects that they had selected and brought to the retreat). The outcomes were extraordinary. The process (the act of choosing objects that are relevance; the personal narrative of the relevance of these objects to their owner in the context of their work and their leadership; the process of creating a personal still life composition; and the group process of reflecting on what emerged) provided a powerful experience for both participants and facilitators.
The retreat would be led by Sean Germond (Psychologist, Organisational Leadership Practitioner, Executive Coach) who is one of the Speakers at the Conference.
The Retreat Location & Joining Details
Weltevrede Fig Farm (7km outside Prince Albert)
We have managed to secure Weltevrede Fig Farm, 25km outside Prince Albert for this mini retreat that would begin Saturday after lunch and end mid Sunday morning to make provision for your own travel requirements.
Costs (excl VAT)
This retreat is offered in the spirit of the Depth Leadership Conference, and therefore will be heavily discounted, with only a nominal fee for the facilitation.
R950.00 per person, payable to Pygmalion. This fee includes your 1-night’s accommodation and meals (dinner & breakfast). Weltevrede have generously offered us a discounted accommodation and facilities package.
Joining Instructions
Note that we have limited space (only 14 private beds across 4 houses on the Farm).
Should you be interested in attending, it would be essential that you have attended the Depth Leadership Conference, as this would be the context for the Retreat.
Please follow these next steps:
- Learn more about the Still Life Workshop – see http://www.pygmalion.co.za/what-we-offer/products/still-life-workshop-a-creative-personal-development-process/
- Find out about the location – see http://www.figfarm.co.za/
- Contact [email protected] to register. You will then receive your Joining Instructions (what you would need to pack and bring along).