History

This program begins in October 2008 and will be co-facilitated by Deb Litzelman and Rich Frankel (both IUSM faculty and members of the Relationship-centered Care Initiative RCCI).  Deb and Rich have completed facilitator training with Parker Palmer, renowned author of the Courage to Teach, and his colleagues in preparation for this work.

Our program comprises of four seasonal retreats during the course of one year and has been offered at IUSM for three years. This is the fourth series of the program. These workshops will focus on leadership development and personal and professional renewal.

Description

The retreats will provide the time and support to reflect on the connection between the world of inner experience and the outer world of service as it relates to leadership. In large-group, small group and solitary settings, we will explore the "heart of the leader" using stories from our own journeys, reflections on work experiences and insights from poets, storytellers and diverse wisdom traditions.  We will be invited to speak from the heart about our lives and work, and to listen and respond to each other with compassion. Built into the retreats are opportunities to discuss principles and practices that underlie Courage work, and an exploration of how participants might use them to further relationship-centered work at IUSM.

Purpose

We are offering these retreats for faculty, administrators, and trainees who wish to help transform the culture of the medical and nursing schools by creating safe and trustworthy spaces for learning and reflection, and who wish to bring greater depth to the work they are already doing.  This work is framed by questions such as: "How can I engage in leadership roles and be true to myself "In what ways are my inner life and outer work connected?" "What are the forces that nourish or constrain my soul?" "How can I find joy and fulfillment in my leadership roles and activities

Goals

The goal of the Courage to Lead program is to deepen the participant's capacity to bring relationship-centered activities into their school through experiencing a personal formation process, learning hown how to create evocative and trustworthy spaces for learning and reflection, and bringing greater depth to the work they are already doing.

Dates for 2008-09 Program

This program is comprised of a series of four retreats. Each begins with dinner and evening session on Day 1 and a full day on Day 2.

• Monday, October 13, 2008 (6-9:30 pm) and Tuesday, October 14, 2008 (8 am-4:30 pm)
• Monday, February 9, 2009 (6-9:30 pm) and Tuesday, February 10, 2009 (8 am-4:30 pm)
• Monday, March 16, 2009 (6-9:30 pm) and Tuesday, March 17, 2009 (8 am-4:30 pm)
• Monday, May 18, 2009 (6-9:30 pm) and Tuesday, May 19, 2009 (8 am-4:30 pm)

The program is open to 20 members of the IUSM/IUSN community who are interested and able to commit to the four sessions of the program.  Once we have formed a cohort, the program will be closed to newcomers for this series.