2006 Authentic Leadership Summer Program

Circle, Brush and Sword: Joining Stillness and Decisive Action with Toke Moeller, Barbara Bash, Bob Wing

Leadership is often seen in terms of dichotomies: soft versus hard, collaboration versus hierarchy, process versus outcomes, "people skills" versus the ability to hold one's ground and act with authority. People with allegiance to one side of these dichotomies often stereotype the other.

Although our personality or workplace culture may naturally gravitate towards one of these poles, real mastery occurs when we are able to bring these two sides of leadership together. In this module you will learn practices that will help you

• hold open the circle that invites engagement, collaboration, and deep insight
• wield the sword of decisive action
• bring together these two principles within yourself as you execute your stroke with brush and ink

In the process you will also deepen your presence, courage, and flexibility, so that you are better prepared to respond to what is needed in the moment. You will practice stepping back to allow creativity to emerge and stepping forward when intervention is called for. You will learn how to design change processes that include both broad engagement and a concrete plan of action.

This module is for leaders and entrepreneurs of all levels-team or project leaders, facilitators, managers, executives, community builders, and other agents of change.

Toke Moeller has collaboratively developed an "Art of Hosting" workshop which he has co-led in various locations in North America and Europe. Toke has been pioneering in the fields of sustainable entrepreneurship, sustainable leadership, educational renewal, and social responsibility since the early 1970s. He is co-founder and CEO of InterChange, a training and process consulting company based in Denmark. He has co-led a module on convening strategic conversations at the Shambhala Institute's Summer Program for the past four years.

Barbara Bash is the author and illustrator of many books on natural history for children and adults. Her involvement with Western calligraphy led her to a successful career as a graphic artist, botanical illustrator, and teacher of book arts at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, where she collaborated with dancers, musicians, and storytellers in performance. Her study of Dharma Art with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Chinese pictograms with Ed Young has contributed to her understanding of Eastern principles as applied to Western forms. Barbara's most recent book is True Nature: An Illustrated Journal of Four Seasons in Solitude. She has been a member of the creative process faculty at the Shambhala Institute's Summer Program for the past four years.

Bob Wing is an Aikido black belt, and the chief instructor at the Naropa University Aikido Club in Boulder, Colorado. He holds a master's degree in theology and is a Trager practitioner and tutor. This is his second year at the Shambhala Institute.

From participants in the Circle, Brush and Sword module at the 2005 Authentic Leadership program:

"The melding of three modalities: hosting good conversations, using my personal katana (sword) and practising contemplative brush calligraphy was magical and enabled me to deepen my personal and professional leadership capacity." -Gabriela Ostendorfer, Consultant, Comprehensive School Health, Calgary Board of Education, Alberta

"This was all that I had hoped for and more.Toke was masterful and an impeccable model. Bob Wing playfully, but with strong intent, helped us learn how to commit to action as we put our stake in the ground. And Barbara created a safe space for us to make visible gestures from a still and quiet space inside. What I have taken away from this workshop is subtle and yet very deep. My life feels transformed even as I continue to integrate all the wisdom shared so generously in this module." -Carla Kimball, Public Speaking Coach and Trainer, President/Founder, RiverWays Enterprises, Massachussets

Back to the 2006 Summer Program page.