Executive Kindergarten™
“Where everything is possible.”
“The journey of discovery lies not in seeing new worlds, but in seeing the world with new eyes..."
Executive Kindergarten™ leader retreats have been developed with the distinct purpose of using play to help executives become more effective, innovative, and healthy leaders. Executive Kindergarten™, the first in a series of leader offerings from The Kaleidoscope Institute™, enables executives to see their work, their colleagues, their challenges – and even themselves – with fresh eyes, discovering new possibilities for the world in which they work and live.
Business and play are two words that even in the best of times rarely appear in the same sentence. Today they seem even farther apart given the complex and challenging economic and world environment in which we live. But now, more than ever, creative play and business need to join forces to meet those challenges. No longer can leaders find answers to problems only in the world of the rational, logical, and scientific. A growing number of global organizations are now using play to enhance organizational performance, including Southwest Airlines, HP, the BBC, Coca-Cola, and the World Bank.
Rationale
Executives are often frustrated, under stress, and unable to find balance, while they work longer and harder, and feel more pressure to succeed. Executive Kindergarten™ leader retreats offer 1-2 day sessions that give leaders time and space to ignite their curiosity, replenish their energy, and unearth new insights to better solve some of the perplexing problems they face everyday. Paradoxically, play is good for business!
Below are examples of the issues executives bring to the Executive Kindergarten™
- Craft a strategy to achieve goals
- Redesign an organization
- Develop ways to cut costs, yet retain product and service levels
- Improve operational efficiency
- Solve quality issues
Benefits
Executive Kindergarten™ leader retreats offer executives a place where they:
- Unlock their creativity and ingenuity
- Build new leadership capabilities
- Broaden their perspectives and expand their thinking
- Renew, reflect and revitalize
Here’s what some past participants have said:
“The Executive Kindergarten provided me with undistracted time to look at my key issue in a new way; since attending I’ve made real progress on problem-solving that issue.”
Senior VP, Financial Services Company
“The big issue I brought to the Executive Kindergarten got resolved more quickly and with greater ease because I attended. I would like to attend again to get even more exposure to new ways to solve problems.”
GM, Chemical Company
“The Executive Kindergarten created the environment for the solution to my key issue to come to me, rather than trying to “force the solution”. Executive Kindergarten was a tremendous experience.”
VP, Human Resources Financial Services Company
Format
A day at an Executive Kindergarten™ leader retreat is structured for individual, group, and free time. A typical day includes circle time, play stations, exercises, music, and creative work on difficult issues. Play stations might include: Construction Zone – blocks to build with; Tools for the Imagination – to free your creative spirit; Rhythm Section – to bring out the musician in you; The Office – where space and time are just for you; and Be Who You Want to Be – clothes to transform you.
Enrollment Process
- Executives pay a set fee for a package that includes interviews, retreats and follow-on work. The package may include:
- Initial interview to define goals and identify an issue to tackle.
- Attendance at two or three retreats over the course of a year. Every scheduled session is open to all participants.
- Check-in conversation with one of the facilitators after each retreat.
- Choice from a variety of options that allow executives to design the frequency and type of follow-up they want. This may include full or half-day refreshers, individual coaching, or peer group sessions – all designed to help the executives achieve their desired outcomes
- Executives will also be encouraged to form peer relationships to gain insight and additional support.
“To be creative, we need time to dwell in possibility.” Emily Dickinson
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