NGO Retreat: Leadership To Laddership
Location: Parel East, Mumbai, India
Duration: --
"The success of an intervention depends on the interior condition of the intervenor." --Bill O’Brien
We imagine leaders as people in charge, executing pathways and directing groups to new visions. However, as our institutions shift from predictable and mechanistic infrastructures to far more complex and emergent networks of interdependence, it is also inviting an evolution of our leadership models. We call it Laddership.
On Nov 26th, a wide range of NGO leaders and other change-makers are coming together to explore transformative shifts of Laddership, like:
- shift from a plan-and-execute model to a search-and-amplify model, that invites us to cultivate multiple forms of wealth beyond money
- pay attention to the edges in place of the center, that invite us to cultivate "deepcast" networks
- shift from transactional to relational frameworks that invite us to move from finite, zero-sum games to much more infinite frameworks
Moreover, instead of a fragmented approach to outer change and inner change, such Laddership is predicated upon a deep synergizing between our outer impact with our inner transformation. We believe that such an approach might be crucial to co-create a field for radically innovative solutions that our challenged world needs today.
In this gathering (in Parel East), everyday change-makers and NGO pioneers will interact with each other on these uncommon questions, listen to stories from our guest, and collectively dive deeper on themes around these principles.
Alongside local change-makers, we're also delighted to have Nipun Mehta join us. He's the founder of ServiceSpace, a distributed global movement founded on small acts of service that ignite shifts in individual and collective consciousness. Harnessing the collective power of networks and our deeper interconnectedness, their work has reached millions and mushroomed into numerous community-based projects as well as inspiring content portals. Nipun was honored as an "unsung hero of compassion" by the Dalai Lama, not long before former U.S. President Obama appointed him to a council for addressing poverty and inequality in the US. Yet the core of what strikes anyone who meets him is his regenerative joy: "We are not what we do, but who we become by what we do."
On Sunday Nov 26th, we will gather from 10:00AM to 5:00PM in Mumbai (in Parel East). If you'd like to join, simply fill the RSVP form below.
*Please note, that this event is already near-full but if you'd like to participate, please apply and if we're able to squeeze you in, the host team will get in touch with you, closer to the date. We also encourage you to explore our other events here.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
"In a gentle way, you can shake the world," Gandhi once said. It’s hard to believe that when we feel disconnected. Instead, we fight for a bigger hammer – more money, more fame, more power. Last year, in Economist magazine, the head of Gallup summarized the global status quo like this: "Negative emotions -- the aggregate of stress, sadness, anger, worry and physical pain -- reached a record high last year."
How do we respond skillfully to the personal, social and systemic gaps with a heart of compassion? Gandhi's recommendation was counter-intuitive: if an intervention doesn’t work, try a gentler one. If even that fails, go gentler still. Today’s culture tends to equate gentle with soft, but it’s hardly so. To be gentle is to be connected, and with that awareness, we can see more and do more. When our individual flow aligns with the collective flow, what might emerge in the wholeness of our connection? Like a murmuration of starlings, what innovations might we unlock if we are able to come together with heart of service?
- Inspiring participants. Lots of great hearts are coming together!
- Uncommon questions. For quick-fix, binary, either-or answers, we already have Google; we aim to hold questions to lean into its nuances first.
- Noble Friendships. Our hope is to nurture a rich matrix of friendships among unlikely friends.
- Volunteer Run. It's run entirely by volunteers, so there's no solicitation, pitches, agendas. Just practice of love.
The retreat goes from 10:00AM on Nov 26th (Sunday), 2023 to Sunday, Nov 26th @ 5PM. Please ensure you reach the retreat venue before that, and that being present for the entire duration is required.
Through our time together, we will sit in circles to learn from each other’s experiments and challenges; hear and engage with some innovative speakers across sectors; engage in many group practices that nurture our collective inner transformation. Plenty of opportunities to engage the head, hands and of course the heart. Plus a few surprises!
Over last twelve years, thousands have joined from a wide-ranging backgrounds. Perhaps what brought them together was a simple organizing principle: We are not merely what we do, but who we become by what we do. If you resonate with the notion that inner change and outer change are intrixicably intertwined, and if you are moved to cultivate deep connections with kindred spirits, this retreat will likely speak to you! Beyond that, we'd recommend leaning in your heart's intuition -- more often than not, 'heart knows today what the mind will know tomorrow.' :)
To facilitate deeper connections, we limit the group size of our gatherings -- and give priority to project initiators who are anchoring local projects in their contexts.
If you have any questions, please contact us anytime. To co-create our sacred field of emergence, we welcome you join us!
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