Four Seasons Leadership - Expedition: Good Life

Four seasons Leadership
A development program that lasts

Rooted leadership for a better world

In an ever changing world, your organization needs people that contribute in a proactive and positive manner. We call this rooted leadership: a type of leadership that stems from thorough self-knowledge and that is deeply connected with the organization.

In our four seasons (year-round) leadership program, we develop rooted leadership guided by nature. Each season is home to a topic relevant to that season. Our standard ingredients of outdoor experiences, meaningful conversations and professional guidance are always there.

The result of this is leaders that trust themselves more, are better in working together with others and are able to proactively take the lead on change. This is how we believe leaders contribute to a better world.

The program

The rhythm of nature, the seasons, is the guiding metaphor in our program. We make use of native knowledge on the relationship between self-development and nature to guide your leadership development.

Build-up of the program

Each program starts with an individual intake in which we discuss individual learning goals. After that, we work as a group. Each season we organize a 2-day training program, based on the theme of that season:

Spring – passion, inspiration. What drives you and how is that of use?
Summer – true self, strength. What is your journey, how has that shaped you?
Autumn – harvest, choices. How do you choose for what is important?
Winter – contemplation, gratefulness. How do you lead the way with ease?

Standard ingredients

At our training locations, tucked away in nature, these ingredients lay the basis for deep learning:

Hiking: taking a long walk in the forest sets the stage for deep conversations.
Rituals & interacting with nature: we make ‘use’ of nature to learn. Building fires, ice-baths, creating stone balances are just some examples. The use of rituals, rites of passage, are sometimes applied to get out of our heads and into ourselves.
Professional guidance: we have a business background and are educated in both native knowledge and professional coaching. We use proven theories and help you apply this in practice.

This program has helped me recognize my own patterns and preferences. The specific themes in each module have helped me to relate what I have learned to the business we are in. Because the program runs for a whole year, I am able to integrate the learnings in daily practice: I am more able to recognize the needs of others and I am aware of the behavior that is needed from my position in the organization.

Kadeem, HR Lead

The learning in this program takes place in a safe environment. It is a great development journey where all participants are challenged to enhance their impact on the organization and our clients. Because of the active feedback of the coaches towards me as a director, we can actively adapt our way of working to best support the effectiveness of our leaders.

Lonneke, Director

Tell us about your leadership challenge

Why we choose to go outside

In the Western world, we are mostly guided by our ‘thinking’ and educated with rational management philosophies. Though they have their added value to some parts of business, it means that we lead mainly with our heads rather than our hearts.

The connection with our motivation and intuition is often overshadowed. This makes us primarily future-oriented and less likely to be guided by what is needed in the here and now.

The inspiration for the leadership program we develop comes from various native traditions. Many native tribes use nature as a guide in their leadership. For example, for them the rhythm of nature guides the choices they make in life.

By following nature and doing what makes sense, the awareness has developed that there is more to the relationship between ‘us’ and ‘nature’.

Thus, tools and rituals have been developed to harness this awareness and help yourself and others on the path to the good life.

Our leadership trainings focus on personal development that reawakens the connection to motivation and intuition and helps you stay grounded in decision making.

This program challenges me to put into practice what I have learned about myself. Also, it is great to go through this learning journey with my colleagues – I really get to know them & connect with them on a deeper level.

Leonie, behavior change expert

The coaching in this program really helped me: it is spot-on, down-to-earth and applicable to my daily work. The mix of concepts & experiences in this program helped me to apply what I have learned in leading my team.

Philine, senior project manager