Frequently Asked Questions

We understand that this is a big commitment on your part and the ingredients of our program have a particular flavour. Sometimes our modules get spicy, sometimes sweet and sometimes hard to describe. Don't hesitate to get in touch if your appetite of social change remains curious and you have more questions.

Why was the Praxis Institute and this program created?

We designed a program we would want to take ourselves! Today's leadership demands are extraordinary and taxing and they require humility to tackle honestly. Why tackle them alone?

As a transformative agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals presents a ‘wicked problem’ that will require new ways of thinking and being if we are to arrive at this aspirational vision of collective well-being.

Changemakers need to think across sectors and scales, to prioritize specific SDG actions while recognizing the interdependence of the framework as a whole. They need to build complex partnerships capable of co-creating solutions. Solutions that are beyond the capacity of individual organizations, sectors or nations to solve alone. It is a skillset and way of being that cannot be "taught" so much as "explored" with like minded cohorts. Some of these challenges are unfolding in real time underlining the need for an approach that also adapts as it unfolds.

Our Transformational Leadership Program exists to develop these capacities and ensure that changemakers can take full advantage of the transformational questions that the SDGs and other sustainable development challenges pose - how do we do this? All at once? All together? How do we resolve the contradictions? How do we transform ourselves, our communities, and our systems in the given time frames? The program is also designed so that practitioners can immediately put transformational leadership skills to use in advancing transformational agendas.

Can I contribute to the program’s facilitation or design?

Yes, we encourage participant input and feedback throughout the Transformational Leadership Program. The program is designed to be adaptive. While the core structure and themes of modules have been established, there is room to adapt the program to participant needs, key issues and opportunities for praxis. We have confidence in the basic blueprint of what we offer but rely on the brilliance of our cohorts to make each offering shine.

Are you taking a Justice, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI) approach in your work? What about accessibility?

Our team is committed to incorporating a JEDI and accessibility lens to the design, implementation and management of our program, including participant recruitment, pedagogies, learning outcomes and thematic content. The program aims to be JEDI-informed so that it addresses current and potential forms of oppression and injustice, and contributes to a more equitable world through its own practices, and the skills and capacities it supports.

Is this an individual program or for groups?

The Transformational Leadership Program is for individuals. Peer learning, collective inquiry and exploration are key elements of the program. There is group work during and outside of facilitated sessions. Most of the participants will be embedded in organizations or institutions that are well positioned to influence change and action on the SDGs, climate change, social justice or sustainability.

What is “praxis”?

We define “praxis” as the process of putting ideas into action for the transformation of self, society and system toward a better world. The Praxis Institute is concerned with enacting and embodying the SDGs and leveraging Agenda 2030 for tangible impact. The application of praxis also involves practitioners and professionals generating ideas from action through learning by doing and sharing experiences.

How will the program be facilitated?

The Transformational Leadership Program has a team of core facilitators who you will meet during Module I and will oversee the coordination and adaptive design of the program. Core facilitators and guest facilitators will facilitate online sessions that take place during a module. These sessions will focus on providing tools, experiences and peer dialogue and inquiry to work through challenges and come to new approaches and solutions together.

What will I personally learn or gain from the program?

This really depends on you and the frame of mind you bring to the program. Each of us is facing unique challenges as we seek transformational change and action on the SDGs in this time of crisis. Where are you stuck? The program is designed to help you name these challenges for yourself and to develop the inner, interpersonal (collective) and systems change capacities needed to respond to unstick yourself. What this looks like will be different for each person.

In general, the Transformational Leadership Program provides the opportunity to:

Develop your capacity for leadership during times of systems crisis, shock and transformation.
Gain ongoing access to a toolkit of practices that support transformational change and leadership development.
Join a community of like-minded peers that support each other's transformational change journey in a reflective, supportive and open space to explore challenges and opportunities.

How flexible is the program? Can I complete it at my own pace?

No, this is not a "go at your own pace" on-line program. Participants are expected to attend all six modules and each of the 2-hour online sessions in order to complete the Transformational Leadership Program. If a participant is not able to attend a module upon signing up, they will not be able to join the program, as peer learning is a key pedagogical principle of the program. Program learning tasks that are carried out in-between modules can be completed according to a participant's own schedule. We know this is a big commitment (and you are probably a busy person) but you will become such an important participant to the process that we ask for full participation at the onset.

How will this program benefit my organization?

How is your organization stuck? The program provides participants with key tools and experiences that will help you to help your organization better work with transformational agendas. By intensely working with you (a key leader in your organization) we believe your organization can evolve to the next stage of its potential. Transforming is about unsticking, getting stuck again, and then unsticking in an ever evolving journey to a better world. Our program is designed with this in mind.