Co.school helped design and hosted a 3-day, Okanagan-based leadership retreat to explore the question: "How might we share resources and co-operate more effectively as a distributed organization?"
Three years after we first worked together, the BC and Yukon leaders from the Anglican Church of Canada were ready to revisit and continue their work. Previously, they had explored how the metaphors like mycelial fungi networks and the concept of starfish organizations might lead them towards a more decentralized, locally-empowered leadership model. Having now practiced and prototyped several projects towards that vision, it was time for a check-in and renewal.
Driven by a clear sense of mission and vision, the arc of the retreat followed the path of looking back, taking stock, and looking forward. Together, they shared stories of lessons learned from the past few years, to communicate with the group about progress. From there, we helped them take inspiration for other metaphors (including the 150-year masterwork Sagrada Familia, and the wonders of the human circulatory system), before inviting them to develop their own concepts and possibilities. Moving further still into action and decision-making, before the weekend was out, they had created action plans, drafted letters to their own communities, and created clear lists of commitments for them to take forward to their home towns and parishes.
The multi-day, multi-site retreat convened at UBC Okanagan, before moving to the group's own site of worship and meeting downtown Kelowna. The mix of modern and ancient, natural and built environments, created a tone shift that respected the group's values.
The three-day summit was a unique blend of design, collaboration, creativity and connection. These participants worked hard in session, for days that spanned hours, yet never lost sight of the overall purpose, nor of the hope that powered them. The regional beauty of Kelowna and the surrounding Okanagan proved to be restorative and central for participants who came from the Yukon, Northern BC, the Gulf Islands, the Kootenays, Vancouver Island, and the Lower Mainland.
As one of the organizers expressed:
"Thanks once again for walking us through this process, helping us to rekindle and deepen our commitment to working with one another, and recording the conversations in ways that will help us move forward in the days ahead. I'm looking forward to all that will emerge from this gathering, both in terms of its infectious hope, and the practical outworking of all we've committed to."
