Extreme Leadership Ireland

Inspiration for Extreme Leadership Ireland

In 2016 I received my Ph.D. in Global Leadership. During the course of my academic study in the program, I researched a number of leadership programs. Programs ranged from traditional academic programs to executive education programs that emphasized the study of leadership, in addition to "for profit" programs modeled on military training, to branded programs based on books written by leadership gurus.

Each leadership program offered something of value, whether it was defining the characteristics of leadership or immersing the participant into the leadership tactics similar to that of the Navy SEALS. But something was missing, or should I say lacking in leadership training.

The missing component was context. The aforementioned leadership programs focused on content rather than context and that is the reason why many leadership programs fail to achieve desired results. Context, in my opinion, is the most important ingredient of any leadership program as it provides the environment for which leaders subjectively live and interact in on a daily basis.

Thus was born the idea for Extreme Leadership Ireland.

In today's society, cultural awareness is a necessary characteristic needed by global leaders. It is also an area where business leaders, especially Americans, have struggled. American leaders have struggled due to the lack of culture awareness, as "we" have not had to learn another language to do business or had any reason to travel internationally, as "we" have not had to do so. And it is no fault of our own. It's just the way things used to be.

But times have changed and borders no longer have walls and Americans are now playing catch up with other leaders around the world to become globally aware. Therefore, it is imperative any leader to gain experiential training within a global context.

So, why not combine leadership training with a global experience within a context of challenging the leaders. We call it "extreme leadership."

Len Clark, Ph.D.

What it does

Extreme Leadership Ireland is a collaborative initiative between Cappanalea - the National Centre for Outdoor Education & Training in Ireland and du Lac Leadership and UProute Travel in the United States. The objective of this global collaboration is to offer a unique extreme leadership program within a comfortable context or setting for Americans, or other nationalities, so that they can experience the tourism offerings of Ireland while gaining valuable leadership training.

For this Extreme Leadership Ireland offering, our goal is to offer leadership training to participants who will walk the Kerry Camino. The Camino is a 3-day walk from Tralee to Dingle on Ireland's Dingle Peninsula.

The focus of this extreme leadership program is on the mind, body, and spirit.

Mind - Participants will take a DiSC Assessment prior to beginning the Camino. DISC is an assessment that reports a person’s behavioral and communication style based on patterns of behavior that can be grouped into four major styles. DiSC also provides an understanding of how one might adjust their behavioral approach to interact more effectively with those who are different than themselves. The facilitators of this extreme leadership experience will use the outdoors as the classroom for participants.

Body - Participants will be challenged with the physical activity of walking the 57km Kerry Camino. Physical activity is an often forgotten need in the leadership of others, One can not effectively lead others if they cannot lead themselves. So an emphasis on exercise and nutrition will be communicated to participants participating in the extreme leadership program.

Spirit - Participants will "walk in the footsteps" of St. Brendan, The Navigator, as pilgrims on a journey of contemplation. They will also have the opportunity to contemplate on the walk and reflect on life. Elements of breathing exercises, meditation, and yoga will be touched upon.

The initial Extreme Leadership Ireland - Kerry Camino offering will be open to invitation to potential partners of the program. These are individuals who may be part of future programs by interacting with participants during the evenings of the walk. Here, stories will be told about the area by locals who will also provide a cultural immersion for the participants in addition to other lessons ranging from pub etiquette to political discussion. We intend to invite members from RTE, Fáilte Ireland, and the Irish Camino Society to help promote the program.

What's next for Extreme Leadership Ireland

The initial beta group will also be joined on their journey by a global audience who will walk the Kerry Camino virtually. A social media page will document the experience of the beta group in hopes of encouraging those who virtually participate to one day plan a trip to Ireland and walk the Kerry Camino and take advantage or Irish tourism opportunities, as well as Cappanalea offerings. We are just as excited about the virtual opportunity because this will include those individuals with physical limitations and challenges to be a part of this global leadership project.

Virtual Participant - $99 An account to virtually walk the Kerry Camino A DiSC Assessment ($72) Webinar on team building, nutrition, and exercise

Physical Participant – Guestimate around $1,800 Travel to Ireland on own A DiSC Assessment ($72) 5 day package in Kerry – TBD by UPRoute Travel Extreme Leadership experience including team building by Cappanalea

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