The Kincentric
Leadership Programme

The Kincentric Leadership programme is now completely full for 2023 -2024. Watch our events page for other ways to get involved.

Are you...

engaged in responding to the multiple interlocking crises of our times, and wanting to address causes rather than symptoms?
interested in how learning from nature can make us more innovative and resilient?
feeling kinship with all life but seeking confidence to step up and lead others into this way of being and acting?
looking for practical tools, real life examples, inspiring mentors and peers to help expand your practice?
seeking support or encouragement to speak new paradigm truths in an old paradigm world?
wanting a deep sense of community and belonging within and beyond the human?
excited to play your part building a movement?

Perhaps you are new to this worldview and intrigued by the possibility of collaborating with the more than human world. Or perhaps you are already steeped in kincentrism but wanting to embed it more firmly in your organisation or community.

Either way - if you are excited to join a pioneering international learning community - then this is for you.

Welcome to the Kincentric Leadership Programme

We are excited to weave together groundbreaking science into the intelligence, consciousness and agency of the more than human world with indigenous worldviews and practices to push the boundaries of what we think is possible as leaders and human beings facing crisis. In 2023 - 2024, we're running a pilot leadership programme for 80 leaders to embed a kincentric approach into their work, strategy, impact measurement and ways of working.

Our aim is to ensure that leaders and leaders from all walks of life know in their bones that we are part of an intelligent, living Earth and have the ability to build kinship with all life into their responses to the polycrisis. We want to ensure those leading into the challenges ahead are ready to tackle root causes and to help to re-weave humanity back into the wider web of life.

Starting in May 2023 and running for 18 months, participants from around the world will journey together, supported by teachers, wisdom holders, facilitators and mentors from many backgrounds and fields.

Who is it for?

We hope to welcome people from diverse fields and background - from early-career professionals to elders, grassroots activists to corporate leads, artists to politicians. We work with leaders because we see it as one way to quickly shift paradigms, but our definition of leader is broad - and includes individuals as well as collective or community leadership. Our hope is to welcome those who have a field of work, action or influence in which they can apply and experiment with what we explore and learn, and who are open-minded enough to try. We are paying special attention to cultural and racial diversity to create a space that is hopefully safe for all, and welcome native and non-native English speakers.

What's involved

The 18 month programme is funded by the V K Rasmussen Foundation and the invitation is to work with us and see yourself as co-researchers helping develop the field of kincentric leadership. The programme which includes the following:

One fully funded immersive retreat, which is your entry point to the programme
Monthly online community of practice gatherings up until autumn 2024. We ask that you try to attend at least 8 of these over the time period. (Dates will be publicised in early August).
One or more 1:1 or small group sessions with course organisers;
Taking part in regular tracking of capacities and skills throughout the programme.

Participation in the leadership programme doesn’t mean you need to kickstart a whole new kincentric project, but rather that you come with a willingness to experiment and co-learn. You are invited to take time to reflect on what you’ve learned and apply it within your own work or community, and feedback on how that went, so we can learn with you. This will help us formulate tools and resources that we can disseminate on a bigger scale, taking the principles and practice of kinship further afield.

We also ask that you

Write a simple report to us (we’ll supply a template) at the end of 18 months describing how you’ve applied the learning, including photos and stories;
Write a short reflective blog about your learning.

We very much value your time and input to this work and hope in turn you will stay committed to the programme.

Team Leader Trialaksita S. P. A. Carbon Stocks Measurement and Rod Surface Elevation Table

You are not Atlas carrying the world on your shoulder.
It is good to remember that the planet is carrying you

- Vandana Shiva

Team Leader Trialaksita S. P. A, the Restoring Coastal Landscape for Adaptation Integrated Mitigation Project, Photo by Aulia Erlangga CIFOR-ICRAF

How will this programme change you?

From the retreats you'll gain:

Deeper understanding of the multifaceted and diverse intelligence, agency, and intentionality of the more than human world
Insight into both indigenous and scientific ways of understanding nature
The ability to articulate what kincentrism is, why it is relevant, and how it relates to your own field
A more nuanced understanding of the polycrisis and the role of kincentrism in transforming root causes
Lived experience of yourself as an inherent and inseparable part of the wider web of life
Tools and practices for nurturing such experiences in yourself and others
A refined sense of your own unique way of being in direct relationship with the more than human world
Insight and practical ideas from inspiring examples of kincentric leadership in practice
A creative and supportive environment in which to explore what kincentric leadership could look like in your context

From the ongoing programme and community of practice you'll gain:

A supportive international community of practice practising and co-researching kincentric leadership through the polycrisis
Access to ongoing mentoring and sessions with people at the frontline of kincentric living and leadership
Tools and active support to integrate kincentrism into your organisation or community’s strategy, decision-making and project design
The opportunity to become an active contributor and pioneer in the emergent field of kincentric leadership.

This programme is for you if you are:

A leader in any field, actively engaged in responding to the polycrisis
Realistic about the depth of crisis we face and the likelihood of widespread societal collapse
Interested in expanding your strategy, activities and ways of working to include the wider web of life
Open to exploring multiple paradigms and ways of understanding and relating to the more than human world
Committed to cocreating solutions and life ways that replace systemic violence and totalitarianism towards other life-forms and people, with a kincentric approach to transformation
Excited about joining an 18 month kincentric leadership programme with people from around the world, and able to give the necessary time and commit to the whole programme.

It speaks of being attuned to the blooming of the bitterroot, the running of the salmon, the cycles of the moon. Of knowing that we are tied to the land—the trees and animals and soil and water—and to one another, and that we have a responsibility to care for these connections and resources, ensuring the sustainability of these ecosystems for future generations and to honor those who came before. Of treading lightly, taking only what gifts we need, and giving back. Of showing humility toward and tolerance for all we are connected to in this circle of life. But what my years in the forestry profession have also shown me is that too many decision-makers dismiss this way of viewing nature and rely only on select parts of science. The impact has become too devastating to ignore.

- Suzanne Simard, Finding the Mother Tree

The Kincentric Leadership Programme