Meaningful Leadership for a Better World

Description

Do you care deeply about making a positive impact in the world? Like many, you may be worried about the current state of our world - its runaway societal and ecological crises, the scale of the challenges we face. You may be wondering: how do I transform difficult emotions like despair or overwhelm into creative and inspired engagement? How do I develop my leadership capacity to create positive, meaningful change?

Through deep experiential work, philosophical inquiry and practical skill-building, you will discover what you truly stand for and learn to engage with world challenges from a place of grounded compassion. You will explore what a meaningful life truly means to you, sharpen your vision for the world, and build the capacity to lead with moral ambition. You will cultivate active hope, creative engagement, and move from reflection to inspired action.

Inner work for outer change

Through deep introspection and leadership development, you will learn to:

• Clarify your unique path as a leader for positive change
• Deepen understanding of your inner strengths and growth areas
• Discover your authentic leadership voice and presence
• Connect with your core values and driving purpose
• Learn to inspire and engage others from a place of authentic leadership

Course Content

We explore diverse subjects such as moral ambition, compassionate communication, the psychology and philosophy of purpose and meaning, positive psychology of character strengths, parts work (Voice Dialogue/Hakomi), Joanna Macy’s ‘the work that reconnects’ and her concept of active hope, Roman Krznaric’s concept of the good ancestor, relational mindfulness, loving presence, embodiment practices and widening the circle of moral concern.

Four Core Aims

Over the course of the week, we focus on:

1. Develop a strong vision: Sharpen your vision for the good and discover where you can make a meaningful contribution to the world.
2. Bridge differences with others: Explore how to work with different perspectives, values, and interests in the world around you, learning to build bridges where there is resistance to change.
3. Overcome personal barriers: Work with your own doubts, fears, and limiting beliefs, transforming them into sources of understanding and growth.
4. Take next steps: Develop, formulate, and commit to clear intentions for your path forward, moving from mere awareness to action and purposeful engagement.

Who Is This For?

This course is designed for students and professionals who want to develop their capacity for meaningful leadership in service of a better world. It is for those who seek to know deeply what they stand for and how to make a difference in their communities and organizations. We will work outside in and inside out, exploring essential questions such as: What world problems touch you to the core? What is your mission? What are your core values? What kind of leader do you wish to be? What are your character strengths and what are your challenges and areas for growth?

Learning Method

Our programme combines:

• Interactive workshops and group discussions
• Reflective exercises and visualizations
• Personal leadership exercises
• Meditation and embodiment practices

Led by experienced trainers, our programme offers a unique opportunity to gain inspiration, deepen your self-understanding, develop your skills, and collaborate with like-minded peers from different countries and cultures.

Join us for this transformative week of personal growth and meaningful engagement. Apply now to be part of the Meaningful Leadership for a Better World course at Utrecht Summer School.

Day-to-Day Programme

 

Monday: Meaning & Purpose

• What matters most: connecting world problems to your mission
• Philosophy of meaningful leadership
• From overwhelm to focused clarity
• Your unique path of contribution

Tuesday: Working with Differences

• Understanding different worldviews
• Authentic communication for leadership
• Working with resistance
• Building bridges across perspectives

Wednesday: Deep Inner Work

• Discovering limiting beliefs
• Understanding their impact on your leadership
• Transformative experiential work
• Integration of new insights

Thursday: Compassionate Engagement

• Meeting world problems with compassion
• Leading from grounded presence
• From overwhelm to inspired action
• Sustainable engagement practices

Thursday evening (16.00 - 21.00 hrs): Team activity

Friday: Moving Forward

• From insights to leadership initiative
• Creating realistic next steps
• Practices for the long haul
• Building supportive connections

This is a course in which inner transformation meets meaningful impact.

Lecturers

Derek van Zoonen

Derek van Zoonen is dedicated to helping people lead more examined and meaningful lives.

He is a researcher and lecturer at the University of Oslo, where he collaborates with an interdisciplinary team at the crossroads of philosophy and psychology to explore human happiness and well-being. In particular, Derek’s research focuses on the role of meaning and positive (and negative) affect in the good life.

Before joining the University of Oslo, Derek held affiliations with Oxford University, Columbia University, Humboldt Universität in Berlin, and the University of Groningen, where he earned his PhD (cum laude) in philosophy. His dissertation on the role of pleasure in the good life won the Wierenga Rengerink Prize for the best dissertation of 2022 and was nominated for the Keetje Hodshon Prize for outstanding work in the humanities.

Outside academia, Derek applies his expertise to help individuals enrich their lives. He is training in the Hakomi Method of mindfulness-based, body-oriented psychotherapy at the European Hakomi Institute (approved by the European Association for Psychotherapy and the European Association of Body Psychotherapy), and works as a counselor. Derek also organizes retreats and regularly gives workshops and talks to help people sharpen their thinking and deepen their feeling. He also loves to support people engaging with altered states of consciousness, such as those induced by breathwork or psychedelics, helping them navigate these transformative experiences. 

Imre Végh

Imre founded the Compassionate Leadership Institute and is an international trainer and (team)coach in higher education, politics and development aid agencies. His expertise lies in personal development, communication and group dynamics. He has a passion for empathic and compassionate communication, personal leadership, finding meaning and critical thinking. As a coach he brings out the best of people in a disarming and an inspiring way. He likes to ask probing questions, challenge assumptions and analyse arguments, all aimed at growth and learning.

For seven years he ran the Better World Foundation in The Netherlands that organized intensive traineeships about practical idealism.

An idealist in heart and soul, he likes to use his critical mind to better the world. Critical when needed, with humor when possible. He likes to connect heart and mind when doing his coaching. He has worked with many politicians and members of parliament, development organisations in Uganda, Laos and Vietnam amongst others, for commercial companies and many universities such as the International Space University in Strasbourg, the Honours Programme at the University of Groningen, Nyenrode Business University and students of the University of Beijing.   

Target audience

This course is meant for advanced bachelor and master students and professionals.

Study load

The courses will start at 10:00 hours every day, and end at around 16:00 hours.

Tags

• peace building
• leadership
• personal development
• climate change
• poverty
• social innovation
• antropology
• compassion
• Communication Skills
• philosophy
• Meaning