What time does the course start and finish at?

The course starts at 9am each day and finishes with a hard stop at 4pm. We serve breakfast starting at 8:30am, and encourage you to arrive then to eat and get settled before the 9am start time.

What is the dress code for this course?

There is no official dress code for this course. We recommend business casual.

What is included in the course fee?

All the course materials, your workbook, breakfast, lunch, snacks, and refreshments.

Is the parking included?

At two of our Ottawa locations, there is free parking (nordik and urban element); however, the majority of courses are offered at hotels in downtown locations where parking is not included.

What if I need to book a hotel close to the venue for your courses?

When our events are offered within a hotel, we negotiate a special room rate for our guests. Please let us know and we will provide you with the proper contact information to receive this special discount. If you are from out of town, don't hesitate to call or email us for hotel recommendations close to the venue or more information.

If I have food allergies or a special need, how can I let you know about this?

There is a field on the registration form where you can indicate if you have any allergies, food preferences, dietary restrictions or special needs. We communicate all of these to the venues and they are always very accommodating. This is very common and we encourage you to let us know, as we strive to make your experience as positive as possible.

Why do the costs vary across cities?

We are able to negotiate special rates at a variety of venues, specifically in Ottawa as we do the majority of our courses and team building events there. In the future, if we are able to have these types of special rates in other cities, we will pass on the savings through our course costs.

How many people attend these courses?

We take a maximum of 20 participants and need a minimum of 6 people to run a course.

What course is best for certain industries? For example, I'm in the manufacturing industry, do you have a specific course for this industry?

We do not offer these public courses to specific industries. If you are interested in having us come in to do this course internally, please let us know. With regard to the public course offering, our experience is that the more diverse the group, the better the experience. We have heard from past participants that they appreciate gaining a different perspective and insight as a result of having participants from diverse industries present. What we've learned is that regarding leadership, it doesn't matter what industry you're in, it is all part of the "people puzzle" and these two day courses offer a unique perspective to gain more insight.

You call your courses unique, what makes them so unique?

First of all, we try to choose venues that offer a nice, relaxing, inviting atmosphere with good food! More importantly, our hope for you is that our courses will have a lasting impact on you as a leader and as a person. These are not your typical course structures where many models will be discussed; instead they both offer a balanced mix of self-reflection time, one-on-one discussions, small group work and large group discussions. We strive to make the learning stick through creating an experiential environment and by making people of all styles feel comfortable participating at the level they want to.

Who is leading the courses?

We always facilitate our courses as a team. You will meet both of us - Ruth Gmehlin and Jill Geddes - at the course. We have very different styles and strengths and facilitating as a team allows us to keep the energy high and the content fresh.

How long have you been in business?

We have been in business for over 10 years. Our initial focus was on team building, which is still our expertise. We feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with a variety of clients across North America. After six years in business, we started to see different patterns with teams and leaders. This led us to develop the Authentic Leadership Course. We have offered it over 30 times in the past three years and we've had the luxury of being able to tweak it as we receive user feedback after each course we've facilitated. This has also led to us designing the Leadership Philosophy course.

I only have budget for one of your two courses, which one should I take?

The Authentic Leadership Course is focused on communication and understanding how your leadership style impacts the people you are leading and influencing. You will walk away with communication strategies; tips for adapting your style, a process for preparing for difficult conversations, and ways to communicate via storytelling.

The Leadership Philosophy Course is focused on you gaining clarity around your passions, motivators, goals, and expectations of self and others. It's useful for people who are either at a cross-road in their career path and want to gain clarity or for leaders who are having difficulty communicating what they need, want, and expect from their staff to help produce the desired results they are looking for.

If you can't choose and are interested in both, we offer a further discount of $150 off each course to participants who signs up for both. We also try to offer these courses back-to-back, so participants can turn it into four consecutive days away from the office and keep travel and disruption at a minimum.

Is it mandatory to take the Authentic Leadership Course before the Leadership Philosophy Course?

Absolutely not! They are completely independent of one another. The Authentic Leadership Course was created first and so some people might assume that you need to take it before the other. It's really a matter of personal preference and the type of leadership development you are interested in exploring.

There is someone from my office attending a course I want to take, is this alright or is it better to choose another event where I would be on my own?

This is a personal choice. The advantages to attending the course on your own is that you may be more "free" to participate openly and gain new insights or fresh perspectives, unencumbered by pre-conceived notions. By the same token, attending with a colleague from work can help strengthen the resolve to make changes and incorporate what was learned back at the office.

I would like to speak to someone who has taken one of your courses to get a better understanding of the experience and how it had an impact back at the office. Is this possible?

We encourage you to ask us for references and we will do our best to connect you with a past participant either in your city or industry.