Finding yourself curious about what really happens when you make the choice to participate in a Leadership in the Fall Line® program?
I know I was curious how my love for skiing and my desire for higher level, fearless leadership decision making skills would merge. I wondered whom I would meet, what I would learn and how the value of such a program would, or could, drive my performance further.
Let’s take a sneak peek at the components of Leadership in the Fall Line and what those meant to me.
Our first evening was like no other program I have been a part of. I felt like I had just jumped into a secret meeting. The faculty had our group bond quicker than I have ever experienced. Discussions were lively, positive energy added depth to our time together. We were taught licensed communication tools that brought the conversation to life before my eyes. As we dove into personal goals for the week, dialogue became even richer. All of this took place while sharing libations and hors d’oeuvres. All in the first few hours of my experience.
I utilized this first evening to orient myself to the group, the surroundings and the coaches. Any questions I had were answered for the following day and I felt satisfied that I was in the right place for my ongoing growth and development.
We rolled into Day 2 with all cylinders firing. We met first thing in the morning for stretching and breakfast. With gear ready and anticipation for some great snow, we jumped on a chairlift to begin our adventure; and the work. We began our day with top notch ski coaching. We utilized video throughout the day for focused movement analysis and the ability to track improvement over the course of the trip.
This first morning magic began to happen. A question was asked about how I was feeling as we approached a specific ski run. My experience was suddenly how I’ve felt in board room style meetings; I found myself a little anxious, flustered and not focused. Without going into great detail, the parallel of how I was moving on snow correlated to how I felt in the meeting. And so it was, transformation truly began.
We headed to an incredible lunch. During this time we utilized video review and dryland movement training to anchor skill acquisition before our return to snow. We skied the rest of the day moving closer to attaining our ski goals, and our leadership goals as well. We brought our whole group together after skiing for a little après time, some light stretching and review of the progress made during the day. Did I mention the snacks and drinks and laughter? It was an incredible coming together of the group, and again, after a very short period of time working together.
This session was particularly exciting as we re-visited our goals. Due to the combination of ski coaches and leadership coaches communicating with us all day it became evident of the learning that was already taking place. I had met 5 professionals from several different industries in my group. That number tripled that afternoon. I had the opportunity of meeting “my tribe” that afternoon that has led to long term, meaningful relationships beyond the program.
We wrapped the session and we headed to an incredible dinner and social time. There was time available to continue building relationships and enjoying the beautiful mountain environment. The day closed with reflection and a chance to get some rest for the next incredible day.
That’s my bird’s eye view of a day in the life of a Fall Line participant. We were provided experiential learning environments the entirety of the program to maximize learning and value. A program that creates better leaders, better skiers and provides the opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals; need I say more?
