Agapé - Workplace Initiative - Habits of the Heart

The course begins with a 54 question spiritual inventory, conducted 1-1 by a coach who will normally continue to work with the same person throughout the year. This inventory often forms part of the decision-making process for those considering signing up for a course. The coach will then feed back a summary of the inventory through a two page report, offering pointers and suggestions the individual may wish to follow as the course progresses, based on their inventory scores. Each participant will repeat this inventory in the middle and at the end of the course, measuring progress against their own ideals and goals.

The Course Structure

The course then proceeds in four phases. Each phase is two to three months long, consisting of spiritual exercises aimed at forming and retaining good life habits, a 1-1 coaching session in the middle, and a 90 minute group session at either end. Each group session rounds off the previous phase and introduces the next. Each phase invites participants to consider both external behaviour and deeper heart issues.

Phase 1: Appreciating Beauty

Recognizing and appreciating beauty is a prerequisite to creating it. But it’s easy to rush through life not noticing or dwelling on beauty in its many-splendoured forms. We work on this area first, exploring our connections with culture and nature, because it offers the fastest progress in the shortest time. Most people instinctively know how to energize themselves better through their eyes and ears - they simply need to get on and do it. But we also ask participants to carry out an exercise in which they reflect on what would constitute a “beautiful” and “successful” life for them.

Phase 2: Relationships

Some of the most awesome beauty in the world can be seen in the remarkable creatures we call human beings. Sadly they can be some of the most ugly too. So at the start of this second phase we provide some training in communication skills at a level determined by the inventory scores of the group, and we invite participants to practice these skills during the weeks following. This time we invite participants to go deep by starting work on a life map. An optional enhancement to the course is available for individuals or companies which have previously identified relational skills as an individual or corporate weakness. This enhancement seeks to build Emotional Intelligence in more depth, setting it in the context of integrity, moral courage and an others-centred paradigm. It involves an extra five hours of contact time.

Phase 3: Self-control

Self-control is largely about connecting well what we see with what we do. On the one hand, there is the principle of delayed gratification. One of the things that distinguishes us human beings from the animals is our ability to reject what comes naturally in favour of a higher goal. Our boundless creativity is such that we have produced all kinds of possibilities that are bad for us. On the other hand, we see an opportunity to help and miss it, we see a chance for adventure and draw back, we see a vision of humanity and fail to enter into it. Avoiding the bad and pursuing the good takes focus and practice. It may also require patience and forgiveness. As self-control is also about wise use of resources, there is a group exercise during this phase aimed at building a culture of generosity.

Phase 4: Mission

Who am I and what do I really want? Many of the earlier threads of the course come together now in this final phase. In “The Adventure of Living”, Paul Tournier describes the three phases of life as “naissance, connaissance and reconnaissance” - birth, knowledge and thankfulness. What will it take to look back on life and be thankful, when life is dominated by being more than doing, by memories more than action? What is my place on planet earth? How do I relate to humanity? How do I see ultimate reality? Each participant is invited to give a short talk in the closing session on one such heart issue that touches on their own sense of identity and mission, fostering a culture of appropriate self-disclosure, storytelling and ongoing accountability.

Evaluation

Among the 18 participants who completed the first year of the pilot course, 81% felt that it helped them draw more energy from culture and nature, 94% felt it had helped them build more effective relationships, 94% felt it had helped them grow in self-control, 100% felt it had helped them grow in self-awareness, 78% felt they had become clearer on their life purpose and 71% felt they had developed new life skills.

Check dates before registering