The Heart
of Leadership

Women’s Leadership Retreat

29 Nov – 01 Dec 24
UMVA Muhazi, Rwanda

Heart of Leadership

Why this retreat?

As Women Leaders, we have rich and unique female qualities to offer at the leadership table and in our presence as leaders. Qualities like empathy, inclusion, collaboration, relationship-building and adaptability. Qualities that mean we often excel at creating inclusive and supportive environments where teamwork and innovation thrive.

However, despite these strengths, we often face barriers such as gender bias, stereotypes, and the challenges of maintaining work-life balance, often with greater responsibilities in home life. On top of this, there can be expectations to focus on developing our masculine leadership qualities to gain respect and to ‘compete’ in what is often a male dominated leadership landscape.

These conditions mean we rarely find the space and time to stay connected to our female leadership qualities, we can start to doubt in their value, and so they struggle to emerge and flourish alongside our masculine qualities.

By offering this retreat, we hope to challenge this norm and contribute to a more human- and female-centric leadership approach. Supporting women in leadership positions to trust themselves, lean into authenticity and demonstrate, through their embodied qualities, the power of female leadership.

Top Hair Schnitt Friseur Koeln Ehrenfeld

The Retreat Journey

During this retreat, you’ll have the chance to:

  • Enhance Leadership Qualities: We’ll explore and cultivate female and male qualities such as courage, compassion, curiosity and clarity. Women leaders often default to cultivating their male qualities once they land in higher leadership positions, leaving the female qualities behind. What would it look like to hold onto and nurture both?
  • Foster Resilience: In a world marked by constant change and unpredictability, the retreat will strengthen our resilience. Exploring methods to regulate our internal states and to learn to find ease amidst the uncertainty and not-knowing.
  • Understand human processing: We’ll use The Medicine Wheel as a framework throughout the retreat. By walking through the Medicine Wheel, we will gain a sense of what is needed to guide change within ourselves as well as others.

Medicine Wheel

The Medicine Wheel originates from wisdom traditions. Going through the wheel helps us understand the natural process of growth and change. It guides beyond what is apparent, supporting us to go deeper within ourselves and ask critical and compassionate questions. It encourages us to take full responsibility for our lives as a leader.

Top Hair Schnitt Friseur Koeln Ehrenfeld

Day One – Slow Down

  • Arrival 4-6pm
  • Retreat Opening Session
  • Communal Dinner
  • Evening Session – deep slowing down and relaxation practices.

Day Two – Journey Inwards

An emergent journey, using contemplative practices as our guide. The day will involve time and space for:

  • Medicine Wheel group work
  • Intentional reflection time in nature
  • Guided Journaling
  • Movement and Yoga practice
  • Guided Mindfulness and Compassion practice
  • Periods of silent reflection
  • Fireplace counsel

Day Three – Emerge with Clarity & Intention

  • A morning of continued reflection, movement and mindfulness practice.
  • Retreat Closing Session
  • Departure after communal lunch.
  • Continued connection and community
  • Opportunities to stay connected after the retreat.

Continued connection & community

Opportunities to stay connected after the retreat.

Creating Space

We are extremely intentional about the retreat space we create.

During this retreat, you will have the space to fully disconnect from the busyness of work and life. A space where you can let go of expectations to be someone special, and instead simply be.

Through shared reflective practices, creative work, mindful movement and yoga, and nature experiences, there’ll be space for slowing down and opening up to refreshed perspectives and personal insights.

Mutual support will be a key element of this retreat, and the exchange with other woman leaders in an intimate and safe space will play a crucial role in the journey.

Mindfulness will be a thread throughout. It is essential for embodying the qualities necessary for inclusive and sustainable leadership. There will be opportunity to deepen our mindfulness practice and explore how to integrate it into our daily lives.

Top Hair Schnitt Friseur Koeln Ehrenfeld

Retreat Holding Team

Liane Stephan

Liane is the Co-director and Co-founder of Awaris, based in Cologne, Germany. She has over 30 years of experience in leadership development, mindfulness, systemic organisation development and culture change. She has supported leadership development with leaders across the continent of Africa, including Liberia, Congo and Morocco. She is an executive coach and enjoys coaching many C-suite woman leaders.

Rachel Schmieder

Rachel is the UK Director at Awaris. She has a background in People Operations and Leadership Development within mission-driven organisations. Now based in the UK, Rachel lived and worked in Rwanda for 6 years. During this time she introduced Mindful Leadership trainings within her workplace, and co-founded the ITUZE Mindfulness and Yoga centre in Kigali. She has been practicing mindfulness and contemplative practices for over 15 years.

Violaine Faye

Violaine is a certified Hatha yoga teacher and the Founder of Safe Space Yoga in Kigali. With three years of experience leading group classes, private sessions and retreats in Rwanda, she is passionate about using yoga’s tools and philosophy to create a nurturing space for personal growth and empowerment. With a background in nursing she transitioned into humanitarian work and public health, all focused on supporting women’s health and well-being.

Top Hair Schnitt Friseur Koeln Ehrenfeld

Awaris Retreats

This retreat forms part of a series of retreats offered by Awaris globally.

Awaris is an established Leadership Development company based in Germany, with branches around the world.

We work with Governments and Institutions, to businesses and NGOs, to support their leaders to amplify their impact through developing their inner capacities.

Awaris Retreats, Learning Journeys and coaching offerings are rooted in the intersection of neuroscience, mindfulness and contemplative traditions, and focus on building awareness, compassion and resilience. You can learn more by visiting awaris.com.

Retreat Details

All aspects of this retreat have been designed to create an intimate and safe environment, a part of this is limiting the retreats to a maximum of 9 women.

Top Hair Schnitt Friseur Koeln Ehrenfeld

Location

UMVA Lodge, Lake Muhazi

The retreat will take place in the beautiful and intimate setting of UMVA Lodge at Lake Muhazi, just 1 hour and 30 minutes from Kigali.

Nestled by the tranquil lakeside, this stunning locations offers an ideal space to slow down, connect with nature, ourselves and each other.

Top Hair Schnitt Friseur Koeln Ehrenfeld

Dates

Friday 29 Nov – Sunday 01 Dec 2024

Arrival between 4 and 6 pm on Day 1 and departure after lunch on Day 3.

Top Hair Schnitt Friseur Koeln Ehrenfeld

Pricing

All-Inclusive Investment: $1,100

This covers all aspects of the retreat experience, including individual accommodation, meals and activities.

Each retreat is limited to a maximum of 9 women.

Registration

To find out more and secure your spot, please contact:

Rachel Schmieder: rachel.schmieder@awaris.com
Violaine Faye: contactsafespaceyoga@gmail.com

We look forward to hearing from you and would love to welcome you to be a part of this retreat.

Top Hair Schnitt Friseur Koeln Ehrenfeld
{

Our power comes from within.