My Tribe of Creative Leaders

One year ago, I started an educational life experience learning, “a thing” called THNK Executive Program for Creative Leadership.

I called “a thing” because it is hardly impossible to classify it as other names of formal education we normally know. It is not a Master Degree. It is not a Diploma. It is absolutely not an MBA. It is not a continued educational learning program. It is also not a mid-age-crisis refreshment course……….

My friends and colleagues at work still calling it one the above denominations because they haven’t been able to understand the idea that after an investment of time, energy and money you will not even get a single diploma to hang of your wall or add as an attachment to your resumé or online profile.

Then, what is it?

I will simply say that it is a vivid learning experience where you get together with different, yet similar, people from around the world to learn from each other by challenging, caring and inspiring one to another.

Because this is the core of THNK: we, the participants, all leaders, are the stars of the experience and the faculty are there to facilitate, stimulate and challenge the process.

Variety of diverse people, with different minds and backgrounds, but absolutely soul alike

It is an experience where lots of creativity and inspiring examples are involved but also deep reflection about oneself, as this is the base from where one can build twenty first century leadership experiences to transform and impact positively the world as we know it.

I wasn’t looking for this, it came to me at the very precise moment where I started the most recent change on my life. I couldn’t say no despite the heavy economically burden that this imply specially when I was transitioning to a different business model plenty of uncertainties.

But I decided to join it because my intuition clearly indicated that something meaningful was there waiting for me to jump into. I run into the admission process, that it is a learning experience itself, and by the time I was admitted I had clearer some tangible motives to join it.

In concrete I could identified five major reasons or expectations for me to get enroll at THNK School of Leadership program:

* To discover what was this concept of Creative Leadership and how to apply it for a better world

* Open my mind to new experiences, modern teaching techniques and methodologies

* Get some twenty-first century creative and innovative tools

* Develop properly my endeavor, my business plan with inputs and ideas from others.

* Get connected with, and inspired by, other leaders coming from different backgrounds and cultures.

It proved that I was right to have followed my intuition, because those expectations were matched in an outstanding manner thanks to the facilitators and especially thanks to the bunch of brilliant, crazy, friendly yet challenging class mates with whom I walked through the processes along the four modules.

Together we did several activities that pushed ourselves out of our comfort zone such as the walking experience in the cold water and muddy beach of the Netherlands in winter, but also out of the comfort zone with silence experiences, some plenty of deep connections to our ancestors and even some tears of pain, sadness and joy. Laugh was there of course, present all the time louder and contagious.

Definitively those experiences created strong bonds within our class, allowing the creation of the Tribe of Class 14 at THNK.

The contribution of my tribe during the finetuning process of my endeavor and purpose has been enormously sharp, challenging and decisive. Undoubtedly the biggest gain is to know that I can rely on them to keep our learning experiences beyond the formal program.

THNK experience also exceeded my expected outcomes, because I managed to put in words what is my driven purpose in life, something that I was not able to concretize and now is there, guiding me.

But THNK is something else, much bigger than the bonds with your class mates. It is a global network of people, leaders, willing to challenge the current system by innovation, kindness, serendipity and vulnerability.

The connection with the class mates is strong, but when I really realized the magnitude of the THNK community, the bigger Tribe, is when I attended the annual reunion called FSTVL.

At FSTVL I met other people, from previous classes batches, and the connection with majority was quick and profound, despite all the variety of nationalities, cultures and life experiences.

This yearly moment brings the opportunity to meet people with whom you didn’t share the whole transformational process, but to whom, after few words or gestures, you felt immediately connected and eager to engaged in their stories, the dreams and endeavors to make the world a better place.

During the days the gathering between different batches of peers occurs, one can realize how strong, diverse and wide is this network of purpose-driven creative leaders that want to contribute with positive impact in our societies.

Basically, it was at the FSTVL when I heartfelt realize who are we, the THNK´ers: Variety of diverse people, with different minds and backgrounds, but absolutely soul alike.

Definitely THNK experience has come in a key moment of my life, the starting of my second part, where all my experience, learnings, relations and feelings are the base and solid foundation towards where I’m heading to….