AAIE’S LEADERSHIP MASTERMINDS

AAIE Professional Learning

 

AAIE Leadership Masterminds

If the pandemic taught the AAIE community anything, it’s that leaders do better when we break out of isolation and learn in conversation and community.

Since early 2020, AAIE-sponsored Mastermind groups have offered numerous international school leaders a safe, trusted, provocative space for honest discussions around personal and professional topics of their choosing. In monthly virtual meetings, we’ve shared problems, designed solutions, and offered support to one another in ways that energize and grow capacity to lead into the future.

AAIE Masterminds builds on protocols used in similar leadership groups used in many other professional settings. Each month, one participant takes the “hotseat” to introduce a question or dilemma for feedback from the group. We also reserve time in each hourly session for open discussion of pressing questions, advice, and shared wins. Participants drive all of these conversations.

Masterminds 5.0

Registration is now open for our fifth cohort of Leadership Masterminds led by Homa Tavangar and Will Richardson of the BIG Questions Institute, which convenes in September 2022.

Choose one of these two times: 

  • 7 pm HONG KONG (7 am US EDT, then 6 am US ET beginning November 6) 
  • 7 pm CAIRO (1 pm US EDT, then 12 noon US ET beginning November 6)
 
QUESTIONS: If you have questions, please contact gerri-ann@aaie.org.

Don’t miss this acclaimed experience for fostering learning in an intimate atmosphere of trust, honesty and shared leadership. Please note that current school membership with AAIE is required for participation in this program.

 

WHAT

Two Mastermind groups capped at 15 participants, that meet monthly for eight (8) months

WHo

Registration is open to school heads, assistant heads, AND division leaders

WHen

Groups meet once per month, on the first Tuesday of the month, beginning on September 6, 2022 until April 4, 2023

cost

$495 for the entire seminar for AAIE members.

As part of a cohort you can expect to:

  • Break the isolation you might experience in your role by committing to regular monthly meetings and ongoing backchannel conversations with other international school leaders.
  • Set goals, brainstorm and test ideas, and get feedback and support in a safe, trusting environment. 
  • Build accountability to keep moving forward on your innovation and change plans, while gaining tools to confront obstacles. 
  • Engage in an active learning and self-improvement process through conversations around articles, books, podcasts and other media from various fields. 

 

Reflections from prior Mastermind participants

Karrie Dietz, Head of School, Stamford American School Hong Kong:

"Thank you for offering Masterminds. I enjoyed the camaraderie of the group, and perhaps a bigger take away for me was the coaching style Homa and Will modeled. I found it fascinating to observe their questioning and interactions to prompt further thinking, pull ideas together and include everyone. It has prompted me to reflect on my role when facilitating groups. Again, thank you!"

Dr. Michelle Kleiss, Head of School, The Overseas School of Colombo (Sri Lanka):

"I participated in the Mastermind cohort during one of the most intense and challenging periods of my professional career. The expert coaching from Homa and Will, and camaraderie with other school leaders, helped me navigate beyond immediate fires, consider new modes of thinking, and integrate different ideas and points of view to identify solutions that were even better than before." 

Dr. Emmanuel Bonin, Chief Academic Officer, Deputy Head of School, Shanghai American School:

"“It is essential for school leaders to regularly take a step back from their immediate environment, seek perspective and reflect on their practice. In what has been a challenging year (what year has not been since 2020?), the once-a-month, Tuesday evening Mastermind cohort sessions with Homa, Will, and a group of like-minded colleagues from around the world provided a welcome respite and a lifeline of reflection and ideas. Regular meetings and a stable group foster a unique collegiality and a degree of solidarity that help sustain challenging and thought-provoking reflections. I recommend it to all aspiring and current leaders in search for a meaningful and enjoyable professional learning experience”.