Performance Transformation and Lead With Giants to Host Affective Leadership Workshop Demo

Jan. 15, 2013 - PRLog -- Performance Transformation, LLC™ (Venice, FL) announced today it will conduct a complementary, experiential demonstration of its new workshop, "Affective Leadership Development" on February 15, 2013 in Bradenton, FL.  The workshop demo is being sponsored by Lead With Giants and hosted by the Sarasota Manatee Association for Riding Therapy (SMART).

Affective Leadership is a mindful approach to engaging, guiding, and motivating human beings to perform at their optimal capacity.  The approach employs insights garnered from peer-reviewed research from affective neuroscience, social neuroscience, performance psychology, emotional intelligence, applied behavioral economics and creative thinking.  

"Affective Leadership is first about understanding the emotional and psychological affect we have on those we lead, simply by showing up," said Terry Murray, Managing Parter of Performance Transformation (http://www.performtransform.com).  "Are we congruent and consistent in what we say, what we do, and how we are being present?  How we act and interact has a biochemical and neurological impact on everyone we encounter."

Mr. Murray goes on to add, "Second, it is about leading with empathy.  People that lead with authenticity, compassion and vulnerability are powerfully engaging. Research from more than a half dozen scientific disciplines clearly demonstrates the biological response people have to both positive and negative emotional stimuli.  This response either triggers engagement and creative thinking or disengagement and apathy.  In today's Ideas Economy, leading with compassion drives profitable growth."

Lead With Giants (http://leadwithgiants.com) is a community organization founded by Dan Forbes in Sarasota, Florida.  The group focuses on supporting and expanding leadership throughout the community.  Dan is also a Financial Advisor with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in Sarasota.

SMART (http://smartriders.org) is a 501(c)(3), Therapeutic Riding Facility serving children with developmental disabilities in the Sarasota/Manatee community for over 25 years. SMART and Performance Transformation partner to conduct personal and professional development workshops employing Equine Facilitated Experiential Learning.

"We're thrilled to be working with Gail Clifton, her wonderful team and the exceptional herd of horses at SMART," commented Terry.  "We love the business model. By partnering with SMART, a significant percentage of our clients' investment in workshops goes to support programs for children with special needs.  It's a win/win/win."

Affective Leadership evolved out of Performance Transformation's original program, Transformational Leadership.  The approach represents more than four years of research, development and validation.  The work is grounded by more than two decades of real-world leadership experience.

"When we view the world through the lens of empathy, clarity emerges," said Terry.  "Empathy is an under utilized learning tool in our culture.  It enables us to learn through the experiences of others.  It allows us to engage.  If we think about it, out of all the creatures born on this Earth, humans are the most vulnerable at birth.  We were born to be cared for; and neurologically and biochemically, we evolved to care for others."

"The first step is to recognize our own conditioning.  Our culture and institutions influence our natural orientation.  Our workshops enable participants to gently strip away that veneer and begin to cultivate self-awareness and social awareness. From there we can impart the skills of self-regulation and relationship management.  The ground-based, experiential exercises with the horses has proven to be a remarkable accelerant for this process."

The importance of empathy is recognized by thought leaders in other fields as well.  David Kelly, the founder of design firm IDEO, helped usher in a process called Design Thinking.  Design Thinking began as an approach to industrial design that centered around empathy; a deep understanding of the human experience and the interaction design has with that experience.  The approach was heralded by Steve Jobs and Apple, contributing the Apple Experience to many of their breakthrough products.  The Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford is now the epicenter of this thinking and approach which has expanded to include social initiatives.

"We quite literally, and quite recently, stumbled across Mr. Kelly's work and the Design Thinking approach being taught at Stanford," said Terry.  "It's validating. Philosophically, we're in remarkable alignment, and, to a certain extent, what we do could accurately be referred to as Design Leadership."

The event is complementary.  To register, please call (941) 485-7428.
Time:  3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., February 15, 2013.
Where:  SMART, 4640 C.R. 675, Bradenton, FL