LEADING WITH TRUST AND OVERCOMING FEARS: LEADERSHIP OF THE HEART SEMINAR ON EMOTIONAL MATURITY

Too often fear holds us back from living our fullest lives. Imagine a world where you can trust God, trust people around you and trust yourself completely – how would your life be different? That is the picture Angelika Selle, President of WFWP USA, presented to an audience of around 30 women and men who attended the third and final installment of the Leadership of the Heart seminar series on Saturday, October 20th at the Washington Times building in DC. (Read more about the first two sessions here and here.)

The four-hour session, entitled “Emotional Maturity”, was organized by WFWP chairwomen and volunteers from the DC, Virginia and Maryland chapters and featured an exciting amalgam of program points that encouraged much interaction and active discussion.

To kick things off, emcee Emaculate Mungye invited everyone to get to know the people seated around them with a short ice breaker. She then welcomed WFWP USA Vice President Katarina Connery to the stage to introduce the organization, its values and mission.

Not only did Vice President Connery address the heart and soul of WFWP, but she also outlined the qualities of masculine and feminine styles of leadership and delved into the purpose behind the Leadership of the Heart seminar series.

The main presentation on emotional maturity was given by President Selle. She delineated the concept of leading with heart, and how we could accomplish that by overcoming our fears and learning to trust, albeit within healthy boundaries. She led the audience through several interactive exercises, culminating in several volunteers going up to the stage to make declarations of positive change that were affirmed by all participants.

Delicious food and refreshments were served during the break, which also allowed participants to mingle and engage in further dialogue, before they were drawn back in by the beautiful violin playing of Makiko Taguchi and Ahna Stewart’s rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” a song with a hopeful message that touched everyone’s heart.

The program then continued with Rhonda Williams, an artist, teacher and humanitarian, who gave an insightful presentation on the meaning of colors and how we can understand more about ourselves through the colors that personally attract and repel us.

Everyone was inspired as chairwoman of the WFWP DC chapter, Elizabeth Aihe offered a report on the highly successful Day of Service in Washington DC that had taken place just two days prior, on October 18th, and involved 81 participants, mostly students.

Jane Karimi gave an update on the Schools of Africa project, which spans 9 schools in 8 African countries. WFWP USA has raised $431,000 since 2001 to support the continued running and improvement of these schools, helping to provide for school supplies, renovations, staff and other needed resources. Jane shared her personal experience with Handow Secondary School in Kenya, one of the 9 schools started by WFWP Japan, and presented her dream to start another school closer to Nairobi on the foundation of WFWP USA – the audience was highly supportive of this idea. Moreover, a total of $240 – half of which will go directly to the Schools of Africa – was collected in donations from participants of this seminar.

Towards the end of the program, WFWP DC, Maryland and Virginia chapter chairwomen took the stage to announce upcoming events, including the Christmas party on December 15th, and then everyone concluded with a toast to peace and healing. It was a rich afternoon filled with deep discussions and practical tools that inspired the audience – evidenced by the fact that at least 7 guests signed up as a WFWP ‘Friend’ to receive the regular newsletter and 3 individuals became members.

But don’t just take my word for it; see what participants themselves had to say about the event:

Zena Ruf, Chairwoman, WFWP VA
This section of the Leadership of the Heart series on Emotional Maturity was very meaningful to me as it dealt with the issue of fear and trust and how being aware of these emotions can impact our leadership. Angelika Selle, who presented the section on Emotional Maturity, pointed out that fear is the root of so many of our negative emotions. We can work through our fear in different ways - journaling and meditation among some of them - but most importantly we need to become self-aware and to choose to work through our negative emotions. At one point in the seminar, we were encouraged to make affirmations that we could work towards. I found my affirmation to work on the possibility to trust myself to be very empowering for me personally. The seminar really helped me to gain a perspective on my life and to understand what blocks I have to becoming a true leader of the heart and how I can work to overcome them.

Matthew Goldberg, Member, WFWP MD
The seminar was especially relevant to our time, because it dealt with our emotional maturity. It noted how we can overcome our reactions based on just feelings. The presenters used personal examples on how they as mothers and women in leadership model mature responses to difficult situations. It was great to be challenged on our own situations and practice those higher orders of response.

Concha Marchitelli, Member, WFWP MD
It was a lovely afternoon and I enjoyed participating with my friend, Josephine. The idea of "peace starts with me" really resonates with her and we look forward to do practical things to apply that concept.