Free Indigenous leadership training program teaches mindfulness, emotional intelligence skills – York Region
July 26, 2023
First virtual cohort of Odeiwin Lead will launch on Sept. 7
The Indigenous community across Canada is encouraged to participate in Odeiwin Lead, a free, six-month part-time virtual program that starts on Sept. 7.
In partnership with the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, the program includes coaching, mentorship, Indigenous mental health support, and mindfulness-based emotional intelligence training first developed at Google.
Listed benefits of the program include a deepened focus, self-awareness and resilience; productive stress management; increased empathy and compassion; development of strong collaboration and leadership skills; networking opportunities with Indigenous leaders from communities across Canada; enhanced mental health; and improved job satisfaction.
“Growing up, I wish (a program like this) was taught to me at a young age,” said Jay Shea, founder of Odeiwin, an Indigenous-led not-for-profit organization based in York Region.“It is our ability to acknowledge and recognize our feelings and emotions and those of others, which can be inherited trauma, everyday stresses faced in life, whether at home, school or the workplace, and our ability to work through those emotions in a positive way that will help us to find greater success in each of these environments.”
