The Encounter

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2011 Participants
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Encounter is a workshop unlike any other. With spontaneous activities designed to follow the energy of attendees, Encounter was the essential core around which Will Schutz ultimately developed The Human Element^® Program. With its origins in Will’s pioneering work in T-groups at the National Training Laboratories (NTL) in Bethel, Maine and the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, it is the ultimate personal growth experience.

Encounter is one of the only places on the planet where the incredible power of raw emotion can be experienced and harnessed to work through conflict rather than glossing over it. It allows you to look behind the veil of polite conversation, political correctness and hidden agendas to discover how others really react to you. It is an opportunity to experience yourself as others experience you; to embrace what is working well, and to take an honest look at what is not. It is the real “no spin zone.”

Focus

We live in a world where personal success depends on your ability to build trusting work relationships, decipher subtle emotional cues, remain calm during chaos and influence outcomes. This is complicated in that people do not react to your well meant intentions, but rather to their beliefs about your intentions based on their own interpretation of your behavior.

Participants get candid feedback on the impact of their interactions and how their actions either help create engaged, meaningful personal relations, or result in resistance and conflict. They discover patterns of behavior that improve their ability to influence others and gain insight into the patterns that may lead to negative outcomes.

Who Should Attend

This experience is designed for people who work with people, for people or through people — leaders, managers, supervisors, individual contributors, coaches, trainers and consultants will all benefit from this experience.

Outcomes

Learn to avoid the pitfalls of interpersonal conflicts
Increase comfort in dealing with emotions and emotional issues
Discover unconscious blocks to personal effectiveness
Develop skillfulness in giving difficult feedback that supports productive relations
Learn to deal successfully with the defensiveness of others
Learn how you trigger resistance and defensiveness in others, and how to stop it
Learn how your language and behavior is interpreted by, and affects others

Specifics

Price: $1,125, plus cost of lodging (see options on the Reserve Now page)

Location: Westerbeke Ranch, Sonoma, CA

Duration: 3 1/2 Days

Number of participants: 6–15

Hours: Day 1–Day 3: 9 AM–Noon; 3 –6 PM; 8 –10 PM; Last Day: 9 AM–Noon

Reserve Now for 2012

Future dates:

2013:
  Update
   – October 3–6
  Encounter
   – October 7–10
2014:
  Update
   – October 16–19
  Encounter
   – October 20–23
2015:
  Update
   – October 15–18
  Encounter
   – October 19–22

"Logic and rational reasoning drive my world, both personally and professionally. Encounter provokes me to do the hard work of viscerally experiencing, not just examining, what drives my thinking. It reconnects me to the power of this material for participants, which I believe yields better results for my clients."

—Jessica Meyer
Learning and Organization Development, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

"The quip about Encounter is that it’s the place to go to get your answers questioned. It is the best means for me to do a thorough "mental flossing"; it is the place where for a few days I get to dance with my shadow, but more importantly, it is the best place to experience being in the here-and-now and feel truly present in the moment."

—Joseph Germano, Ph.D.
Germano & Associates, Inc.

"The Encounter is an invitation to practice what we preach … staying present and authentic, being open and honest, increasing our awareness and being more accountable. How often do you have a perfect opportunity to practice all of that in a safe setting?"

—Jim Tamm
Radical Collaboration Group, LLC

"Confronting, uncomfortable yet exhilarating, Encounter pushes me to examine what I am really up to in my life."

—LaVonne Dorsey
Leadership, Career and Life Coach

"Encounter is the essence of everything we do. All else is talking about it; Encounter is living it. It is the one time when I know I will be fully alive and not able to hide. While it can be scary and sad, it is also often exhilarating and full of joy. Without a doubt, Encounter is the most important work I do to develop as a facilitator."

—Anna Graham Hunter
Organization Development Consultant, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center