For Organizations

Programs for Organizations

Business and Non-Profit Programs

Beyond simplistic and overused team building exercises there is a place where high functioning teams thrive. A place where teams share a deep commitment to the cause, are united with purpose and feel valued. These environments share a common trait – they are deeply committed to one another.

We cannot stop our businesses from being demanding, challenging and stressful, but we can build and support cultures that increase well-being while accelerating results.

The research is clear: organizations that build cultures anchored in core values, emotional intelligence and shared commitment outperform their industry peers by more than 20%.

Contact us to explore how a customized IFLI engagement can help you achieve extraordinary results and become a thriving employer of choice.

Contact us to schedule an Introduction!

Community Building Workshops

Workshop Overview

Community Building Workshops within IFLI are led by Doug Wheeler in collaboration with Tim Dempsey, one of the most season Community Building facilitators in the world. Over the course of 30 years, Tim has been instrumental in advancing the practice of Community Building in the nonprofit sector, having worked directly with the person who pioneered the models application in that space. He also played pivotal roles in establishing the largest Community Building initiative globally, based in Milwaukee, and oversees the longest-running nonprofit Community Building project anywhere.

Community Building is a powerful group development process designed to foster trust, enhance communication, and unlock the potential of genuine collaboration. Created by internationally acclaimed psychiatrist and best-selling author M. Scott Peck, M.D., this transformative approach is detailed in Peck’s books The Different Drum (Simon & Schuster, 1988) and A World Waiting to Be Born (Random House, 1994). For leaders in business and beyond, Community Building provides the foundation for authentic connections, inspired leadership, and sustainable success.

Community Building Workshops are highly experiential, making them ideal for leaders who seek practical tools and transformative growth. By integrating these workshops into leadership development programs, organizations can create leaders who are not only skilled but also grounded in purpose and authenticity.

Emptiness

Community Building has at its heart a unique developmental stage called “Emptiness.” Unlike traditional leadership training, this process focuses on internal transformation as a gateway to external effectiveness. By experiencing Emptiness in a Community Building Workshop, participants learn to:

Navigate personal challenges to strengthen interpersonal skills
Engage others with empathy and authenticity
Foster environments of trust that encourage open and honest dialogue

Community Building is renowned for its ability to teach simple yet profound relationship principles that enable leaders to:

Cultivate healthy group dynamics
Achieve optimal team performance
Build respectful workplace cultures
Facilitate innovative problem-solving and collaboration

Measurable Outcomes

Community Building delivers measurable outcomes, including:

Stronger team dynamics: Increased trust, mutual respect, and alignment with shared goals.
Enhanced leadership capacity: Development of reflective awareness,
interpersonal attunement, effective group communication, and team resilience.
Tapping the rich resources of genuine diversity: Harnessing different perspectives to drive innovation and growth.
The power of true collaboration: Creating mutually empowering environments where collective strengths lead to extraordinary results.
Improved organizational culture: Establishing a foundation for inclusivity, productivity, and long-term success by cultivating a shared capacity to navigate and thrive in the midst of chaos.

Community Building can be seamlessly integrated into everyday leadership practices. Leaders who apply these principles see improvements in:

Team cohesion and morale
Effective decision-making
Long-term organizational resilience

Iron & Fire Leadership Institute