Reflective Leadership Lab.
A Creative Community for Educational Leaders
From reactive leadership to reflective presence that shapes how learning is designed
What if leadership didn’t have to feel rushed, reactive, or carried alone?
What if there was space — not just once, but over time — to pause, reflect, and return to your work with greater clarity?
Reflective Leadership Lab is a guided, creative experience for thoughtful leaders who want to move from reacting in the moment and feeling depleted or misaligned…
to leading with intentional, reflective presence.
Through ongoing sessions, you’ll build practices that help you regulate emotion, reconnect to purpose, and lead in ways that are aligned, human-centered, and sustainable.
Apply Now
Small cohort. Application required.
Reflective Leadership Lab.
A Creative Community for Educational Leaders
From reactive leadership to reflective presence that shapes how learning is designed
What if leadership didn’t have to feel rushed, reactive, or carried alone?
What if there was space — not just once, but over time — to pause, reflect, and return to your work with greater clarity?
Reflective Leadership Lab is a guided, creative experience for thoughtful leaders who want to move from reacting in the moment and feeling depleted or misaligned…
to leading with intentional, reflective presence.
Through ongoing sessions, you’ll build practices that help you regulate emotion, reconnect to purpose, and lead in ways that are aligned, human-centered, and sustainable.
Apply Now
Small cohort. Application required.
What You’ll Experience
This is not a one-off workshop. It’s a space to:
Across the series, you will
Slow down and examine how you’re showing up in your leadership
Engage in creative practices that support emotional awareness and regulation
Apply insights directly to real leadership and instructional challenges
Return to a consistent community to reflect, refine, and reconnect
This is where insight becomes habit.
Why This Matters
School and youth-serving leaders are constantly navigating complexity, urgency, and emotional demand.
Without space to process and reflect, even the most thoughtful leaders can find themselves operating in survival mode—reacting rather than leading with intention.
This work is different.
We use intentional creative practices—not as an “extra,” but as a way to:
Regulate emotion in real time
Access deeper reflection and insight
Sustain energy and purpose over time
Lead in ways that are more coherent, human-centered, and responsive
This isn’t about adding more.
It’s about creating the conditions to lead differently.
Why Creative Practice?
This work is grounded in a simple idea:
Not everything we carry in leadership can be accessed through words alone.
Creative practices—through color, line, movement, and story—offer another way of paying attention. They help surface what’s just out of reach: the tension in a moment, the weight of a decision, the instinct to react.
By engaging the senses and slowing the pace, these practices support emotional regulation and make your internal state more visible—so you can pause and choose how to respond, rather than reacting automatically.
This isn’t about making art.
It’s about creating space for awareness, so your leadership can be more intentional, aligned, and human.
What Sessions Feel Like.
Each session is designed to be:
You can expect:
A welcoming, low-pressure environment where you can step out of the urgency of leadership
Creative exploration (visual arts, writing, storytelling, somatic and reflective practices)
Guided reflection that helps you make meaning of your experiences
Choice and autonomy—you engage at your own pace and comfort level
Connection with others who understand the complexity of your work
Examples of Creative Process
Watercolors
Emotional mark making
Mindful Doodling
Mindful Doodling
What Begins to Shift.
Over time, you’ll notice:
Less reacting in the moment
More clarity in decision-making
Greater alignment between what you believe and what you build
A stronger sense of presence in how you lead and design learning
Outcomes.
By the end of this experience, you will:
Recognize and name your emotional responses - and how they shape your actions and decisions.
Understand how your internal state influences relationships, team dynamics, and learning environments.
Apply practical strategies to move from reactive to reflective leadership in real-time situations
Who This Is For.
This space is for you if you are:
A leader in education, nonprofits, or youth-serving systems
Responsible for people, ideas, and change
Thoughtful about your impact—but often navigating pressure, urgency, or fatigue
Ready to reconnect with clarity, creativity, and a more grounded way of leading
Why Leaders Invest in This Work.
This experience supports you as both a person and a leader.
For you, as an individual:
Greater self-awareness and emotional clarity
Renewed sense of purpose and energy
A space where your lived experience is valued
Meaningful connection with a community of peers
For your leadership:
Improved ability to respond (rather than react)
Stronger alignment between values and practice
Greater resilience over time
More intentional, human-centered learning environments
For your team and organization:
Healthier relational dynamics
More thoughtful, responsive leadership
Increased creativity, collaboration, and trust
Why Leaders Invest in This Work.
This experience supports you as both a person and a leader.
For you, as an individual:
Greater self-awareness and emotional clarity
Renewed sense of purpose and energy
A space where your lived experience is valued
Meaningful connection with a community of peers
For your leadership:
Improved ability to respond (rather than react)
Stronger alignment between values and practice
Greater resilience over time
More intentional, human-centered learning environments
For your team and organization:
Healthier relational dynamics
More thoughtful, responsive leadership
Increased creativity, collaboration, and trust
-
Greater self-awareness and emotional clarity
Renewed sense of purpose and energy
A space where your lived experience is valued
Meaningful connection with a community of peers
-
Improved ability to respond (rather than react)
Stronger alignment between values and practice
Greater resilience over time
More intentional, human-centered learning environments
-
Healthier relational dynamics
More thoughtful, responsive leadership
Increased creativity, collaboration, and trust
Session Details
A small, guided experience designed to fit alongside your work.
6 sessions over 8 weeks
60-minute live sessions (Zoom)
Small, supportive cohort (10–12 participants)
~2 hours per week, including reflection
Next cohort begins June 2026
Designer and Facilitator
Symon creates experiences that bring people together in ways that are thoughtful, engaging, and grounded in real practice. With a focus on educational leadership and human-centered design, this work supports leaders to reconnect with themselves, their purpose, and their impact.
Symon Hayes
Designer. Collaborator. Creative. Advocate.
Join the Lab.
This is an application-based experience designed to cultivate a thoughtful, connected cohort.
Because the space is intentionally small, each application helps ensure a group where participants feel safe, supported, and able to engage fully.
If this resonates, we invite you to apply.
Applications take ~3–5 minutes. You’ll hear back within a few days.
Not sure yet?
See schedule, format, and what to expect before applying.
Have a question?
Reach out—we’re happy to help you decide if this is the right fit.
FOOTER
Why Reflective Leadership Lab?
Sustaining Well-Being and Effectiveness
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom”
School and youth-serving leaders are the architects of possibility, but even the most visionary creators can find themselves tangled in webs of stress, uncertainty, and ever-expanding to-do lists. The emotional brushstrokes of their daily work can sometimes blur into burnout, dimming the vibrant impact they bring to their communities.
But what if we reimagined leadership as a collective canvas? When leaders gather to co-create, whether through reflective circles, expressive arts, or collaborative design sprints—they tap into a wellspring of renewal. These creative practices are not just palette cleansers for the soul; they are essential tools for emotional equilibrium and energy to guide others, clarity to move through uncertainty, rejuvenating, activating purpose, and shared connection.
Carving out time for creative communion isn’t a luxury; it’s the cornerstone of sustainable, transformative leadership.
What makes this different
Change doesn’t happen in a single session.
This series creates space for:
O Practice → Application → Reflection → Return
O Learning that unfolds over time, not all at once
O Real-world experimentation between sessions
O Deeper trust and connection within the group
This is where insight becomes habit.
Think of Studio Club as a studio for the spirit: a place where leaders can sculpt resilience, sketch clarity of purpose, and weave together the threads of community. Carving out time for creative communion isn’t a luxury—it’s the cornerstone of sustainable, transformative leadership. By engaging in these regenerative rituals, leaders not only nourish their own well-being but also inspire others to do the same.
In the swirling mosaic of school and social justice work, embracing creativity and community is how leaders remind themselves—and each other—that they are enough, even when the world feels like a wild, unfinished masterpiece. This is how we sustain our spark, together, and continue to illuminate new pathways for the youth we serve.
What Sessions Feel Like.
O A Welcoming Community.
Step into a safe, supportive environment where you can leave the pressures of leadership behind and connect with others who understand your role and responsibilities, your journey, and the expectations placed on you.
O Creative Exploration.
Experience creative practices that include visual arts, doodling, somatic drawing, creative writing, storytelling, and structured dialogue through protocols and active listening. Creating space for both personal growth and collective wisdom, helping you reconnect with your emotions, sense of purpose and possibility and allowing you to share at your own pace and comfort level
O Guided Reflection.
Engage in meaningful self-discovery and insight. Prompts—ranging from evocative questions to imaginative exercises—invite you to explore your experiences, values, and aspirations in a way that feels natural and supportive.
O A focus on you.
Your ideas, insights, and unique expertise
Creative Collaborative Intentional
This is for you if you want to
O Slow down and examine how they are showing up in their leadership
O Practice creative approaches to reflection, emotional awareness, and regulation
O Apply insights directly to real leadership and instructional challenges
O Return to a shared space to reflect, refine, and reconnect
Repeated from above
Over time, you will begin to notice a shift:
O Less reacting.
O More clarity.
O More intentional decisions.
O More alignment between what they believe and what they build.
This is for you if you are:
O A leader of people, ideas, or big dreams—whether you’re orchestrating strategy, guiding teams, or championing change—in education or social justice, supporting young people and the adults who inspire them.
O Eager to reconnect with your creative spark, rediscover what brings you joy, and learn how to carry a sense of lightness and self-belief—without losing sight of the heart and gravity of your work.
O Feeling like your mojo has wandered off and you’re ready to invite your sassy strut back onto the scene.
O Craving a pause from leading—a chance to step off the stage, join the creative crowd, and soak up fresh ideas and inspiration from others.
Why invest?
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom”
For you…as an individual
O Transformation: Leave with a renewed sense of self and purpose.
O Clarity and Renewal: Through participatory storytelling, individuals become both the storytellers and the stories embodying the empathy, understanding, and shared experiences that arise from authentic narrative exchange.
O Deepened Connections: Forge stronger bonds with others, cultivating a genuine sense of belonging and community with a cadre of fellow travelers.
O Lived Experience at the Center: Embrace the power of your unique story and collective identity, honoring each person as a vital voice in our shared community. This workshop values the knowledge and strength that come from lived experience as essential to growth, connection, and meaningful change.
O Enduring Impact: The wisdom, relationships, and renewed sense of self gained during the workshop will endure, woven into your ongoing life and work, ensuring the impact lasts far beyond the workshop.
O Celebration of Diversity: Honor the richness and diversity of every voice, ensuring all perspectives are valued and integrated into the community’s evolving narrative.
For you as as a leader
Investing your time in a creativity-centered workshop is a powerful act of self-care and leadership—fueling your imagination, sustaining your purpose, and inspiring those you lead.
O Enhance Problem-Solving and Vision: Studies reveal that leaders who participate in creative workshops demonstrate improved cognitive flexibility and innovative problem-solving—essential for navigating the complexities of social justice and education.
O Build Emotional Resilience Through the Arts: Mindfulness, reflective writing, and collaborative art-making have been shown to boost emotional resilience and help leaders process adversity with greater compassion and clarity.
O Sustain Your Impact: Supports long-term commitment and prevents the fatigue that leads to high turnover. Leaders who nurture their creative spirit are more likely to sustain their vision and drive lasting change.
O Restoration and Renewal: The workshop offers a space for rejuvenation—much like restoring a work of art—helping leaders reconnect with their passion and vision.
O Enhanced Reflective and Reflexive Practices: Art-based methods significantly improve leaders’ ability to reflect on their actions and adapt, fostering higher-order cognitive skills and emotional intelligence.
O Increased Self-Efficacy and Self-Awareness: Participation in arts-based experiences has been shown to unleash creativity, boost self-efficacy, and deepen self-awareness, which are critical for effective leadership transformation.
O Greater Resilience and Pro-Social Behavior: Leaders who participated in art-based interventions demonstrated improved stress resilience (sense of coherence) and increased agreeableness, as well as more responsible leadership behaviors, compared to those in conventional programs.
For you and your team
Research consistently demonstrates that leaders engaging in creativity and arts-based workshops experience significant positive impacts across various dimensions of leadership development.
O Ignite Creative Energy: dramatically reduce burnout and reignite your passion for leadership. Research shows that creative engagement lowers stress and increases job satisfaction among educators and advocates.
O Improved Interpersonal Competencies: These workshops foster better interpersonal skills, helping leaders connect more authentically with their teams and stakeholders.
O. Model Joyful Self-Expression: By embracing creativity and self-expression, you inspire your community to value well-being and authenticity. This ripple effect fosters a culture where staff and students feel empowered to express themselves and connect on a deeper level.
O Workshops as Creative Renewal: Offers a structured, supportive space for self-reflection, growth, and connection with peers. Evidence shows these experiences lead to measurable improvements in well-being and organizational climate.
O Team Collaboration and Innovation: Organizations integrating creative workshops have reported measurable outcomes, such as a 25% increase in team collaboration and a 30% boost in employee innovation.
The Deets
Full day in-person gathering to kick -off, set the vibe and start our individual and collective journeys.
Kick-Off
Monthly virtual gatherings to check-in, stay motivated, a share positive energy. Every 3 weeks Tuesday or Thursday 5-6 pm Pacific
Ongoing Support
Goodies
Strategies and other resources to keep you going and build momentum.
Dates
Check in with us for the dates of our next cohort
Apply - Coming Soon
We invite you to step into this creative circle by applying for a place in our upcoming Club Club—a space where your presence and perspective are truly valued.
By applying, you signal not only your interest, but also your belief in the transformative power of intentional, community-driven learning.
This application process ensures that each participant is thoughtfully chosen, cultivating a gathering where every voice matters and the collective experience is enriched. We believe that when you take the step to apply, you honor the depth and intention of this offering, and together, we elevate its impact for all involved.
Join us in shaping a vibrant, supportive community where your story and contributions are essential to the tapestry we’ll weave together.