If you’ve outgrown the surface-level conversations and posturing you’ve found at other gatherings of CEOs, it may be time for you to engage with a more deeply connected community, discussing topics that matter more, with peers who can contribute to your maturation as a leader.

The Forge is an informal community of chief executives of sizable organizations, gathering monthly (in-person) to elevate the vision and craft of being a CEO.   Here, we do deep inner work, in community.  

For 17 years, the Kairos team has helped chief executives build elite executive teams, equipping them with new awareness and capabilities to navigate inflection points and enter new chapters of growth.  We’re well-positioned to facilitate the healthy conversations you and other CEOs are craving.

Participant criteria:

1.  You are the chief (senior-most leader of your organization, accountable for a team of executives).

2. You’re not done growing as a leader, and you’re eager to contribute to others’ growth.

3. You lead a big-enough enterprise (surpassing at least one of these thresholds: 25+ employees, or $1m+ EBITDA, or $10m+ revenue, or $5m+ funded) to have similar challenges as other chiefs in The Forge.

Season 4 (“Navigating Disorientation”) is coming in September 2024 after a summer break.  Each session is part of a whole, and they each stand on their own.  You can join us for as many or few of the monthly sessions as you like.

When leading complex organizations, disorientation is inevitable. CEOs are surrounded by the questions,

“What’s required of me as a leader right now?”

“Do I have what it takes?”

“Now what?”

Disorientation is defined as a prolonged absence of clarity in a high-stakes context. Every day spent in disorientation increases risk exponentially. But when no two situations are precisely the same, how does a CEO prepare her/himself and her/his team to be up to the task?

Season 4 of The Forge: Navigating Disorientation will last nine months and have three phases. Each episode will use wilderness geography as a metaphor for story-telling, mental models, and un-armored discussion with other CEOs like you. You’ll leave each session with a clearer understanding of how to navigate the challenges you face and how to guide others wisely.

Phase 1: Disruption

Disruptions come in a spectrum from bad to neutral to good. However, all disruption introduces some level of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, or Ambiguity (VUCA). If we know how to prepare and make the most of it, every disruption presents an opportunity to test and strengthen the organization’s capacity, systems, and health.

Phase 2: Deconstruction

As leaders, it can be highly disorienting to realize that some of our mental models are based on fear, no longer work, or are flawed. Sessions 4-6 equip you to evaluate, release, revise, and expand your thinking to meet your challenges.

Phase 3: Integration

The new and expanded clarity that emerges after deconstruction is a significant milestone in navigating disorientation. This can be a haphazard, reactive process—grasping trendy ideas from influencers—or it can be intentional—leveraging the challenges, growth, and wisdom the struggles of the past offer. This three-month section will guide you in piecing together new mental models that provide clarity, capacity, wisdom, and maturity to navigate highly complex contexts more effectively.

Schedule: (2nd Tuesday of the month – 4pm – 6pm)

September 12th – Episode 1: Basecamp: Prepare Yourselves

October 10th – Episode 2: Wilderness: How Struggle Strengthens Us

November 14th – Episode 3: Storm: Leading Through Uncertainty

December 12th – Episode 4

January 9th – Episode 5

February 13th – Episode 6

March 13th – Episode 7

April 10th – Episode 8

May 8th – Episode 9

If you meet the participant criteria and you’d like to attend one or more Forge sessions, email us, and we’ll add you to our invite list.