Our Work
Ongoing Projects and Work We’ve Shared
Personal Strategic
Planning Workshop
“The best way to predict your future is to create it.”
September 24, 2022
Weaver Place, Comox
10:30-3:30
Lunch and snacks provided
Investment: $150
We will take you through a process to help you define your vision for the next year, set compelling goals, and create a pathway to achieving personal fulfillment in your professional life.
Map the year ahead, by connecting your goals with concrete action.
Transition into fall with confidence and a plan.
Start your strategic planning journey in a small cohort of similarly focused people.
Strategic Planning with Lake Trail Community Education Society
Lake Trail Community Education Society (LTCES) serves the school community of Lake Trail Community School – students, staff, families and leadership – as well as the neighbourhood in which the school and its stakeholders live, work and play.
It is a great privilege for Jo to sit on the LTCES Board and to be able to contribute to the present and future of the organization by facilitating their Strategic Planning process.
Jo is bringing the EPS approach to LTCES: “Our approach to strategic planning connects key stakeholders with organizational shared priorities and objectives for the creation of a compelling future.”
And our process is “inclusive and collaborative.”
What does all of this mean for Lake Trail Community School, LTCES and their Strategic Plan?
So far we have:
Held a one day Board and Staff retreat where we did a full review of our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. We also unpacked the current mission statement to test it against what we do and where we want to go. We clarified the language around our key purpose, our most valuable deliverables, and our hoped-for future.
Surveyed our community members to find out what is most important to them, what their needs are and how we might support them in filling those needs.
Hosted a Community Engagement Gathering for all members of the community which included a panel discussion and presentations by experts in community support, youth programming, and environmental/sustainability issues.
We are now well on our way to defining the priorities for LTCES and its community for the coming three years. It is an exciting time to be working in communities, in community schools and in support of our neighbours.
Reconnect: A Half Day of Soul Care
On May 29th, we gathered with old and new friends to move, learn, share, and reflect on our a beautiful wee farm north of Comox Valley. Our intention was to create an afternoon of activities outside focused on reconnecting to the practices that allow us to more effectively access capacity and build internal steadiness. Our friend Chantal’s farm was the ideal environment — we could hear the birds chirping and watch the horses grazing while we completed an hour of yoga and breath practice on the lawn. Following that, we had snacks and tea (lovingly gathered by our friend at Tender Living Farms in the Alberta foothills), and discussed the 9 Elements of Steady Living — ways that we can create certainty in our lives amidst the challenges, demands, and uncertainty — and shared our personal practices. We concluded the afternoon with quiet time spent reflecting, writing, and practicing mindful and joyful engagement with the world around us. We are so grateful for the opportunity to share our passions and insights with the retreat participants surrounded by such beauty and abundance.
Another retreat will be offered in mid-August.
For now, stay steady and connected, friends.
International Women’s Day Grant Offer
The International Women’s Day Grant supports emerging female leaders by providing financial resources to participate in one of our leadership development programs. The grant will cover 50% of our fees for services, up to a total of $2000 CAD, and will be awarded to one applicant each year. Elarton Point Strategies is committed to supporting personal and professional growth of women who are working to build good, bold, and connected communities. We would like to partner with you in this work.
The following opportunities are included in this grant program:
The Young Professionals Program
This coaching program supports people with three-five years of professional experience who are seeking the answers to questions that will help them discover their “true north.”
A maximum of six hours of 1:1 coaching, including the administration of an assessment tool to clarify professional strengths and specific areas for growth.
Program Design
There are times when teams, departments or program leaders simply get stuck along their journey towards achieving objectives, designing new initiatives, or implementing specific strategic priorities. We will support the individual to address one strategic, team or program development challenge by providing an external lens and facilitating a problem-solving process.
A maximum of six hours of 1:1 coaching with a clear project-based outcome
If you would like more information, we would be happy to answer any questions, or you can visit elartonpoint.ca. If you would like to apply for this grant, please submit a letter of interest to elartonpointstrategies@gmail.com.
We ask that you briefly address the following areas:
· Current professional focus
· Personal values that motivate your leadership
Submissions accepted until March 1, 2022.
A Special Holiday Offer for You and Your Bestie.
Get that last holiday gift and invest in your personal and professional growth with a pal.
The investment: $500 for you and your pal ($250 each). This includes 7 hours of learning and practice, strategic planning resources, and a special wee gift box.
This is a virtual offering, so you can set the time and pace of the learning.
Past participants of our strategic planning workshops have said that “this is a great way to start imagining and planning for a positive future. The work is fun, meaningful, and motivating.”
Building Capacity: Preparing Your Future Now
Youth Program
For the Summer 2021, we created a 10-day camp for young people, entering grades 8, 9, and 10, 11. We offered a combination of two distinct programs that together made up a whole learning experience, delivered virtually to Vancouver, Toronto, and China.
This combination was designed to support students in two specific ways:
As they prepare for a new school year -- especially to help them manage the various transitions and challenges that may come as a result of this past year’s school experiences;
AND, as they look to develop the necessary, tangible skills and habits of mind that will allow them to be socially and academically successful now and in the future.
We learned a significant amount about virtual learning through this experience, and received valuable feedback from the students, who participated with focus and personal engagement, and their parents.
After the camp, one parent wrote, “So happy to receive the report and evaluation of [our child]! It's really fortunate for [her] to meet such a group of professional and experienced teachers to help her develop not only academic but also other capacity-building skills. I believe she will do better and better in the future with the knowledge from the courses. Thank you very much for your persistent help and guidance to her!”
Another shared this observation: “The course is very systematic and carefully taught by the professional team which will not be deeply and extendedly covered in school. Like how to get out of the negative emotion, how to keep the best metal state everyday. This course also clearly tells how to improve energy and efficiency, which allows students to work better towards their life goals. The impact of this course will slowly show its value in students’ future plans.”
Coaching
We work with individuals, teams, and organizations who are interested in exploring how they engage with their work and their communities, and ways they communicate and connect with the people around them. Through conversation (conducted in a variety of settings, emphasizing comfort, professionalism, and flexibility) and reflective assessment, we challenge and support individuals to deepen their understanding of themselves and how they show up in the world so that they can do so in any professional capacity with ease and alacrity.
Feedback from our coaching clients demonstrates the effective collaboration that we embark on together:
"Working with Jim, I developed new strategies that effectively addressed the various personal and professional challenges I was facing. I would endorse EPS to anyone seeking to better understand their own particular approaches to leadership, interaction, and/or self-discovery."
"Working with Jo from Elarton Point Strategies has helped me develop greater clarity of self and ask relevant questions about how I see the future of my consulting business. Jo and I were able to hone in on a clear business strategy plan with tangible outcomes as a guide for my coming months - a compass for me as I make my next decisions.”
Working alongside clients, we choose assessment tools that will best support deeper reflection, encourage effective self-awareness, and build personal and professional capacity.
"FIRO-B became an effective tool when pursuing clarity around how I engage with others. It was enlightening to learn about the relationship between wanted and expressed behaviour; better understanding the manner in which I interact with my colleagues and friends will only serve me well in the future."
“Jo has been supportive and instrumental in helping me develop a clearer understanding of my own leadership skills and opportunities for growth, through an extension of the MBTI and a partner-centric coach dynamic where she asked powerful questions and inspired deep curiosity and introspection. These exercises have engaged me to think critically and rationally. I have appreciated my work with Jo, and have left our year long program with a clear set of actionable steps for my business, and a clearer understanding of how I can keep developing myself professionally and personally.”
Contact Us
Would you like to know more about these past projects? Would you like us to work with you on a future project?