Leadership and the Middle Path

A Professional Development Workshop for Leaders

About the Workshop

Over 150 tech start-ups and other businesses (including Fortune 100 companies) in 15 countries around the world have trained their leaders in Leadership and the Middle Path. The workshop has proven so impactful that investors have required startup teams to complete it as a condition for funding.

Whether your managers are experienced or just getting started, their fundamental challenges are the same: resolving problems and conflicts, managing their time and resources, forming and keeping agreements, and enabling their team to reach its full potential.

While mastering these critical skills may seem simple, it's never easy.

Leadership and the Middle Path is an intensive, interactive two-day workshop designed to help managers and other leaders become better problem solvers, thinkers, communicators, and decision makers. Through experiential, hands-on activities, they learn and practice real-world skills that with immediate applications to the workplace. While especially useful for those who are new to management, experienced managers have also reported significant benefits from the workshop.

“My team now has a shared language for solving problems, and tools for having more ‘data-rich’ conversations. I use Middle Path frameworks daily and recommend them highly.”

–Peter B., Senior Software Engineer, Patreon

"Leadership and the Middle Path helped me prepare for and hold more productive discussions. I’ve found myself not only having greater confidence to simply initiate these conversations, but also better equipped to navigate them once started."

–Ajara S., Senior Scientist, Ubiquitous Energy

The Middle Path – Where Real-World Solutions Reside

• Are disciplined
• Think systemically
• Work with integrity
• Are self-aware
• Can solve problems collaboratively

Powerful Skills You Can Put into Action Immediately

Here are some of the critical skills you will learn in Leadership and the Middle Path:

• Recognize unproductive mindsets that hinder effective problem-solving, and develop new, more productive mindsets to replace them
• Develop more trusting relationships
• Identify problems in teams and organizations faster and more accurately (i.e., avoid wasting time and resources on solving the wrong problems)
• Build habits that help you uncover and interpret data, find non-obvious root causes, and determine ideal outcomes
• Define and articulate outcomes that focus not just on tangible business goals, but on the higher purpose that motivates you and your team or organization
• Systematically generate multiple potential solutions
• Secure commitments required to implement solutions, and hold people accountable
• Use a four-step model for holding difficult conversations productively
• Make complaints and offer apologies more productively

With these skills, you’ll be able to handle almost anything—solve people- and team-problems more effectively, run meetings more productively, reach stronger agreements, and handle conflicts more gracefully.

And over time—as you master these principles and frameworks—you'll find that when you choose to lead, more people will follow.

Program Details

This is an in-person, two-day workshop, and will be held at Sheraton Sonoma Wine Country Petaluma.

Our meeting dates/times will be as follows (all dates 2025):

Day 1 – Wednesday, April 2nd, 8:30am–5:30pm PT
Day 2 – Thursday, April 3rd, 8:30am–5:30pm PT

Note: To help you gain greater mastery over the skills taught in the program, we strongly recommend a follow-up practice session with Russ and a few of your fellow workshop attendees. This practice session is virtual (online), is included in the price of the program, and typically takes place four to six weeks after the workshop. We’ll give you more details during the workshop.

If you’ve been disappointed by “content-dump” training programs that just feed you information without showing you what to do with it, Leadership and the Middle Path will be a game-changer. While we cover some theoretical ground, the focus is on learning by doing, with the goal of giving you enough practice opportunities during the workshop for you to start putting your new skills to work the moment you leave.

But as serious athletes and musicians can tell you, mastering any important skill requires a commitment of time and attention. Each of the four sessions in Leadership and the Middle Path builds on material covered in the preceding sessions, so we ask that you commit to attending and participating actively in all four half-day sessions to get the full value of the program. Successful graduates carefully guard their calendars during the workshop and take time to review and practice their new skills between sessions.

Program Investment

The fee for this program is $1,750. A deposit of $500 is required to hold a seat in the program.

If cost is a concern for you, contact Russ. Discounts are available, but only for a limited time.

Facilitated by Russ Powell

Russ Powell is a veteran Human Performance Technology (HPT) consultant who specializes in the development of leaders and teams. He has helped thousands of workers and hundreds of leaders in dozens of start-ups and multinational organizations build collaborative problem solving skills. He's worked in high-tech, bio-tech, food-tech, healthcare, solar, hospitality, telecommunications, and government/military. He's an avid musician, juggler, and flier of stunt kites. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. More about Russ

"I found Russ' Middle Path workshop valuable—both personally and professionally. His approach offers useful frameworks for not only getting unstuck, but also solving problems and navigating common pitfalls and challenges leaders face. If you're ready to take your leadership skills to the next level, I highly recommend it."

–Zaki S., Analytical Chemist, Merck Animal Health

"I found Russ's frameworks for solving problems and navigating challenging discussions to be incredibly valuable. If you are looking to enhance your leadership abilities, solve problems more effectively, and have more productive conversations, I highly recommend connecting Leadership and the Middle Path."

–Amar V., Product Lead, Stripe

I want to attend! How do I sign up?
[Click the link below.]