Converge. Live. Lead.

Leadership Retreat | South Africa  |  November 17–22, 2026

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Overview

Converge. Live. Lead. is a six-day immersive leadership retreat set against the remarkable landscapes, living ecosystems (Cape Point and Buffelsfontein Reserve), and complex social history of South Africa.

Drawing on Ubuntu philosophy, wildlife conservation, South Africa's history of reconciliation, and the insights of world-class facilitators, the retreat invites professionals to examine three interconnected dimensions: self, relationships, and the wider world.

The week weaves together Bill Burnett's (Stanford University) work on purpose and meaningful living (Designing Your Life) and the lived philosophy of Ubuntu: "I am because we are."

Who is this for?

This retreat is designed for professionals, executives, entrepreneurs, and change-makers who are accomplished by most measures - and privately wondering what comes next.

Participants are invited to step back from the demands of performance and reconnect - with themselves, with others, and with the wider world they help shape.

Program Highlights

Ancient fynbos coastline, wildlife at dawn, and Ubuntu felt in a room of strangers becoming less strange.

South Africa

Experiential & Embodied

Game drives, coastal walks, Robben Island, Drum Cafe, peer coaching, and somatic practices.

Intimate By Design

Maximum 16 guests for a genuinely personalized experience. Relationships formed here last.

World-Class Facilitators

  • Scholar, facilitator, and someone with a rare gift for creating conditions where real things happen - leads the week.

  • Emeritus Professor of Public Leadership at Stellenbosch University and founding Dean of the School of Social Innovation at Huguenot College - he has spent decades at the intersection of justice, governance, and transformation in South Africa, bringing Ubuntu to life not as a feel-good philosophy but as a deeply human way of leading.

  • CEO of the Wildlife Forensic Academy, brings the realities of conservation, wildlife crime, and systemic accountability into the room.

  • Technology executive, Seattle. She co-developed Converge. Live. Lead. after her own turning point in South Africa - because she couldn't find anything that allowed people to quietly step back from the demands of the Western world and reconnect: with themselves, with others, and with the wider world.

What makes this experience unique:

Converge. Live. Lead. offers encounters - with a country, with ideas, and with yourself.

What makes it unique: design thinking, ecology, and Ubuntu, all pointed at the same question - where do you find yourself in the world, and how do you grow within it?

Set amid South Africa's landscapes and history, this is a week built for reflection. You leave with a clearer sense of where you stand - and how you want to move through the world.

  • Not "how do I lead?" but "where do I find myself in the world, and how do I grow within it?" Stanford's framework gives you a Workview and Lifeview, and a way out of the transactional world and into flow

  • The principles that sustain a thriving ecosystem, applied to self-knowledge and teams

  • Facilitated conversations that produce real insight, not performance

  • "I am because we are." Felt in a room of strangers becoming less strange, and in the shared rhythm of the Drum Café

  • Journaling, movement, somatic awareness, guided reflection

  • Robben Island challenges participants to reflect on dignity, justice, and systemic change

  • Real accountability, real consequences, real case studies

  • One of Earth's richest ecosystems as a living classroom in resilience

Accommodation

Participants stay in carefully selected accommodation that supports both reflection and genuine connection:

  • Nature-based lodge accommodation at Buffelsfontein Game & Nature Reserve (Days 1–3)

  • Boutique hotel in Bloubergstrand, Cape Town (Days 4–6)

  • Shared communal spaces designed for meaningful conversation

  • Access to some of South Africa's most spectacular natural environments

Investment

$2,950 per person for single occupancy

Double occupancy is available at $2,650 per person if you are travelling with a companion and wish to share a room

10% of every Leadership Retreat registration fee directly supports the training of wildlife rangers

    • All accommodation (single occupancy)

    • All facilitated workshops and coaching sessions

    • Wildlife viewing drive

    • Robben Island guided tour

    • Cape Point guided walk

    • Drum Café interactive drumming experience

    • All ground transportation during the programme

    • All meals: breakfasts, lunches, and dinners

    • Tea, coffee, and refreshments throughout

    • International and domestic flights

    • Airport transfers outside scheduled programme transport

    • Travel insurance

    • Visa costs (if applicable)

    • Personal expenses and gratuities

    • Alcoholic beverages

    • Optional activities outside the programme

REGISTER