News

Leaders All At Sea - A Summer School?

20 June 2008

Offshore Sailing School, founded by America’s Cup and Olympic sailor Steve Colgate, and the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), a leading global provider of executive education, announced today the launch of Leadership at the Helm. This innovative, customized program builds the leadership and teamwork skills of executives and managers through intense sailing instruction embedded in an assessment-rich interactive experience.

Leadership at the Helm combines a powerful leadership learning environment with immediate applications in the workplace. Formats are tailored to meet clients’ development needs and objectives for all levels, from new managers to senior executives.

“CCL’s proven expertise in creating leadership development programs with relevance and impact, combined with Offshore Sailing School’s top-ranked sailing instruction and experience in the corporate training arena, takes customized leadership development to a new level,” said Offshore CEO Doris Colgate.

In a typical three-day program, teams of four spend a full afternoon learning to sail with expert coaches on award-winning Colgate 26 sailboats, designed by Steve Colgate and used by the U.S. Naval and Coast Guard Academies. The next afternoon the teams participate in a series of sailing races and leadership exercises. While teaching the basics of sailing, the experience features 360-degree and personality assessments, group discussions, and peer feedback in private break-out sessions, all guided by CCL faculty. Typical program outcomes include:

Deeper self awareness of leadership strengths and weaknesses
Greater understanding of how to lead in a challenging setting
Increased effectiveness in working with a team
Enhanced self-confidence through learning new skills
Creation of a specific plan to apply learning and continue development in the workplace

“At CCL, we are always looking for innovative ways to help our clients apply their new insights about leadership and themselves,” said CCL President John Ryan. “This new partnership with Offshore Sailing School will drive home that learning in a fun, supportive and very challenging setting is extremely effective.

For information about Leadership at the Helm, call the Center for Creative Leadership at 336-545-2810 or Offshore Sailing School at 800-221-4326. Websites are www.ccl.org and www.offshoresailing.com.

About CCL

The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®) is a top-ranked, global provider of executive education that develops better leaders through its exclusive focus on leadership education and research. Founded in 1970 as a nonprofit, educational institution, CCL helps clients worldwide cultivate creative leadership through an array of programs, products and other services. Ranked among the world’s top providers of executive education by Business Week and the Financial Times, CCL is headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, with campuses in Colorado Springs, Colorado; San Diego, California; Brussels, Belgium; and Singapore. Its work is supported by more than 500 faculty members and staff.

About Offshore Sailing School

Founded in 1964, Offshore Sailing School has taught more than 100,000 men and women to sail. Chosen “best sailing lessons” by New York Magazine’s 2006 Best of New York issue, and ranked #1 by Practical Sailor in both instructors and curriculum, Offshore is the only sailing school recognized by the American Council on Education for credit at the college level. Eight locations include four Florida campuses (Captiva Island, St. Petersburg, the Keys and Ft. Myers Beach); the British Virgin Islands; St. Michaels, Maryland; and two in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area. Leadership at the Helm will initially be offered at South Seas Island Resort on Captiva Island, Florida and the Pink Shell Beach Resort & Spa in Ft. Myers, Florida with other above campus locations as options.