This eight-session program is designed specifically for square and round dance leaders. You'll learn practical, encouraging leadership skills you can immediately apply to strengthen your organization, attract and retain dancers, develop volunteers, navigate change, and build a sustainable future.

Session 1 — Leading Square Dancing Into the Future

Learn to think beyond simply maintaining today's organization. You'll explore what effective leadership looks like in a changing environment, discover how to broaden the leadership circle, and learn to distinguish between what must be preserved, what can evolve, and what is worth experimenting with. You'll also assess where your club is today—and where you want it to be tomorrow.

Session 2 — Understanding the People We Want to Reach

Learn to see square dancing through a newcomer's eyes. You'll explore why people choose social activities, what they are looking for, and the barriers that may keep them from participating. You'll examine the needs of younger adults, men, couples, singles, introverts, busy adults, and others—without relying on stereotypes.

Session 3 — Recruitment & Marketing That Gets Attention

Learn how to stop simply advertising lessons and start creating interest. You'll learn the difference between marketing and advertising, how to communicate benefits rather than simply describe the activity, and how to use social media, websites, community partnerships, and compelling messaging to reach people who don't already know why they might enjoy square dancing. You'll create a practical recruitment campaign and a simple 90-day recruitment plan.

Session 4 — From First Visit to Long-Term Dancer

Learn how to turn a first visit into lasting participation. You'll examine the complete newcomer journey—from awareness and first impressions through learning, belonging, regular participation, and eventually leadership. You'll identify where newcomers may drop away and learn practical ways to create early success, connection, flexibility, and a reason to return.

Session 5 — Creating a Club Culture People Want to Join

Learn how to create a genuinely welcoming culture—not just a friendly club. You'll examine traditions, unwritten rules, cliques, different social needs, newcomer inclusion, listening, and psychological safety. You'll learn how to preserve the relationships and values that make your club special while making room for people with different personalities, backgrounds, generations, and perspectives.

Session 6 — Leading Change & Navigating Difficult Conversations

Learn how to move your organization forward without unnecessarily dividing it. You'll explore why people resist change, how to listen before persuading, distinguish values from traditions, introduce change through manageable experiments, handle disagreement, communicate difficult decisions, and build enough consensus to move forward—even when everyone doesn't agree.

Session 7 — Building Volunteers & Future Leaders

Learn how to make leadership sustainable instead of continually relying on the same few people. You'll discover why people hesitate to volunteer, how to create smaller and more meaningful opportunities to contribute, identify and use people's strengths, personally invite participation, develop mentoring and succession practices, and prevent volunteer burnout. You'll begin building a leadership pipeline for your organization.

Session 8 — From Ideas to Action

Turn everything you've learned into measurable action. You'll learn how to set realistic priorities, use simple measures, test ideas, learn from what doesn't work, establish accountability, and celebrate progress. You'll develop a 90-day Leadership Action Project and begin building a longer-term roadmap for your organization.

Session 9 — Presentation of action plans, discussion, plan to support each other in the future

Your Leadership Journey Doesn't End With the Course

The final outcome isn't simply a certificate or a completed training program. You'll leave with a draft three-year vision, strategic priorities, a 90-day action plan, a strategy for developing more leaders, and a simple process for measuring progress. Most importantly, you'll know how to bring your members into the conversation and turn leadership development into ongoing organizational action. We'll discuss how you'd like to be supported in the future, including a way for the group to stay connected for ongoing discussion.

The goal isn't just better individual leaders. It's stronger organizations capable of learning, adapting, growing, and building their future together.