Radical Resilience for Faith-based Leaders: Reduce Stress, Avoid Burnout and Learn to Thrive in Challenging Times

Leadership isn't easy at the best of times, and these are clearly not the best of times. How can you avoid despondency and burn-out in a chaotic period when every other news bulletin heralds another geopolitical crisis, a radical change of government policy or another development that might detract from your mission? How can you balance the demands of your board, team, and community while staying true to your values and making time for a life outside of work? 

If you want to flourish even in challenging times, you need to develop greater "mental fitness" -- the ability to handle life's challenges with a positive mindset. You've probably noticed team and family members reverting to unhelpful behaviour patterns during stressful periods -- maybe you've even done it yourself! Negative emotions, such as stress and anxiety, are helpful warning signals, but staying stuck in them will limit your ability to keep yourself and your team on track, and left unchecked, may lead to burnout.

After decades of coaching and mentoring hundreds of leaders, Matthew Freeman and Tamra Wright have designed a unique programme to help leaders thrive, even in the most challenging times. "Resilience" is usually understood as the ability to survive setbacks, but we are much more ambitious than that. We aim to help you develop "radical resilience", so that you and your team emerge stronger and more resourceful after every challenge. 

Using a carefully structured combination of evidence-based strategies from positive psychology, behaviour change and performance psychology, we will teach you to harness your innate strengths and face life's inevitable challenges with clear-headed confidence. 

"Matthew Freeman and Dr. Tamra Wright have crafted a powerful, practical, and transformative programme. 'Radical Resilience' is a lifeline for faith-based leaders seeking to maintain well-being while fulfilling demanding roles. With their vast experience and innovative methods, these iconic thought leaders provide essential tools for resilience, empathy, and joyful leadership. This programme is a must for those wanting to lead with renewed energy and purpose."

Lord Raval of Hertfordshire, founder of Faith in Leadership

"The Radical Resilience program clarified and expanded on my strengths and how they have benefited me over the years while also uncovering behavioral patterns that were undermining my relationships at work, at home, and with friends. Learning to weaken these patterns and remain in a more positive place of empathy, creativity, exploration, and innovation has allowed me to navigate my life with greater positivity and confidence." Luigi Ferrara, Principal and CEO, Conifer

Combatting Isolation and Burnout
Leaders in demanding roles often feel isolated and struggle to achieve their professional goals without sacrificing their health, well-being, and family responsibilities. The risk of burnout is significant. Our program offers insights from cutting-edge research in productivity and positive psychology, providing tools to avoid burnout and transform setbacks into personal and professional growth. You will learn to:

• Manage stress more effectively, so you can respond to challenges with calm, clear-headed action 
• Understand the hidden causes of negative behaviours, so you can minimize conflict within your team or board 
• Enhance your empathy and self-compassion, so you can enjoy better relationships with colleagues, friends and family 

These skills will benefit your professional and personal life, empowering you to lead with greater joy and confidence. 

Transform Your Leadership Journey
Join us this summer and become part of a supportive community of faith-based leaders committed to personal and professional growth. You will learn Stanford professor Dr BJ Fogg's Tiny Habits approach to behaviour change with Tamra, a certified Tiny Habits coach, and complete the 7-week 'Positive Intelligence' (PQ) program created by best-selling author Shirzad Chamine. 

"I have found PQ to be an eye-opening view of and aid to life, a way of helping navigate through daily challenges in a positive and logical way but in a way that resonates supportively and deeply. Highly recommend anyone to do this if you are prepared to commit to the programme, and especially doing it with Tamra, who is teacher/guide/facilitator/trainer extraordinaire with her unique style and understanding." Nicky Goldman, CEO, JVN - Jewish Volunteering Network

"The Positive Intelligence course offers practical tools to strengthen personal and work relationships and improve well-being. I found it aligned well with a faith-based approach—intentionally striving, committing to action, and doing so within a supportive small community. Tamra was an excellent facilitator. She picked up on subtle cues from us as participants and adapted the sessions thoughtfully. Her approach was flexible, respectful, and insightful. I’d recommend the course to anyone looking to deepen their self-awareness, especially those who see personal growth as part of their faith journey."  Lucy Bushill-Matthews, Governance consultant and author

Programme Structure

Part 1: Weekly Programme (June - July 2025) 

• 8 weekly meetings over Zoom
  
• 7 weeks of app-based learning and coaching
• 2 individual coaching sessions with Matthew or Tamra 

• 2 group meetings to reinforce progress
  
• 2 further individual coaching sessions with Tamra 

Fees and Bursaries
The course fee is £1200. Bursaries are available for those who don't have access to institutional support, so please don't let concerns about finance prevent you from joining us! If you have questions about the bursary scheme, please email us for more information: Matthew: matthew@dialectixconsulting.com or Tamra: positivelytiny@gmail.com 

Zoom Webinar Dates (Wednesdays from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm BST) 

Wednesday 4th June
Wednesday 11th June
Wednesday 18th June
Wednesday 25th June
Wednesday 2nd July
(No session on 9th July)
Wednesday 16th July
Wednesday 23rd July
Wednesday 30th July 

About the programme leaders
Matthew and Tamra are friends and colleagues who first met when Matthew joined the faculty of the Senior Faith in Leadership Programme. After years of working together, they have created a bespoke personal development programme for leaders. 

Matthew Freeman, an Anglophile American, isn't just a facilitator, author, and coach – he's a bridge builder. His passion is helping individuals and groups overcome differences and find common ground to tackle complex challenges. Sought after globally, Matthew has brought his expertise to diverse audiences – from members of the US Congress and the Federal Reserve to Fortune 500 companies and small charities across the US, UK, Europe, Kenya, and Hong Kong.

With a unique background in science and Christian church history, Matthew sheds light on how our brains can hinder collaboration and progress. He delves into these topics in his book, Overcoming Bias: Building Authentic Relationships Across Differences, and his numerous articles.

Dr. Tamra Wright brings an unusual combination of skills to coaching and leadership development. Her academic background in philosophy enables her to think deeply and critically about leadership challenges and proposed solutions, and she draws on decades of experience teaching, coaching, and mentoring hundreds of leaders and educators from different faith communities.  She is a certified Tiny Habits Coach and a Mental Fitness Coach, and serves as Curriculum Development Advisor at Faith in Leadership. 

Tamra is an academic specialising in continental philosophy and 20th-century Jewish philosophy. She is the author of The Twilight of Jewish Philosophy: Emmanuel Levinas’s Ethical Hermeneutics (1999), and co-editor of Face to Face with Animals: Levinas and the Animal Question (2019) and Radical Responsibility: Celebrating the Thought of Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (2012). She has published numerous articles on contemporary Jewish thought and, more recently, on Judaism and Positive Psychology. She is the co-author of an article entitled "Radical Resilience: Hope, Agency, and Community in the Thought of Rabbi Sacks", which is due to be published in Tradition in 2025. Her article "Serve God with Joy (and Self-Actualization): Positive Psychology and the Thought of Rabbi Sacks" is included in An Ode to Joy: Judaism and Happiness in the Thought of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks and Beyond, edited by Erica Brown and Shira Weiss (2024).