Creating [ ] Connection
a social innovation and training platform designed to equip current and aspiring leaders with relational leadership skills
Step away from daily corporate pressures to focus on what truly sustains us: genuine human connection.
Together, we will look honestly at the silos that isolate us and build practical pathways back to authentic, deeply engaged leadership.
By self-selecting into this unique peer cohort, you are choosing to step off the hamster wheel of corporate performance metrics and step into a psychologically safe space designed for true vulnerability. This ONLINE experience will fundamentally upgrade your leadership capacity and your daily life while creating a ripple effect that extends far beyond office walls.
How it will help you:
Build Connection Literacy: You will give yourself this time to learn tools for deeper connection. You will gain the language and self-awareness needed to normalize conversations about belonging, recognize when you or your team members are disengaging, and break through personal blocks.
Unlock High-Quality Performance: By actively mitigating isolation through peer support and mentoring, you will start to restore your cognitive clarity, strategic foresight, and capacity for empathy—becoming a more effective, joyful, and purposeful leader precisely when it matters most.
Thrive Beyond the Office: True relational leadership starts with the self. As you start to learn these tools, you will gain the time, presence, and energy to cultivate deeper, more fulfilling relationships with your family, friends, and community outside of work.
Grab your
spot!
Why you belong in this workshopIn today's fast-paced corporate world, it is easy to assume that professional isolation is a personal hurdle—an unavoidable burden of climbing the ladder. But the truth is much larger: loneliness is a systemic design flaw, not an individual failure.
High workloads, siloed teams, and an over-reliance on transactional communication have created an ecosystem where isolation naturally thrives. When leadership focuses solely on performance metrics, the emotional and relational needs of a team are left behind, unintentionally eroding psychological safety and replacing genuine connection with perceived indifference.
This environment breeds a critical performance paradox. Research shows that 61% of lonely CEOs believe isolation actively hinders their performance, directly impairing clear thinking, strategic decision-making, and empathetic leadership. Executive isolation isn't just a personal well-being concern; it is a strategic threat to organization-wide success. The very conditions that cause us to withdraw are the ones that demand our highest cognitive function and emotional resilience.
This workshop series is a strategic commitment to rehumanizing work. By deepening our self-awareness, we can better recognize our own signals of isolation and cultivate the tools needed for meaningful human connection. This practice also allows us to look beyond our individual burdens and begin shifting responsibility back to the system—intentionally redesigning how we connect.
One week. Three sessions. Build connection.
MONDAY, JUNE 22 • 6:30-8PM CST
VIRTUAL
Session 01
Self-Awareness
True relational leadership is an inside job. Following the truth that "who we are is a central variable in how we work," this session focuses on the smallest unit of the corporate fractal: the Self. We will dive into understanding our egoic triggers, introduce somatic self-regulation, and learning to listen to what our bodies are sensing. By bringing our "whole selves" to the table with an open mind, heart, and will, we build the psychological resilience needed to lead through uncertainty.
THURSDAY, JUNE 25 • 6:30-8PM CST
VIRTUAL
Session 02
Self + Others
Effective leadership is not loud; true confidence is quiet. This module explores how to enter the "neutral zone" of human interactions, stepping away from compulsive assumptions and automatic judgments. You will learn how to navigate the inevitable tensions, friction, and disagreements that arise in teams, reframing them as opportunities for co-creation. We will also dive more deeply into active and reflective listening practices that help us to engage with curiosity, building the bridges of connection.
SUNDAY, JUNE 28 • 6-7:30PM CST
VIRTUAL
Session 03
Self + Others + Systems
Loneliness isn't an individual burden; it’s an organizational structure issue. In this final session, we look at the macro-systems we live and work within. We will explore alternative frameworks like Doughnut Economics—challenging the frantic push of GDP/growth-at-all-costs metrics—and add in measures of human well-being, trust, and connection. You will learn practical tools that redirect rapid corporate urgency, protect your strategic thinking time, and build safe peer networks.
JOIN OTHER LEADERS IN THIS CONNECTION BUILDING EXPERIENCEThe Connected Leader Series: Rehumanizing Work Through Relational Leadership
Trust
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Connection
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Leadership
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Awareness
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Relate
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Trust 〰️ Connection 〰️ Leadership 〰️ Awareness 〰️ Relate 〰️
Safety
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Connect
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Vulnerability
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Listen
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Share
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Safety 〰️ Connect 〰️ Vulnerability 〰️ Listen 〰️ Share 〰️
What you need to know
JOIN US
By self-selecting into this unique peer cohort, you are choosing to step off the hamster wheel of corporate performance metrics and step into a psychologically safe space designed for true vulnerability. This ONLINE experience will fundamentally upgrade your leadership capacity and your daily life while creating a ripple effect that extends far beyond office walls.
How it will help you:
Build Connection Literacy: You will give yourself this time to learn tools for deeper connection. You will gain the language and self-awareness needed to normalize conversations about belonging, recognize when you or your team members are disengaging, and break through personal blocks.
Unlock High-Quality Performance: By actively mitigating isolation through peer support and mentoring, you will start to restore your cognitive clarity, strategic foresight, and capacity for empathy—becoming a more effective, joyful, and purposeful leader precisely when it matters most.
Thrive Beyond the Office: True relational leadership starts with the self. As you start to learn these tools, you will gain the time, presence, and energy to cultivate deeper, more fulfilling relationships with your family, friends, and community outside of work.
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Corporate Leaders & Department Heads navigating the isolating pressures of high-stakes decision-making.
HR Professionals & Managers wanting to embed human connection goals into organizational structures.
Individual Contributors & Creative Leaders ready to step into vulnerability, overcome burnout, and design healthier work boundaries.
Anyone craving deeper purpose, more joy, and better alignment between their daily actions and their personal values.
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Cameras on
This is a virtual workshop series meant to build community in the digital environment many of us find ourselves in day-to-day. Having your camera on will be imperative for connection building breakout sessions.Full committment
We don’t grow into the leaders we want to become if we don’t commit to new behaviors. By signing up for this series you are committing to be fully engaged for all three sessions. Your cohort will be relying on you.Extra time for self-care
As we focus on ourselves and aspects we may need to change in order to acheive the outcomes we desire, we may become more sensitive, uncomfortable, fatigued, or emotional. During this week build in a bit more time for self-care.Vulnerable connection with others
This series will have a deep foundation in one-on-one connections through breakout sessions. This is how we learn, grow and deepen our relational skills.Jenna is here for support
During this week if things come up, please know that you are held. Reach out to Jenna at anytime for support. -
Build Connection Literacy: Normalize emotional self-awareness and give your team a shared language to articulate their needs.
Protect Your Executive Health: Reduce stress levels quickly using breathing and somatic anchoring, safeguarding your organization's greatest asset—your health!
Create a Global Ripple Effect: Elevate relationships not just with coworkers, but with the families and communities you return home to.
Science-Backed Learning: Experience social, spaced learning modules designed to trigger long-term behavior breakthroughs.
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This series is being held by Jenna Leskela as a part of her Capstone project to earn her Master’s of Creative Leadership Degree at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. It is meant as a means to learn more about these communities and practices as well as a way to give back.
About me
Hello, I’m Jenna Leskela. For over two decades, I have navigated the complex terrains of large corporations, leading teams through the ambiguities of corporate strategy and visual design. Alongside my corporate path, I spent the last ten years embarking on an intentional, deeply transformative spiritual journey. As a certified energy healer and practitioner trained at the Modern Mystery School, I learned to see organizations and individuals not as static machines, but as living, breathing energetic ecosystems that require care, alignment, and presence to truly thrive.
My paths converged during my Master’s journey in Creative Leadership at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD). These worlds beautifully collided, giving birth to Creating [ ] Connection—a disruptive social innovation and training platform designed to equip current and aspiring leaders with the relational skills needed to heal the modern epidemic of workplace isolation.
By weaving together the structural insights of decentralized business models with the human-centric art of Authentic Relating and Non-violent Communication, I help leaders move away from top-down control and toward self-organizing, evolutionary practices. I believe that when we intentionally design spaces of psychological safety, work ceases to be a forced exertion. Instead, teams naturally become epicenters of collaboration and innovation, capable of changing their workplaces—and the wider world—for the mutual thriving of all life.