Building Emotional Resilience in Leadership Facilitators

Client Context

The Aspen Institute’s Leadership Division is a core component of one of the most prestigious think tanks in the country. Known for advancing values-based leadership and convening leaders across sectors, the Division supports programs that often bring emotionally charged issues into the room. Staff regularly serve as facilitators and conveners, navigating the emotional labor of leading conversations on identity, equity, and power.

In 2021, after several years of operating under immense social and political strain, the Leadership Division recognized the toll this work had taken on its staff. They wanted a retreat that would allow the team to reflect, reconnect, and rebuild emotional resilience—without retreating from the difficult dynamics they often face in the field.

The Challenge

The Division was preparing for an internal retreat with a highly focused goal: to build the emotional intelligence and self-awareness of their team in just 90 minutes. With limited time and a highly capable staff, the session needed to:

• Offer meaningful reflection on social identity and emotional triggers

• Avoid overly academic or therapeutic framing

• Foster openness and trust without forcing vulnerability

• Provide language and tools staff could continue using in their work

In short, the session had to walk the fine line between depth and accessibility, modeling the kind of facilitation staff were expected to lead themselves.

The Symphonic Approach

Symphonic Strategies designed and facilitated a 90-minute virtual retreat that balanced structure and reflection, theory and practice. Dr. AJ Robinson served as the lead facilitator and session architect, working in close collaboration with the Division’s leadership.

1. Framing the Experience 

The retreat opened with remarks from the executive sponsor and facilitator to set expectations and reinforce psychological safety. This established a shared commitment to reflection, respect, and presence.

2. Exploring Identity

Participants engaged in an identity inventory exercise to surface how their public and private selves show up in facilitation roles. They discussed both assumed and ascribed identities, examining how race, gender, class, and professional roles shape perception and response.

3. Understanding Triggers

Using a structured storytelling prompt, staff identified situations that triggered emotional discomfort in facilitation contexts. These stories formed the basis for small-group discussions that built empathy and self-awareness.

4. Debriefing and Integration

Following each exercise, AJ led a large-group debrief where insights were synthesized and shared. Participants identified patterns in their experiences and explored how triggers might be managed with grace, not reactivity.

5. Modeling through Role-Play

AJ modeled each exercise through role-play and narrative examples, offering practical demonstrations of how to lead with vulnerability while maintaining facilitative authority.

The Impact

The retreat achieved its core goals: building self-awareness, fostering connection, and providing practical frameworks for emotionally intelligent facilitation.

Identity Awareness

Staff developed a clearer understanding of how their social identities shape their leadership presence—especially in cross-cultural and cross-power facilitation settings.

Trigger Recognition

Participants were able to name their emotional triggers and practice responding in ways that honor both self and others.

Team Cohesion

Small-group discussions fostered renewed trust, connection, and shared purpose across the team.

Practical Tools

The retreat left staff with reusable exercises and language they could carry into their daily work—both internally and in the field.

Reflections

This session reminded participants that resilience is not about avoidance, but awareness. By creating space to explore identity and emotion as leadership variables, the Aspen Institute took an important step toward sustainable leadership development for its staff. Symphonic continues to support leadership teams like this one in building emotional capacity—one conversation at a time.

Client Voice

“This was one of the most useful retreats we’ve had. It gave us language and space to do the inner work we often ask of others.” — Aspen Institute Staff Participant (anonymous)