Leadership Camp is a philosophy and toolkit that accelerates self-awareness and growth. We ground this practice in the context of work, whether that is with startups, government, non-profits, education, a professional transition, or more.

What is MergeLane?

MergeLane is a venture fund that focuses on companies with at least one female in leadership. You can see our active portfolio here.

What is Leadership Camp?

Leadership Camp is a concentrated, intensive, transformative three-day program designed to accelerate participants’ growth as aware and empowered leaders and teams. We have mixed gender camps and women only camps.

One of our recent attendees described camp this way: “Camp is a unique opportunity to dig deep into yourself in a supportive and safe environment. Gaining this understanding paired with conscious leadership concepts allows you to create new possibilities in your personal and professional life, through clearer communication, context, and vision.”

We’ve written about the impact of this work in MergeLane runs on Conscious Leadership.

To register for Leadership Camp by MergeLane, sign up here.

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What Is the Most Important Thing for Me to Know About Camp?

Leadership Camp is an emotionally intense, introspective experience. We will be working with attendees to uncover often lifelong patterns that generally facilitate leadership but occasionally get in the way unconsciously. One thing we notice is that most of these patterns have meaningful and deep emotional connections.

Conscious leaders are present and aware of the emotional underpinnings they bring to their work encounters, decisions, and judgments. Leadership Camp helps attendees explore their emotional substructure in a way that may feel direct and intense. You will have full control over what you choose to share, but others will be sharing intimate and revealing stories and beliefs from which we hope the entire group will learn. Be prepared to witness charged discussions. We believe noticing, naming and welcoming your patterns in an trusted group is key to the transformative conscious leadership experience and to reducing drama at work.

As leaders, we often suppress emotions as not being "allowed at work." Conscious Leadership recognizes that increasing access to and understanding of our emotional motivations and unconscious commitments are keys to unlocking a leader's full potential. Camp will dive in through this lens, and that makes camp exciting and challenging at times.

Again, we do this not to challenge for its own sake but to uncover contextual issues present in leader's performance and in the successful performance of teams.

If you've been waiting for a chance to deepen your self-awareness as a leader, Camp is for you.

When and Where is Leadership Camp?

Leadership Camps are run on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. All participants must attend for the full three days of the program.

Upcoming dates for Leadership Camp:

• Leadership Camp for Everyone, May 18th-20th in Boulder, Colorado - Register Here
• Leadership Camp for Women, August 3rd-5th in Boulder, Colorado - Register Here

The schedule for camp events is as follows. If there is no indication that something is optional, then it is mandatory:

• Thursday Night: 7pm  OPTIONAL drink at location to be determined for attendees (Camp staff may not be present, but will ensure attendees can find each other)
• Friday: Session from 9am - 5:00pm; 5:15pm: OPTIONAL drink at location to be determined
• Saturday: 7:15am: OPTIONAL Yoga (bring mat and change of clothes to venue); 9am - 5:00pm Session; Start; 6:15 - 8pm Mandatory Dinner Activity
• Sunday: 9am - 1pm Session.

Why Does MergeLane Run Leadership Camp?

We have learned that Leadership Camp kickstarts an immediate improvement in engagement, communication, candor, and innovation. Leadership is formed through relationships, whether that’s with your boss, employees, investors, kids, or spouse, we help leaders:

• Spot their personality patterns and blindspots
• Develop a culture of candor that supports functional conversations and enduring relationships
• Build skills and tools for embracing and working through conflict

Who Would Benefit from Leadership Camp?

Leadership Camp is designed for leaders, founders, and executive teams interested in raising their self-awareness, effectiveness, and upside potential in their careers.

Leadership Camp is perfect for:

• A founder or group of co-founders working on a project, idea, or company
• Leaders and emerging leaders in or interested in transitioning to an entrepreneurial career
• Large company, government or nonprofit leaders intrigued by the idea of being more innovative and entrepreneurial in their roles

Is Leadership Camp for Women Only?

No. We do offer women-specific camps, but we also offer general leadership camps for everyone.

You may know that MergeLane programs are not and have never been limited to females, but to companies with at least one female in leadership. We hear again and again, however, that our work at MergeLane and our point of view developed over these years is of specific and unique service to women. Our mission at MergeLane has always been to #changetheratio. We chose to make some of our Leadership Camps specifically for women because we believed this was one more way to radically and quickly accelerate women’s views of their potential for their projects or careers. 

You Make a Gender Delineation Here. How Will You Interpret That?

We won’t. If you identify as a woman on the date you register and show up for Leadership Camp, we will be delighted to have you with zero questions asked.

Is Leadership Camp for Techies Only?

Nope. MergeLane itself is not just for tech. We want to invite women from a host of sectors. Although the program is focused on startup founders and founding teams, we believe it will be of tremendous value to anyone interested in functioning at work and in life in a more self-aware, creative context.

Why is Leadership Camp Called “Camp”?

Well, we like camp. We like immersive programming that feels like camp. This three days will be extremely intense, but we expect to quickly develop the level of camaraderie and connection that drives real outcomes from short, accelerated programs like this one.

We have had feedback from attendees that they would like advance warning that this is an intensive program. They say having the freedom to dive in and process during and between sessions without extra burdens of home can be salutary to a great experience.

Who is Behind MergeLane?

The team behind Leadership Camp is the same team that runs the MergeLane venture fund. You can read more about Sue Heilbronner, Elizabeth Kraus, Hannah Davis, and Leah Pearlman here. Leadership Camp is co-facilitated by Sue and Leah.

Based on our shared experiences as operators, founders, investors, and mentors -- we feel confident that we can deliver a transformative experience.

What do Leadership Camp Alumni Say about Leadership Camp?

“MergeLane Leadership Camp is the safest, wildest, roller coaster you will ever ride.” “Radical, refreshing, overdue, and relief to finally relate to a leadership style.”

“A catalyst experience for emerging leaders and a challenging experience for seasoned ones.”

“A deep dive into truth.”

“An intense learning experience and self-reflection that can help you discover patterns you have that affect your life personally and professionally.”

What is the Charge for Participating?

Leadership Camp costs $999 per person. We offer an early-bird discount to $899 which is valid up to two months before the event. We also offer a discount of 10% for teams of 3 or more.

Is there a scholarship?

All diversity, not just gender, is important to us. We have two scholarship seats each camp for participants that enhance racial diversity. Apply here.

Have More Questions?

We love questions. Please email megan@mergelane.com with any questions about Leadership Camp.