Experiential Leadership Lab

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Making Space for Clarity, Commitment and New Possibilities

In today's rapidly shifting landscape, philanthropy stands at a critical inflection point where commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion are being tested unlike ever before. As other sectors face mounting pressure to retreat from these hard-fought progress on issues we care about and have worked hard to improve, philanthropy has both the opportunity and responsibility to address these challenges that conflate race, risk and limit access to capital, all while preparing for what lies ahead. This leadership lab creates a holding environment to grow capacity to navigate uncertainty with greater clarity, commitment and new possibilities for action and learning. 

Compelling Vision Question:
How can MCF and members of Minnesota's philanthropic community help to create the conditions for a Minnesota where race no longer determines outcomes or predicts success in key areas of life?

About the MCF DEI Experiential Leadership Lab

With the uncertainty penalty at an all-time high, our leadership lab creates a dynamic holding environment that invites you to bring your experiences and opportunities for both proactive and reactive action for timely diversity, equity and inclusion readiness in organizational life. We intentionally create a little bit of helpful discomfort - that productive space between complacency and overwhelm where growth lies. This is where leaders develop the muscles needed to speak truthfully, listen deeply, and act courageously even when outcomes are unknown. We offer a community designed with learning and belonging outcomes, high value in short bursts of time investment (HIIT),  and space for high-quality reflections and conversations virtually and in-person. 

By growing your internal capacity to navigate outer complexity with integrity, you directly strengthen your capacity to contribute to clarity, commitment and new possibilities for action in organizational life through changes in policies, practices and resource flows. Our goal is to cultivate the leadership presence, discernment, and relational capacity needed to operationalize equity and belonging outcomes.

Our lab creates a living laboratory where philanthropic leaders practice new ways of being and doing in real-time, with immediate application to current challenges. Each Lab session follows a flexible structured format that maximizes both learning and application:

Two-hour Virtual Session Structure:

• 10m: Settle In and Program Introduction

• 45m: Exchange with Opening Speakers followed by Tour of Questions
• 20m: Collective Sense-making
• 30m: Ubuntu Circle and Practice in Small Groups - Drawing from the African philosophy of ubuntu—meaning ‘I am because we are’—this practice increases the likelihood for clarity, commitment and new possibilities for action to emerge . The Ubuntu Circle honors multiple ways of knowing and reminds us that our growth as leaders is fundamentally connected to our relationships and community.

• 15m: Debrief and Close

Note: While we're beginning with two-hour virtual sessions, the format will evolve based on member feedback. Future sessions may include longer formats, in-person gatherings across Minnesota, and other adaptations to best serve our members’ leadership development and organizational learning needs.

Our Leadership Development Approach

The DEI Experiential Leadership Lab is built on what we know about how adults learn and develop over time. Our approach to leadership is based on self-leadership. We heavily draw on adult development, use of self and organizational leadership theory and practice. We center

• Learning by Doing: Moving beyond concepts to practice through immediate application

• Using Self as Learning Territory: Exploring how our worldviews shape what we see and how we respond

• Developing Capacity, Not Just Competencies: Expanding your ability to hold complexity, uncertainty, and multiple perspectives

2025 DEI Leadership Lab Sessions

Each DEI Leadership Lab session addresses a timely diversity, equity and inclusion topic. The goal is to grow your capacity for seeing, practicing, and cultivating equity and belonging in outcomes. Sessions are designed to be both standalone leadership development experiences and part of a continuous developmental journey.

Previous DEI Experiential Leadership Programs:

• Speaking Publicly: Using Your Individual, Foundation and Collective Voice Beyond Grant Dollars 

  Thursday, May 29, 2025 | 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. | Virtual

• Through the Noise - Making Space for clarity, Commitment, and New Possibility 

  Session 1: Wednesday, May 21, 2025 | 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. | Virtual

  Session 2: Tuesday, June 17, 2025 | 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. | Virtual

  Session 3: Thursday, July 31, 2025 | 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. | Virtual

The DEI Experiential Leadership Lab is designed by and for staff and board of directors of MCF member organizations.

This program is part of our two primary strategies for growing the capacity of our members to operationalize equity and belonging in outcomes: organizational learning to strengthen policies, practices and resource flows, alongside leadership development to provide a combination of challenge and support for becoming aware, using self as a learning territory, and experiment taking action, even when outcomes are unknown.