Leading for Equity in Complex Systems | Dec 10-11, 2026

Institute Schedule

Thursday, November 5 – Friday, November 6, 2026 | 8:00 am – 4:00 pm PST. Breakfast will be served at 8:00 am – Content will begin promptly at 8:45 am and Lunch will be served during a 1-hour break.

Institute Description

Why do so many well intentioned equity efforts have such limited success—and even produce unintended negative consequences? Leaders often assume that building equity awareness and commitment in their organizations will naturally lead to strategies that bring progress. Though necessary, such equity awareness work is not sufficient to bring about these desired changes - because it doesn’t account for the critical reality of complexity. We work in complex systems (where change is perpetual and uncertainty is a given) with complex problems where “solutions” abound but success is elusive.

Equity challenges are particularly complex, with many entangled factors at play (including the deep-seated effects of systemic oppression) without a singular root cause. Traditional approaches to change and leadership - e.g. that attempt to specify outcomes and timelines, enumerate solutions, and then focus on implementation - are insufficient. Rather, emergent paths forward must be discovered through dynamic interactions of diverse people learning more about the challenge and taking many small actions that inform how they find their way forward together.

In this institute, you will:

• Learn about what complexity really means and its implications for equity work;
• Reflect on your own leadership through a complexity lens; and
• Learn frameworks and methods that can expand your approach to leadership and change work.

As with all work toward equity, understanding complexity requires both a “window” lens (how we see complexity in our systems and situations) and a “mirror” lens (how complexity can both challenge us emotionally and transform our own ways of working). Accordingly, leaders of complex equity work must be skilled in balancing technical and relational / cultural work. Understanding more about complexity itself, and its implications for leadership, can open up whole new possibilities for approaching change efforts for equity. This course draws on an extensive body of theory, research and practice around complexity-informed systems change, as well as the National Equity Project’s 28+ years of experience in coaching and leading in complex systems.

Accessibility

We provide an advance draft of our slide deck 24 hours before the institute. Breakfast and lunch will be provided on both in-person institute days.

We are intensely focused on humanizing our spaces. We focus on interactivity and connection by providing frequent body breaks, and attending to learning, practice, and healing in community.

Registration & Payment

Institute Fee: $1,200 per person

Limited discounted registration tickets are available for this event. If you require discounted registration, please contact events@nationalequityproject.org. Requests will be reviewed on a case by case basis.

Participants will receive pre-reads and resources prior to the meeting via email. Please add events@nationalequityproject.org to your contacts to ensure you receive course communications.

Registration by credit card on Eventbrite is our preferred method. We are a small (but mighty) organization and processing and collecting check payments for our events has a high administrative impact.

Please visit our registration page on our website for information on paying by check or purchase order and our cancellation and registration transfer policy.

Contact the National Equity Project at events@nationalequityproject.org with questions.