The Leadership Lab
Niagara Region, Ontario · November 16–18, 2026
Strengthen the leader behind the work.
Step away from the day-to-day. Bring the work with you.
Dates
November 16–18, 2026
Location
Darlene Ryan Centre, Thorold, Ontario
Registration
$950
You receive
Certificate of Completion
What if professional development wasn't about learning what leadership should look like—but about taking the work you're actually responsible for and looking at it differently?
The Leadership Lab is a three-day, hands-on leadership experience for professionals ready to strengthen how they lead people, make decisions, protect what matters, understand their environment, build stronger teams, and move important work forward.
This isn't leadership theory. It's leadership in practice.
Bring a real challenge, program, initiative, department priority, or recent near incident and work through it using the 3-Fires framework:
LEAD · PROTECT · UNDERSTAND · BUILD · CREATE
These five connected leadership perspectives help you look beneath the surface at the people, systems, risks, relationships, and environments shaping your work—and turn insight into action.
This is where leadership gets to work.
Over three days, you'll explore how to:
LEAD
Strengthen clarity, communication, decision-making, and purposeful leadership.
PROTECT
Recognize risk, strengthen safety, and protect people, relationships, and the organization.
UNDERSTAND
Look more deeply at the people, environments, systems, and realities influencing your work.
BUILD
Strengthen teams, staff practices, systems, relationships, and leadership capacity.
CREATE
Turn ideas into practical solutions, stronger programs, and action that moves priorities forward.
Bring a work challenge.
Let's work on it together.
Maybe it's:
- A challenge you're trying to solve
- A program you want to strengthen
- A team you're developing
- A priority that needs movement
- A difficult decision you're working through
- A leadership role you're growing into
You won't simply learn about the five pillars. You'll use them.
Leave with clarity, tools, perspective & action.
Gain a stronger understanding of your leadership role and priorities, practical approaches for communication, decision-making, risk, staff development, teams and programs, and a clearer direction for moving important work forward.
Who is the Leadership Lab for?
Designed for professionals responsible for people, programs, decisions, safety, and organizational priorities.
You may be a program coordinator, supervisor, camp or recreation leader, department manager, community program leader, emerging leader, or experienced professional looking to strengthen your leadership practice.
You don't need all the answers. You need to be ready to look at your work honestly, ask better questions, and do something with what you learn.
Three days. Five pillars. One real challenge.
Come with a challenge. Put it on the table.
Work on it. Leave with a way forward.
Step away from the demands of your usual environment without stepping away from the work that matters. Bring the work. Bring the questions. Bring the challenge. We'll bring the framework, tools, space, and experience to help you work through it.
One Institute. One framework. Your leadership challenge.
What's included:
- Three-day leadership development experience
- Leadership instruction and facilitation
- Experiential learning activities
- Training materials and resources
- 3-Fires Leadership & Safety Institute Certificate of Completion
- Lunch
- Water, coffee, tea and light refreshments
Not included in registration:
- Airfare, if applicable
- Ground transportation
- Accommodation
- Meals not included in registration
- Parking
- Other approved travel expenses
Participants are responsible for all their own travel, accommodation and meals.
Location & travel
Darlene Ryan Centre, Thorold, Ontario
The Leadership Lab takes place in the Niagara Region, Ontario.
Plan enough travel time to arrive prepared and ready to participate.