The Preemptive Edge
A LONG-WEEKEND RETREAT exclusive to WOMEN LEADERSQ4 doesn’t need to drain you.
But reacting to it always does.
You spend your year scaling companies. Spend three days scaling your own vision. Join five other executive women on Balsam Lake for a strategic pitstop before the chaotic corporate season.
Build your personal roadmap dockside and rejuvenate in cottage comfort.
August 28 to 30, 2026
Balsam Lake, Ontario • CAPPED AT Six leadersTHE THRESHOLDYou’ve reached a point where another strong Q4 is not worth what the last one cost.
You already know the workload is not your only problem.
What wears you out is running with your internal energy level on low.
Listen to yourself and shift your mindset to put your priorities first.
That is what these three days are for.
THE NORTH STARListen to YourselfWhat’s on your mind now, the patterns and mindset that have ran the show up to now. Which ones will carry you through the quarter ahead and which ones are just draining you?
Listen to Your BODYMost of us are guilty of ignoring the body. But it actually talks louder and more clearly than any words. Read the reserves you will be drawing on. What is it telling you about what you need?
Listen to THE CALLINGhere you are in your own arc of growth, and what this moment is calling you toward. The vocation underneath the role, so the quarter moves your priorities forward.
Nature walks
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Journaling
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Facilitated reflections
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Boat cruising
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Fireside chats
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Nature walks 〰️ Journaling 〰️ Facilitated reflections 〰️ Boat cruising 〰️ Fireside chats 〰️
Gathering room
Journaling space
Lakeside deck
Fireside seating
Lakefront accommodation
Catered meals
Varied chefs
Lounging terrace
Outdoor yoga
Nature walks
The arc
you’ll experience
DAY 1 • THE FONDATIONA clear read of your patterns
The roles and archetypes you have identified with, seen clearly enough to choose differently. Which will carry you through the quarter, and which have been drain you.
ACTIVITIES
Leadership archetype mapping
Pattern identification
Your reserves, read honestly
What you will draw on through the season, and what the body has been telling you through clear or muted signals. Awareness of your fuel before Q4 spends it for you.
ACTIVITIES
Sanctuary hike & fireside smores
Somatic mapping & journaling
DAY 2 • Make sense of itYour operative values, sorted
A values practice that separates what is genuinely yours from what has been used to curb your agency. The few you want to hold through the quarter.
The long-game North Star
Where you are in your own arc of leadership growth, and what this moment is calling you toward. The direction the quarter is meant to serve.
DAY 3 Put it in motionYou’re your own client
A shift will let you watch your role and adjust it rather than be run by it. This fireproof process is the operating model you’ll keep and run once Q4 is live.
ACTIVITIES
Operating model definition
Envisioning & integration
A new circle starts
High quality support after the retreat, throughout Q4. With people to open new doors and ideas. Luck loves serendipity.
ACTIVITIES
3× 90min group executive coaching
Peer exchanges
ACTIVITIES
Operative values prioritization
Trade-off mapping & journaling
ACTIVITIES
Cycle fireside chat & journaling
Full moon outdoor meditation
Who this is for
Right for you if you are asking
Can I have a great Q4 without losing myself?
How can I prioritize myself without dropping real responsibilities?
I am self-aware. So why do some old patterns keep running me?
I have a good support network. Why do I still feel unsupported?
Not the right fit if you are looking for
A push to keep doing the same.
A networking room to work.
just a feel-good event you forget by Monday.
Early stage executive development.
executive FACILITATORS
Fabiana Pereira Hotz, PhD, PCC
Claristrat Institute Faculty and Executive Coach
Former Deloitte Partner
Connect on LinkedIn
For over 20 years, I helped big companies deliver on their ambitions. The roadmaps were precise. The leaders were hesitant to realize their own visions and we had to support them from very close.
When executives grow in clarity and confidence, everything around them grows too. So I built Claristrat to help with this. This retreat uses the same method. Now, on you.
Debbie Carkner
Claristrat Institute Faculty & Executive Coach
Former Managing Director, Accenture
Connect on LinkedIn
For more than thirty years, I helped organizations transform. As a Managing Director at Accenture, I advised senior executives, led global transformation, and was expected to have the answers.
What I wasn't expecting was my own transformation.
At the height of my career, I realized the next chapter wasn't another promotion or bigger mandate. The work I loved no longer reflected who I was becoming. Success had brought me here, but it wasn't where I was meant to stay.
Today, I create space for women executives to ask the questions we rarely have time — or permission — to ask. Who am I beyond the role? What kind of leader do I want to become? What would it look like to lead with greater intention, presence, and purpose?
Because the most important transformation you'll ever lead isn't your organization's. It's your own.
How we’ll
get there
THE PLACE (over $800 value)
A private lakefront cottage on Balsam Lake, surrounded by Ontario forest. Gathering room, journaling spaces, a lakeside deck, and fireside seating. Private or double rooms.
THE FACILITATION ($2,600 value)
Two executive coaches who’ve been there lead systemic depth facilitation with individual attention, all based on the proven Claristrat Method.
THE ACTIVITIES ($250 value)
Blah blah
THE SUSTENANCE ($600 value)
Catered meals across the weekend from varied chefs. Breakfast and lunch buffets, dinners, and a choice of snacks. No alcohol served, but you can responsibly bring your own.
THE CARE ($150 value)
A swag bag with apparel, gourmet treats and a notebook with prompts that help you notice and collect what matters about how and where you will lead next.
40 HOURS ACROSS THREE DAYS
A complete arc, from arriving with intention, through inhabiting your resources, to naming your Q4 edge.
Total value over $4,400
Your self-investment
$3,200 CAD
JOIN THE LEADERSKEEP SEARCHINGKEEP IN MINDBefore you reserve
1. This is a senior room.
You will have held a director or VP role for several years. We keep the room focused on the leadership realities this weekend is designed around.
2. Time-bound and small.
We cap participation at six. Applications are reviewed as they arrive. When the circle fills, it closes.
3. Full refund if it’s not the right fit.
Reserve your seat, confirm fit, and if the placement is wrong for you, your payment is returned in full within five business days. See our full refund policy for peace of mind.
4. Reserve your seat today.
Questions first? Schedule a 15-minute conversation with faculty.
NOT SURE IF THis IS RIGHT FOR YOU?