THE FOUNDATIONAL CLS WORKSHOP
Leadership and the Middle Path
Give your managers a shared system for solving problems, making decisions and following through—without every difficult issue rolling back uphill.
Leadership and the Middle Path is an intensive, practice-based workshop that helps managers think more clearly, work through difficult situations together and turn decisions into action. It provides the problem-solving foundation for the Collaborative Leadership System—and can also be delivered as a stand-alone workshop for your management team.
Looking to attend on your own? View upcoming public workshops.
Capable managers don’t always have a shared way to handle difficult work
As a company grows, managers face problems that cannot be solved by expertise or good intentions alone. Priorities compete. People interpret the same situation differently. Decisions affect multiple teams. Tension rises—and the fastest route can seem to be sending the issue back to a founder or senior leader.
You may see the impact of these problems when:
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Managers move too quickly, jumping to solutions before they agree on the real problem.
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The same issues return in slightly different forms.
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Decisions require too many rounds of discussion or senior-level intervention.
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Meetings end with general intentions rather than clear agreements.
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Difficult conversations are postponed, softened beyond usefulness or escalated unnecessarily.
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Capable people work hard but struggle to solve cross-functional problems together.
Leadership and the Middle Path gives managers a common set of practices for working through these situations with greater discipline, confidence, and accuracy.
How the workshop changes the way managers work
The workshop is designed to change what managers do when the work becomes uncertain, consequential or uncomfortable.
Instead of...
Managers learn to...
Jumping quickly to a solution
Examine the whole system and define the right problem first
Arguing from fixed positions
Surface useful evidence, test assumptions and evaluate options against clear criteria
Treating disagreement as something to avoid or win
Seek understanding and work through differences directly
Leaving ownership and deadlines implied
Form explicit who/what/when agreements
Returning every difficult issue to a senior leader
Work through more problems collaboratively and follow through on the decisions they make
Over time, these shared practices can reduce rework, improve the quality of management conversations and help the management team carry more of the company’s weight.
A practical system for difficult situations managers face every day
See the whole system
Managers examine the work itself, the relationships involved, and the individual perspectives shaping what people see before deciding what must change. This reduces the risk of fixing one part of the system while making another part worse.
Turn decisions into clear agreements
Managers convert decisions into explicit commitments: who will do what, by when and how they will follow up. They also practice addressing missed agreements directly.
Solve the right problem
Managers gather evidence, look beyond symptoms, define the desired outcome, and evaluate possible solutions against explicit criteria—not habit, advocacy, or the loudest voice in the room.
Work through conflict productively
Managers identify common thinking traps, understand differing perspectives and distinguish conversations for understanding from conversations for action. Then they practice a structured approach that combines directness with respect.
Managers build fluency through application and feedback
The workshop alternates between focused instruction and active application. Managers use each new framework to examine realistic problems, compare interpretations, test possible responses, and rehearse difficult conversations.
Direct feedback helps them refine their approach as they go. That cycle—learn, apply, reflect and refine—continues throughout the workshop. For company cohorts, two small-group Mastery Sessions extend the cycle into live work, helping managers develop the fluency to use the Middle Path principles and frameworks day to day.
The format supports that progression:
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Two full days when delivered in person; four half-days when delivered virtually
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Between-session application in the virtual format
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Two small-group Mastery Sessions recommended for company cohorts, with the first held four to six weeks after the workshop
"The most valuable aspect was the practice time with our teammates, and then review time with Russ directly."
–Peter Bui, Senior Software Engineer
Patreon
The foundation for the Collaborative Leadership System
Leadership and the Middle Path establishes a common way for managers to think through problems, test assumptions, reach sound decisions, form clear agreements and address difficult issues together.
Within the Collaborative Leadership System:
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Leadership and the Middle Path builds the problem-solving foundation.
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Leading One-to-One applies that foundation to managing, coaching and developing individuals.
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Leading Teams applies it to one-to-many management and team performance.
Leadership and the Middle Path also creates meaningful value as a stand-alone workshop. In the full CLS engagement, alignment, workplace application and two small-group Mastery Sessions per cohort help managers continue developing the practices afterward.
Built for real management work
The Middle Path curriculum was designed by Chris Holmberg and has been used with management teams in more than 160 technical startups and other organizations, including Fortune 100 companies, across 15 countries.
Russ Powell brings more than three decades of experience helping managers and teams improve how they work together and solve problems. He has facilitated this kind of work with hundreds of managers in dozens of technical startups and global organizations.
"At Mighty, we saw immediate business impact from our work with Russ. Our team was able to collaborate more efficiently and communicate more clearly, saving time and improving decision-making. His work emphasized shared frameworks and language that teams can take with them long after a workshop ends."
–Jessica Shambora, Sr. Director, Product Management
Mighty Networks
“I used to be hesitant to approach conflicts. Today, I feel more prepared and confident about approaching these situations.”
–Leo Meira, Engineering Manager
Pearl Health
Bring Leadership and the Middle Path to your management team
Leadership and the Middle Path can be delivered virtually or in person, as a stand-alone workshop or as the foundation of CLS. With an intact management group, exercises can draw on the team’s real decisions, cross-functional friction and difficult conversations—so managers build both individual skills and a shared way of working.
Looking to attend on your own?
Individuals can join selected public cohorts. These workshops cover the same core curriculum and work well for people whose organizations are not yet ready to bring the workshop to a full management team.
Next virtual workshop
September 16, 17, 23 and 24, 2026 8:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. (Pacific) each day • Live on Zoom
Upcoming in-person workshop
October 21–22, 2026
8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. (Pacific)
San Rafael, California
Tuition for either format: $2,150. A $500 deposit reserves your seat. Tuition includes a small-group follow-up practice session four to six weeks later. In-person tuition also includes printed materials.
Early registration: $1,900 at least 60 days ahead; $2,050 at least 30 days ahead. Contact Russ for the applicable registration code.