Activating Responsibility In Your Life
Limited to 30 participants
Responsibility Immersion is USD 2500 (payment plan available)
Immersion is also available in German.
Please read this
To learn if Responsibility Immersion is a fit for you, request the free (no-selling) value-packed email series Responsibility Immersion What, Why, & Who on this page.
If you are part of the Responsibility Community we will send you a notice as enrollment approaches. Join the Responsibility Community here.
What is Responsibility Immersion?
(aka Immersion or RI)
“Trying to practice Responsibility by yourself, is like trying to quit smoking while living in a house full of smokers,” says Jessica Soroky, Chief Of Staff to the CTO, Pendo.io, and accredited Responsibility Mentor. Why?
Knowing about The Responsibility Process doesn’t change you. Only developing a Responsibility practice makes you more resourceful, powerful, and free.
Immersion immerses you in a Responsibility culture for 20 weeks so you can contrast it with the coping culture that envelopes you every day so you see — and act on — the difference.
Interested? Here’s what we suggest.
If you want to assess whether Responsibility Immersion (aka, Immersion or RI) might be for you, we recommend Responsibility Immersion What, Why, & Who as your next step. It is a free series of seven daily emails in which Christopher reviews for you our data on
- who “hires” Immersion (roles, industries, countries, etc.),
- what “job” they hire Immersion to do for them, and
- what benefits they report at the end of the 20 weeks.
Its purpose is to support you in exploring whether Immersion might be a fit for you. We focus on value for you — no selling.
You will receive no offer to buy in this series. At the end of the series, if you believe Immersion might be a fit for you, you can request more detailed information about how to get involved.
Get RI What, Why, & Who
If you are already in our database as a member of the Responsibility Community (you will know because you get our broadcast emails), we suggest that you use that same email address when you sign up for RI What, Why, & Who so our system does not create a new record for you.
If you are not already in our database, then signing up for RI What, Why, & Who will also subscribe you to the Responsibility Community (valuable DIY content, no selling). You may unsubscribe at any time.
Don’t want to read all these emails?
We get it. Let’s talk.
Responsibility Immersion (and all of Christopher Avery’s related work) is instrumental in empowering and engaging leaders. When a candidate obtains these skills they immediately are a step above the others. A certification in these skills is a clear indication of future excellence.
GEORGE L REED
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR – IT, COVANCE, INC.
“JUST ENOUGH” CONTENT
8 Core Modules, 90 minutes each, teach the “core” models, principles, tools, and practices. Core Modules (and Q&A Dialogs, below) are delivered live via Zoom and also recorded for replay (for when you cannot attend live).
CRITICAL DISTINCTIONS
Participate in 8 question-driven Q&A Dialog web-conferences in between the Core Modules. You drive these meetings with your questions so you can explore distinctions you want to make for your life.
REAL-LIFE APPLICATION
Attend 7 90-minute Application Mastery calls that are not recorded. We dive deep into real-life situations and apply the tools to solve actual problems.
COHESIVE COMMUNITY
Participate 24/7 in our private Slack forum for Immersion guests, faculty, and other advanced students.
My life and career transcended to a new level. The business went into hyper speed. We have simply become one of the top-performing companies in our industry.
THOMAS HOUDESHELL
PRESIDENT OF All-PLASTICS
Yes, we offer a certification.
To qualify, complete:
- the Immersion Beginning Snapshot questionnaire (brief)
- 8 Core Modules
- 8 Q&A Dialogs
- 4 of 7 Application Masteries
- the Certified Responsibility Graduate application (brief)
Hear from Certified Responsibility Graduate Kassandra Barteaux, Director, Canadian Red Cross
Having a Responsibility practice is like having a treasure map that actually works – you find so much more gold than stumbling around in the dark.
CRAIG DIAL
RESPONSIBILITY IMMERSION FACULTY MEMBER, SCRUMSENSEI, CPANEL
George Reed, Director, Covance discusses hiring Certified Responsibility Graduates
Note, to value your time and attention, this video starts at 3 minutes 43 seconds. If interested you may want to rewind to the beginning.
A year ago, I was struggling. I was overwhelmed by problems and demands, I wasn’t happy with the direction my job was going. In the last year of working with Christopher, I have worked out what matters to me and what I really want. I give the team space to take responsibility and ownership for their delivery. I found a different way to inspire people in their work, and I am enjoying it so much more.
IAN BROCKBANK
MANAGER OF SOFTWARE ENGINEERING, CIRRUS LOGIC, SCOTLAND
It gave me a fundamental capability that now I wonder how I ever managed to do without.
CURTIS VERSTRAETE
PRESIDENT, BISHOP INFORMATION GROUP, INC, CANADA
Two years ago, before I joined The Leadership Gift Program [now Responsibility Immersion & Responsibility Mastery], I was a high-impact achiever, a success by many standards. However, I did not feel good about life or myself. It was difficult for me to tell what I wanted and why. When I joined the program, I did regain a lot of sanity and I have turned around many situations. I gained more ability, but more importantly, my quality of life has increased significantly and continues to do so. Today I am happier, healthier and more free, and I continue to enjoy the program and the wonderful community around it.
TOWO TOIVOLA
AGILE COMPETENCE LEAD, SIILI SOLUTIONS, FINLAND
Responsibility Immersion Schedule
All meeting times are 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. USA Central Time (usually 18:00-19:30 Central European Time depending on time changes in the USA and Europe). Calendar changes are rare, yet they do happen. You will be notified well in advance so you can plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here’s How It Works
Immersion is a 20-week guided study via live Zoom Conference (and more) so you can meet up with other members of the community and benefit from multiple points of view, dialog, learning, blending strengths, and a shared sense of ownership.
You will be invited to four or more calls each month, two for Core Modules, two for Q&A, and seven Application Mastery sessions (where the real work happens). In Application Mastery, members take turns in the “hot seat.” The host — a Responsibility master — helps members break through their current biggest issue to newfound freedom, choice, and power. This is how we turn coping into growing.
As an Immersion guest, you also get access to our private group forums where community members connect, share wins, and support one another.
How long will it take me to get through Immersion?
You can complete it in 16 weeks. We allow you a 25% buffer, i.e., 4 more weeks. So you have 20 weeks to complete Immersion and apply for your Certification.
What are the specific requirements for Certification?
We promise hiring managers that this Certification stands for proven results and demonstrated abilities, and we will deliver on that. You’ve got this -- if you are willing to do the work.
To earn recognition as a Certified Responsibility Immersion Graduate, you will:
- Complete Core Modules 1 through 8 (live or recorded) including the exercises and practices,
- Complete Q&A Dialogs 1 through 8 (live or recorded),
- Actively participate in 4 (of 7) Application Mastery calls (live only),
- Report wins, and give and receive support, at least weekly in your cohort’s Forums.
- Complete an application for Certification reporting on your growth in freedom, power, and choice, and attesting to being a Responsibility Immersion Graduate.
Paying the registration fee DOES NOT ensure that you will be certified. Participating full-on in good faith, doing the work, and activating Responsibility in your life (by demonstrating profound changes in your life) DOES ensure certification.
What if I don’t complete the requirements for Certification in the 20 weeks?
We’ve got you covered. As a registered participant in Immersion you will be offered an exclusive limited-time opportunity to upgrade your participation to full membership in Responsibility Mastery. You will then be able to complete the requirements for Certification on your own schedule as well as accelerate your mastery in a group of like-minded amazing peers from all over the world.
How is Responsibility Immersion different from Responsibility Mastery?
Responsibility Immersion (aka “Immersion”) is a new offering as of 2019 that spun out from Responsibility Mastery (formerly known as The Leadership Gift Program). Immersion is an immersive 20-week growth experience designed for you to activate Responsibility-thinking so you can produce results that matter for yourself and others.
Mastery is a membership community designed for graduates of Immersion who want to progress from activating Responsibility to mastering Responsibility in their lives.
Who leads Responsibility Immersion sessions?
Christopher Avery, Ph.D., your host and Master Teacher (and CEO & Founder of The Responsibility Company), generally teaches the 8 Core Modules and the Application Mastery sessions. On occasion, a highly-qualified member of our faculty will substitute. Christopher hand-picks an international faculty to host the Q&A Dialog session. There faculty members are all accredited Practitioners, Coaches, and Mentors in the Mastery program.
Why an entire faculty?
Because they are real people with real Responsibility practices who have made profound changes in their lives. Consider the value of being immersed with a diverse international faculty. You get to study with leaders and coaches who have been studying and practicing Responsibility for various lengths of time. They aren’t all professional Responsibility teachers like Christopher. You might find it difficult to relate to Christopher’s 30-year practice, yet you can completely relate to Craig Dial’s 4-year practice while applying it to being a corporate manager.
Our faculty is constantly rotating. Here are current faculty members:
- Elaine McNaughton, Senior Principle Team Coach, USA
- Ashley Johnson, Senior Agile Consultant, USA
- Nadine Wolf, Agile Coach, Germany
- Henning Wolf, Agile Coach, Germany
- Mike Edwards, Leadership Coach, Canada
- Ian Brockbank, Software Engineer, Scotland
- Craig Dial, Scrum Sensei, USA
- Jessica Soroky, Chief of Staff to the CIO, USA
- Karl Kolischan, PhD, Agile Coach, Germany
- Towo Toivola, Senior Agile Consultant, Finland
- Christopher Avery, PhD, Responsibility Master, USA
What if I miss/missed the beginning of the live 20-week semester, can I still join?
Perhaps. We address such requests on a case-by-case basis. Contact us.
I travel frequently and I’m not always in charge of my schedule, how can I participate?
Your situation describes many of our participants -- the busiest people in the world. That's why we require no expensive and time-consuming travel to courses, and we offer flexible eLearning options for most of the Immersion requirements, including online self-paced resources, downloadable resources for use offline, forums available 24/7 wherever you are, and frequent live calls for checking in, getting expert support, and breaking through stuck points.
What if the web calls are at an inconvenient time?
We recognize this limitation. That's why all web-meetings except the Application Mastery web-meetings are recorded and posted in the Immersion library for 24/7 access.
Participation is about convenient access when you want it. No one attends every call.
We choose a consistent schedule convenient to the Americas and Europe. As we grow, we will add more calls at different times.
The bottom line is that you will want to show up live to 4 of 7 Application Mastery calls to qualify to apply for Certified Responsibility Graduate. See the schedule above for those dates.
How do I know this is for me?
You can learn a lot from the RI What, Why, & Who free email series. Sign up above.
We can tell you from experience who is likely to be in your cohort. They will be similar to the members in Responsibility Mastery.
Membership in Mastery is 2/3 Male and 1/3 Female.
We range from age 23 to 60 with most between 30-50.
The majority of members are in the USA, Canada and Europe (Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, UK) with a few in Australia, India, Thailand, South Africa, and South America.
Titles include:
- CEO
- CFO
- COO
- Dean, MBA Programs
- Director, R&D
- Division Director
- Executive Coach
- Enterprise Transformation Coach
- Homemaker
- Investor
- QA Lead
- Release Manager
- Senior Program Manager
- Software Manager
- Scrum Master
- Software Engineer
- Vice President
The program earns a 9.4 (out of 10) net promoter score measured at 16 weeks after joining.
Will I be able to ask questions if get stuck?
Yes. That's why we are organized as an eLearning community. It is highly interactive through live calls and forums. We surround you with others who are changing the same habits of mind.
How can I get my employer to pay for Responsibility Immersion?
Discuss with your employer the benefits to your business:
- Achieve higher levels of performance and success
- Ability to lead yourself and others more effectively to produce results that matter
- Save valuable time and money identifying and solving problems
- Get teams aligned, engaged, inspired, and focused on priorities quicker
Remind them there will be no travel costs, travel time, or time away from work. Negotiate whether you participate on your own time or on your employer’s time. Either way, make the web-calls a high priority.
As you grow and make progress, keep your employer informed of the new value you are adding to the business.
Also consider this: Given that it activates Responsibility-thinking which you will use to transform your life over and over until -- well, until! -- Immersion is incredibly affordable and accessible to individuals who want to invest in their own development. We suggest that you make the investment in yourself so you have full ownership of the benefits.
How can an employer best support a sponsored employee?
Employers find Responsibility Immersion to be an effective leadership development investment for their business. Here is what we've learned from 10 years of Mastery:
- Keep the sponsored employee in the position of ownership for their participation.
- Make it a special opportunity. They must want to participate. If they do it out of obligation (to tick a box for you) it probably won't work.
- The participant, not the sponsor, is our customer. We do not track participation or report progress to sponsors.
- Clarify whether you are providing time for attending web-meetings or whether the sponsored employee is to do that on their own time. Members who make the program a strategic priority enjoy the best return. Provide 35 hours over the 20 weeks for attending live web-meetings or consuming the replays.
- Make time in your one-on-one's to discuss the sponsored employee's goals for participation and how you can support them. Set a check-in cadence.
- Some leadership teams participate as a team, attending web meetings together and making time to apply the ideas together. If you are considering this, contact us to explore a volume discount for your team.
- Go first. The program will make you a better leader, truly producing results that matter. You'll have a language and core organizing principles for ownership, leadership, and change that you share with team members in the program. This will change the culture of your group.
I represent an employer. Team members want us to sponsor them. Should we?
In a word, yes.
Many managers have sponsored employees in Responsibility Mastery and Immersion. They report that it is exceptional personal and leadership development. The results are clear in terms of the employee exhibiting:
- greater ownership,
- better decision making,
- improved problem-solving,
- and more.
Mostly what we hear is that the employee just starts showing up differently. They are:
- more aware,
- more present,
- more effective,
- more confident, and
- more real.
Do you offer a money-back guarantee?
Yes. Two unique guarantees:
First, if in the first 30 days of participating in Responsibility Immersion you discover that it is not what we represent it to be, tell us where we misled you and we will refund 100% of your investment.
Second, if you participate fully in the 20-week Immersion and you still don’t know how to activate Responsibility in your life, we’ll refund 100% of your investment.
May I collect CEUs/PDUs?
Yes, you may apply for PDUs/CEUs. While we are not a registered education provider with PMI or any other association, Immersion graduates have successfully applied for and received 30 PDUs in the Leadership category. Thirty PDUs is half of the three-year requirement to maintain your PMP designation.
