Calendar of Events
Upcoming Servant Leadership Meetings
We meet on the third Friday of the month on Zoom.
December 2025 Madison Area Servant Leadership Meetup
Gratitude: Beyond the Slogans: Resilience, Courage, Connection
In a world where it often feels there’s not enough time to think – or get this week’s groceries, pay the gas bill, go for the walk you keep promising yourself, clear out your in-box, or, or, or – the idea of adding one more thing can seem insurmountable. And yet, in the Dec. 19 meeting of the Servant-Leadership group at UW-Madison, we will explore how this one thing – gratitude – holds the promise of easing burdens and opening a space for joy. We will look at gratitude as the ground of resilience, courage and connection, and the first step can be as small as looking out the window and seeing the deep blue sky.
You will find attached several ways to consider gratitude. We invite you to join us for “Gratitude: Beyond the Slogans: Resilience, Courage, Connection.”
The agenda for this meeting:
- Gathering: Bring to mind one or two things you are grateful for. How does that make you feel? How does being grateful for even one small thing reverberate in your life?
- Resilience (or Why Bother)
- How does gratitude feel for you? Does the “magic” seem true?
- Are there times you can share when being grateful has made a difference in how you connected with life or others?
- The idea of finding meaning instead of searching for purpose turns a lot of what we’ve been taught upside down. How does it make a difference for you? Does it even make sense?
- Courage: Robin Wall Kimmerer and Joe Primo suggest that gratitude can lead to both courage and a revolutionary spirit.
- It seems gratefulness can be a slippery slope – from just saying thank you to waking up and needing/wanting to participate more fully in life. What kind of courage does it take to not go back into hiding and begin the journey? How does gratitude make that easier in your life?
- Do you (we, as a society) have the energy in these unsettled times to do more than say thank you and try to get by?
- How would you build your revolutionary spirit?
- Connection
- How do you see gratitude impacting how you relate to those around you?
- Which of Howells’ pillars of gratitude comes most easily to you? Which are the most difficult, and why?
- For reflection:
- What does gratitude mean to you? How will you more consciously integrate it into your life?
December 19, 2025
8:30-10:00 am CST
Meeting ID: 987 0673 4791
Passcode: 156691
January 2026 Madison Area Servant Leadership Meetup
TBA
Session topic to be determined soon!
January 16, 2026
8:30-10:00 am CST
February 2026 Madison Area Servant Leadership Meetup
TBA
Session topic to be determined soon!
February 20, 2026
8:30-10:00 am CST
Meeting Archive
Go to the meeting archive page to see past agendas and meeting descriptions, as well as links to the materials we shared.
Our Mission
The Servant Leadership Community of Practice fosters emerging and current leaders to develop a servant-first mindset as the most effective strategy to empower people and build thriving organizations. We welcome people from outside and inside the University to share insights and grow through our monthly meetings.