LEADER/SHIP TRAINING, FACILITATION, & COACHING
primarily for local leaders and organizations with a clear purpose related to civic engagement, civil dialogue, and making a practical impact on community issues.
Kai Degner offers services through SIMPLER Leadership LLC.
Interested to know more? Contact Kai@SimplerLeadership.com
with a few details and your key questions, and we can schedule a discovery call.
Thank you for your interest!
Exercising leadership in civic, nonprofit, and community spaces is more complex than ever. Leaders (and we are all leaders) face burnout, shifting challenges, and the need to balance immediate crises with long-term strategy. Too many leaders feel isolated, overworked, or unclear on how to maximize their impact. Many have never studied leadership, project team communication, or had a leadership coach.
Without the right skills, networks, and strategies, leaders struggle to gain traction. Organizations stagnate, teams burn out, and real change remains out of reach. The cost of ineffective leadership is high—our communities are depending on us.
With the right tools, support, and mindset, leaders - and teams - can grow and create real, lasting impact. The SIMPLER Leadership frameworks and services equip leaders with focused ways to prioritize what matters now, execute with confidence, and strengthen their teams.
Clarify focus, build alignment, and move forward with confidence.
Whether you need to set strategy, realign your team, or tackle persistent tensions, SIMPLER Leadership designs and facilitates customized retreats that get results. Options range from 90-minute sessions to full-day experiences and include pre-retreat scoping and post-retreat summaries or coaching.
Perfect for teams that...
• Feel stuck, siloed, or unclear about what matters most
• Need structured space to align, connect, and re-energize
• Want outside facilitation to surface insights and commitments—without getting lost in the weeds
Example SIMPLER Leadership Approach:
Transform how your team communicates—and how people feel heard.
We teach breakthrough listening skills and help organizations embed listening as a leadership strategy, not just a soft skill. From the powerful Five-Part Paraphrase to the Listening Café Method, our approach equips teams to reduce conflict, increase trust, and make better decisions—faster.
Perfect for teams and leaders who...
• Are experiencing communication breakdowns, distrust, or low morale
• Want to improve meetings, internal or external relationships, and team culture—without relying on top-down fixes
• Believe listening is core to equity, inclusion, and adaptive leadership—but need tools to make it real
Leadership growth through interactive, practical learning experiences.
We deliver engaging, high-impact trainings on leadership, communication, facilitation, and team effectiveness—grounded in adult learning principles and built for real-world application. Each workshop includes tools, templates, and practical exercises to use immediately.
Perfect for groups that...
• Want to grow individual and team leadership capacity
• Need new communication or facilitation skills to meet today’s complexity
• Are ready to shift from reactive mode to adaptive, intentional leadership
Create space for bold ideas, shared ownership, and collective action.
From small community dialogues to large-scale summits, SIMPLER Leadership designs and facilitates events that invite meaningful participation and catalyze momentum. We specialize in Open Space Technology and other participatory formats that center listening and unleash group potential.
Perfect for organizations that...
• Are convening cross-sector or cross-community events
• Want inclusive, energizing, and well-organized experiences
• Need expert design and facilitation to get participants talking—and collaborating
Example SIMPLER Leadership Approach:
Large-Scale Self-Organized Community Summits
Personalized support to lead with clarity, confidence, and integrity.
Through structured coaching sessions, we help leaders clarify priorities, navigate complexity, and grow their leadership practice. Whether one-on-one or in a small cohort, coaching offers space for reflection, strategy, and accountability.
Perfect for individuals who...
• Are stepping into new or expanded leadership roles
• Feel overwhelmed, under-resourced, or unsure how to lead in these times
• Want support applying SIMPLER tools and frameworks to real challenges
Built for Civic and Community Leaders – Unlike generic training and facilitation providers, Kai focuses on local leaders, organizers, and change-makers who are committed to democratic governance and civil society.
Practical, Not (too) Theoretical – No fluff. Just actionable strategies that work, combined with microtraining on tools, frameworks, and (just enough) theories.
Rooted in Experience – Founded by Kai Degner, former Mayor, Congressional Candidate, and PhD candidate in Strategic Leadership with over 20 years of civic leadership experience. Kai has designed and facilitated over 500 community events, including 40 large-scale summits. He is a certified executive coach, is training in agile project management, and has served on dozens of boards and commissions.
Interested to know more?
Contact Kai [at] SimplerLeadership.com with a few details and key questions, and we can schedule a discovery call.
Thank you for your leadership!