Leadership Cohorts to Strengthen the Soul and Structure of Congregational Life
Across the country, congregational leaders are navigating a landscape marked by complexity, urgency, and opportunity. Too often, clergy and lay leaders are stretched thin—carrying the weight of their communities without the structures, partnerships, or support systems that leadership demands. These four distinct but complementary cohort experiences are designed to meet that need. Each offers a practical, purpose-driven approach to building leadership capacity—whether by identifying and nurturing new lay leaders, transforming lifeless committees into joyful and effective teams, or aligning senior leadership around shared purpose and collaboration. Here is an example of the accessible and actionable frameworks for scouting and cultivating leaders. Whether you're looking to deepen your bench, invigorate your teamwork, or foster alignment across your leadership, these experiences will help you strengthen the spiritual and organizational foundations of your community.
Bamidbar: Congregations Walking Together // Reimagining and Strengthening Leadership Formation Systems
This consulting cohort is designed by Rabbi Benjamin Ross and Larry Dressler for congregational teams ready to reimagine how leadership is discovered, nurtured, and integrated as both a spiritual and strategic practice. Rooted in Jewish wisdom and grounded in practical organizational development, Bamidbar guides participants and congregations through a deep and transformative journey—from individual formation to team alignment, from assessing current realities to designing future-ready systems.
Over the course of a year, teams will engage in a shared path that begins with an internal examination of their leadership culture and capacity, includes an immersive three-day retreat, and continues through structured online gatherings and personalized coaching. The goal is to cultivate a sustainable leadership culture—routinized, ritualized, and anchored in purpose.
Identifying and Developing Engaged Leaders
At the core of any thriving congregation and communal organizations are engaged and capable lay leaders. As rabbis, identifying and developing leaders can be a full-time job. Who has time for that? This mini-training series will serve as an accelerator for your capacity to support leaders to feel acknowledged, encouraged and nurtured. Before we gather for three group Zoom calls each participant will meet with 1:1 with Rabbi Ross to diagnose the state of leadership development, identify areas that are thriving and those that need attention, both for the organization and for the rabbi participant. The two group sessions will be interactive, with some work (1-2 hours) between sessions.
Building Teams & Vanquishing Committees
Building teams as a secret sauce for making things happen, growing leaders, deepening spirit, strengthening community, and actually enjoying the process.
The problem: A primary way congregants are engaged in synagogue life is through committees and most committees are soul sucking. They are assiduously avoided by talented leaders as places ideas go to die. Clergy avoid forming them and dread running them. They are too often aimless and boring, and little is accomplished. At best they are tolerated, at worst they are disheartening and discourage future involvement. Last but not least, the food is generally horrible.
The opportunity: Lead teams animated by a shared sense of purpose,followan intentional and iterative process, enjoy lots of laughter and curiosity, and create space where friendships are cultivated, cohesion to the institution is strengthened, and leaders are animated ambassadors for the work.
All Together Now / A Collaborative Cohort for Congregational Leadership Teams
In today’s volatile and demanding landscape, congregational leadership has never been more challenging—or more essential. Amidst political polarization and the relentless pace of congregational life, clergy, executive directors, and lay leaders are carrying extraordinary emotional, spiritual, and logistical burdens. Too often, these leaders operate in silos, without a shared vision, common language, or clear framework for collaboration. The result is misalignment, miscommunication, and burnout—conditions that can quietly erode trust and vitality within a congregation. Thriving congregations require high-functioning teams: leaders who are aligned in purpose, clear in their roles, and committed to working collaboratively across differences. Investing in team alignment is not a luxury—it is a strategic and spiritual necessity. Now more than ever, we must build resilient, adaptable leadership teams capable of navigating complexity with clarity, care, and shared conviction.
Questions?
Email Benjamin Ross