Heads and Principals in international schools and their partners often balance intense leadership demands with the challenges of international life. Many face frequent transitions, intense community visibility, and competing personal and professional roles; unfortunately, the impact on these relationships can be brutal. At the Bangkok ELC conferences in 2024, 2025 and 2026 we hosted workshops on this topic, and over 30 people attended each time, contributing rich wisdom to the conversation.

In response, we piloted a new initiative called the Thriving Couples in Leadership Retreat in Bintan, Indonesia (close to Singapore) that supported these couples in a relaxed and collegial manner on March 6th-8th, 2026.

Due to the overwhelmingly strong feedback from the couples involved in 2026 are now hosting a second retreat in Hong Kong. Registration is open now for our second retreat on February 26th-28th, 2027.

If you are a Head or Principal please consider registering and please share with your colleagues too.

Registration are open now for our next Retreat on February 26th-28th 2027 Registration form

Purpose 

“The bottom line – in our international school leadership journey, we have seen too much separation and divorce, too much loneliness, too much isolation, nowhere to turn to as couples, and no acknowledgment of the importance of “us” as a couple (a leader and spouse). We talk about the importance of relationships in our personal wellbeing and in our school communities, we talk about embracing people’s lives, but we do not talk or provide space for a conversation about the wellbeing of our most important relationship – that with our spouse or partner. There is no place or safe space to get support as a couple, to share challenges as a couple”. Dee and Kevin Baker.

This initiative is not a retreat for broken relationships or any sort of marriage enrichment programme. Instead, it is an opportunity for leaders and their partners in their highly visible roles to invest time into their relationship and for their schools to recognise the importance of prioritising this relationship.

We have observed and experienced many of the issues, dilemmas and tensions that couples experience in these international contexts. (i.e., role, place, importance, significance, public demands and expectations, lack of support, mental and physical well-being, disconnection, clashing of values, safety & trust, confidentiality, juggling time for children and extended family abroad etc).

This retreat is an opportunity for leaders and their partners to; 

• have a break together in a relaxed and beautiful setting well removed from the distractions and pressures of their workplace. 
• acknowledge and explore various issues, dilemmas and tensions that couples in similar roles may experience and which are unique to the International School Leadership context.  

• explore options and ideas that other couples have intentionally used that have helped their relationship flourish.  

The essence of the retreat is that we believe the #1 contributor to the performance of our school senior leaders is their wellbeing. For those leaders who have a partner or spouse (same sex or opposite sex), the quality of this relationship is the most impactful factor on the leader’s wellbeing and performance. We have experienced many friends who have had broken relationships, and this had a severe impact on their work. Through this retreat we hope to support ‘Thriving couples in Leadership’. 

Too often, the partner or spouse of an international school leader is ‘the invisible person’. They are often not included in the life of the school or community. Yet, this person is the most important person and support in the life of the leader” . Dee and Kevin Baker.

Participants 

• Heads and Principals and their spouse/partner from across international schools in Asia 
• We are focussed on these specific senior leaders because we believe that there are dilemmas, pressures and scenarios that are specific issues for these senior roles over and above what all leaders can experience.  

Partnership

• The Thriving Couples in Leadership Retreat is partnership between Dee and Kevin Baker from American International School of Guangzhou and Lyn and Chris Jansen from Leadership Lab Global

Dates

• The retreat starts on Friday February 26th and finishes on Sunday February 28th 2027

Venue

• The venue for the “Thriving Couples in Leadership Retreat” is WM Hotel in 28 Wai Man Road, Sai Kung, New Territories, Hong Kong

Timeframes 

• Friday 26th February
  • Session 1: 4.00-5.30pm
  • Dinner and evening – free to socialize or sleep 
• Saturday 27th February
  • Session 2: 10-11.30
  • Session 3: 3.30-5.00
  • Optional dinner together at local restaurant
• Sunday 
  • Session 4: 10.00-11.30
  • Noon – close and leave 
• All sessions are optional but encouraged allowing you as a couple to decide the right balance of interaction with others, and space to relax alone. 

Facilitators

• Dee and Kevin Baker – have been married for over 35 years and have 30 years of experience in International Schools in the EARCOS region, having served in Hong Kong, Korea and now in China at the American International School of Guangzhou.  Dee and Kevin are from the US and call Omaha, Nebraska home when they are not in Asia. 
• Lyn Jansen and Chris Jansen have been married for 30 years and have extensive experience in holding leadership roles, as well as training leaders across Asia.  

Cost

• The registration fee which contributes to the facilitation from Dee, Kevin, Lyn and Chris is US$500 / couple
• Each couple will be required to arrange their own travel plans and accommodation at WM Hotel as well as their own food and drinks while at the retreat.

Registration process

We completed our first retreat on March 6-8th 2026

Registration are open now for February 26th-28th 2027. If you are interested in applying to be part of the Thriving Couples in Leadership Retreat 2027 please fill out this Registration form

Any queries please email Chris on chris@leadershiplab.co.nz