A Transformational Inside-Out Journey for Conscious Leaders
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…
Your playing small does not serve the world.”
– Marianne Williamson
THE JOURNEY:
FROM CONSTRICTION TO EXPANSION
Leadership doesn’t begin with better tools—it begins with deeper awareness.
Through a carefully guided process, participants explore the shift from constriction—our reactive, ego-driven patterns—to expansion, where we access creativity, groundedness, and our most authentic power.
We begin by learning how the ego and inner critic unconsciously shape our experience—and gradually loosen their grip through compassionate awareness. The Enneagram maps the inner terrain of our motivations and patterns, giving us tools to awaken to our true nature.
The curriculum integrates presence-based coaching, mindfulness, right-brain modalities, and contemplative practices. In the final phase of the journey, participants craft their Personal Leadership Vision—a heart-aligned expression of who they are as leaders when living from essence, not ego.
WHY THE ENNEAGRAM
The Enneagram is a powerful framework for understanding the unconscious patterns that shape how we think, feel, and act. It maps nine distinct energetic orientations—each with its own gifts, inner drives, and reactive patterns.
Research suggests that upwards of 98% of what drives our behavior lives beneath the surface of conscious awareness. We are often reacting to unseen inner dynamics—old strategies, fears, and identity structures—without realizing they are at play. In a world that is hyper-focused on external performance, results, and appearances, we are rarely taught how to navigate the inner terrain that most profoundly shapes who we are.
The Enneagram brings illumination to this inner terrain, offering a map of our deeper motivations, reactivity, and potential for transformation. It helps us name what’s often invisible—so we can bring conscious awareness, compassion, and choice to how we lead.
In Wholistic Leadership Circles, the Enneagram helps us:
- See the deeper motivations behind our leadership style
- Recognize habitual defenses shaped by the ego and inner critic
- Reconnect with our essential nature—the unique brilliance beneath the pattern
It is not a personality test. It is a tool for awakening—one that brings clarity, compassion, and possibility to our journey of growth.
THE POWER OF PRESENCE
Presence is the foundation of transformation.
It is the capacity to be fully here—mind, heart, and body aligned in the now. When we are present, we see more clearly. We listen more deeply. We respond rather than react. Presence connects us to our intuition, our creative intelligence, and to each other.
It also connects us to our more expansive self—the part of us that can access greater wisdom, maturity, and compassion. From this place, we are less driven by unconscious patterns and more able to engage with life from higher levels of developmental well-being. We become more grounded, more conscious, and more free.
Presence builds our capacity for direct experience—for meeting the fresh, living moment that is continually arising. In a world of continuous change, both within and around us, presence helps us tune in and respond from a deeper, wiser part of ourselves that knows the truth of how we want to show up. From this place, our actions are not performative, but authentic expressions, attuned to what the moment—and the situation—actually call for.
And when we meet the moment in this way, we do so with Aliveness. Not the kind of aliveness that comes from striving, but from being deeply in touch with the present. It is the felt sense of vitality, creativity, and connection that arises when we engage the moment fully—when we are in flow with what life is asking of us, and with what our soul longs to express.
This work cultivates presence not just as a concept, but as a way of being. Through mindfulness, somatic awareness, reflection, and relational practice, we learn to return—again and again—to the grounded clarity of the moment.
THE POWER OF THE CIRCLE:
LEARNING IN COMMUNITY
At the heart of each cohort is a vibrant learning community—a circle of trust, support, and shared discovery.
This is not a solitary journey. It is a co-created space of mutual learning, where deep listening, authentic expression, and presence shape how we grow.
Within this sacred container, participants learn from and with each other—offering insights, reflection, and encouragement in ways that amplify personal and collective transformation.
The community becomes a mirror and a catalyst, helping each member grow not in isolation, but in connection.
“Each person who is changed by the circle brings that experience into their world.”
— Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD
A UNIQUE CIRCLE-BASED APPROACH
This is not a conventional leadership course. Rooted in the sacred principles of Circle Work (inspired by Jean Shinoda Bolen), the WLC experience honors reflection, storytelling, inner inquiry, and collective wisdom.
Circles invite authenticity, compassion, and insight. They allow for a deeper kind of conversation—one that includes silence, emotion, intuition, laughter, and the wisdom of lived experience. In a trustworthy circle, there’s room to be vulnerable and real, and to feel both supported and stretched.
We follow a shared set of Circle Guidelines:
- Speak and listen from the heart
- Encourage diverse perspectives
- Pause and ask for inner guidance when needed
- Share experience, not advice
- Begin and end by hearing every voice
- Treat what is shared with reverence and confidentiality
Circles are ancient, and urgently relevant. They offer us a way to lead and learn together—by presence, not pressure. By curiosity, not control. By listening, not just knowing.
CIRCLE WISDOM
The soul of Wholistic Leadership Circles is deeply influenced by the teachings of Jungian psychiatrist and author Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD, whose writing has helped reawaken the sacred, relational roots of transformational leadership.
This ancient teaching affirms our belief that leadership is not a solitary act—but a shared unfolding. When we circle together, we awaken not only ourselves, but each other.
Further reflections come from Jean Shinoda Bolen’s powerful writings on the sacred nature of circles:
PROGRAM STRUCTURE
HOW IT WORKS:
- Six full-day group sessions (monthly on Zoom from 8:00am–3:00pm PT)
- Six 1:1 coaching sessions with a WLC facilitator
- Monthly peer-coaching meetings for integration and reflection
- Monthly check-ins to maintain momentum between sessions
- Max 12 participants per cohort to preserve intimacy and depth
- Limit of 4 participants per organization to ensure diverse perspectives
WHAT YOU’LL GAIN:
Participating in this program will help you:
- Lead with courageous authenticity—grounded in your values, voice, and essence
- Clarify your leadership identity, style, and soul-aligned purpose
- Strengthen your leadership presence and relational intelligence
- Cultivate resilience and inner steadiness amid complexity and uncertainty
- Navigate dynamic, rapidly evolving environments with clarity, adaptability, and creativity
- Communicate with honesty, curiosity, and emotional groundedness
- Foster inclusive leadership through deep listening, empathy, and connection
- Bring original thinking and embodied insight to organizational opportunities
WHO THIS IS FOR:
This work is designed for those who are already on the path of conscious leadership—or who feel deeply called to begin.
Participants range from emerging managers to senior vice presidents. Our diverse cohorts allow senior leaders to mentor—and be mentored—through deep, relational learning across experience levels.
WHY IT MATTERS:
When leaders lead from wholeness, it ripples outward—transforming relationships, organizations, and the wider world. Our mission is to support this ripple effect: to equip individuals with the tools, insight, and support to become agents of meaningful, embodied change.
