Authentic Leadership Intensive
November 14th - 15th, Santa Monica

In recent weeks, we've connected with a signifcant number of leaders who have told us that they would like to develop their Authentic Leadership, but aren't in a place where it makes sense for them to do individual coaching with us. We would love to host another one year Authentic Leadership Academy, but that's a heavy lift - it takes more energy than we have available right now.
Instead, we reserved the most beautiful conference room in LA that we know of, at Casa Del Mar on the Santa Monica beach, for November 14th and 15th. We are going to offer a two day transformational training that will serve as the beginning of a three month leadership development program over Zoom.
This program is for leaders who have already climbed far enough up Success Mountain that you now feel a calling to be of service, and you are seeking to integrate your spiritual awareness with your executive agency, so you can make an impact in inspired and grounded ways.
If this resonates with you, please read through this page, and if it speaks to you, you can either register for the event below, or join us for a call where we can connect with you directly and answer any questions you might have.
Please also feel free to email Carmela Garone (carmela@corecoaching.org), who is one of the senior coaches on our team, with any questions you have, so we can help you figure out if joining this leadership team is a fit for you.



You See The Problems
"No more awards for predicting rain - only for
building the ark!" - Don Beck
Our society is currently facing a lot of hard problems. You see them. You worry about them. But instead of just complaining or trying to warn people of the dangers you see, you feel called to help create solutions.
The challenge is that most of these problems can't be solved just with intelligence, technology and hard work. And they can't be solved just with consciousness, inspiration, and increased awareness.
Solving these problems requires integrating two types of power - Agency and Awareness. But when we seek to do so, we hit a Wall. In particular, if you've developed success and agency in the world, and then seek to wake up spiritually, it's remarkably difficult not to end up in an ungrounded place of Spiritual Bypass, rather than becoming an Agentic Sage.
Power vs. Leadership
When you're pushing against The Wall, it often seems like the problem is that you don't have enough power. But usually, the real problem is that you have too much.
Awareness and Agency are two types of power. Awareness gives you the power to see the chess board. Agency gives you the power to move the pieces that are on it.
We define leadership as the capacity to turn power into value. The more power you have, the more leadership you need to have in order to wield that power safely.
The Wall shows up whenever your power is greater than your leadership. It's a safety mechanism, designed to help keep you from misusing your power.



Authentic Leadership
There are different types of leadership, which show up at different stages of development. The traditional form is Heroic Leadership, which is anchored in the archetype of a hero with sword and shield, who has to slay the dragon and rescue the princess. Heroic Leadership is effective when you are climbing Success Mountain and developing your Agency.
The next stage is Benevolent Leadership, which is anchored in the archetype of the benevolent parent, who raises their children with acceptance and discipline. Benevolent Leadership is effective when you are raising children or running a non-profit, but it's not effective when you try to use it in business. This is the primary challenge of conscious business. It's what we call the Conscious Business Trap, and it creates a chasm - Poor But Pure Valley - that people naturally fall into when they seek to add Awareness to Agency.
Authentic Leadership is the first stage where you're able to effectively combine Awareness and Agency. People who have mastered Authentic Leadership tend to be extraordinarily effective and make unusual contributions in the world.
Power and Purpose
The process of mastering Authentic Leadership and becoming an Agentic Sage is not for the faint of heart. Even in the best case scenario, it's a muti-year journey. In three months, we're not going to be able to help you complete this process.
But we can help you make a really good start.
Everyone in this leadership team will learn the foundational skills and tools of Authentic Leadership and then you will have the choice of two cohorts, each with its own focus.
The Foundations of Authentic Leadership
Making Friends With Your Fears. You will learn how to use this foundational skill, with yourself and others, to transform fear from being an enemy that must be conquered into a trustworthy friend.
Owning Your Superpowers and Kryptonites. You will discover which of the superpowers you have, how to release the contempt that automatically comes from unowned superpowers, what the kryptonites of your superpowers are, and the antidotes for releasing them.
Harnessing Your Purpose. You will learn how to shift purpose from being something you do to something that comes through you.
Integrating Money and Meaning. The Wall shows up whenever you try to integrate Agency and Awareness, Profits and Purpose, or Money and Meaning. You will discover why this conflict exists, how to spot it, and how to release it when it shows up.
Setting Yes Yes Hell No Goals. You will discover how to set goals that are so powerful and aligned that they pull you through The Wall and into your Authentic Leadership.
Solving Hard Problems. You will learn the difference between Solvable Problems and Hard Problems, how to recognize Hard Problems, and the process for solving them.
Turning Pride Into Progress. You will discover why pride and leadership and inseperable, how to release pride and repressed special, and how to turn it into integrated spiritual development.
Conscious Entrepreneurs Cohort
Upgrading Your Fuel Source. You will learn why most entrepreneurs become addicted to stress and how to replace this with more positive sources of motivation each day.
"Anything's Possible." You will discover the essential tool that Authentic Leaders use to run circles around their competition, why it works, and how to use it.
Adding Purpose To Any Business. Most people think that adding purpose to business means that a company has to be following a noble cause or building an enlightened product. You will learn how to add purpose to any business you are part of, whether you are running the company or not.
Turning Conflict Into Growth. As you evolve from Technician to Manager to Leader, your job becomes less about finishing tasks and more about holding space for competing values. You will learn how to turn the conflicts that are inherent in business into opportunities for financial success and personal growth.
Conscious Coaches Cohort
Value Conversations. You will learn how to have value conversations - the essential skill for building a successful coaching practice with full integrity.
Sales As A Spiritual Practice. You will discover the difference between selling and enrolling, the six stages of an enrollment conversation, and how to turn the process of enrolling clients into one of the most powerful spiritual practices we've found.
Open Hand, Receive Tool. You will learn how to use Deep Listening as a spiritual practice to open your capacity for receiving intuitive guidance on what your clients need and what would serve them best.
Container Buiding. You will discover the essential elements of building a strong container for your clients, as well as how to qualify who this container is a fit for, and who it's not.
Process and Logistics
The Authentic Leadership Intensive starts with a two day retreat in Santa Monica, November 14th and 15th, 8:30am - 5pm. Breakfast and lunch is included both days. If you are flying in, Casa Del Mar is a short drive from the LAX airport, and there are a range of hotels to choose from nearby, including The Viceroy next door.
The Conscious Entrepreneurs Cohort will meet on Zoom, Tuesdays from 11am - 1pm Pacific, November 18; December 2, 9 and 16; January 6, 13 and 20; and February 3, 10 and 17.
The Conscious Coaches Cohort will meet on Zoom, Thursdays from 11am - 1pm Pacific, November 20; December 4, 11 and 18; January 8, 15 and 22; and February 5, 12 and 19.
The two cohorts will then join together for a one day virtual retreat, 9am - 5pm Pacific, February 28.
Tuition is $5,000, with a $1,000 deposit due upon registration, followed by four monthly payments of $1,000 each. To register, please click on the button below.
For any questions about the program, logistics, registration, or whether this is the right fit for you, please contact Carmela Garone.
You will receive a confirmation email within 24 hours of your registration.
Livestream Option
If you can't attend the retreat in person, there will be a livestream option that allows you to fully participate in the transformational experience, from the comfort of your own home.
Over the last fifteen years we've tested and refined this process, which allows you to fully experience what's going on in the room, take part in the experiential processes and skill practice sessions, and share your experiences from those processes with the facilitators and the other participants in the room.
This retreat is going to be a transformational process, so you need to block out the two days to fully participate as if you were attending live.
Tuition for the livestream option is the same as for being in person, so if you register for the livestream option and then decided to attend in person, just let us know by November 7th.
Connect With Us On A Live Call
The people who have already registered are absolutely amazing. This is going to be an extraordinary group of high agency, high awareness, purpose driven leaders. If you resonate with the intentions of this leadership program, and want to get clear whether its a fit for you, please join us for a group coaching call. These will be small, intimate groups where you'll have the chance to connect with Brian directly and he'll be using the time to create as much value as possible for the people on the call.
To register for one of these calls, please click on the link below, and fill out a short form, with a question or problem that would have a high level of value for you if we could help you answer your question or make progress with your problem.
October 15th at 10am Pacific
Click Here to Register
October 21st at Noon Pacific
Click Here to Register
Brian Whetten, Ph.D.
By the age of 30, Brian had earned a Berkeley Ph.D. in computer science, raised $20 million for two Silicon Valley startups, become an internationally known academic and speaker, been part of a $400 million IPO – and burned out twice. Determined to find a more sustainable path, he left his career for six years of full-time personal growth work, including a M.A. in spiritual psychology.
Today, Brian is the author of Yes Yes Hell No! The Little Book for Making Big Decisions. He has worked with leaders from Disney, Sidley Austin, Invacare, Novo Nordisk, KPN and SAP as well as leading entrepreneurs, professional coaches, and therapists.
That said, what really excites Brian is his family. He lives outside Los Angeles with his wife Nicole, where they spend much of their time being fascinated by their two daughters.


Nicole Whetten, M.A.
Nicole is an intuitive. She has an uncanny ability to understand people, often deeper than they understand themselves. She is able to directly sense people’s gifts, blocks, path and purpose. She couples this with a Masters Degree in Spiritual Psychology and over twelve years of experience as a master coach and facilitator.
Nicole has a highly unusual capacity to coach and support extremely successful people. She has worked with and held space for a wide range of leaders, including studio heads, star athletes, senior executives and prominent entrepreneurs.
With the birth of her two daughters, Nicole’s services have become particularly treasured. In order to maintain space for her children, she only works with a handful of clients at a time, and her coaching slots are some of the most sought after services we offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a payment plan?
Yes. The tuition is five monthly payments of $1000 each. When you register, your credit card will be charged for $1000, and you are authorizing four more monthly payments to be made, of $1000 each.
What if I have to cancel?
The first payment is a non-refundable deposit, which we will use to pay for the conference room, meals and hard costs. If you cancel before attending the event, we will refund any additional payments you have made. If you cancel after the event, we will refund any excess tuition on a pro-rata basis, where the event counts as one unit, and each month of the program counts as one unit. For example, if you attended the event and one month of training, you would be responsible for three of the five payments, and we would refund any additional payments you might have made. We need to receive written notice of cancellation at least one week in advance.
Will sessions be recorded?
Yes. We will be recording both the live event, each of the group calls, and the virtual retreat, and making these recordings available in an edited format for your reference. You will also receive a beautifully bound copy of all the slides, skills, and handouts at the completion of the program. These materials form a powerful library that you will likely find yourself referring back to for years.
Can I use these materials with my clients?
All graduates of the program receive a license to use these skills and frameworks with individual clients, so long as you distribute them with our copyright and without modifying them in any way, and you use them with a single person at a time on an as-needed basis. If you wish to teach these materials in a structured format, or distribute them to groups of people, that requires a separate agreement. In other words, you will be able to use them as part of one on one coaching or mentoring you do, but if you wanted to use them for group coaching or corporate training, that requires a separate license.
How many classes do I need to attend live?
This isn't a lecture. It's a highly experiential, transformational journey, where you will be participating closely with the other members of your leadership team. We recommend that you attend at least 80% of the classes live.
What if I live in another country and I can't make it to the live event?
We have gotten enough interest to justify livestreaming the live event, so you will be able to participate fully in the program, even if you aren't able to make it to Santa Monica for the retreat. You will need to block off the full two days, as if you are in retreat, as it will be a highly interactive, transformational process.
What if I can't decide between the two cohorts?
You don't need to decide until after the live event. At the event, we'll help you answer any questions you have and select the group that is best for you. There is also an option to participate in both cohorts, for $7500 instead of $5000.
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