Zen of Coaching: Online Training with Marc Lesser, Five Fridays - October 24 - December 5
2025-10-24 - 2025-12-05
Zen of Coaching is a transformational online program for executive coaches and leaders who want to deepen their presence, expand their impact, and build a coaching practice rooted in wisdom, not just performance. Blending Zen principles, mindfulness, and real-world leadership experience, this course—created by Marc Lesser, the Zen teacher and CEO who helped bring mindful leadership to Google—supports you in cultivating stillness, navigating complexity, and coaching with greater authenticity, clarity, and purpose.

Enroll Now

3-Month Practice Period, Becoming Yourself, January - March, Online
2026-01-07 18:00 - 2026-03-25 19:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
A 3-month Practice Period is a great way to begin or deepen your mindfulness and meditation practice and cultivate ways for integrating mindfulness practice with your work and all parts of your life.
Online meetings are Wednesday from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. PT. We will begin each session with 30 minutes of lightly guided meditation, followed by a short talk, as well as small group and large group discussions.
The theme for the Practice Period is Becoming Yourself. This is the underlying theme of meditation practice and Zen practice – studying yourself and going beyond yourself; seeing and feeling openly, the good, bad, ugly, beautiful – as gift and an opportunity to learn, grow, and engage. It’s the practice of feeling deeply, opening our hearts and minds, with a mindset of appreciation, and of being of benefit, through our ability to see more clearly, to accept what is, and work effectively with change and for change.
Our focus will be on how Zen practice can be integrated into daily life to help us:
– cultivate greater wellbeing
– navigate change and challenges
– discover more meaning and purpose in work and relationship
Our primary reading for the practice period is Becoming Yourself, Zen Talks from Shunryu Suzuki This is an excellent primer on the non-dual teaching is Zen practice and how to apply them to your wellbeing, relationships, work, and social and environmental responsibility.
Being part of a community that meets weekly is a powerful way to find more clarity and connection as we begin a New Year. Each week we will meditate together for 30 minutes. Then, I’ll give a short talk, unpacking ideas and practices from Becoming Yourself. We will have a variety of small group and large group discussions, to practice and deepen the tools and themes discussed. Each week you will leave with an actionable insight, or a practice, and a suggested reading.
Weekly sessions will be recorded and made available in case you miss any sessions or want to revisit them.

Half-day Retreat, January 11th, In-person, (Mill Valley) and Online
2026-01-11 09:00 - 12:30
In our world of busyness, of more/faster/better, this half-day retreat offers time to stop, reflect, and renew. We will explore the practices of effort and effortless as a path to well-being and “stepping into your life.” Together we’ll follow a gentle schedule of sitting and walking meditation, a talk, and some discussion. Anyone looking to begin or deepen a meditation and mindfulness practice is invited to attend. What is meditation? I like a definition proposed by Dogen, the 13th century founder of Zen in Japan: “The practice I speak of is not meditation. It is simply the dharma gate of repose and bliss…It is the manifestation of ultimate reality…Once its heart is grasped, you are like a dragon when he gains the water, like a tiger when she enters the mountains.”

Finding Your Way. A Zen Inspired Retreat. Green Gulch Farm, February 5th - 8th
2026-02-05 15:00 - 2026-02-08 12:00
Much of our lives are spent searching for more, for better—for something other than who we are and the world we find ourselves in. This retreat offers time to stop, reflect, renew, and discover the art and practice of appreciation and wonder. Drawing on the teachings and wisdom of Zen, the weekend will include periods of meditation, guided reflections, short talks, and small and large group conversations. We’ll explore themes of impermanence, effort and effortlessness, and the freedom that arises when we release judgment and embrace what is.
This retreat invites you to pause, breathe, and listen deeply, beyond the noise of striving and self-comparison. Finding Your Way is not about fixing or achieving, but about softening into clarity and trust in forging your own path. Rather than searching for answers “out there,” this retreat nurtures the capacity to meet our lives with curiosity, compassion, and fresh eyes.
Whether you’re in a moment of transition, seeking deeper clarity, or simply longing to rest and renew, this retreat offers space to explore, heal, and grow.
No prior meditation experience is needed. Come as you are. Leave with less weight, more wonder, and a renewed connection to your own way.
To Register: https://www.sfzc.org/calendar/events/green-gulch-farm/finding-your-way-zen-inspired-retreat-ggf-25-28

Half-day Retreat, In-Person (Mill Valley) and Online, March 22nd
2026-03-22 09:00 - 12:30

Public Talk, San Francisco Zen Center, 300 Page Street, In-person and online, April 4th
2026-04-04 10:00 - 11:00
Marc will give the public talk at the San Francisco Zen Center on Saturday, April 4th at 10:00 a.m.
300 Page Street, San Francisco.
Free
https://www.sfzc.org/calendar/events/city-center/saturday-1000-am-dharma-talk-marc-lesser-livestreamonsite-44

Zen of Coaching: For Executive Coaches - 5 Classes Beginning May 8, 2026
2026-05-08 12:00 - 13:30 | Zoom
This program series meets online from 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time for 5 consecutive Fridays: May 8, 15, 22, 29 and June 5. Zoom links will be emailed one week before the course begins.

What You Will Learn In This Program

Program Pillars:

The Power of Not-Knowing: Coaching from Presence, Not Answers

Why the best executive coaches don’t give answers—they create the conditions for insight.

How to hold space for uncertainty in leadership and decision-making.

Using koans (Zen paradoxical stories) to unlock new ways of thinking for clients.

Coaching in Complexity: Paradox & Polarities in Leadership

How Zen principles help leaders embrace contradiction (strength & vulnerability, action & stillness, leading & following).

Working with ambiguous, high-stakes leadership decisions through mindfulness.

Helping executives lead without attachment to outcomes while remaining highly effective.

Cultivating Executive Presence through Embodiment & Stillness

The neuroscience of how a leader’s presence influences company culture.

Zen-based practices for embodying gravitas, calm, and emotional regulation.

Teaching executives micro-meditation techniques for high-stress environments.

Coaching the Inner Game of Leadership

How to coach beyond performance metrics and into values, purpose, and wisdom.

Identifying the ego traps of leadership and helping clients lead with authenticity.

Cultivating a beginner’s mind in leadership—why curiosity outperforms certainty.

Building a Mindful Coaching Practice for Executive Clients

Integrating Zen coaching into a high-level executive coaching practice.

Communicating the value of coaching for presence vs. coaching for performance.

Structuring engagements that balance practical business needs with deep transformation.

Why Zen? Why This Program?

You don’t need to be a Buddhist—or have ever set foot on a meditation cushion—to experience the profound impact of this course.

Zen isn’t about religion. It’s about awareness and attention.

It’s a path to cultivating a clear mind and an open heart, especially in the face of uncertainty, complexity, and high stakes. That’s why Zen is so powerful for coaches and leaders: it trains you to stay present, grounded, and responsive—no matter the circumstances.

Most coaching programs focus on tools and techniques.

This one goes deeper.

It teaches presence—the ability to listen without needing to fix, to stay steady in discomfort, and to meet others with clarity and compassion. That’s the kind of presence that sets exceptional coaches and courageous leaders apart.

Zen strips away the noise so you can access your inner wisdom.

Instead of reacting from habit or pressure, you learn to respond from insight. You become less distracted, more intentional, and more attuned—to yourself, to others, and to what really matters.

In a world obsessed with doing, Zen teaches the transformational power of being. And from that place of being—calm, centered, aware—you unlock the true potential of your leadership and your coaching.

This isn’t abstract philosophy. It’s grounded in lived experience.

Your guide, Marc Lesser, is both a seasoned Zen teacher and a former CEO. He helped integrate mindfulness into Google’s leadership culture and has coached high-performing leaders across industries. He knows how to bridge the inner journey with real-world impact.

Zen won’t hand you all the answers.

But it will help you become the kind of coach who creates the conditions for others to discover their own.

And that’s where real transformation begins.

Why This Program Stands Apart

The Zen Difference in Leadership Coaching

Beyond Basic Mindfulness: This isn’t another “breathe and reduce stress” program. The Zen approach develops the paradoxical thinking capabilities executives need most—being decisively confident while remaining genuinely open, driving results while cultivating relationships, maintaining vision while adapting to reality.

From Marc Lesser’s Unique Journey: Few can blend these worlds authentically. Marc spent a decade as a resident of the San Francisco Zen Center and served as director of Tassajara Zen Mountain Center before bringing these principles to Google’s leadership program—creating a mindful leadership approach now used by thousands of executives worldwide. Marc Lesser didn’t just study Zen—he lived it (10 years at San Francisco Zen Center). Then he proved it works at Google and beyond. This is mindfulness forged in the fires of real leadership.

Transformative Leadership Capabilities: Where other programs offer tactical fixes, this coaching approach develops:

Presence That Commands Without Demanding: Leaders who radiate calm authority even in crisis—a quality teams instinctively trust and follow.

The Power of Not-Knowing: The ability to lead confidently while remaining genuinely curious and open—avoiding the fatal certainty that blinds other executives to emerging realities.

Resilient Ambition: The capacity to pursue audacious goals without attachment to outcomes—creating leaders who inspire through purpose rather than pressure.

The Inside-Out Transformation

This program works differently because it addresses the root cause of leadership challenges:

Conventional Coaching: Works outside-in, applying external frameworks to problems Zen Coaching: Works inside-out, developing internal clarity that naturally produces better external decisions

As one executive put it: “Other programs gave me better maps. This approach taught me to see more clearly so I could draw my own maps.”

The Cascading Impact

When a leader transforms their leadership presence, everything shifts:

Teams feel psychologically safe to innovate and take smart risks

Decision-making improves as habitual reactivity gives way to thoughtful response

Organizational culture evolves from tension to aligned purpose

Results improve while burnout decreases

Why It Matters Now

Today’s executives face unprecedented complexity—volatile markets, technological disruption, talent challenges, and stakeholder pressures that conventional leadership approaches weren’t designed to handle.

The Zen approach doesn’t just help leaders cope with this complexity—it helps them thrive in it, developing the exact capabilities needed to navigate paradox, uncertainty, and rapid change with wisdom rather than reactivity.

This isn’t just a different coaching approach. It’s the approach specifically designed for the leadership challenges of our time.

Who This Is For

For Coaches Done with Surface-Level Solutions

This isn’t just another coaching program. This is for leaders of leaders – those ready to transcend tired frameworks and tap into something far more powerful.

This is for you if:

You’re done with “10-step models” and crave an approach that reaches the soul of leadership – where real transformation happens.

You coach (or aspire to coach) elite performers – CEOs, founders, VPs – who need more than productivity hacks. They need wisdom.

You feel the limits of traditional mindfulness and want tools that don’t just reduce stress, but redefine how leaders operate.

You know presence is your most powerful tool – and you’re ready to master it, embody it, and teach it.

You’re building a practice with depth – one that aligns with your values, attracts premium clients, and changes lives (not just KPIs).

This is not for coaches who:

❌ Believe leadership is just about strategy and execution

❌ Are satisfied with helping clients “manage” rather than *transform*

❌ Think mindfulness begins and ends with “take a deep breath”

This is for those ready to go to the source – where lasting change begins. For Coaches who want to move beyond “take a breath” to transformative frameworks. Mindfulness is the foundation. This is the architecture for leadership

What You Will Walk Away With

Marc brings a rare combination of depth, clarity, and real-world leadership experience to his coaching and teaching. In this training, he sets a high bar—inviting you not just to learn, but to transform the way you lead, coach, and show up in the world.

This program is designed for executive and leadership coaches who want to deepen their impact by integrating mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and embodied presence into their professional practice.

You’ll walk away with insights and tools that elevate your coaching, strengthen your leadership presence, and bring greater clarity and compassion to your most important relationships—both personal and professional.

You will:

Deepen and sustain your mindfulness and meditation practice—not just as tools, but as core competencies in your leadership and coaching

Strengthen your ability to listen with precision and attunement, helping clients access insight and move through complexity

Cultivate warm-hearted curiosity—the key to unlocking potential, fostering trust, and navigating high-stakes conversations

Gain practical techniques to coach with greater authenticity, presence, and impact in executive and organizational contexts

Whether you’re supporting C-suite leaders, high-performing teams, or emerging talent, this training will refine your presence, expand your toolkit, and align your coaching with what matters most.

The Virtuous Cycle of Coaching Excellence

Inner Depth + External Tools = Exceptional Client Outcomes

This program creates a sustainable path to coaching mastery. As your presence deepens, your client results improve, leading to more referrals, a stronger reputation, and a thriving practice built on transformation rather than transaction.

How This Program Stands Apart

Traditional Executive Coaching
The Zen of Coaching

Focuses on performance, productivity, and goal-setting
Focuses on presence, awareness, and wise action

Uses tools, frameworks, and accountability structures
Uses inquiry, paradox, and deep listening

Emphasizes doing: what to say, what to do
Emphasizes being: how you show up, how you relate

Encourages control, clarity, and linear problem-solving
Embraces uncertainty, not-knowing, and complexity

Measures success by external outcomes
Measures success by internal alignment and relational impact

Stays in the head: cognitive strategies, analysis
Integrates head, heart, and body through mindfulness and embodiment

Seeks confidence through mastery
Cultivates confidence through humility and grounded presence

Short-term fixes and performance improvements
Long-term transformation of self and leadership presence

Investment: $950

Register now for $725

FAQs

Is this program for beginners or seasoned coaches?

Yes! Zen of Coaching is designed and applicable for all levels of coaches and prospective coaches. All coaches can benefit professionally and personally from learning to integrate depth practices and wisdom practices into their coaching and all parts of their lives.

Is this program for leaders?

Coaching and mentoring are two of the most important competencies of effective leadership. Leaders will experience significant benefit from learning depth coaching skills and competencies.

What are the dates, times, and structure of the program?

The program meets from 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. for 5 Fridays, May 8, 15, 22, 29 and June 5.

What if I need to miss a session?

All sessions will be recorded and made available.

Will there be additional courses and resources?

ZBA Leadership and Coaching Institute and Marc Lesser will be offering a variety trainings and programs throughout 2026. Marc and colleagues are available for individual coaching sessions.

What is the cost of this program?

Zen of Coaching has a list price of $950 and is currently being offered at a discounted rate of $725.

Step Into Your Life: A Zen Inspired Retreat at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, 6/16 - 6/21
2026-06-16 16:00 - 2026-06-21 11:00
In our world of busyness—of more, faster, better—this retreat offers time to stop, reflect, renew, and step fully into the richness of your life. Together, we’ll follow a gentle schedule of sitting and walking meditation, interspersed with talks and discussions from the wisdom of Zen teaching, as we explore how these dialogues may be utilized in our relationships, our work, and our lives.
We will practice with the essence of meditation, just sitting with what is. And we will experience a variety of guided meditations, exploring our inner voices, our intuition, and our emotions.
Through meditations, Zen teachings and stories, conversations, awareness practices, and writing we’ll create a safe, vital, and meaningful time of learning together. This retreat is open to everyone interested in stopping, exploring, and bringing more awareness and mindfulness to daily life.

To register:https://www.sfzc.org/calendar/events/tassajara/step-your-life-zen-inspired-retreat-zmc-616-621
