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SUMMARY:Zen of Coaching: For Executive Coaches - 5 Classes Beginning May 8\, 2026
DESCRIPTION: \n\n\n\n\n\n\nBuy tickets\nThis 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. \n\n\n\nWhat You Will Learn In This Program\n\n\n\nProgram Pillars:\n\n\n\n\nThe Power of Not-Knowing: Coaching from Presence\, Not Answers\n\nWhy the best executive coaches don’t give answers—they create the conditions for insight.\n\n\n\nHow to hold space for uncertainty in leadership and decision-making.\n\n\n\nUsing koans (Zen paradoxical stories) to unlock new ways of thinking for clients.\n\n\n\n\n\nCoaching in Complexity: Paradox & Polarities in Leadership\n\nHow Zen principles help leaders embrace contradiction (strength & vulnerability\, action & stillness\, leading & following).\n\n\n\nWorking with ambiguous\, high-stakes leadership decisions through mindfulness.\n\n\n\nHelping executives lead without attachment to outcomes while remaining highly effective.\n\n\n\n\n\nCultivating Executive Presence through Embodiment & Stillness\n\nThe neuroscience of how a leader’s presence influences company culture.\n\n\n\nZen-based practices for embodying gravitas\, calm\, and emotional regulation.\n\n\n\nTeaching executives micro-meditation techniques for high-stress environments.\n\n\n\n\n\nCoaching the Inner Game of Leadership\n\nHow to coach beyond performance metrics and into values\, purpose\, and wisdom.\n\n\n\nIdentifying the ego traps of leadership and helping clients lead with authenticity.\n\n\n\nCultivating a beginner’s mind in leadership—why curiosity outperforms certainty.\n\n\n\n\n\nBuilding a Mindful Coaching Practice for Executive Clients\n\nIntegrating Zen coaching into a high-level executive coaching practice.\n\n\n\nCommunicating the value of coaching for presence vs. coaching for performance.\n\n\n\nStructuring engagements that balance practical business needs with deep transformation.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWhy Zen? Why This Program?\n\n\n\nYou don’t need to be a Buddhist—or have ever set foot on a meditation cushion—to experience the profound impact of this course. \n\n\n\nZen isn’t about religion. It’s about awareness and attention. \n\n\n\nIt’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. \n\n\n\nMost coaching programs focus on tools and techniques. \n\n\n\nThis one goes deeper. \n\n\n\nIt 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. \n\n\n\nZen strips away the noise so you can access your inner wisdom. \n\n\n\nInstead 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. \n\n\n\nIn 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. \n\n\n\nThis isn’t abstract philosophy. It’s grounded in lived experience. \n\n\n\nYour 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. \n\n\n\nZen won’t hand you all the answers. \n\n\n\nBut it will help you become the kind of coach who creates the conditions for others to discover their own. \n\n\n\nAnd that’s where real transformation begins. \n\n\n\nWhy This Program Stands Apart\n\n\n\nThe Zen Difference in Leadership Coaching\n\n\n\nBeyond 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.  \n\n\n\nFrom 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. \n\n\n\nTransformative Leadership Capabilities: Where other programs offer tactical fixes\, this coaching approach develops: \n\n\n\nPresence That Commands Without Demanding: Leaders who radiate calm authority even in crisis—a quality teams instinctively trust and follow. \n\n\n\nThe 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. \n\n\n\nResilient Ambition: The capacity to pursue audacious goals without attachment to outcomes—creating leaders who inspire through purpose rather than pressure. \n\n\n\nThe Inside-Out Transformation\n\n\n\nThis program works differently because it addresses the root cause of leadership challenges: \n\n\n\nConventional Coaching: Works outside-in\, applying external frameworks to problems Zen Coaching: Works inside-out\, developing internal clarity that naturally produces better external decisions \n\n\n\nAs 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.” \n\n\n\nThe Cascading Impact\n\n\n\nWhen a leader transforms their leadership presence\, everything shifts: \n\n\n\n\nTeams feel psychologically safe to innovate and take smart risks\n\n\n\nDecision-making improves as habitual reactivity gives way to thoughtful response\n\n\n\nOrganizational culture evolves from tension to aligned purpose\n\n\n\nResults improve while burnout decreases\n\n\n\n\nWhy It Matters Now\n\n\n\nToday’s executives face unprecedented complexity—volatile markets\, technological disruption\, talent challenges\, and stakeholder pressures that conventional leadership approaches weren’t designed to handle. \n\n\n\nThe 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. \n\n\n\nThis isn’t just a different coaching approach. It’s the approach specifically designed for the leadership challenges of our time. \n\n\n\nWho This Is For\n\n\n\nFor Coaches Done with Surface-Level Solutions \n\n\n\nThis 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. \n\n\n\nThis is for you if: \n\n\n\n\nYou’re done with “10-step models” and crave an approach that reaches the soul of leadership – where real transformation happens.\n\n\n\nYou coach (or aspire to coach) elite performers – CEOs\, founders\, VPs – who need more than productivity hacks. They need wisdom.\n\n\n\nYou feel the limits of traditional mindfulness and want tools that don’t just reduce stress\, but redefine how leaders operate.\n\n\n\nYou know presence is your most powerful tool – and you’re ready to master it\, embody it\, and teach it.\n\n\n\nYou’re building a practice with depth – one that aligns with your values\, attracts premium clients\, and changes lives (not just KPIs).\n\n\n\n\nThis is not for coaches who: \n\n\n\n❌ Believe leadership is just about strategy and execution \n\n\n\n❌ Are satisfied with helping clients “manage” rather than *transform* \n\n\n\n❌ Think mindfulness begins and ends with “take a deep breath” \n\n\n\nThis 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 \n\n\n\nWhat You Will Walk Away With\n\n\n\nMarc 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. \n\n\n\nThis 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. \n\n\n\nYou’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. \n\n\n\nYou will: \n\n\n\n\nDeepen and sustain your mindfulness and meditation practice—not just as tools\, but as core competencies in your leadership and coaching\n\n\n\n\n\nStrengthen your ability to listen with precision and attunement\, helping clients access insight and move through complexity\n\n\n\nCultivate warm-hearted curiosity—the key to unlocking potential\, fostering trust\, and navigating high-stakes conversations\n\n\n\nGain practical techniques to coach with greater authenticity\, presence\, and impact in executive and organizational contexts\n\n\n\n\nWhether 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. \n\n\n\nThe Virtuous Cycle of Coaching Excellence\n\n\n\nInner Depth + External Tools = Exceptional Client Outcomes \n\n\n\nThis 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. \n\n\n\nHow This Program Stands Apart\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTraditional Executive Coaching\nThe Zen of Coaching\n\n\nFocuses on performance\, productivity\, and goal-setting\nFocuses on presence\, awareness\, and wise action\n\n\nUses tools\, frameworks\, and accountability structures\nUses inquiry\, paradox\, and deep listening\n\n\nEmphasizes doing: what to say\, what to do\nEmphasizes being: how you show up\, how you relate\n\n\nEncourages control\, clarity\, and linear problem-solving\nEmbraces uncertainty\, not-knowing\, and complexity\n\n\nMeasures success by external outcomes\nMeasures success by internal alignment and relational impact\n\n\nStays in the head: cognitive strategies\, analysis\nIntegrates head\, heart\, and body through mindfulness and embodiment\n\n\nSeeks confidence through mastery\nCultivates confidence through humility and grounded presence\n\n\nShort-term fixes and performance improvements\nLong-term transformation of self and leadership presence\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nInvestment: $950Register now for $725 (early bird) \n\n\n\nBuy tickets\n\n\n\n \nFAQs\n\n\n\nIs this program for beginners or seasoned coaches? \n\n\n\nYes! 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. \n\n\n\nIs this program for leaders? \n\n\n\nCoaching and mentoring are two of the most important competencies of effective leadership. Leaders will experience significant benefit from learning depth coaching skills and competencies. \n\n\n\nWhat are the dates\, times\, and structure of the program? \n\n\n\nThe program meets from 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. for 5 Fridays\, May 8\, 15\, 22\, 29 and June 5. \n\n\n\nWhat if I need to miss a session? \n\n\n\nAll sessions will be recorded and made available. \n\n\n\nWill there be additional courses and resources? \n\n\n\nZBA 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. \n\n\n\nWhat is the cost of this program? \n\n\n\nZen of Coaching has a list price of $950 and is currently being offered at a discounted early bird rate of $725. \nBuy tickets\n\n\n\n 
URL:https://marclesser.net/event/zen-of-coaching-for-executive-coaches-2026/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Virtual Event
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SUMMARY:Step Into Your Life: A Zen Inspired Retreat at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center\, 6/16 - 6/21
DESCRIPTION: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. \nWe 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. \nThrough 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. \n\n\nTo register:https://www.sfzc.org/calendar/events/tassajara/step-your-life-zen-inspired-retreat-zmc-616-621
URL:https://marclesser.net/event/step-into-your-life-a-zen-inspired-retreat-at-tassajara-zen-mountain-center-6-16-6-21/
LOCATION:DC
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