How to Integrate the
Shadow and the IDGS

A Four Session Workshop for Coaches, Consultants, and Facilitators

All sessions will occur on Zoom from
1:30-3pm EST/ 7:30-9pm CET
on the following dates:

Cost:

Early Bird (by Friday March 27th) $349

After March 27th: $399

15% of proceeds will be donated to the IDG Foundation

Tues, April 7th
Tues, April 14th
Tues, April 21st
Tues, April 28th

Register

Overview

As the Inner Development Goals (IDGs) gain global momentum, more and more practitioners are being called to teach essential inner skills like self-awareness, presence, compassion, and courage.

Here’s the challenge: we cannot cultivate these qualities fully — in ourselves or others — without facing the shadow.

This live, interactive series is for facilitators, coaches, educators, and inner development practitioners who want to understand and teach the IDGs with greater authenticity, depth, and psychological integrity.  It is being offered by Dr. Max Klau, a Harvard-trained author, coach and speaker, and the Founder of the Center for Courageous Wholeness. This class has been designed to build upon the “Story from the Field” that Max shared from the main stage at the 2025 IDG Summit in Stockholm, in which he described his work guiding aspiring politicians in the U.S. through the process of confronting shadow.  

In this class, we will explore the concept of shadow and explore practical approaches to integrating shadow into efforts to teach inner development skills in ways that are powerful and effective.  

Who Is This For?

  • Coaches who are focused on using the IDGs in their work with clients

  • Consultants who are seeking to bring the IDG Framework to their work with organizational clients

  • Facilitators who create processes and dialogue informed by the IDG framework

  • Champions of the Inner Development Goals who are seeking practical, effective approaches to teaching and training the IDG dimensions and skills in ways that integrate a focus on shadow.

What You’ll Gain

  • A deeper understanding of the psychological shadow — and why ignoring it undermines inner development.

  • Practical exercises and insights for teaching IDG dimensions and skills in ways that integrate an understanding of the shadow.

  • Live guidance and expert facilitation from Dr. Max Klau — a Harvard-trained leadership expert who has spent decades developing a practical and effective approach to inviting leaders to confront their shadow.

  • Two to three ready-to-use exercises that blend shadow work with IDG themes.

  • An opportunity to design and share your own shadow-integrated activity, with feedback from peers and Dr. Klau.

  • A community of thoughtful, values-aligned practitioners committed to inner and outer transformation.

FAQs

  • This workshop is for coaches, trainers, and facilitators who are already using the IDGs in their work or who plan to do so in the future. The workshop is a blend of theory related to the concept of shadow and practical tools and skills focused on integrating a focus on shadow into IDG-related trainings in ways that are effective and accessible.

  • The workshop includes three 90-minute virtual sessions. Here’s an overview of what you’ll encounter:

    Session #1: Understanding the Shadow
    You’ll complete some personal reflection exercises to guide you through the work of confronting your own shadow. In the process, we’ll explore what shadow is, how it works, and why including this work into leadership development efforts is so powerful and strategic.

    Session #2: Making it Practical
    In this session, participants will experience two to three activities that demonstrate what it looks like to provide IDG-related trainings that include a skillful focus on shadow.

    Session #3: Activity Workshop
    For the final session, participants will have a chance to design their own activities that integrate the shadow and the IDGs, and we’ll have time for participants to guide the group through the activities that they design. Presenters will get feedback from the group about their activities, and all of us will experience multiple creative approaches to bringing shadow to efforts to train groups in IDG content.

  • Dr. Max Klau is a Harvard-trained leadership expert, author, speaker, Integral Master Coach, and IDG Ambassador (Mistral cohort).

    He is the Founder of the Center for Courageous Wholeness, an educational center focused n helping purpose-driven individuals and organizations serve others, confront shadow, and scale up inner development.

    He is the author of the recently published book Developing Servant Leaders at Scale: How to Do It and Why It Matters.

    He gave a talk from the Main Stage of the 2025 IDG Summit in Stockholm that presented his experiences bringing and focus on inner development and shadow to the space of U.S. politics. Watch the talk here.

    Learn more about him here.

  • This workshop includes four 90-minute virtual sessions.

    All sessions will occur on Zoom from 1:30-3pm EST/ 7:30-9pm CET on the following dates:

    Tues, April 7th
    Tues, April 14th
    Tues, April 21st
    Tues, April 28th

  • If you register before 12pm EST on March 27th, the early bird rate is $349.

    After March 27th, the cost is $399.

    15% of all proceeds will be donated to the IDG foundation to support their work.

  • At the 2025 IDG Summit in Stockholm, Dr. Max Klau presented a “Story from the Field” from the mainstage. In that eight-minute talk, he described his efforts to bring the work of inner development—with a focus on shadow—to the space of American politics.

    You watch that talk here.

    A couple weeks after the Summit, IDG Senior Advisor Jamie Bristow recorded a brief online interview on LinkedIn with Dr. Klau to discuss why he felt that the focus on shadow had been missing from the IDGs and was important to bring to the discussion.

    You can watch that interview here.

    This workshop represents an effort to continue this exploration of what it looks like to bring a focus on shadow to the IDG framework.

  • Please reach out to Dr. Max Klau at maxklau@courageouswholeness.org with any other questions!

Watch the full
“Story from the Field” Presentation at the IDG Summit

Register

About This Work

  • The Inner Development Goals (IDG) initiative is built on the insight that large-scale transformation is only possible when inner growth is integrated into leadership, organizations, and institutions. Max Klau provides a powerful roadmap for integrating inner development into large-scale systems. Drawing from his years of experience designing and refining a national nonprofit’s approach to inner growth, he shares hard-earned insights on what works, the obstacles that arise, and how to navigate them. At a time when organizations worldwide are recognizing the urgency of this work, Klau’s book is an essential resource for those seeking to embed inner development at the heart of leadership and change.

    Jan Artem Henriksson
    Executive Director, The Inner Development Goals Initiative
    & Co-Founder of the Inner Development Goals Foundation

  • In a time when our nation is hungry for purpose-driven leadership, Max Klau offers a roadmap for the kind of transformation we so desperately need. As a combat veteran, an entrepreneur, and now a member of Congress, I’ve learned that real leadership isn’t about titles or ego—it’s about service. And as Max Klau makes clear, true servant leadership begins within. It challenges us to connect with our deepest sense of purpose and confront our own shadow—the fears, biases, and blind spots that limit our ability to lead with authenticity. That inner work isn’t optional; it’s essential. You can take my word for it: This stuff works.

    Congressman Pat Ryan,
    U.S. Representative, NY-18;
    former Army officer and tech entrepreneur

  • In a world torn by division and crisis, how do we cultivate leaders who truly serve? Max reveals how to develop servant leaders at scale—expanding leadership beyond individual efforts to create systemic change. Drawing on decades of experience, Max Klau maps blueprint for leaders who prioritize improving the lives of others.

    Betsy Myers

    Chief Operating Officer for Obama’s 2008 national campaign. Founding director of the Center for Women and Business at Bentley University and former Executive Director of the Center for Public Leadership Harvard’s Kennedy School. Author of Take the Lead:  Motivate, Inspire and Bring Out the Best in Yourself and Everyone Around You.

  • Scale is the hallmark of our era. Max Klau explores where less courageous thinkers dare not tread: how to bring life-affirming practices between leaders and followers into the world on a scale that transforms humanity’s precarious future.

    Ira Chaleff
    Author of The Courageous Follower: Standing Up To and For Our Leaders and To Stop a Tyrant: The Power of Political Followers to Make or Brake a Toxic Leader.