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What is it like to be a Landmark Forum leader or other similar organization leader?

• I've been interested in pursuing a career in the field of personal development. I'm a recent Landmark Curriculum for Living graduate, and have hints from taking courses and talking to Landmark staff, but I haven't been able to get a satisfactory illustration of what the life of a forum leader is like. I'm more interested in a story (pun-intended) rather then direct answers to these questions, but here are some prompts to get the juices flowing: How much do they travel? What are their relationships like? How much free-time do they have? How much money do they make? How long are their careers? What do they do before/after? How much say do they have in the development of the curriculum? How much freedom do they get in personalizing the way they deliver the Forum? What is the process of becoming a forum leader like on a personal/emotional level? To what standard are forum leaders held? Are they required to be secretive or selective about information? Is it stressful? Are there common emotional challenges? Is there a lot of ego/drama among forum leaders? Thank you very much for taking the time to read this and/or answer. Chema Caillet-Bois

• Answer:

  Hi Chema - let me start by saying that I have not been a Landmark Forum leader. I know many people who have been (and a couple who are still currently Forum leaders). So, I won't answer for the Forum leaders what their work is like or what it's like for them.I can respond to what it's like to be a leader in an "other similar organization". For about 18 years I worked in consulting firms that had licenses to use the distinctions and ideas that Werner Erhard created (and creates today, and, upon which Landmark is based) in businesses. I worked for 3 of those types of firms.The experience of leading the programs for me was mostly fabulous. I loved leading those distinctions and ideas because of the impact they had on individuals and on the results their organizations could then produce. I learned and grew so much during that time.Travel. I traveled almost every week. Given I had three children at home, this was sometimes difficult. My husband was willing to be our at-home person, so we were able to make this work for us. Not everyone travels like this, but if you want to get some mastery in leading these type of distinctions, you need to lead as much as you can. Relationships. I've been married 36 years to the same person, so I would say my relationship survived that pretty well!  Just know that it is daily effort to make this work when your work takes you away weekly and when work is a 24/7 occupation. We always worked nights and weekends in addition to the regular work week. It wasn't just expected, it was what we did. This is very hard on relationships. And if you start coaching or working with your intimate relationships the way you do with everyone else, well, let's just say that that can be a disaster. Sometimes my husband would remind me that he wasn't my client.Income. I made mid six-figure incomes towards the end of my tenure. This was based on base salary, bonuses and commissions. However, income is highly dependent on the compensation structure of the consulting firm you work with. I am a pretty good negotiator as well, so while we weren't allowed to talk about it, I'm pretty sure I made more money than many of my colleagues. My experience was that people made anywhere from $75k - $500k a year. This is a huge range - if you have no experience and you aren't bringing any clients, the $75k per year is more likely. If you work in a commission structure and you sell, then obviously, you can earn more than that. And if you work in a firm that sells to the Fortune 100, where sales prices are generally higher, that will help.Career Length. Most of my colleagues will spend their entire lives - and past "regular" retirement age doing this work. Artists never retire (as Werner once said). While I no longer work inside the licensee arena, I still do transformational education and cannot imagine retiring.  I love what I do. Autonomy. I finally left the licensee world in December of 2013 to create my own work. The main reason was lack of autonomy - not being able to do more of the design work, to experiment with new thinking, to take into account the latest in neuroscience and biophysics. (This also answers your question about "after"). I learned a tremendous amount and altered the direction my life would have gone by working for these firms, so I have no regrets. And yet - I'm the happiest I've ever been now that I've left. I love the flexibility in program design - in giving my clients exactly what they need, not just what we have to offer. I love having a wider range to explore for my own learning. I love not "having" to take coaching on every aspect of my life - all of which was open for feedback/coaching in that environment.Integrity. Integrity is the foundation upon which all the other distinctions make a difference. Each of the firms I worked for had a strong relationship to integrity and staff operated similarly (or they didn't stay long). This doesn't mean that everyone always did what they said when they said - or any of the other tenants of integrity all the time - however, there was a solid relationship to cleaning up one's integrity, always. There is also an integrity to the culture of Werner, Landmark and the licensees. As with all cultures, it's useful to take into account that some aspects you'll like and others you won't. Since you've done Landmark's work, you are probably familiar with the culture. Stress. Any environment that requires accountability for producing results will have stress (depending on your perspective and whether you are delivering those results!). That will be true no matter what you choose to do for your career. I wish you much success - whichever direction you choose to go.