next submission cycle: apr 2027
The Council
Build the team of your dreams. A program for exceptional leaders and teams who see that business itself can be a path of self-discovery.
Yearly membership, by invite only. Click to inquire for 2027.
Johannes Landgraf
CEO of Ona, formerly Gitpod
"Our team did six months of work in two days at the Leadership Summit."
The Problem
A narrow view of what leadership can be
Most of the world holds a narrow view of leadership: Leadership is taxing. Leaders are responsible for everyone. Teams need to be managed. Sacrifice is necessary. You have to do it alone.
This is what creates burnout, brittle teams, rigid cultures, and leaders who quietly believe they need to carry the weight of every decision on their own.
your Invitation
Leadership that lights you up, not burns you out
Few people have experienced what it's like to be part of a great team that's deeply aligned.
Teams where trust is high, accountability is shared, and people show up out of excitement rather than obligation.
Even fewer know how to reliably build these types of teams.
the work
The four pillars of effective, fulfilling leadership
The Council will help you become the leader you've always wanted to be, and support your team to do the best work of your lives. All while feeling deeply fulfilled in it.
We all want to be part of something exceptional
Your team didn't sign up to be mediocre. They didn't join your company to play politics. Our work is about harnessing the hunger that's already there.
Where it hurts is where you'll grow
Every team has places where things consistently break down. We lean into discomfort and follow the pain points to turn inefficiencies into efficiencies, both internal and external.
Your team mirrors your inner landscape
Your self-talk determines how your team communicates. Your boundaries become your team’s policies. Every leader's consciousness is reflected in their team.
Alignment accelerates everything
When teams truly align, everything accelerates. When they don't, everything is a fight. It's like pedaling a broken bicycle. No amount of effort is going to win the race.
"The best leaders seek to understand before seeking to be understood."
Joe Hudson
How it Works
For leaders who are ready to level up
The Council pairs transformative in-person Summits with an ongoing community of practice. Each is powerful alone, but doing deep work with people you truly trust multiplies the impact. It's YPO meets a new Hoffman Process every year, with the same people.
Leadership Summits
Two transformational weekends a year with Joe Hudson and the AOA team, designed for personal and professional breakthroughs. This is the deep, high-leverage work that most teams avoid, that business schools don’t teach, and that separates good companies from revolutionary ones.
Monthly Forums
Every month you will spend three hours with your group in the Council Forums. Forums follow a carefully designed format and are meant for the hard conversations that matter. Together you will harness group intelligence and tackle your biggest problems.
All-Council Events
Each quarter, we’ll have several All-Council events including strategy and coaching calls with Joe, facilitated teaching workshops and space to connect with other members. These are optional but highly encouraged.
Our team did six months of work in two days at the Leadership Summit.
Every interpersonal conflict that was standing between us just went away. It was beautiful and efficient at the same time. The clarity we walked away with, and the business decisions we’re now able to make, are extraordinary.
Johannes Landgraf
CEO of Ona, formerly Gitpod
join the council
The two pathways
No matter which path you choose, everyone will come together for Summits and All-Council events throughout the year. You’ll learn alongside a diversity of other visionary leaders and teams, witnessing what deep alignment looks like in different forms.
1. Join as a leader and bring your executive team
This is the path that delivers the most powerful results. When teams do this work together, alignment accelerates. What’s been slowing you down for months or years gets addressed directly, in the room, with the people it actually impacts.
During Council Summits, we'll often hear some version of: “I never knew a team could feel this good.” or “I’m so grateful my boss brought me here... and I’m annoyed at him because now the bar is so high for every team I ever join."
This path requires a leader willing to be in temporary discomfort to create deep, durable alignment. The payoff is a team that works better, faster, and with far more fulfillment.
2. Join as a member and be matched with other leaders
This path is for leaders who want to join the Council and do the work with other leaders. If you apply as a peer leader, we will hand-place you in a carefully curated group who share similar visions and are facing similar challenges.
During Council Summits, we'll often hear some version of: “I don’t feel alone in this anymore.” or “I make way better decisions because I’m not carrying everything by myself.”
We’ve seen many leaders start here, experience what deep alignment feels like, and then bring their teams to experience it together. Once you know what’s possible, it’s hard to unsee it.
by invitation only
For leaders and teams
We accept a small amount of new members once a year in April.
The Council
Annual membership fee
$10,000
5 weeks of guidance and online coaching
An intimate group format for deep learning
Daily practices for integration
Solo exercises and experiments
1 year access to our online community
Weekly Coaching with Joe
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What are the upsides and downsides of bringing my executive team?
Upside: This is the fastest and deepest way to create real alignment. When teams do this work together, nothing stays theoretical. The conversations that have been avoided finally happen, trust compounds quickly, and the entire system gets more efficient. Teams often leave saying they didn't know work could feel this good.
Downside: It requires courage. You have to be willing to let things get uncomfortable before they get better. If you can't see it through, it will be a waste of resources. If you're looking for surface-level harmony or quick fixes without transparency, this path is not right for you.
What are the upsides and downsides of joining a peer group outside my executive team?
Upside: You stop carrying leadership alone. You get honest reflection from other leaders who understand the pressure, isolation, and complexity of your role. This is often the cleanest place to see your own patterns and sharpen your leadership before bringing the work back to your team.
Downside: The work starts with you but it doesn't end there. If you're not willing to look at yourself, this program will be a bad fit. If you're not willing to use the tools you learn with your team, you will not get the maximum leverage this work provides.
What parts of the program are mandatory, and what's optional?
The Welcome Summit is mandatory. From there, we highly recommend attending the other Summit, the nine Forums every year, along with partner check-ins.
If you want to go deeper, there are many options to support you: two quarterly facilitated online workshops and a quarterly group Rapid Coaching session with Joe. We provide these so you can get the most out of the work.
Are there any prerequisites to this program?
Yes. The Connection Course is a prerequisite. The cost of it is included in the annual tuition. If you have not done it yet, you can still apply and we will help you complete it before your first Summit.
How intense is it, really?
The Council is not for the faint of heart. It is deep work that can get uncomfortable at times. We will be looking directly at the things you've been avoiding that are creating inefficiencies in your company and fulfillment.
Think of it like a hard workout: there's effort, heat, and strain in the moment, and then clarity, strength, and relief once you're through it. If reading this excites you, that's a great sign that this program is for you.
Is the Council a membership?
Yes. This is an annual membership, not a one-off program. We've designed it for your company or peer group to come together and go deeper and deeper every year.
What does the annual membership include?
Your membership includes yearly Leadership Summits, Monthly Forums, group Rapid Coaching sessions with Joe Hudson, regular Members-Only events and teachings throughout the year, and access to a trusted community of leaders doing this work seriously. More importantly, it gives you a living system that supports continuous growth, for you and your team.
How can we possibly find the time for this?
Most leaders don't have a time problem. They have an inefficiency problem. Misalignment, avoided conversations, and unclear decisions consume far more time than this work ever will. The Council consistently gives back more time than it takes by removing friction.
How do I make the most of The Council?
Show up fully and participate as yourself, not as the version of you that has it all figured out. The moments that create the most movement are almost always the ones where you say the thing you were about to withhold: naming fear, resentment, or uncertainty instead of managing around it.
What would make The Council a bad investment?
- If you're unwilling to look at yourself.
- If you're unwilling to use the tools in real life.
- If you want results without discomfort.
- If you believe the problem is entirely "out there" and not reflected in your consciousness.
The bottom line: This work only works if you do.
How do I convince my team to join?
At the end of the day, the culture of a team is the job of the leader. Because of this, we do not recommend convincing your team. What we do recommend:
- Hearing their objections
- Finding out what would excite them about it
- Making sure they know that what they want most is available to them through the Council
- Asking them how they are going to get the most out of the Council
We do not recommend convincing them, because that's asking them to be responsible for the culture. And since that is not their job, their most common reaction will be to resist.
With that said, it's not uncommon for teams to come to the Council skeptical at first, and then leave thrilled with their leaders' decision. So if you need your entire team to always be comfortable, this will be a very scary process for you.
And it's one of the first things you're going to learn in the Council: how to stop protecting your team from the discomfort that's required to take them to the next level.
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