The Intentional Leader Lab: A Community for Experienced Leaders Who Refuse to Plateau

Leadership is hard. You shouldn't have to figure it out alone. The Intentional Leader Lab is a curated community for experienced, growth-minded leaders committed to becoming better at how we lead, work, and live—together.

Lead intentionally. Live aligned. Keep growing.

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For leaders with 5+ years of leadership experience.

Do any of these sound familiar?

You're Leading at a High Level

You carry meaningful responsibility and want to keep growing—not settle into what’s comfortable or familiar.

You Don't Have Enough Space to Think

Your days are full of decisions, demands, and other people’s priorities. You want intentional space to reflect, learn, and think more deeply.

You Want the Right People Around You

You want relationships with thoughtful, experienced leaders who will challenge your thinking, share what they’re learning, and help you grow.

You Don't Want to Drift

You want to be intentional about more than your career. You want to keep growing in how you lead, work, and live.

 

You're already leading. You're already growing. But the best leaders don't grow alone. The Intentional Leader Lab gives you the people, space, ideas, and rhythms to think more deeply, experiment with what you're learning, and become more intentional about how you lead, work, and live.

APPLY TO JOIN THE LAB

Growth doesn't happen by accident.

The demands of leadership will always compete with the disciplines that make us better leaders.

Without intentionality, it's easy to drift—to become so busy leading, producing, and responding that we stop creating space to grow.

The Lab is designed to interrupt that drift.

It creates intentional space to step back, encounter new ideas, learn from other experienced leaders, and put what you’re learning into practice.

Because leadership development isn't something you finish. It's a practice. 

And it's much easier to practice alongside people who are committed to growing too.

The Lab is built around a simple rhythm:

Learn: Encounter ideas, books, conversations, and frameworks that challenge the way you think.

Reflect: Create space to notice what you’re learning and what it means for your leadership and life.

Experiment: Put an idea into practice. Try something. Pay attention to what happens. Adjust.

Connect: Learn alongside thoughtful leaders who will encourage you, challenge you, and broaden your perspective.

Repeat: Leadership development isn’t something you complete. It’s a lifelong practice.

The Lab gives that practice a home.

Natalie and I created The Lab because we believe the best leaders don't grow alone.

We both have a passion for leadership, people, and building meaningful community. After years of leading in very different environments, we’ve seen how much the people around us shape who we become.

We wanted to create the kind of community we value ourselves—a room filled with experienced, curious, generous leaders who take growth seriously without taking themselves too seriously.

I bring more than 20 years of experience studying, practicing, and teaching leadership across the military, law, academia, coaching, and the Intentional Leader Podcast. I’ve led teams in combat, taught and developed leaders, and spent hundreds of hours learning from some of the world’s leading thinkers on leadership and personal growth.

Natalie is a natural community builder with decades of experience in business and leadership. She has a gift for creating environments where people feel welcomed, connected, and genuinely known.

Together, we’re building the kind of community we want to be part of ourselves—one where experienced leaders keep getting better, together.

1


Think more deeply. Step away from the constant demands of leadership to wrestle with ideas, ask better questions, and see your challenges differently.

 

2


Put growth into practice. Don’t just consume another book, podcast, or framework. Experiment with what you’re learning in your actual work and life. Pay attention to what happens. Adjust.

 

3


Grow alongside great people.  Build relationships with thoughtful leaders who will encourage you, challenge you, share what they’re learning, and remind you that you don’t have to figure it all out alone.

 

In the Lab, you will be known, encouraged, and challenged. Because the best leaders don’t grow alone.

APPLY TO JOIN THE LAB

Your Lab Membership includes:

  • Weekly Invitations
    A simple idea, question, experiment, or challenge designed to help you practice intentional leadership in real life.

  • Monthly Reflection
    Dedicated prompts to help you step out of the noise, notice what you’re learning, and enter the next month intentionally.

  • Monthly Book Club
    Read and discuss exceptional books on leadership, psychology, personal growth, relationships, and performance.

  • Leadership Roundtables
    Live conversations where members bring real leadership challenges to the room and benefit from the collective wisdom of the community.

  • Member Hot Seats
    Opportunities to bring a challenge, decision, or opportunity to the community and receive focused questions, ideas, and perspective.

  • A Private Community of Leaders
    An ongoing place to ask questions, share wins, wrestle with ideas, and build genuine relationships.

  • Leadership Resource Library
    Courses, frameworks, podcast insights, recommended books, exercises, and resources you can access whenever you need them.

The Lab is designed to add value without adding pressure.

You don’t need to attend everything, read everything, or respond to every discussion. Engage deeply when you can. Stay connected when you can’t.

What happens when you join The Lab?

Hear from a few of our Founding Members about their experience so far.


”

Joining the Lab is the best decision I have made in 2026! Since I joined the Lab, I find myself spending less time dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. The Lab has helped me get better at simply being present.


-Jack Einhorn (Founding Member of The Lab)


”

I love how we challenge one another to grow and think more critically. One of my favorite parts has been Book Club. It has encouraged me to read more intentionally, reflect more deeply, and apply those lessons in both my personal and professional life.


-Allie Ware (Founding Member of The Lab)


”

Even if I can’t join a call or haven’t chimed in on a discussion, I’m reflecting and formulating responses in my mind during periods of white space throughout my day . . . I'm finding it incredibly valuable to be part of a like-minded community. 

 

-Jim Freeze (Founding Member of The Lab)

The Lab is built for leaders who:

  • Bring at least five years of leadership experience.
  • Are committed to becoming better — personally and professionally.
  • Want to lead, work, and live more intentionally.
  • Enjoy learning but don’t want growth to stop at information.
  • Value thoughtful conversation over networking and self-promotion.
  • Want relationships with people who will encourage and challenge them.
  • Are willing to share their experience and perspective to help others grow.
  • Believe leadership development is a lifelong practice. 

The Lab probably isn't for you if:

  • You’re looking for another course to complete.
  • You want a step-by-step formula telling you exactly how to lead.
  • You’re primarily interested in networking or promoting your business.
  • You want to consume content without engaging, reflecting, or contributing.
  • You’re looking for quick answers rather than an ongoing practice of growth.
  • You’re satisfied with where you are and aren’t particularly interested in continuing to grow.
Your membership includes Cal's Core Values Course.

 More than 150 leaders have completed the course, gaining greater clarity and alignment around what matters most and how they want to live. The full Core Values Course ($149 value) is included with every Lab membership. Here’s what a few participants have experienced:


”

I now have a clear framework to align my aspirations and daily actions. I’m confident this intentionality will not only enhance my leadership but also support my journey toward living a more complete and fulfilling life.


-Richie Parker (Founding Member of the Lab, Keynote Speaker, and Emmy-Winning ESPN Feature)


”

I’m noticing that I’m more aware of what things really mean the most to me, and I’m getting better at tuning out and saying no to the things that don’t align with my core values.


-Taylor Levick (Business Owner, Husband, and Father)


”

Cal’s intentional and encouraging approach allows you to walk through very thought-provoking exercises that help clarify your core values. In doing so, you can find alignment in what you deem most important to you and how you intentionally live out your values on a daily basis.

-Ryan Brence (Founding Member of the Lab, Business Leader, and Army Veteran)

Frequently Asked Questions
The Lab is shaped by years of conversations with some of the world’s leading thinkers on leadership.

Through the Intentional Leader Podcast, Cal has spent hundreds of hours learning from world-class leaders, authors, researchers, and practitioners. Those ideas and conversations help shape what members encounter inside The Lab.


”

From someone who has committed the second half of my career to help grow physician leaders, Cal's Intentional Leader podcast is one of the greatest resources I can offer!  Outstanding content with a host gifted in the ability to get the best out of each of his guests.  It will make you want to be a better person and inspire you along the way.

 

- Dr. Tom Hustead (Founder of The Referent Group, Combat Veteran, Husband, Father)


”

I love your podcast, Cal.  The way you think, the questions you ask.  This is a podcast I want my children to listen to.


-Patrick Lencioni (Bestselling author and Founder of The Table Group)


”

Cal created a low-stress and relatable experience that gave me a framework to reflect on and define what matters most to me. I left the mini course with a clear plan to live my values on a daily basis, and I feel more confident showing up in an intentional way with my family. 


- John Bockstanz (Husband, Father, Tech Leader, Combat Veteran)

Without intentionality, it's easy to drift.

  • Consuming great ideas without ever putting them into practice.

  • Moving so quickly that you rarely create space to think.

  • Solving leadership challenges in isolation.

  • Allowing the urgent to crowd out what matters most.

  • Losing sight of the leader—and person—you want to become.

  • Settling into familiar patterns because no one is challenging you to see things differently.

What becomes possible in The Lab

  • Clarity — Space to think about what matters, where you’re going, and how you want to lead.

  • Courage — Encouragement to decide, experiment, speak, and act on what you’re learning.

  • Consistency — Rhythms that keep growth from disappearing beneath the demands of everyday leadership.

  • Community — Meaningful relationships with thoughtful leaders committed to growing alongside you.

Along the way, you’ll gain new perspective and continually put what you’re learning into practice.

Leaders who experienced the work and chose to keep growing.

Before becoming Founding Members of The Lab, these leaders participated in Cal’s Clarity Cohort, an immersive leadership development experience. Here’s what they said about the experience:


”

Even with three decades of leadership training and experience leading increasingly larger organizations, I found the opportunity to experience Cal’s Narrow Path framework, and learn from other experienced leaders within the cohort, to be extremely beneficial.

- Lieutenant General (Ret.) Stuart Risch (Founding Member of The Lab and former leader of over 10,000 people)


”

With no exaggeration, I can honestly say that participating in the Clarity Cohort has changed my personal and professional life dramatically. A lot of the shift has been internal with how I see and experience my family, vocation, and friends. 


- Jared Brown (Founding Member of The Lab and Partner at Atlas Stark)


”

The experience was transformative in the best way: challenging, clarifying, and deeply practical. Cal has a rare gift for meeting you where you are and pushing you toward who you’re meant to be.

 

- Doug Jones (Founding Member of The Lab and Managing Director, Stream Realty Dallas)

The best leaders don't grow alone. 

 

You don't have to figure it all out yourself.
Surround yourself with people who think deeply, experiment courageously, reflect honestly, and want to keep growing alongside you.
Your growth is too important to leave to chance. 

 

APPLY TO JOIN THE LAB

$1,999/year · Application required