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BEan in Nature
BRAD LANDE-SHANNON
Owner, Head Leadership Coach
It’s time to wake up your true self.
We are human animals but we are cut off from the natural signals of our animal bodies. We are ruled by thought, language, ego, and story. As adults, we have learned to put our mammal bodies to sleep.
When we learn to listen to our inner world and its signals, we are alive and attuned to the depth and texture of our lives. We wake up a fundamental part of our hard-wiring that transforms our ability to shape our relationships. We call this our Natural Leadership, and though it may be hidden or forgotten, it is never lost.
At The Circle Up Experience, you awaken your Natural Leadership so you can navigate the world, take hold of your most genuine desires, and build authentic connections.
Our Offerings
Retreats, Courses, and Coaching for Human Herds
Choose your experience
Custom Business Retreats
1-3 DAY CUSTOM EXPERIENCES
Escape the office and get to know your human herd by spending 1-3 days at one of our Circle Up locations, or our team will come to a special location closer to you.
Teams will strengthen current relationships, welcome new members, and increase their awareness of each other’s strengths when they engage with our horses and experience the nature-based activities we offer.
Our workshops may also feature sheep, dogs, falconry, meditation, art, writing, movement, and mindful hiking. You don’t have to be interested in animals or know much about them to have a profound transformation.
“Circle Up gathered together our group and turned us into a team! The Circle Up team (humans and horses) took our newly re-configured group—made up of people from three different countries—and gave us the opportunity to get to know each other in a completely unique way. We have been able to stay connected despite geography and to continuously develop and respect our soft skills."
LAUREN PFEIFFER, ADOBE INC.
Retreats
for all people, great and small
We host exceptional retreats at our unique Circle Up locations. Our retreats focus on personal leadership, relationships, and spiritual development. The retreat experience offers the space and time to pause from everyday life for reflection.
P.S. If you have an idea for a retreat or a group of people who want a meaningful experience together, we can help you design a gathering that meets your needs. Plan your retreat with us...
"Getting real-time feedback is a rare gift, and yet it's the biggest opportunity to learn about ourselves and grow. Circle Up’s program delivers just that, through the eyes of a partner who acts with total honesty and vulnerability, and without their own ego or agenda — the perfect mirror: a horse. My experience was simply incredible and has made a huge impact on me. I highly recommend it to anyone.”
AMY J., GOOGLE WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP FORUM
Coaching
FOR INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS & INSTITUTIONS
Create a culture for the people you care about by stepping into your Natural Leadership.
Each year, we take a select number of clients for individual, executive or group coaching programs, including a limited number of large institutions for customized programs.
As coaches, we’re not afraid to ask tough questions. We pick up on core themes and issues quickly and know exactly when to be gentle and when to push. The transferable skills we teach will help you support, develop, and mentor colleagues and peers.
"What Circle Up offers is different from other team-building exercises, and is also based on the way a horse lives and works. No conference rooms. No binders. No powerpoint slides. No blah blah blah.”
FORBES MAGAZINE
Courses
For Aspiring Leaders
If you are already a leader for your herd, our courses help you step into your role with confidence and power.
Courses are offered through our online learning platform so they are accessible anytime, anywhere. They often include group coaching calls and private discussion groups.
Our integrative model teaches basic concepts about human nature through the lenses of psychology, animal behavior, interpersonal neuroscience, and meditation.
There is nothing quite like having the privilege of working through one-on-one executive coaching with Beth Anstandig. She wastes no time assessing a person’s needs and crafting an organic experience. There is an immense opportunity for personal and professional growth for anyone who chooses to embrace it.
VICTORIA CONKLIN, VICE PRESIDENT – LENDING, AMERICAN AGCREDIT
Latest News
Posts about Relationships and leadership
Twists and Turns
Dear lovely humans, Nature gives us so many generous lessons of how things move, progress, develop, and evolve no matter what. We need these examples so we can see the fierce resilience around us and connect to how it is within us. We also need to see and know how messy, unpredictable, and even chaotic…
Read MoreLessons in Expressing Vulnerability and Circling Up Our Herds
I took a page out of my own book! The Human Herd: Awakening Our Natural Leadership was released into the wild April 12. It was terrifying! First writing a book is very hard, but even harder than the writing itself was all the time and angst spent NOT writing the book when you are supposed to be…
Read MoreHow Animal Instincts Teach Us to Be Better Humans
Healthcare professionals, including those that provide mental health and addiction care, aren’t immune from needing their own mental health support. In this compelling segment, Beth and John Boyd, CEO Hospitals, Rogers Behavioral Health, joined Lake Effect to discuss how Rogers plans to use Beth’s Natural Leadership concept to help support its leadership and care teams.…
Read MoreSpringing Forth
Fruit trees are budding and blooming. Horses are shedding. Dogs are shedding. A pair of ducks are inhabiting our creek and appear to be ready for some babies. The daylight is more insistent. We hear a lot of messaging about how to feel about the seasons. Spring is here! Have a bounce in your step!…
Read MoreGrowth and Gutters
I look for interesting places of growth, for the ways that nature replenishes and flourishes in odd locations. My most recent discovery was in the gutter of an old shed. As usual, it was just the practice of a walkabout, looking around, looking up, slowing down, and there it was, a whole ecosystem blooming in…
Read MoreA Different Kind of New Year–What If We Just Let Ourselves Be?
It’s hard to believe we’re almost at the end of January. But maybe that’s a good thing. The pressure we put on ourselves and each other at this time of the year! What a way to — maybe not — start things off! It’s an arbitrary transition but it is one whether we like it…
Read More