Be seen, heard, and trusted at the level you're aiming for.
An 8-week training and coaching program for mid-level and senior leaders. You start with a multi-rater read on how you actually come across, then practice the specific behaviors that change it, with feedback along the way.
USD 1,900. Registration is through Stripe and takes about two minutes. Enrollment closes Thursday, September 24, or when the group is full.
When competence stops being enough
Every cohort includes leaders who are strong at the work and still not landing the way they intend to.
None of this reflects the quality of your thinking or the depth of your experience. Executive presence is how people experience you: whether they trust your judgment, whether they act on what you say, whether your name comes up when a bigger role opens. The people around you decide whether you have it, and that is exactly why it can be worked on. It is a set of observable behaviors, and observable behaviors can be practiced.
Highly knowledgeable about the business, and still uneasy presenting to the board or the executive team.
Excellent at developing strategy, and unable to distill it into a clear narrative senior leaders can act on.
Consistently hits targets, and avoids the hard conversation when someone on the team underperforms.
Prepared and well-researched in every meeting, and still gets cut off, questioned, or talked past.
Delivers strong results, and gets passed over for a promotion with three words of feedback: "It's about your presence."
Has a point of view, and hedges it, over-explains it, or holds it back because the timing feels risky.
Executive presence is not a personality trait. It is a skill set, and the leaders who have it learned it.
Who this program is for
If two or more of these describe you, you are the person this cohort was designed for.
You want to speak up and own the conversation in senior rooms without sounding like someone you're not.
You replay high-stakes meetings afterward and second-guess what you said, how you said it, or what you left out.
Your capability is bigger than your visibility. The people who decide on promotions and projects don't see the full picture.
You feel a step behind with senior leadership: the exec review, the skip-level, the board update.
You know the details cold and struggle to distill them into a message that lands in two minutes.
You are preparing for a next-level role that requires executive exposure, or you already influence without formal authority and need it to count.
If you are in your first year as a manager, the Leadership Accelerator is the better starting point. This program assumes you already lead and now need to be perceived as a leader at the next level.
What you leave with after 8 weeks
A clear read on how you actually come across
Your Executive Presence Insights survey collects ratings from the colleagues you choose across 15 behaviors in five dimensions. You stop guessing which perception is holding you back and start working on the two or three that matter.
Reps on the situations you're facing now
The senior meeting, the recommendation you keep softening, the pushback you don't handle well, the update that lands flat. You bring real situations to the coaching calls and practice them, not generic scenarios.
Personal feedback on how you present and communicate
You get specific, direct feedback on your delivery, structure, and non-verbal signals from Ramona and from a small group of peers who are working on the same thing.
Language you can use the same week
How to hold a position under pushback, how to say "I don't know" without losing credibility, how to take the lead in a room with no leader, how to frame a recommendation so executives can act on it.
Composure that holds under pressure
You learn what happens in your body and your thinking when a senior person challenges you, and what to do in the first five seconds so you stay in the conversation instead of shrinking or over-defending.
A plan for the 90 days after
You finish with named growth areas, the practices attached to each, and the situations in your calendar where you will apply them.
The five pillars we work through
Your multi-rater survey scores you on all five. The program then goes deep on each, with training on the concepts and coaching on your specific situations.
Inner Executive
Spot the internal patterns that show up as hedging, over-explaining, or deferring, and what others read into them.
Display confidence in decisions without tipping into arrogance, including how to say "I don't know" and keep credibility.
Take feedback and pushback with curiosity instead of defensiveness, in the moment.
Gravitas
Take the lead when a room has no leader: name what is happening, propose the next step, set the structure.
Engage with disagreement without getting defensive, using language that acknowledges and then holds your position.
Keep composure when stress rises, including what to do with your pace, your pauses, and your first response.
Presence
Read and adjust the non-verbal signals people respond to before you say a word: posture, tone, eye contact, energy.
Show up on video and in person in a way that reads as steady and intentional rather than rushed or apologetic.
Get direct feedback on your delivery and practice the adjustments until they hold under pressure.
Communication
Distill complex work into a clear, concise message with the conclusion up front and the detail available on request.
Frame recommendations strategically so senior leaders can act on them without a second meeting.
Speak with influence in meetings where someone else holds the authority.
Executive Thinking
Think beyond your function: connect your work to what the business is optimizing for this year.
Make and communicate decisions with incomplete information, and hold them when they are challenged.
Ask the questions senior leaders ask, so you are in the strategic conversation rather than reporting into it.
Coaching on your real situations
Half of the live calls are coaching calls. You bring the meeting that went sideways, the presentation coming up, the stakeholder you cannot read, and the group works it with you. This is where the concepts turn into behavior.
How the 8 weeks work
Blended format: short on-demand modules to learn the concepts, live calls to practice and get feedback, and a multi-rater survey so the work is aimed at the right things.
Cohort opens
You get access to the program and your first on-demand module. Your Executive Presence Insights survey, launched when you registered, is already collecting ratings from the colleagues you chose across the five dimensions.
First live call
Calls run every Wednesday at 9am PT / 12pm ET for 60 minutes and alternate between training and coaching. All calls are recorded and available within hours if you have to miss one.
Modules and practice
On-demand training modules cover the concepts. Each week you get a short practice assignment aimed at a real situation in your calendar.
Final call
You leave with your survey results interpreted, your growth areas named, the practices attached to each, and a plan for the 90 days that follow.
What participants say
The training not only boosted my confidence but also equipped me with practical communication strategies. Now, I speak more confidently and effectively, and I've seen a significant improvement in how my ideas are received and valued by senior management. The survey alone was worth the tuition fee for the entire program!
This program changed the way I show up as a leader. Before, I often held back in meetings, especially when senior leaders were in the room.
My engagement with Ramona at Archova has been one of the most valuable professional development experiences I've had.
This course helped me grow in a multitude of ways in terms of my executive presence. Eye-opening on many levels.
I have benefitted and applied my learnings throughout this program during my day to day work.
This is a wonderful course for anyone who is looking to improve their executive presence.
Your facilitator and coach
Ramona Shaw is a Certified Professional Leadership Coach and Facilitator, host of The Manager Track podcast, and author of the Amazon best-seller The Confident & Competent New Manager. She holds a Master's Degree in Finance and previously led strategic projects and international teams as a VP at a global private equity firm, where she learned what executive presence looks like from the inside of the room, and what it costs when it is missing.
She now runs coaching and training programs for leaders at fast-growing startups and established companies, and she leads every call in this program personally. Nothing is delegated to a junior coach.
One seat, one payment
Comparable executive presence programs run around USD 8,000 and are usually only accessible through a corporate sponsor. This one is priced so that you can decide for yourself.
Registration is through Stripe. Within a day you receive your confirmation email and the link to launch your survey. Program access opens on September 28.
Seats are not refundable. If within the first 14 days you are unexpectedly unable to continue, you can transfer your seat to a colleague or pause and join the next cohort.
Getting your company to cover it
Many participants have this covered through a learning or professional development budget, and Archova can invoice your company directly. Email contact@archova.org with your company's billing details and we will send the invoice the same day.
If you need to ask first, here is a note you can send to your manager. Copy it, fill in the two brackets, and send.
You can also share the program brochure with your manager or HR.
Questions people ask before enrolling
Is this the right level for me?
The program is built for mid-level leaders, senior individual contributors, and managers who need to influence without formal authority and are preparing for roles with more executive exposure. If you manage managers, present to executives, or are being considered for a director or VP-level role, it fits. If you are in your first year of managing people, start with the Leadership Accelerator instead.
What if I have to miss a live call?
Every call is recorded and available within hours. The coaching calls are where the biggest shifts happen, so plan to attend those live where you can. Missing one or two training calls and watching the recording is fine.
How much time does it take each week?
One 60-minute live call plus a short module or practice assignment. The practice is designed to happen inside meetings you already have, not on top of them.
How does the multi-rater survey work?
In the first week you choose the colleagues who will rate you, typically a mix of your manager, peers, and direct reports. They answer 15 questions across the five dimensions of executive presence. You receive a report by dimension, and we use it in the program to decide where your practice should go. You also get a reference guide with specific strategies mapped to every question.
Will my company pay for it?
Often, yes. Programs like this usually fall under a learning or professional development budget. Archova can invoice your company directly, and there is a ready-to-send approval note in the Investment section above.
What is the refund policy?
Seats are not refundable, because the group is small and each seat is planned for. If within the first 14 days you are unexpectedly unable to continue, you can transfer the seat to someone else or pause and join the next cohort.
Who teaches it?
Ramona leads every live call herself. There is no junior coach or community manager in between.
What happens after I register?
Within a day of registering you receive a confirmation email and the link to launch your Executive Presence Insights survey, so your colleagues can respond before the program starts. Everything else happens on September 28: program access, your first module, and the details for the first live call on Wednesday, September 30 at 9am PT / 12pm ET.
When is the next cohort after this one?
Cohorts run a few times a year. If September does not work for your calendar, email contact@archova.org and we will let you know when the next one opens.
The cost of another year is a year of the same perception.
Perceptions set slowly and change slowly. The leaders who make the shift are the ones who decide to work on it before they feel ready, while the next promotion conversation, board update, or new stakeholder is still ahead of them.
USD 1,900. Enrollment closes Thursday, September 24. First live call Wednesday, September 30.