Ritual intelligence & intergenerational leadership
Threading the past, present and imaginative into your next chapter.
Founded by Cleo Shortland, the Wā Programme is a three-month one-to-one guided journey of deep listening, enquiry, and experimentation.
Ritual intelligence & intergenerational leadership
Threading the past, present and imaginative into your next chapter
Founded by Cleo Shortland, the Wā Programme is a three-month one-to-one guided journey of deep listening, enquiry, and experimentation
Wā
(noun) time, season, period of time, interval, term, duration
This is for you, if you:
Need a devoted space to explore what feels alive
Wish to mark life with ritual, rather than letting it slip past unwitnessed
Want to choose what you carry forward, and what ends with you
Are standing at a crossroads, ready to leave what has become a cage
And ground your next chapter in action that follows your imagination
The Wā Programme
How you will step into this next chapter
Working on balancing the beautiful qualities and gifts you will continue to hold going forward with what isn't working anymore and needs to change
Tracing where you have been: your story, your line, and what you carry, so that what you take forward is chosen, not automatic
Standing in where you are now with deep listening and enquiry that moves past the surface to what is asking to shift
Marking the crossing with ritual, whenever you feel called during our season together, so the new chapter begins in your life and not just on paper
"My time working with Cleo was alchemical. I had never felt so deeply held and understood, a natural gift Cleo holds.
Through ritual, contemplation, and a focus on creating the future, Cleo sped up my personal evolution in a way only very few people can.
I learned that freedom, adventure, and contribution were what I valued most. With imagination and creating a clear direction, I've made changes in the way I work to match those values.”
— Rhea James FoxWhat is yearning to come through you, and into the world?
Kia ora, I'm Cleo Shortland, founder of The Wā Programme.
I left a stable career to bet my last savings on my own business. It worked, and along the way, I found myself drawn not to the businesses I was helping to build, but to the people leading them. Rooted in te ao Māori, that pull became Wā.
My work will witness you while you explore ideas, enquire deeply, and conduct experiments, before stepping into what feels most energising and alive.
What you receive
This three-month experience gives you 6 × 90 minute bi-weekly video calls with Cleo, each building on the last, communication line between calls, and a bespoke Trello board as you move through the journey
❋ Programme start date and duration7 September - 7 December 2026, 3 months
❋ FormatOne-to-one video calls in real time
❋ Your GuideCleo Shortland works with you to build a journey moving in purpose
❋ Pay as you journeyUS$1,750 per month, US$5,250 total, cancel anytime
“I needed someone who understood people, business, and also law.
Cleo is a great thinker because of her innate ability to get deep into people’s psyche and personality in order to understand them. To my mind, she has a special sense of spirituality about her that enables her to have these special traits."
— Nick KearneyFrequently Asked Questions
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Rather than watching the time, we are moving through it, and with that, sessions tend to range to 90 minutes.
This is deep work that requires space for reflection, ideation, and then determining experiments and aligned action for between sessions.
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No. You don't need a guide, just as you don't need a personal trainer or an interior designer.
You already have the capacity to shape the quality of your work and bring your idea into form.
Here is a ritual to help decide if now is the time to work with Cleo on the Wā Programme.
Find a quiet space and ask yourself:
What is being called to be seen and nurtured in my life and work?
What would change if I had someone walking this threshold with me?
Can I meet the cost, the time, and energy this would ask of me right now?
Sit with the answers and feel free to get in touch if you would like to discuss further.
If the cost would place a burden on your family or your venture, don't. If you don't have the time to give to yourself right now, don't.
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I have the capacity to sit with what you're carrying. Your ideas, complete and half made, and to go deeper to listen to what is calling to come through you and into the world.
I’ll bring techniques such as karakia, deep listening, and gentle enquiry, before designing experiments that you will take into your life. Everything is invitational to ensure I’m meeting you with what feels right and safe.
You will be held with care, whatever you're moving through, including celebrations, what’s most interesting to you, confusion, and everything in-between..
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By going to the core of the problem and looking at the easiest way to solve it within the timeframe.
This helps you re-imagine what the solution looks like and what is possible. From there, you can go wider and further again and again until you reach your blue sky idea.
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No framework. No pre-recorded sessions.
Each session is your private one-to-one video call with me. Your journey is tailored to your vision, goals, and desired outcomes, each building on the last.
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It’s important for me to note that I am not a specialist in neurodivergent care.
What I can offer is an expansive container that promotes curiosity and thinking, independent experiments and aligned action. The video calls are the ritual and the unlimited communication line gives you the freedom to link in when its most aligned for you.
Logging on to 20 messages and voice notes from a client mid-epiphany is not uncommon, and I love it. All thoughts, half-made and whole, are welcome on the Wā Programme.
Get in touch and we can talk about my approach further and whether it is a fit.
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I’m based in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, working locally and abroad with clients in Australia, North America, UK and Europe.
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Not personally, but I am a fan.
I built my first business through short videos of myself on LinkedIn, six figures in the first six months, and a dream team of five within eighteen months. Some of my favourite parts of that chapter were the fun and interesting partners and collaborators I found along the way.
The Wā Programme has called for something different, and I've been off the traditional platforms for a couple of years now. Still, I stay current with what's happening, and I've supported many clients in finding their own voice out there. TikTok and Substack have been my favourites this season.
Now I use in-person events, meetings, and the Wā Podcast as my mediums to connect with you outside of the programme.
You can watch or listen to the Wā Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube. I film the podcast on my travels across New Zealand and globally with an intention of capturing the personal stories behind the brand.