Built for the business owner who is starting to see things differently

1:1. Four months. Through the transition. Emerge alive in what’s next.

Let's begin

Built for the business owner who is starting to see things differently

1:1. Four months. Through the transition. Emerge alive in what’s next.

Let's begin

Is The Wā Programme for you?

Kia ora, I'm Cleo Shortland. I guide founders and owners through the threshold between what they've built and where they’re being called to lead next, like:

  • Taking the time to launch the thing you've been circling for years

  • Looking to restructure the business to work in with your new life

  • Ready to take what you've built into new territory

  • Knowing that you're capable of more and wanting to explore all possibilities, even the delusional ones

The Wā Programme will leave you with your impact firmly in hand.

About Cleo
About the Programme

Wā

(noun) time, season, period of time, interval, term, duration.

How The Wā Programme works

You disappear. We get to work. You re-emerge.

Explore

We begin in the truth of what you’re beginning to see, unfiltered. Through deep enquiry and ritual informed reflection, we name what the problem is and explore all possible outcomes.

Connect

We delve into your relationships with people, your work, your direction. This is where you activate your philosophy and values to make decisions about your next move.

The Threshold

How are you are using your time and resources? It’s time to move through the threshold by creating a foundation and stepping into your vision.

Emerge

Emerge with the clarity and conviction of your ideas and your impact firmly in hand. You are alive in the change, which is now your new reality.

What you receive

8 fortnightly 1.5hr sessions with Cleo, each building on the last

Unlimited communication line with Cleo between sessions

Trello board to track progress

Programme start date and duration

The next programme commences 10 August 2026

Duration is 4 months online or in-person depending on your location

Investment

USD $2,500 per month over 4 months

Get in touch
Book a curiosity call

Kind words from my clients

  • "Cleo is a genuinely natural space holder. Through ritual, contemplation, deep inquiry and a focus on creating the future always, Cleo sped up my personal evolution in a way that only very few people can. Blending both the rational and the creative, her structures and frameworks create a safe and needed journey for deeper magic to be born and made manifest. There's a true element of belief and magic working with Cleo, that goes far deeper than the mind, and you have to experience it to understand her power, and what can be created together."

    — Rhea James Fox
    Australia

  • "My business required a lot of change and I needed someone who understood people, business and law. Cleo's a great thinker and has the ability to see the bigger picture. She by far exceeded my expectations. 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 Kearney
    New Zealand

  • "Cleo's expertise, intelligence, and cultural identity helps her to connect with so many people. She harnesses these in a way to truly focus on the person. Where they are at now and where they want to be in the future and really connecting them to their dream. The way I lead through collaboration is now more innovative because I'm so much more aware of my strengths developed through past experiences and realised through the coaching with Cleo. I have achieved my aspirations so much sooner than I had ever anticipated."

    — Ariel Mareroa
    New Zealand

Frequently asked questions

  • A business mindset coach uses one-on-one guidance, business strategy and mindset work to help you rethink what’s possible. It’s deep work that looks at why you might struggle to make a decision or take action - and from here, we can build with clarity and move purposefully toward what’s next.

  • Finding the right fit takes time and it’s work taking that time. Here is a ritual to help you on that journey.

    Find a quiet space and ask yourself:

    • What keeps me up at night about my business?

    • How do I want to feel after a coaching session?

    • What environment helps me do my best thinking?

    Once you have sat with those answers ask yourself: can Cleo help me with these? And if you need some extra support, you can always get in touch.

  • No, quite the opposite. Some of my favourite clients are the ones who've zigzagged, pivoted, started over, or built something that doesn't fit a neat category – usually in the quest of finding something more fulfilling.

    I've done the same myself, so I'm not here to hand you a cookie-cutter roadmap. What we build together is shaped entirely around you: your story, your strengths, and the vision that excites you most.

    Unconventional paths often lead to the most interesting places giving you greater clarity and direction.

  • If you're a neurodivergent business owner wondering whether this is for you, it depends.

    I'm not a specialist in neurodivergent care, and I want to be honest about that. What I can offer is a container that doesn't require you to show up perfectly to sessions. The work happens between sessions too through unlimited communication, at whatever hour your brain decides it's ready ;). Waking up to 20 messages and voice notes from a client when they’ve received an epiphany is not uncommon, and I love it. All thoughts, well rounded and half made, are welcome here at Wā.

    I invite you to get in touch and we can figure out if my approach is a fit for you.

  • Good! I don't work that way.

    There's a difference between a framework and framing. Frameworks are handed to you. Framing emerges from the work itself. It is introduced once clarity arrives.

    My approach leaves space to free flow. This is where the real thinking happens. And once something starts to take shape, we begin building a gentle structure around it.

  • I’m a New Zealand based business coach. I work locally and abroad with clients in Australia, North America, UK and Europe.

  • That feeling, that everyone and everything else comes first, is often exactly why we need to talk. It's how you've always shown up. And it may be the very thing to release to step into what's next.

    Most of my clients find me at their most stretched. This is a beautiful lived experience for us to work within.

    And if after our conversation you decide now isn't the moment, that's okay too. I ask my clients to trust their own timing. You'll know when it's time.