Welcome to Compassiviste Dialogues. I'm Ali, your host, and my mission with this podcast is to shed light on critical social and environmental issues worldwide, exploring avenues for positive change.
Today we’re joined by Dr. Max Klau, a Harvard-trained developmental psychologist, leadership educator, and founder of the Center for Courageous Wholeness. Max designs scalable approaches to inner development and servant leadership and guides people through his transformative online workshop, Leading with Wholeness. Beyond academia and leadership development, Max also fronts the Max Klau Band, exploring the surprising connections between music and leadership. In this episode, we dive into Max’s journey of discovering his calling, simplifying leadership, and creating transformational programs that serve both individuals and society. We explore how mission and shadow shape authentic leadership, why inner work must meet compassionate action, and how one accessible book can spark generational change.
ABOUT GUEST:
Dr. Max Klau is an author, coach, developmental psychologist, and the founder of the Center for Courageous Wholeness. His life’s work sits at the intersection of inner development and systems change, helping individuals and organizations serve others, confront their shadows, and scale inner development.
After two decades designing transformational leadership programs at City Year and the New Politics Leadership Academy, he has refined an approach that views leadership as a Dual Journey—integrating inner and outer change. This combined focus on impact and inner development is, in his view, essential for meeting a moment of unprecedented change and uncertainty. His book, Developing Servant Leaders at Scale: How to Do It and Why It Matters, explains a methodology rooted in humility, purpose, and the courage to do the inner work.
At the Center for Courageous Wholeness, he offers coaching, retreats, keynotes, and organizational consulting—built around one core truth: inner and outer change are too interconnected to separate.
Dr. Klau partners with values-driven leaders, teams, and communities ready to grow, serve, and lead with wholeness. Whether navigating a personal crossroads, leading a team through uncertainty, or embedding purpose into a large system, he helps guide the journey.
KEY NOTES:
Catching a Calling: Finding Purpose Beyond Your Career Making Leadership Simple: The Course That Transforms From Within Mission and Shadow: How Self-Awareness Shapes Authentic Leaders Facing the Collective Shadow: Transforming Societies Through Inner Work
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Intro 04:40 - How Do You Catch a Calling? A Journey Beyond Career 08:36 - The Course That Finally Made Leadership Simple 15:16 - How Mission and Shadow Shape Authentic Leadership 24:38 - Facing the Collective Shadow 31:37 - Rethinking How We Present Transformational Programs 35:36 - Bringing Motherly Compassion Into Leadership 41:30 - Why Accessible Service Can Shape Generations of Leaders 45:11 - How One Book Helps Leaders Transform Themselves? 55:59 - How to Expand Leadership Programs Without Compromising Impact 59:43 - Rituals That Keep Max Aligned and Focused 01:01:48 - What Does Music Teach Us About Leadership? 01:09:00 - If You Could Change the World 01:13:03 - Outro
THINGS MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST:
Dr. Max Klau's website: https://www.maxklau.com/about Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-klau-0319a11/
TO LEARN MORE AND STAY CONNECTED:
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